The 2009 sand drag racing season was quite an
adventure. In 2009, NSDN was on-site at 20 events in six states. Here is a quick
look back on the sand drag racing season that was through photos by NSDN
Editor, Tom Bray.
A beautiful susnet over Yuma, AZ at the NSDA Season Opener.
Primm, NV, the site of NSDA's Spring & Fall Nationals saw some record breaking performances on the track in 2009.
Hands down the most unique sand drag car that we saw in 2009 was this Smart Car campaigned by the Rhoades Racing Team at Primm in April.
The Gill/Bettencourt Racing TF Dragster driven by Geoff Gill gave the Top Fuel class fits all season long ending up finishing second in NSDA points in Geoff's first full season driving in the class.
Dan Allen closed out the 2009 NSDA season on a high note winning the Season Finale in Primm for the second year in a row.
Mark Punos (Near Lane) & Sidney Payne (Far Lane) roll up to the line in TE action at Primm. Sidney would walk away from a wild crash at a NSDA Avenal event with his "Full Blown Alky" Dragster.
Steve Foster Jr. was tough in NSDA Pro Index (3.95 Index) competition in 2009 sweeping both Primm races & winning at Avenal in September.
An all-Bronco Test & Tune match up between Donnie Burns (Near Lane) & Gary Gosz (Far Lane).
Terri Blair & the Fugowie team brought back memories by bringing back dual-tire Top Fuel to the sand in 2009.
This picture doesn't do it justice, but Mario Tavares' new Fast Fours/TE Dragster is one of the nicest sand drag cars to hit the track in recent memory.
Trevor Scherrer's 401K Coupe always turns heads & debuted a new look body & paint scheme in 2009.
Paul Graham (Near Lane) & Mike Erwin (Far Lane) line up in TE action at Primm. TE always puts on a great show at the west coast events often having 20+ cars going for 16 spots.
Big River Sand Drags in Bonne Terre, MO is a track that NSDN visited for the first time in 2009. James & Lisa Merseal put on a great race & show excellent hospitatlity to the out of towners.
Another track NSDN made it to for the first time in 2009 was the IOK 4-Wheelers facility in Cleves, OH. This is the facility that holds the famous Gravelrama event. Definitely a must visit facility with a lot of history in the sport.
Kip Martin had a lot of success in the "Primal Scream" Jeep at West Michigan Sand Dragway in 2009, including a win in the Quick 16 Shootout on 4th of July Weekend.
Chad De Wys wreaked havoc on the Sportsman 1 class at WMSD in 2009 with several class wins.
Matt Stewart debuted this new head turning Pro ATV built by Proformance Prototypes in MI action in 2009.
Ryan Fredricks' followed the 2009 PTN series with his new Little Red Jeep.
A Pro Truck class photo taken at the 2009 PTN series finale at West Michigan Sand Dragway.
Josh Stepehns in the wild 4WD Blown Income Altered blew the competition away at WMSD dipping into the 2.9 zone in the PTN Fastest 4x4 class.
Bob Gill's wild Pro Mod Jeep pushed the Jeep record in sand drag racing dangerously close to the 2 second barrier with a 3.007 while vising Michigan in July.
Kathy Ellington had a great showing in 2009 following the PTN series, & capped off the season with a huge win in the 3.5 Index class at the WMSD season finale.
Ryan Wilson ended up as the first ever PTN Fastest 4WD class champion with his Altered.
The Compromised truck as it lines up for its last pass at WMSD before crashing in th shut down area. Nick Disselkoen walked away uninjured & we hear the Compromised Team is ready to attack the 2010 PTN schedule full force with a new ride.
John Ramlow's Roadster was one of the top performers in Pro 2 action at WMSD in 2009.
Jim Coatney in the staging lanes at Ionia Sand Drags. Jim had a wild 2009, being involved in a 2-car top end crash at WMSD with Rob Lemon, however his car is back together now & made a return to action at the end of the season.
Dylan Beld was one of the top competitor in Pro ATV & ATV class competition at the MI races in 2009.
Rob Scheytt wreaked havoc on the competition in Top Alcohol class action at Ionia Sand Drags, taking several wins and running a best of 2.51.
Tom Hartman put an impressive new motor in his trademark Blazer, carding personal best ET's in the high 4.2 zone at WMSD.
Dan Genge was a consistent late round contenders in Sportsman 2 class action at WMSD in 2009.
The Father-Son duo of Steve Ewing (Left) & son Matt Ewing were the leaders of the pack in Pro ATV & ATV class action at WMSD this season.
Bob Ramlow was "Strictly Business" in 2009 with his Altered in Pro 1 class action at WMSD.
A rare look under the hood at the Blown SBC power plant of the Bad Company Jeep of Ben Dozeman. Ben was the man to beat in PTN Pro Truck & 3.5 Index class competition in 2009.
Andrew Burcham at the BRSD PTN series event. Andrew eventually went on to end up as the 2009 BRSD Track Champion.
Mike Ellington in late rounds action under the lights at Big River Sand Drags.
Trent Everett followed the PTN series and was a late round contender with his Funny Jeep in 2009.
Dan Wies finished as the runner-up in the 2009 PTN Fastest 4WD standings with his Patterson SBC powered Altered.
One of the ultimate sleepers in sand drag racing is Jim Rhodus & Jay Steele's J10 Jeep Truck. Their Procharger-equipped SBC motor has pushed the heavy truck well into the 3 second zone.
Casey Kellough followed the PTN series in 2009 & took home a big win when the series visited Cleves in May.
Jeff Banks' Speed Buggy is one of the sharp looking rides that typically races in the IOK (Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky) region & is set up for EC class racing rules. This Bronco ran in the low 4's when the PTN series visited Cleves in early '09.
Mike Bolyard's amazing Bronco turned heads all season long as he travled the Midwest following the Pro Truck series typically running in the 3.5-3.6 range with the juice on.
NSDN made our annual trek to Atoka Motorsports Park in May. This is one of the nicest facilities in the sport with a smooth track surface and incredible hospitality from the locals.
Rod Trower's Thunder Top Alcohol Dragster impressed in 2009 at races NSDN covered at Atoka & Ionia Sand Drags.
One of the wildest images of 2009 was Scott Carroll's wheel stand en route to the TA Showdown win at Atoka in May.
Steve Foster (Near Lane) made the haul to Atoka and impressed with his Jeep ending up with a runner-up finish in Pro 1 on Sunday.
Joe Navar brought the ex-Mike Charlton Blown V6 Buggy made the haul to Atoka from El Paso to compete in Pro 1 action.
Billy Morris & the 2 Dolla' Bill team headed to Atoka to compete in the Top Alcohol class at the Heartland Nationals.
Dennis Rieck brought his state of the art new TF Dragster to Primm & showed signs of bettering the accomplishments of his old car. Dennis ran a season best of 2.35 concluding the season at Dome Valley Raceway.
Todd Randolph's sharp looking Altered ventured into late rounds territory several times in 2009 NSDA competition.
Mark Whitmore's wild Jeep was extremely impressive in NSDA action at the season finale dipping into the 3.4 second zone.
A new look surfaced on Jeff Liston's "Sand Bomber" Pro 1 Dragster at the NSDA Primm Season Finale.
Last but not least is Scott Whipple's NSDA TF Championship winning & Record Holding CANIDAE Pet Food Top Fuel Dragster. Scott had an amazing season dominating the TF class.
Photos Copyright NSDN.