The 2008 NSDA point series lived up to its billing after an incredible Inaugural season in 2007. Points battles came down to the wire in most classes, and the point drama added a lot to each event. Let’s take a look back at the 2008 NSDA point series and the top finishers for the season.
Top Fuel
Scott
Whipple, the 2007 NSDA Top Fuel champion, came back with a vengeance in 2008.
He pretty much dominated the class throughout the season. Scott had a total of
six #1 qualifying efforts and four race wins out of seven events. That’s quite
a season for the Canidae Top Fuel team. Dennis Rieck had a lot of early season
struggles, but came on strong for two wins at the season finale in Primm and
three wins total on the season. Dennis also was the low qualifier at the final
race of the season with the quickest run of the 2008 season in the Top Fuel
class, a 2.225. Jeff Janoe rounded out the top three in Top Fuel with a nice
season showing of two final round appearances and two semi-final round
finishes.
2008 Top Fuel Final Points
1. Scott Whipple 710
2. Dennis Rieck 663
3. Jeff Janoe 584
4. Shane Switzer 380
5. Keith Longerot 97
Scott Whipple
Dennis Rieck
Jeff Janoe
Top Alcohol
The 2008
season in the NSDA Top Alcohol class was quite a journey as the top four racers
battled back and forth all season long. Mike DeNunzio jumped out to a decent
sized points lead with final round finishes (two wins) at the season’s first
five events. Mike would hold on for the win after struggling at the season’s
last two races in Primm for a ten point victory over Gary Mink. DeNunzio’s
championship secured a double series win for the Canidae team, with Scott
Whipple also winning in TF. Gary Mink had a great season that ended up with a
runner-up finish. Mink won two events on the season (Primm and
2008 Top Alcohol Points
1. Mike DeNunzio 647
2. Gary Mink 637
3. Shane Sanford 630
3. Dan Allen 630
5. Richard Montiel 399
Mike DeNunzio
Gary Mink
Shane Sanford
Dan Allen
Top Eliminator
In one of
the greatest come from behind stories ever, Tim Martin swept both races at the
Primm season finale to take the 2008 Top Eliminator championship. Tim, in his
Truck Toys N Tops Dragster, also was the #1 qualifier at the two other events
and scored 10 bonus points for a perfect 2.950 at the Spring Primm race. Steve
Hoffman drove his “Smooth Sucka” dragster to a fast start to the season with
two wins and one runner-up finish to start the year off. Steve then had some
bad luck as the season went on, and was just barely passed for the title at the
season finale by just 17 points. Billy Morris, the 2007 NSDA Sportsman 1
champion, moved up to Top Eliminator in 2008. Billy won his first TE race in
May at SJ and also had two runner-up finishes along the way to a top three
point series finish.
2008 Top Eliminator Points
1. Tim Martin 612
2. Steve Hoffman 595
3. Billy Morris 552
4. Leon Januik 541
5. Paul Taylor 516
Tim Martin
Steve Hoffman
Billy Morris
Pro Mod
Pro Mod was
a back and forth fight between Mike Erwin and Clayton Record throughout the
2008 season as they were the only racers competing for the championship. The
battle came down to the season’s final race where whoever went the furthest in
eliminations would win the championship. Both racers ended up going out in
round one, thus handing the win to the leader Mike Erwin. Erwin had one win and
two runner-ups throughout his championship season. Record also had one win and
two runner-ups on his way to the second place points finish. Wes Gilmore was
the third place finisher with one semi-final finish in the ’08 season.
2008 Pro Mod Points
1. Mike Erwin 633
2. Clayton Record 619
3. Wes Gilmore 269
4. Francisco Anaya 119
5. Larry Minor 98
5. Geoff
Gill 98
Mike Erwin
Clayton Record
Wes Gilmore
Pro Index
On the
strength of a huge double points win at the season finale in Primm, Justin
Adamson became a back-to-back NSDA Pro Index point series champion. Justin was
a consistent late round finisher early in the season with two semi-final and
two runner-up finishes. Mike Erwin took the Swag Racing Jeep to a runner-up
finish in Pro Index wins one win, runner-up, and low qualifier on the season. Third
place was Charlie Johnson, who had two wins in his Jeep.
2008 Pro Index Points
1. Justin Adamson 583
2. Mike Erwin 550
3. Charlie Johnson 534
4. Wes Johnson 531
5. Jose Beas 514
Justin Adamson
Charlie Johnson
Pro 1
2008 Pro 1 Points
1. Mike Erwin 559
2. Tommy Zavala 537
3. Joe Janoe 471
4. Jeff Liston 430
5. George Amos 430
Mike Erwin
Tommy Zavala
Joe Janoe
Pro 2
Wes Johnson
ended up taking home the NSDA Pro 2 championship in 2008. Wes had one race win,
one runner-up, and two low qualifiers throughout the season en route to the
championship. Phil Soper drove his buggy to a runner-up finish in Pro 2 with
one win and two runner-ups in the 2008 NSDA season. Charlie Johnson came in a
close third position with one win and two semi-final finishes in 2008 Pro 2
action.
