2023 Northern Nationals

Words by Mike Sopko Jr.

Photos by Mike Sopko Sr. - Mike Sopko Jr. - Michael K. Sopko

Extreme Top Fuel brought Twelve front engine dragsters to US 131 Motorsports Park to do battle at the annual Northern Nationals. What made this event even more unique to these drivers was that many of them had just competed in Norwalk at their Blue Suede Cruise event the previous weekend. It was there Shawn Bowen and his “Violator” took out series founder Jim Young in the final round.

The action for this year’s event began like it always does with qualifying on Friday. The front engine slingshots took two hits at the track. In Extreme Top Fuel the two best runs of each competitor are averaged to determine the quick 8. Friday set the stage and then there would be one last shot on Saturday to determine who would remain in the show, who would be bumped out, and who would get in. After Friday the 8 drivers in the show were:

Jim Young
Shawn Bowen
Julius Hughes
Larry Gocha
Mike Taylor
Tim Cullinan
Dave Brown (injected nitro)
Dave Belock

Saturday afternoon, 5 of the 12 teams set out to better their positions. Brown and Belock tried to preserve their positions while Haas, Lorbiecki, and Belock tried to make their way into the show. Ultimately Dave Belock in the “Time Bandit” could not steal enough ET to keep himself in the field. Dave Brown and his Beedy and Malloy injected fueler also ended up on the outside of the 8-car field despite a valiant effort from the only car missing an air compressor on top of the manifold. Michael Anderson in his “West Texas Hustler” and John Lorbiecki’s “Fuelish Flyer” both picked up enough ET in their third attempt to put the “Hustler in 7^th” and the “Flyer” on the bump.

Eliminations began in the early evening. First pair out saw Jim Young take on John Lorbiecki. Both left together, but problems set in early for the Lorbiecki and the “Fuelish Flyer.” Young streaked on for the win with the low ET thus far of a 5.66 at 244 mph. The second pair saw Larry Gocha up against Mike Taylor. Despite touching the wall in Q2, Gocha’s team was able to bring the car out for round one and continued their rash of 5 second passes and took the win over Taylor’s slingshot with a 5.92 at 241 mph. The third pair saw the most excitement of any of the Extreme Top Fuel elimination runs. It paired Blue Suede Cruise winner Shawn Bowen in his “Violator” against Mike Anderson and his King Chassis built “West Texas Hustler.” Bowen continued his win streak and crossed the finish line with a 5.73 at 250 mph, while Anderson suffered from mechanical issues and slowed to a 6.51 at just 167 mph. Meanwhile, Bowen had his hands full as his chutes ripped from the back of the chassis. Bowen did all he could to get the car slowed down, including taking the scenic route at first driving to the left of the sand trap, before eventually sticking it back in the kitty litter. After a clean-up and pulling Bowen from the sand the last pair of the 1^st round paired Julius Hughes and Tim Cullinan. In a tight race Hughes took the win with a 5.93 at 239 mph to Cullinan’s 6.00 at 233 mph.

The big question going into the semi-final round was if Bowen’s “Violator” team could make it back to compete against Hughes in the “Atlanta Speed Shop” entry. But first Young would come up against Gocha to do battle. Gocha gave Young everything he had but had to give up the ghost as the car made a move to the centerline, ending his streak of 5 second passes with a 6.15. Meanwhile Young continued his torrid streak with a stout 5.69 at 244 mph. Next, to the crowd’s delight both Hughes and Bowen made the turn from the staging lanes to the burnout box. After completing their burnouts and lighting the tree Bowen was out on Hughes early and was leading the way, until mechanical difficulties set in on the left side of the motor and the car quickly slowed. In the right lane Hughes pounced on the opportunity and drove around the slowing Bowen with a 5.96 at 249 mph. Meanwhile Bowen’s car coasted to a 6.37 at 153 mph.

The final would pair Young against Hughes for the win in Extreme Top Fuel. Young continued to line up in the left lane while Hughes remained in the right. Under the dark of night, the lights of the tree shown brighter. At the flash of the ambers they were off and Young’s flames lead the way from start to finish as he saved the best for last and lowered the boom with a 5.60 at 254 mph, taking both Low ET and Top Speed of the meet.

After the Top Fuel final there was one more slingshot treat for the fans as two of the non-qualifiers, Belock and Haas brought their rat-powered fuelers back up for a bit of redemption. Both drivers delighted the Michigan fans as they unleashed some otherworldly flames on their way down the strip.

The fans were also treated to a bit of nitro from the funny car variety as well. Both Mark McElwee in his “Buzzy’s Bomber” Chevy II and John Lawson’s late model Camaro dazzled the fans. McElwee’s test pass on Friday had the track buzzing as he ran an otherworldly 291 mph at 5.44; incredible to think about from a nostalgia bodied flopper. Both ran against each other during the first round on Saturday evening as McElwee got to the stripe first while Lawson slowed after popping the burst panel. Unfortunately, Lawson couldn’t make it back for the second round. Still McElwee wowed the fans with an excellent flame throwing display and another 5 second pass.

The Northern Nationals in concert with the PDRA continues to be a can’t miss event as it once again packed the Michigan track!