Imstar, Maryland International Raceway's exclusive sport compact drag racing series, was back in action on Sunday, September 13, for its seventh annual Fall Nationals - year in and out one of the most anticipated events in the Northeast. Weather was perfect for the seasonal tuner affair that included a burnout contest, custom car show, bikini contest and vendor midway, in addition to the racing.

The competition was fierce at times, with stakes as high as $1,000 in some classes.

In All-Motor Street Class, Summer Nats winner Randy Owens paced the seven qualifiers in his Civic with an 11.025-second pass at 121.96mph, less than three-tenths ahead of Cheryl McCullough's Honda. Loan Nguyen in the Prayoonto Racing ClutchMasters Civic was also among leaders, qualifying third with an 11.487.

Nguyen would get upset in the first round of eliminations, falling to No. 6 James Courtney after she was unable to make it down the track. That let Courtney advance to the semifinals to face McCullough, who pretty much smoked her opponent, 11.225 at 120.47 to 13.128 at 89.64. The other side of the bracket had Owens handling No. 4 qualifier Gray Milteer with relative ease.

The money round was about as exciting as they come, as Owens got the hole shot for the early lead. McCullough reeled him in, though, and only just nipped her challenger at the end, No. 2 upsetting No. 1 with an 11.232 at 120.10 to 11.474 at 121.15.

The 10-car True Street division also put on some great racing, with Summer Nats titlist Freddy Clark commandingly atop the qualifying heap in his CR-X. Behind Clark's 9.917, Chris Kremer and his Supra took the second spot with a 10.475, and almost another second further back in third sat Matt Dawdy's Civic.

Four qualifier Mike Dean was the one to watch in the first two rounds, though. In his first eliminator, he left the line .050 seconds after foe Joe Simpson, the group's No. 7 qualifier in his Honda, and barely eclipsed Simpson as the competitors crossed the stripe, 11.717 to 11.795. In the next round, Dean's lucky streak continued as Dawdy triggered the red light, handing the victory to Dean.

Dean's fortunes would turn in the semis, as he drew Clark and simply was outgunned, losing with a 12.211 (Dean's slowest time of the day) to his opponent's 10.037. Kremer byed into the finale to face Clark, and the pair put on a thriller, Clark nabbing the hole-shot victory with a slower 10.764 e.t. to Kremer's 10.729;had it not been for Clark's .164-to-.267 advantage off the line, another number-two qualifier would have upset the number one.

The biggest field at the Fall Nationals resided in the Wild Street class, a 13-car group led in qualifying by Summer Nats victor Chris Miller in his Civic. Miller recorded an 8.955 at 165.03, two-tenths quicker than Jason Hunt's Cobalt (9.172) and Jonathan Reynold's Integra (9.175). Kevin Van Natten was another half second adrift in his SRT-4.

The first round of eliminations began with five qualifier Mat Keller getting the hole-shot win in his Honda against Marcos Hernandez's Civic;Keller cut an amazing .097 reaction time and needed every fraction of it to escape Hernandez, who lost with a lower 10.512 to Keller's 10.686. Keller kept going in the second round, trailering Van Natten's Dodge with a 10.360 to 10.676.

Keller's car and bid ran out of steam against Miller, as did Hunt's against Reynold's in the other semifinal. Thus one faced three in the final, but the round was decided before anyone could cross the finish line - Reynold's fouled, handing Miller the W.

Summer Nationals class winner Matt Ivan in his Volkswagen again paced the seven qualifiers of the Street Stock division, clocking a 12.597 at 106.61. Less than a half second behind him was No. 2 qualifier Tim Jessilonis in his VW and No. 3 Jason Proctor with his Maxima.

Proctor had a scare in the first eliminator after six qualifier Christopher Ray and his Acura closed fast at the top end;Proctor was able to hold him off, however, 12.916 to Ray's 13.059. The Nissan and its driver had only a slightly easier go at it in the semis against the higher-qualifying Jessilonis;Proctor beat him with a 12.890 to Jessilonis' 13.083. Meanwhile, Ivan in the other bracket ended Steven Lusby's run in his Sentra.

This set up the Ivan-Proctor money round, which was pretty much all Ivan. He left first, topped out at a faster 106.71mph, and won the class with a 12.678 e.t. to Proctor's 14.371.

Imstar competitors now gear up for the big import-versus-domestic showdown at MIR November 7 to 8, the 14th Annual U.S. Army World Cup Finals. For more on the event, go to www.importvsdomestic.com/, and for updates on future Imstar races, head over to www.mirdrag.com/imstar.

2009 IMSTAR Fall Nationals

Maryland International Raceway, Mechanicsville, MD

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