When in Norwalk at Summit Motorsports Park, you have to think about ice cream. Even the trophies that accompany the NHRA Wally are utilitarian in nature, with ice cream in mind. You wouldn’t expect any less from a facility that is famous for the amount of ice cream you can purchase for a few bucks.
The NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car racer best prepared to enjoy the sweet victory at Norwalk is Phil Esz. Going into the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Phil Esz has an opportunity to double-up in Norwalk and add to his ice cream eating wares. During the previous weekend’s drag racing action at Summit Motorsports Park, Phil won against strong competition in the Cavalcade of Stars race. Along with the NHRA Regional Wally, Bill Bader Jr. awarded Phil and other winners a decorative aluminum ice cream bowl.
“We started off with a new combination this past weekend,” Phil noted looking back on the race weekend. That new combination presented challenges that the team and driver had to overcome. During qualifying and racing action, Phil had to drive through situations that in the past he might not have stuck with to a full pull. “It had the front up about a foot and a half off the ground going left – I hung with it. Two years ago, I probably wouldn’t be able to drive it like that.” That kind of driving and determination rewarded the driver and team with the necessary data to get the UltraSonic Funny Car settled to scoop out the competition in the eight-car regional field.
That field consisted of extremely tough NHRA Top Alcohol competition to go through. Phil Esz defeated Maddi Gordon in round one, the number two car and driver in the world for the 2024 season. In semi-finals action, the ever tough Chip Beverett, was the driver the Phil turned the win-light on against. For the final, it was the reigning and defending NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car Champions, The Killer B’s of Bartone Racing.
In the final, The Sonic Esz, edged out the world champ, Sean Bellemeur, to win at Summit Motorsports Park in the Cavalcade of Stars program. It was Phil leaving first while nearly matching the performance of the Bartone Racing funny car. Sean was quicker at a 5.533 Elapsed Time but barely in their losing effort with team UltraSonic posting a 5.535ET at 263MPH. With a chuckle and a smile, Phil Esz exclaimed, “yeah, we had our bee spray ready for the final round.”
With that regional win and the national event scheduled this weekend, Phil can double up in his home state of Ohio. “It’s quite the experience to race there [Summit Motorsports Park],” is Phil’s thought while being hungry for another win – “We’ve won two in a row [NHRA Regional Wins] and we’re going for three.” With a win, Phil would add the coveted Norwalk Ice Cream Scoop to the trophy collection and complete the ice cream dish set. Phil Esz and team with the UltraSonic NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car are set to compete at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park with the intent of scooping up the national event win.
This story was originally published on June 26, 2025. 
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