HEBRON, Ohio — Tripp Tatum, Paul Lee, Jason Harris, John DeFlorian Jr. and Taylor Dietsch won their respective classes at the IHRA Triple Crown races at Darana Dragway — Hebron to put themselves in contention for $1 million bonuses.
The Top Fuel and Funny Car classes featured $150,000 winner’s purses. They along with Pro Modified, Mountain Motor Pro Stock and IHRA Factory Pro Stock winners are eligible for a $1 million bonus if a driver can win all three Triple Crown events.
Tatum rallied past Gary Pritchett, who had a .033 to .041 better start, in the Top Fuel final. Tatum’s dragster rocketed down the track in a record time of 3.764 seconds at 328.47 mph. Pritchett had a problem at the top end and finished in 3.859 seconds and 274.39 mph.
There were clean runs for Tatum all weekend as he beat Chuck Loftin in the quarterfinal with a 3.822-second pass and then went 3.770 at 329.43 mph to beat Jasmine Salinas in the semifinals.
“It’s bittersweet because my best friend over there (Pritchett), it could’ve as easily been him,” Tatum said. “I’m really happy and happy for all my guys. This is unbelievable. I have two months to prepare for the next two, and we’ll see what we can do.”
Lee was a little better than Del Worsham at both ends of the track to win the Funny Car final. Lee had a .042 to .068 advantage at the tree and then had the only three-second run in eliminations at 3.937 seconds and 326.32 mph.
Worsham was just a little short at 4.018 seconds and 323.04 mph. Lee won over Jon Capps in the quarterfinal and Joe Haas in the semifinal for the win.
“The team did an outstanding job all weekend, zero mistakes,” Lee said. “I give it to my guys (crew chief) Jon Schaffer, Seth Randolph, John Medlen and the crew, excellent job and a flawless weekend. It doesn’t get more flawless than this. Del has a killer car. He’s a longtime friend and we knew he was going to be right there.”
Top two qualifiers Jason Harris and Jacob McNeal faced off in the final of a strong 31-car field in Pro Mod. Harris won despite a .004 start by McNeal. He had a strong .019 start and made his way down the track in 3.567 seconds at 210.58 mph for his Party Time car to live up to its name.
McNeal came up just short with a 3.599-second pass at 205.95 mph.
John DeFlorian Jr. won the $50,000 purse in Mountain Motor Pro Stock and special IHRA Triple Crown trophy by just .005 over Jeremy Huffman in the final. DeFlorian won despite Huffman’s .002 start. DeFlorian paired his .020 start with a 4.052-second run at 177.30 mph. Huffman posted a 4.076 at 175.99 mph.
Taylor Dietsch got the best of his dad, Jason, in the Pro Stock final. Taylor Dietsch had a .083 reaction time and then his black Mustang went down the track in 4.865 seconds at 148.66 mph. Jason had trouble with the blue Mustang and cruised down the track in 8.018 seconds at 76.40 mph.
It was a reversal from last year’s race at Hebron where Jason beat Taylor in the final.
The IHRA Outlaw Nitro Series returns to action July 9-11 at Darana Dragway, Milan, Michigan. The other Triple Crown races are scheduled Sept. 10-13 at Maple Grove Raceway.
