{"id":93791,"date":"2024-06-04T17:18:26","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T17:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/five-takeaways-from-no-prep-kings-at-national-trail-raceway\/"},"modified":"2024-06-04T17:18:26","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T17:18:26","slug":"five-takeaways-from-no-prep-kings-at-national-trail-raceway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/five-takeaways-from-no-prep-kings-at-national-trail-raceway\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Takeaways from \u2018No Prep Kings\u2019 at National Trail Raceway"},"content":{"rendered":"

It took six events, but Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings<\/em> finally saw its first repeat winner of 2024. Giuseppe Gentile won the Invitational at National Trail Raceway in Hebron, Ohio \u2013 his second victory in as many weekends.<\/p>\n

While Gentile stole the headlines, there were intriguing stories to be found everywhere. Whether it was upsets (Ryan Martin, anyone?), crashes (Tim Brown), or drivers making their season debuts (Brad Eglian, Tony McKinney), Ohio was not short on excitement.<\/p>\n

With that being said, let\u2019s jump right in to my five key takeaways from No Prep Kings <\/em>this past weekend at National Trail Raceway.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Giuseppe Goes Back-to-Back<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nUpshift360 photo<\/div>\n

The first five races of the NPK season featured five different Invitational winners. That\u00a0streak ended at National Trail Raceway, as Giuseppe Gentile won for the second consecutive weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Heading into the event, Gentile was tied for first in points with Justin Swanstrom. And as\u00a0luck would have it, the two met in the finals to see who would leave Ohio alone at the top. For now, Gentile has that honor.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew Justin could pull off a run; he\u2019s done it to us before,\u201d Gentile said in his post-race interview. \u201cHe struggled all weekend and got us in Virginia. We made sure we put enough in it that if he was gonna pull something off, we\u2019d have enough for him this time, and we did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gentile won the coin toss in the finals, allowing him to choose the preferred left lane. It\u2019s hard to say whether it would have mattered, though, as the Gucci Nova was on rails all day long. He defeated top contenders Clay Cole, Kayla Morton, and Robin Roberts on his way to the finals against Swanstrom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chris \u201cBoostedGT\u201d Hamilton even quipped after the race that he\u2019d heard a rumor Gentile could let go of the button and not even touch the steering wheel on his runs. While that got quite a few laughs, the performance so far this season by Gentile and his team is no joke. He\u2019s made the finals in three of the six races so far this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to \u201cStat Guy\u201d Chris LeCLoux, Gentile is also only the fifth driver in NPK history to win back-to-back Invitationals \u2013 joining James \u201cBirdman\u201d Finney, Ryan Martin, Lizzy Musi, and Kye Kelley. While I don\u2019t know if he can keep up that type of torrid pace, Gentile has to be considered the favorite right now to win the championship, and he\u2019s got all the pieces in place to do just that.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cChris Michael owns the car, and he put this team together for this bad ass hot rod, made sure we had all the right parts,\u201d said Gentile. \u201cThe tuner that\u2019s tuning this thing from home, Job Spetter, has never even seen this car, and he\u2019s doing an awesome job. We\u2019ve been working our asses off, and it\u2019s paying off.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Martin Switches Cars, Wins Second-Chance Bracket<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chris Sears photo<\/p>\n

Ryan Martin was full of surprises this weekend \u2013 and not all of them were good. After a final-round appearance last weekend in Kansas City with the screw-blown Fireball Camaro (which he\u2019s driven all season), Martin arrived in Ohio with his ProCharger-powered Gray Car.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not entirely sure what prompted the change \u2013 the Fireball Camaro has performed well this year \u2013 but the initial results certainly weren\u2019t what I expected. Martin fell in Friday\u2019s qualification round to Clay Cole, meaning for the first time this year, he found himself in the \u201closer\u2019s bracket\u201d on Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If I was shocked to see Murder Nova competing in the second-chance race last week at Flying H Drag Strip, I\u2019m not even sure what word describes my reaction to seeing Martin in it. It\u2019s simply not something you see from this team. But much like Murder Nova did a week ago, Martin made the most of the situation, turning a setback into a win.<\/p>\n

Martin ran through the field, defeating Tony McKinney, Scott Taylor, and Birdman to win $5,000. He also earned 12 points, allowing him to remain fourth in the standings, 55 points out of first.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bobby Ducote Continues to Impress<\/strong><\/p>\n

