MILAN, Mich. — Travis Harvey had a perfect .000 reaction time in the final round against Melanie Salemi to win the $125,000 grand prize Saturday at the IHRA Pro Mod Mania at Darana Dragway, Milan.
“The Carolina Kid” combined the perfect start with a 3.605-second elapsed time at 208.24 mph in his Chevrolet Camaro. Salemi powered down the eighth-mile in 3.602 seconds at 208.04 mph after a solid .023 reaction time in her Pontiac Firebird.
“That’s just luck,” Harvey said. “When I let go, it felt good. It had to be good against Melanie. She’s great, but it just worked out for us. We’ve got a hot rod and they better watch out. You’re going to see more of these (IHRA Ironman trophies).”
Harvey, who started the day No. 9 on the ladder, drove the car like nobody’s business. He won a tough quarterfinal matchup against Randy Weatherford and then disposed of Paige Coughlin from the famous racing family in the semifinal. Likewise, Salemi had a .002 reaction time in the semifinal round to beat No. 1 qualifier Jason Harris.
A 30-year racing veteran, Harvey dedicated the win to his mom and dad, along with close friend Shannon Davis, who was grieving the loss of a family member.
“Thank God for giving me the blessing of racing against a lot of tough competitors,” said the North Carolina racer, who calls Piedmont Dragway his home track. “I have to thank my car owners, Vaughn Myles and Eric Holland. If it wasn’t for those two, I couldn’t be here. Danny Perry and his sons, they maintain the car.”
A door car got the best of a dragster in the Run What Ya Brung class. Tim Brown had a tough-to-beat .011 reaction time in his 1995 Pontiac and paired it with a run of 3.821 seconds at 198.68 mph. Josh Vanskiver red lighted at -.019 which disqualified his dragster’s 4.022-second pass at 184.73 mph.
Kevin Cody was the winner in the All Motor when Tyler Crockett left too early in the final round. Cody posted final numbers of 5.220 seconds and 140.58 mph along with a .074 reaction time. Crockett ran 5.411 seconds at 134.53 mph, but was -.027 too quick at the start.
Tim Heiges scored the win in Door Mod when final-round opponent Steve Easton triggered the red light. Heiges had a solid effort with a 4.024-second run at 180.29 mph after a .027 reaction time. Easton being quick on the pedal eliminated his 4.116-second pass.
Mountain Motor Pro Stock lived up to its reputation as one of drag racing’s toughest classes. Jerry Tucker posted an incredible .000 reaction time to win on a holeshot over Jeremy Huffman, who had a .011 light. Tucker’s final package saw him go down the 1/8-mile in 4.100 seconds at 177.10 mph. Huffman finished in 4.097 seconds at 175.58 mph.
It was a sweet win for Tucker, who lost on a holeshot at the last IHRA Outlaw Nitro Series final at Hebron, Ohio.
“We had the fastest car the last two outings, and it was my time to make up the difference,” Tucker said. “Our car was real, real good. I just had to do my job, and I knew it’d be OK.”
Pat DeBottis was dead-on his 4.50 dial at 156.09 mph to take the Top Sportsman final. Driving a brand new car, he already had the race in hand as Rod Oxford was -.030 too quick at the tree. It negated Oxford’s 4.188-second run.
Kyle Salimen had a single run in the Outlaw 632 final when Nicole Liberty had mechanical trouble and didn’t make it to the starting line. Salimnen had a winning effort of 4.338 seconds at 158.34 mph. Jeremy Newman was also unopposed in the US 235-8.5 class taking a win in 5.905 seconds at 111.14 mph.
Glenn Pushis was the Ultra Street winner as Blake Molnar left early. Pushis had final numbers of a 4.529-second pass at 155.93 mph. Molnar finished in 4.575 seconds and 155.87 mph.
Open Comp also saw the final decided by a foul. Chuck Lewis won with a 8.906-second pass at 142.77 mph after a .023 reaction time. Eric Carnes had a run of 9.530 seconds at 141.42 mph, but was -.030 too quick on the tree.
The event concluded with the Limited Drag Radial final. Jay Trisel had the better package all the way around .036 to .078 at the start, and then his Camaro had a 3.952-second pass at 185.03 mph. Runner-up Travis Esselman finished in 4.513 seconds at 131.23 mph.
