The fourth event of the WDRA Summit Bracket Finals presented by Laris Motorsports Insurance series was contested at Mid Michigan Motorplex as the facility hosted their neighboring Northern racers for a weekend full of camaraderie and competition. In addition to the home team, drivers from US 131 Motorsports Park, The Ubly Dragway, Lapeer International Dragway, Northern Michigan Dragway, Grand Bend Motorplex, St. Thomas Dragway, Shannonville Drags, and an assortment of racers dubbed the Outlaws, battled throughout the main event to earn points for their respective teams. When the burnout smoke cleared, US 131 Motorsports Park earned the Northern Team Championship with 82 points, followed by Mid Michigan with 63, the Outlaws (41), Northern Michigan (40), Team Canada (34), Ubly (12, and Lapeer with 6 points.
After all the competitors completed their time run, eliminations began with the Fuel Factory Race of Champions on Friday. Jim Ribble from Lapeer secured the Box class victory over Will Crawford from US 131. Dan Synder had a three-thousandths starting line advantage to take the win for Northern Michigan over Ubly’s Warren Smith in the No Box ranks. Mid Michigan claimed the Junior Dragster victory as Ean Guenthardt’s green light shined while Vince Tiburzi from US 131 lit up a .009 red light. James Persinger from Northern Michigan used a .011 reaction time to take the Sportsman win over Jeff Talbot, who was representing Team Canada.
The action continued on Friday with a Gamblers Race for each class, where Mid Michigan Motorplex found four drivers in the final rounds. Kelly Smith had the starting line advantage with a .015 bulb but broke out at the finish line beside fellow Mid Michigan racer, Derek Gillman, who ran dead on with a nine for the Box victory. No Box was the only class without a home track advantage, as Bill Faulkner from Lapeer earned the double breakout win over former WDRA No Box World Champion Donnie Hagar. Ryden Selleck from the Outlaw team had a slightly better reaction time, but Lucas Ramsey ran closer to his dial in to take the Junior Dragster win for Mid Michigan. Another double breakout race resulted in Trevor Monroe from Northern Michigan earning the Sportsman win over Chris Mesbergen (Mid Michigan).
Main Event winners in each class would earn cash, a WDRA Champion card, a WDRA Rod Trophy, and eligible Champions would receive an invitation to the WDRA Summit World Championships presented by SunCoast Performance. It was an all-US-131 Box final round, with only five thousandths separating the reaction times and Ernie Goodson taking the $5,000 win over Bernie Vanderploeg. US 131 claimed another No Box Champion when Rorric Russell left Mid Michigan’s Kyle Yacko mathematically ineligible for the $5,000 payday. Mid Michigan seized the Sportsman victory over US 131 as Chris Mesbergen turned his .018 light into a .012 margin of victory over Kyle Bushouse. The Outlaw drivers dominated the Junior Dragster ranks as Rebekah Peterson earned the $1,000 win over Owen Vanderbrook.
Unfortunately, rain altered the racing schedule, including the completion of a few Main Event classes on Sunday. Saturday’s Gamblers Race also bled over into the Sunday show, where eventually the purse was split in Box, No Box, and the Sportsman classes. US 131 turned on the last win light of the weekend when Lexie Klinger snagged the Junior Dragster Gamblers Race victory over James Peterson of the Outlaws.
Grand Bend Motorplex earned the Track Operator Race win with Kim Arquette behind the wheel. Jeff Gillman received the Best Appearing Open Bodied Car award from Mid Michigan, while Gary Bowman Sr. took home the Best Appearing Full Bodied Car award while representing Northern Michigan. Team Outlaw earned both the Best Appearing Motorcycle and Junior Dragster awards thanks to Jamie Ritsema and Molly Parish, respectively. Ubly Dragway can boast about being the Best Appearing Team while Northern Michigan prepared the Best Decorated Grandstand. Collectively, Team Canada earned the Best Team Spirit award while cheering on the racers all weekend.
The WDRA compass heads South for the remainder of the season as the Southern and Southeast Summit Bracket Finals presented by Laris Motorsports Insurance will be contested prior to the Summit World Championships presented by SunCoast Performance.
This story was originally published on September 30, 2025.
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