After rain initially forced the postponement of the first IHRA Triple Crown event at Maple Grove raceway May 22-24, the sanctioning body kicked off the big-money series over the weekend at Darana – National Trail Raceway in Hebron, Ohio with a potential $1 million up for grabs across five categories. By Saturday night, five drivers stood alone as the only candidates eligible: Tripp Tatum (Top Fuel), Paul Lee (Funny Car), Jason Harris (Pro Mod), John DeFlorian (Mountain Motor Pro Stock), and Taylor Dietsch (Pro Stock).
Tatum secured his shot at $1 million Saturday night by defeating the most dominant driver in IHRA Top Fuel this year, Gary Pritchett. In the final round, Tatum ran a 3.764 elapsed time at 328.47 mph to drive past Pritchett, who had the starting line advantage but lost power shortly before the finish line, slowing to a 3.859 at 274.39 mph.
Tatum defeated Chuck Lofton in round one and Jasmine Saline in the semifinals to set up the final-round matchup with Pritchett, who took down Spencer Massey and Shawn Reed. Tatum earned $150,000 for the event win.
“It’s bittersweet because my best friend [Pritchett] over there. It could’ve as easily been him,” said Tatum. “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.”
For Pritchett, it was his fourth final-round appearance in four races this season. He has two event wins and two runner-up finishes.
“We may have come up just short in the final round of the IHRA Triple Crown, but I’m incredibly proud of this team and proud to be a part of it,” Pritchett said. “That’s a testament to the hard work, dedication, and determination of everyone involved in this program.”
In Funny Car, Paul Lee took home $150,000 and threw his name in the hat for a $1 million prize by taking down class stalwart Del Worsham in the final round with a 3.973-second pass at 326.32 mph to Worsham’s 4.018 at 323.04. Lee outran Jon Capps and Joe Haas in the opening rounds to face Worsham, who had defeated John Smith and Bobby Bode.
“The team did an outstanding job all weekend, zero mistakes,” said Lee. “I give it to my guys: [crew chief] Jon Schaffer, Seth Randall, 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.”
For the second time this year, Jason Harris will have the opportunity to win a million dollars. In the IHRA Triple Crown Pro Mod final, Harris used a 3.567-second pass in his “Party Time” ’69 Camaro to track down Jacob McNeal, who left first with a .004 reaction time but couldn’t quite hold onto the lead with a 3.599. Harris took home $100,000 with the win in the 31-car field.
Harris also had a shot a million-dollar payday after winning the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals, the first race of the Drag Illustrated Winter Series, in December.
“I’ve been .012, [.015], and .019,” said Harris regarding his reaction times in the final few rounds. “I know Jacob’s a heck of a driver on the leave. What can I say? Harts Charger, TKM, ProLine, Hoosier Race Tires, ChemSource…I got a ton of sponsors. Southern Diamond Company’s stood behind me. I’m probably the one person they didn’t want to see win this because I’ve probably got the best chance at the million. I’ve already had a chance at a million one time this year and it didn’t work out, but this is a dream come true and I gotta thank God, my family, my crew, Brandon Stroud. I can’t be happier.”
By just under six-thousandths of a second (.0058 MOV), John DeFlorian defeated Jeremy Huffman in the Mountain Motor Pro Stock final round to take home $50,000 and secure his chance to win $1 million later this season. Although Huffman grabbed a slight starting line advantage – .002 to .020 – DeFlorian’s 4.052 at 177.30 mph was just enough to sneak by Huffman’s 4.076 by the slimmest of margins.
The MMPS class was as competitive as ever all weekend, with 26 cars attempting to make the 16-car field. By Friday night, the qualified field was separated by just five hundredths of a second, with exactly half the drivers running 4.10-second passes.
In an all-Dietsch Pro Stock final round, Taylor Dietsch ran a 4.865 at 148.66 mph to defeat his father, Jason, and earn his shot at a million-dollar payday later this year. The win was a bit of redemption for Taylor, who lost to his dad in the final round at this same track last year.
Winners in the IHRA Triple Crown supporting classes included Jason Scruggs (Outlaw Pro Mod), Jody Austin (Fuel Altered), Rachel Curl (Top Alcohol Dragster), Phil Esz (Top Alcohol Funny Car), Mitch Brown (Top Fuel Motorcycle), Ryan Peery (Nitro Harley), and Anthony Rhodes (Hemi Shootout).
The IHRA Triple Crown will conclude Sept. 10-13 with a massive double event at Maple Grove Raceway. The first race will take place on Thursday and Friday, with the final event in the series culminating on Saturday and Sunday. If any of the five winners from Hebron, Ohio can take home the trophies at both of the final two races, they will earn a $1 million bonus.
This story was originally published on June 22, 2026. 
The post Tatum, Lee, Harris, DeFlorian, and T. Dietsch Earn Their Opportunity for $1 Million at IHRA Triple Crown first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
