{"id":104563,"date":"2026-08-14T17:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T17:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/hilton-westerfield-and-seraphine-take-nitro-titles-at-firebird-raceways-55th-bi-mart-nightfire-nationals-williamson-dominates-pro-mod\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T17:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T17:44:11","slug":"hilton-westerfield-and-seraphine-take-nitro-titles-at-firebird-raceways-55th-bi-mart-nightfire-nationals-williamson-dominates-pro-mod","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/hilton-westerfield-and-seraphine-take-nitro-titles-at-firebird-raceways-55th-bi-mart-nightfire-nationals-williamson-dominates-pro-mod\/","title":{"rendered":"Hilton, Westerfield and Seraphine Take Nitro Titles at Firebird Raceway\u2019s 55th Bi-Mart Nightfire Nationals; Williamson Dominates Pro Mod"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fifty-five years after Twig Zeigler won the first nitro title at the inaugural Nightfire Nationals, a pack of nitro beasts descended on the grounds of Firebird Raceway to do battle in three nitro classes, each looking to take home that coveted Diamond Wally trophy. While the temps were pushing high 90s all weekend, the overflow crowd packed the stands for Friday and Saturday night nitro action under the lights. The heavy hitters from the NHRA Heritage Series were on site in full force, with a whopping 27 nitro entries split between Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Fuel Altered, plus a dozen of the West\u2019s best Pro Mods.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Funny Car action, Shane Westerfield led qualifying with a 5.60 shot in the Bardahl Camaro, while the hot-of-late Jerry Espeseth Atlas entry landed No. 2 with a great 5.65. Current points leader Nathan Sitko\u2019s Bubble-Up Pacemaker Firebird and Norwalk Blue Suede Cruise winner Eily Stafford in the \u201cCalifornia Hustler\u201d rounded out the top four with a 5.69 and 5.73, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Come elimination time, Westerfield lived up to his reputation as a premier nitro pilot, running 5.59 on a single in round one, then masterfully pedaling his way to victory with 6.74 and 6.97 passes over Todd Plate and Jon Capps to make the final. Sitko, sporting the retro livery of the famed \u201c240 Gordie\u201d Bonin Pacemaker (Bonin won this race in 1980) downed Tony Jurado in the semis after a 5.78 bye run in round 2, to set the stage for the final. While the matchup was the same as last year\u2019s Funny Car final, the results this time were different as Westerfield\u2019s on-point 5.77 took down the solid-but-second 6.01 by Sitko. Last year\u2019s NHRA Heritage Funny Car Champ, Shane Westerfield, has won his first 2026 NHRA Heritage series event\u2026in August.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Top Fuel action,\u00a0the<\/em>\u00a0two heavyweight contenders, Tyler Hilton and Pete Kaiser, resumed their 2026 points chase battle. While Hilton stumbled at Bowling Green, the champ got off the deck at Norwalk with a big win and came to Boise with the ship righted. As expected, Hilton and Kaiser dominated qualifying with Hilton and the \u201cGreat Expectations III\u201d team blasting a fantastic 5.68 to take the top spot, followed by KFR\u2019s 5.77 clip. Bowling Green upstarts, the Revolution Top Fuel Team out of Quakertown, Pennsylvania, towed to Firebird to prove they are no one-trick pony. And prove it they did as Gerald Hangey hung an all-time best 5.84 at a jaw-dropping 262 mph on the board for the No. 3 spot. Bobby Cottrell, the man who has won the Nightfire Funny Car title four times, ran a Top Fuel personal best 250 mph pass in qualifying fourth with a 5.94. The field was rounded out by Austin \u201cDouble A\u201d Arnerich\u2019s 6.19.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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In round one, Hangey took out Cottrell\u2019s up-in-smoke pass with a booming 5.80 at 263.36, setting top speed of the meet, his best ET and mph to date. Kaiser downed a valiant effort by Arnerich, with a solid 5.88 over AA\u2019s best of show, a 6.00 at 231. Hangey\u2019s victory did not come without a cost as the Revolution team, with crew chief Frank \u201cThe Heat\u201d McBee and the gang, thrashed to make the semifinal call. Suiting up in the lanes, Hangey tried, but could not duplicate his big Bowling Green victory as the champ, Tyler Hilton, plastered a 5.74 on him for the win. The Kaiser vs. Hilton showdown in the final, the clash of the Top Fuel titans, never materialized, as Kaiser broke after the hit, coasting and watching Hilton\u2019s 5.78 at 256 for the win. Hilton won his fourth straight Nightfire Nationals Top Fuel title.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In late October 2025, Brandon Seraphine completed his NHRA Heritage Nitro license in his \u201cSpare Change\u201d Bantam Fuel Altered. In 2026, Seraphine came to Nightfire undefeated in competition, having won the March Meet and the Fuel Altered Chaos events. Could the kid do it again? Well, in a word, yes. In two words, hell yes. Seraphine set the stage for victory at Nightfire, qualifying No. 1 with a 5.98 (corrected to a 6.01 on a 6.00 index), taking out the legendary Rodney Flournoy in round one, thus earning a bye into the finals. <\/p>\n