2008 Pro 2 Points
1. Wes Johnson 558
2. Phil Soper 539
3. Charlie Johnson 521
4. Hunter Buettner 466
5. Tommy Zavala 460
Wes Johnson
Phil Soper
Charlie Johnson
Pro 3
Charlie
Johnson pretty much dominated the Pro 3 class in 2008, much like Grant Fraysier
did in 2007. Charlie ended up with one win and three-runner up finishes in 2008
for the title. Jose Beas slid into second place in points on the strength of a
runner-up finish at the season opener in
2008 Pro 3 Points
1. Charlie Johnson 616
2. Jose Beas 513
3. Gary Gebert 461
4. Grant Fraysier 434
5. Arend Schouten 419
Charlie Johnson
Jose Beas
Gary Gebert
MC Pro 1
Ryan Winkle
had control of the 2008 season in MC Pro 1 from start to finish. He started out
the season with a win in
2008 MC Pro 1 Points
1. Ryan Winkle 616
2. Ian Brown 545
3. Brad Olson 419
4. Robert Garnas 353
Ryan Winkle
Ian Brown
Brad Olson
MC Pro 2
Randy Mings
successfully defended his 2007 MC Pro 2 title in 2008 to become a back-to-back
champion. Randy missed the season opener in
2008 MC Pro 2 Points
1. Randy Mings 613
2. Rob Winkle 586
3. George Amos 564
4. Shea Marlow 529
5. Joey Weaver 464
Randy Mings
Rob Winkle
George Amos
Sportsman 1
Sportsman 1
was a wide open class most of the 2008 season, but it was Phil Soper who
prevailed at the end of the season. Phil won two early season races and was
able to hold off Hunter Buettner for the championship. The title was clinched
when the top two faced off at Primm in round two, ending with Hunter’s red
light. Hunter had a great season in Sport 1 with two semi-final finishes. Brian
Root drove his Jeep to the #3 position in 2008 with one runner-up and one
semi-final finish on the season.
2008 Sportsman 1 Points
1. Phil Soper 547
2. Hunter Buettner 511
3. Brian Root 481
4. Tommy Zavala 464
5. Clayton Record 464
Phil Soper
Hunter Buettner
Brian Root
Sportsman 2
Justin
Taylor came out on top in the 2008 Sportsman 2 championship chase. Justin won
two events in 2008 and led to a rather large margin of victory in the
championship standings. Arend Schouten ended up second in 2008 with his buggy
on the strength of two quarter-final finishes. Aaron Smith looked to be a
championship contender heading into Primm, but he did not make the trip and
fell back in the standings after losing out on the race’s double points
opportunity. Aaron did have a nice season in ’08 with two semi-final finishes.
2008 Sportsman 2 Points
1. Justin Taylor 541
2. Arend Schouten 440
3. Aaron Smith 415
4. Jim Clark 309
5. Steve Bertram 297
Justin Taylor
Arend Schouten
MC Sportsman 1
Ryan Winkle
did the same as Ian Brown in 2007 by sweeping both MC 1 class championships.
Ryan pretty much dominated the Sport 1 class as he did on the Pro side with two
wins and two runner ups in 2008. Ian Brown struggled in his attempt to defend
his ’08 championship, but still scored second place in the standings. Despite
running a partial schedule in ’08, Pedro Villa Jr. came up with third place in
points on the strength of a runner-up finish at the Season Opener in
2008 MC Sportsman 1 Points
1. Ryan Winkle 625
2. Ian Brown 450
3. Pedro Villa Jr. 178
4. Rob Winkle 119
Ryan Winkle
Ian Brown
MC Sportsman 2
The 2008 MC
Sport 2 title went to Shea Marlow, with one win and runner-up throughout the
season. Rob Winkle came up just short of the title, ending up second place also
with a win and runner-up in ’08. Alan Mamer came in third in the point
standings one runner-up finish in ’08.
1. Shea Marlow 588
2. Rob Winkle 540
3. Alan Mamer 506
4. Randy Mings 474
5. Pedro Villa Jr. 457
Shea Marlow
Rob Winkle
Alan Mamer
Junior Dragster
Brandon Wright came in at the season finale in Primm and won the double points event to take away the first ever NSDA Junior Dragster point series championship. The Mamer brothers, Alan and Aaron, both dominated the season but missed out on the double points in Primm.
2008 Junior Dragster Points
1. Brandon Wright 532
2. Aaron Mamer 529
3. Alan Mamer 501
4. Jacob Thomas 479
5. Kody Hoffman 461
Brandon Wright
Aaron Mamer
All photos courtesy C3 Productions, www.c3productions.net.