Danny Stogner photo<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most impressive driver I\u2019ve seen raise their game so far this season is Bobby Ducote. With a semifinal finish in Ohio, Ducote elevated himself into fifth place in the point standings. And with the way his car is performing, I wouldn\u2019t be surprised to see him continue battling for a top-five finish this year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, we have been the underdog for so long that we used to have to guess (the light) to try and win,\u201d admitted Ducote. \u201cThat reputation stuck with us, but now people are seeing we have a hot rod that will finally compete. It feels freaking awesome to see myself in the top five of the baddest SOB\u2019s out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ducote is easily recognizable in his bright orange Pontiac Firebird, powered by a Henson Racing Engines Hemi with a ProCharger and Suncoast 3-speed transmission. During the offseason, he installed a lot of upgrades to try and keep up in the ultra-competitive NPK series, and they\u2019re paying immediate dividends.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMerillat Racing built me a nice, safe hot rod with an awesome drivetrain capable of running with the rest of these guys,\u201d Ducote said. \u201cHaving my buddy Scott Taylor on the laptop along with all my crew guys \u2013 Tony, Gio, Pops, Bobby Sr., Joe, and Marty \u2013 has helped a ton. We have put the dollars up and the work in to be able to compete. We will continue to push forward until we win one repping Team NOLA.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Consistency is Key for Roberts<\/strong><\/p>\n

David Hilner photo<\/p>\n

Speaking of points, one driver who is quietly inserting himself right into the thick of the points battle is Robin Roberts. Despite not having an Invitational win under his belt yet this season, Roberts\u2019 consistency has him currently sitting third in the standings, behind only Giuseppe Gentile and Justin Swanstrom.<\/p>\n

Roberts made it to the semifinals in Ohio, where he fell to eventual event winner Gentile. In the three points races contested this year, Roberts has two semifinal appearances and one quarterfinal finish.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Perhaps most impressive is that Roberts is one of only two drivers this season \u2013 along with Kye Kelley \u2013 who has yet to lose in the qualification round. That means he has been in Saturday\u2019s winner\u2019s bracket at every event this year, allowing him to earn maximum points.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the type of consistency needed to win a championship. Roberts is no stranger to\u00a0<\/p>\n

winning the Invitational, and I believe it\u2019s a matter of when, not if, he does it again this season. But regardless, he\u2019s already put himself in a great position to contend for the $150,000 prize at the end of the year.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

B-Rad Makes Long-Awaited Return\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nStat Guy photo<\/div>\n

One of the best stories to come out of Ohio was the return of Brad Eglian \u2013 better known as B-Rad \u2013 in \u201cLuminasty,\u201d his Chevy Lumina. Always a fan-favorite, this was Eglian\u2019s first NPK appearance since his horrific crash in last year\u2019s season finale.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Eglian suffered numerous injuries in the incident at the Texas Motorplex, including ten broken ribs, a fractured shoulder, and a broken leg. Issues with his oil line caused the fluid to spray under his car, sending him across the center line and directly into the wall. Eglian was knocked out by the impact, stating he doesn\u2019t remember anything after that point.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Eglian has a passionate fanbase, he does not have the financial means to field a backup car like some other teams do. For months, he\u2019s been recovering while he and his team worked on rebuilding the car themselves. In fact, the car wasn\u2019t even running yet when they pulled into National Trail Raceway.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat an amazing feeling of accomplishment getting this car ready to race,\u201d Eglian said. \u201cWe are not chassis builders. We spent the last 10 weeks building this thing. Many said it would never be finished, but that was my driving force. We finished the car at the track Friday, so we missed the two test hits. My first pass in the car since the crash was first round.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite an opening-round loss to James Goad (\u201cReaper\u201d) and another defeat in the second-chance bracket to Birdman (Eglian shut off early both passes), just seeing B-Rad back at the track was an incredible moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made some adjustments (on Saturday) with the four-link and moving weight around,\u201d said Eglian. \u201cWe made it to the 330, and wow, was it straight and fast already! I think we are ready next week to make full passes and tune this thing in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next Up:<\/strong>No Prep Kings<\/em> heads to Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky this weekend for the fourth points race of the season.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published on June 4, 2024. <\/p>\n

The post Five Takeaways from \u2018No Prep Kings\u2019 at National Trail Raceway<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It took six events, but Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings finally saw its first repeat winner of 2024. Giuseppe Gentile won the Invitational at National Trail Raceway in Hebron, Ohio \u2013 his second victory in as many weekends. While Gentile stole the headlines, there were intriguing stories to be found everywhere. Whether it was upsets […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93791","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"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93791\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}