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The other baddest Altered in all the land, Vince Karstetter and the \u201cCherry Picker,\u201d qualified No. 2 with a corrected 6.032 at a top speed of the event for all nitro, 264 mph. Karstetter dispatched the always-ready James Day in round one, then delivered a stellar 6.006 at 247 mph to take out 2025\u2019s AA\/FA 6.0 champion, Mathew Leonard in the Nitro Rat\u2019s game 6.11. In the final, Karstetter ripped a 6.05 pass to Seraphine\u2019s 6.16\u2026but the tree told the story. The \u201cCherry Picker\u201d had red lit, and Seraphine took the win, his third straight in an undefeated 2026 season to date.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The Pro Mod story at Nightfire was once again written by Bret Williamson, making his third straight final round in the class. Williamson qualified No. 1 and buried all comers en route to a victory over Rich Fiechter in the final. The Williamson silver bullet was dominant all weekend, running low ET in virtually every testing session, every qualifying session, and every elimination round. Noteworthy too was the return of Dennis Radford in his Bob Lambeck tribute entry, qualifying No. 3 at 3.92 and going rounds on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The New family, owners and operators of the famed Firebird facility, proved once again that nitro at night is king, as the grandstands and pits were stuffed to see header flames under the lights live as they were meant to be\u2026until next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cDouble A\u201d Austin Arnerich made his season debut at the Nightfire Nationals, in the Davis Motorsports dragster running a solid 6.00 in the first round of eliminations.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Tim Boychuk\u2019s swoopy new \u201969 Barracuda stages during round one of the Nightfire Nationals before a packed house.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Jon Capps and the first-in-the-5.40s Matthews Motorsports Funny Car made things interesting , taking out Eily Safford in round 2. Capps got narrowly beat to the stripe in the semis in a pedal-fest losing on a holeshot with a 6.95.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Bobby Cottrell and the No Inheriten$e Top Fuel team qualified #4 in the Top Fuel field. The four-time Nightfire Funny Car champ ran his Top Fuel best speed with a 250 MPH pass.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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James Day and the always legit Burkholder Bros AA\/FA under the lights. Day\u2019s weekend best in round one, a 6.44, came up short against the Cherry Picker.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The two Top Fuel heavyweights duke it out in qualifying. Pete Kaiser and Tyler Hilton landed #1 and #2 on the ladder and would meet in the final.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Vince Karstetter\u2019s Cherry Picker set top speed of the meet for all of Nitro with a 264.55 MPH pass. Here the car tests out a new wing setup that was quickly shelved.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Jerry Espeseth once again had another great qualifying outing in the Atlas Camaro, landing #3 with a 5.65. The car broke on the hit in round 2, ending its weekend.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Mathew Leonard and the Nitro Rat ran a great 6.11 in the semis, but was beaten by Vince Karstetter\u2019s near perfect 6.006.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Second-gen nitro pilot Travis Shumake boils the hides in the Loper-esque Lil\u2019 Hoss tribute \u201977 Firebird.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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It may not have been pretty, but it worked\u2026Shane Westerfield parlayed a 2nd round 6.74 and a semi-final 6.97 on his way to the Nightfire Funny Car title. And yes, he also ran the quickest ET of all nitro cars with a 5.59 as well.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Gerald Hangey and the Revolution Top Fuel team made the big tow to Boise from Pennsylvania and delivered the goods, running an all-time best 5.80 at 263 on his way to a semi-final finish.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Tony Jurado and his Capital Punishment Camaro parlayed a string of great passes into a season\u2019s best semi-final appearance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Dennis Radford returned to Pro Mod competition with the spectacular Bob Lambeck tribute, landing #3 on the qualifying ladder.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Tyler Hilton lights it up on his way to a fourth Straight Nightfire Top Fuel title.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Pete Kaiser and the KFR team came to Nighfire after a big win at Bowling Green, looking to make some moves in the points chase. Kaiser qualified #2 and looked the part of the people\u2019s champ, but broke in the final round, settling for a runner-up finish.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Brandon Seraphine\u2019s Spare Change Fuel Altered charged to a third straight AA\/FA title with his Nightfire win.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Nathan Sitko, last year\u2019s Nightfire Nationals Funny Car champ, ran a string of 5.70s in eliminations to make the final, but an off pace 6.01 would not be enough to take down the Bardahl Green Monster of Shane Westerfield.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Bret Williamson launches wheels up at the Nightfire Nationals on his way to his second straight Pro Mod title.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Coming off her first Funny Car title win in Norwalk, Eily Stafford and Don Nelson\u2019s California Hustler were ready to rock in Boise. Stafford qualified #5 with a career-best 5.67 but lost a close one in round 2 to Jon Capps.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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This story was originally published on August 14, 2026. \"Drag<\/p>\n

The post Hilton, Westerfield and Seraphine Take Nitro Titles at Firebird Raceway\u2019s 55th Bi-Mart Nightfire Nationals; Williamson Dominates Pro Mod<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fifty-five years after Twig Zeigler won the first nitro title at the inaugural Nightfire Nationals, a pack of nitro beasts descended on the grounds of Firebird Raceway to do battle in three nitro classes, each looking to take home that coveted Diamond Wally trophy. While the temps were pushing high 90s all weekend, the overflow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104563\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}