MARTIN, Mich. — Bruce Litton defeated J.R. Todd in the Top Fuel final of the Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals Monday at Knoll Gas Motorsports Park at U.S. 131.
Litton covered the quarter mile in 4.707 seconds, 287.72 miles per hour, to take the victory and the Knoll Gas Nitro Jam point lead.
Other professional winners were Mike Ashley (Nitro Funny Car), Jason Hamstra (Pro Modified), Paul Noakes (Alcohol Funny Car) and Frank Gugliotta (Pro Stock).
Litton, who entered the Northern Nationals second in the standings behind T.J. Zizzo, qualified No. 5 and took out No. 1 qualifier Doug Foley in round one. Todd, a regular competitor on the NHRA circuit, took out Zizzo in the first round, therefore giving Litton the opportunity he needed, if he could make it to the finals.
Litton’s second-round opponent was Melanie Troxel. Litton used a holeshot victory to defeat her, 0.058 reaction time to Troxel’s 0.082. He then advanced to the finals against Todd, who dispatched Bobby Lagana, Jr. in his semi-final match.
In the final round, Todd smoked the tires 60-feet down the track and Litton never looked back, making a perfect pass to the finish line and his second victory of the season. He now leads Zizzo by 21 points.
“I am so proud of J.R.,” Litton said. “He has a lot of heart and desire and has turned that heart and desire into becoming a champion. I am so proud of him and his whole family.”
Ashley dominated the Knoll Gas Torco Racing Fuels Pro Nitro Funny Car class all weekend, qualifying No. 1, and holding the low elapsed time and speed marks for the weekend, 4.812, 316.23. He took out Gary Densham in the first round and advanced to the finals when Jack Wyatt couldn’t make the call during the semi finals.
On the other side of the ladder, Mitch King dispatched Bob Gilbertson in round one and current point-leader Dale Creasy, Jr. in round two. In the finals, King’s car backfired on the burnout, giving Ashley a single to win the race.
“We rolled out a brand new car for this deal,” Ashley said. “Every nut and bolt, every piece of the car was brand new except for the body. On the first lap we had eight cylinders, then for the rest of the weekend we couldn’t find the other cylinder. Number one kept going out and we were running seven cylinders the rest of the weekend. In the final round we changed the fuel blower system, put on the one from our other car and it just had too much power for the final.”
The Pro Modified final ended up being a single-pass. Hamstra and Matt Hagan completed their burnouts, but Hagan’s car wouldn’t go into reverse to get back to the line. After his crew pushed him back, the car couldn’t stage. Hamstra still made a nice pass, 6.176, 229.55 to take his first-career victory.
“I really wish we could have ran Matt in the final round,” Hamstra said. “He’s a great racer and a great competitor, but the starter waved me in so I had to go. We ran a good number anyway so we’ll take it.”
In Alcohol Funny Car, Noakes’ win made it two in a row against fellow Ontario native Rob Atchison.
In Pro Stock, Gugliotta had a 6.423-second pass to defeat Larry O’Brien in the final round.
“I really am excited to get this win; it was my first with Rick and Bonnie Jones,” Gugliotta said of his car owner Rick Jones and his wife Bonnie. “It was a great race and a great weekend.”