91°µÍø

Touring pro Dan Fletcher capped off a successful 2016 season by claiming the 99th victory of his career, and back-to-back Top Alcohol Dragster champ Joey Severance collected his sixth national event win of the season to highlight the roster of NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Sportsman winners at the season-ending Auto Club 91°µÍø Finals in Pomona.

Fletcher, who opened the season with a win at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals, closed out the year by driving his Peak-backed COPO Camaro to the Super Stock title after Bill Skillman fouled in the final. Fletcher, who also recorded wins in Stock, Super Comp, and Super Street this year, is now just one victory away from joining John Force (147) and Frank Manzo (105) as the only drivers to win 100 or more NHRA national event titles. []

Severance, who locked up his second straight Top Alcohol Dragster championship weeks ago, ended the season on a high note when he drove the J&A Service dragster to a 5.21 in the final round on a single run after his scheduled opponent, Cody Perkins, was unable to answer the call. At Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, 5.2-second runs were the norm in the quick field, and Severance made four of them during eliminations in his wins over Shawn Cowie, Derik Milanesio, and Rich McPhillips.

Severance’s Pomona win helped boost his final score to a near-perfect mark. Severance finished the season by scoring 829 points out of a possible 850, with the only blemish on an otherwise perfect scorecard being a runner-up finish at the Houston national event in May. []

Doug Gordon came up short in his bid to unseat Jonnie Lindberg for the 2016 Top Alcohol Funny Car title, but he was able to finish the season on a high note with a Pomona victory. Gordon drove his MB Cabinets Camaro to his sixth win of the season. After qualifying No. 2 in a field that featured 25 entries, Gordon used a pair of 5.49 runs and a 5.50 to reach the final round, where he used his best run of the weekend to stop Shane Westerfield, 5.462 to 5.522. []

Much like Gordon, Pomona Comp titlist Bryan Hyerstay also won the season finale event after a second-place finish in the championship battle. Wheeling his tiny Volkswagen-powered G/Dragster, Hyerstay lost .17-second to Competition Index Control penalties before he reached the final, but he still had enough left over to hold off veteran Ralph Van Paepeghem. Hyerstay won with a (-.575) 8.865 to cover Van Paepeghem’s (-.508) 7.772 in his A/EA ’32 Bantam. The victory was the fifth of the season for the Oregon-based Hyerstay, including his win at the K&N Filters Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Chicago. []

The late-season drama that historically surrounds the crowning of the Lucas Oil Series national champions was confined to Stock in Pomona, where Jeff Strickland and Brad Burton entered the event in a heated battle for the top spot. Strickland, already a champion in the Top Dragster presented by Racing RVs class, was the leader, but he needed to hold off Burton, who could win his third championship by reaching the semifinals.

A favorable ladder pitted the championship contenders against each other in the third round, and Strickland prevailed to clinch his second Lucas Oil Series title of the season. Strickland went on to drive his GMPartsNow.com COPO Camaro to the final round, where he was ambushed by first-time national event winner Bob Gullett. Strickland was competitive in the final with a .033 reaction time and a 9.470 on his 9.45 dial, but Gullett was nearly unbeatable with a perfect .000 light and a 10.869 on his 10.86 dial in his manually shifted F/S ’68 Chevy II. []

Zach Meziere became the fourth member of the Meziere family to claim a national event win when he earned the Super Comp title. The third-generation racer drove to an 8.911 in the final round to get the best of opponent Dick Vander Meer’s 8.917. Both drivers had identical .026 reaction times in the final. This was the ninth national event win for the Meziere family, which also includes Zach’s brother, Chandler; father, Dave; and uncle, Don. []

Brad Pierce claimed his seventh career victory in Super Gas and his second of the 2016 season when he drove his vintage Corvette to a final-round win against Ed Olpin. Pierce, who also won the Phoenix national event earlier this year, put together a solid run with a .014 light and a 9.901 to take the title over Olpin, who broke out with a 9.896 in his late-model Corvette roadster. Pierce has now won three races at his home event in Pomona. []

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