Mopar®/Dodge NHRA Sportsman Spotlight: Summernationals at Englishtown

7 years ago Racing

Smyth and Comella Are Top Dodge Finishers


More than 75 Stock Eliminator and 60 Super Stock cars competed for supremacy in the Sportsman ranks at the prestigious NHRA Summernationals at Englishtown, New Jersey, June 9 – 11.

Stephen Smyth of Uxbridge, Massachusetts, turned in the best performance in Stock, taking his FS/D 2009 Dodge Challenger to the quarterfinal round where he ran heads up against Victor Cagnazzi and his 2015 Camaro. Smyth turned in a pass of 9.553 seconds at 137.23 mph, making him the quicker of the two cars. However, he was just bested at the finish line after his opponent got the jump on the start. The Smyth family still had a weekend to remember, though. During his march through the field, 26-year-old Stephen defeated his older sister Allison’s ’98 Firebird in round three.

In Super Stock, Steve Comella of Webster, New York, drove his SS/AH ’68 Dodge Dart all the way to Sunday’s semifinals. There, he made a pass of 9.231 seconds at 147.70 mph on an 8.67 dial-in after a .030-second reaction time. He just missed out on advancing to the final round after spinning the tires at the launch.

For their efforts, Smyth and Comella each won the Dodge Top Finisher award at the Summernationals. The award provides $500 to the Dodge or Plymouth driver advancing the farthest in Stock and Super Stock at all 24 NHRA national events.

Stock Eliminator competitors also took part in class eliminations at the venerable Englishtown track, with several Mopar® drivers taking home Wally trophies from the event. Smyth claimed the FS/D win in his ’09 Challenger; Todd Hoven of Milltown, New Jersey, won AA/SA in his ’65 Dodge Coronet; Jonathan Allegrucci of Scott Township, Pennsylvania, claimed the FS/B win in his ’15 Dodge Challenger Drag Pak; and Jerry Hatch of Lubec, Maine, took home the Combo-Auto victory in a ’71 Plymouth Duster.

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