Busy Labor Day Weekend at the PCMS Dragstrip

It was a busy weekend for the PCMS crew over the Labor Day weekend. With races on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, as well as the fundraiser banquet on Saturday night.

On Saturday, the Quick 16 was run. The quickest eight qualifying door cars and the quickest eight qualifying dragsters.

Both sides paired off in bracket racing until it came down to the fastest door car vs. the fastest dragster.

On the door car side, it came down to Wayne Solberg vs John Enno, with Enno winning with a .012 reaction time and an elapsed time of 5.8937 vs a dial-in of 5.89. Solberg had a quicker reaction time with a .0134, but was just a bit off on his dial-in with an ET of 5.3656 vs a dial-in of 5.33.

On the dragster side, it was Britney Thornton vs Garret Neiffer. Thornton won it when Neiffer red-lit at the line with a -.0056 reaction time. Thornton ran an ET of 4.7907 vs a dial-in of 4.78 and had a reaction time of .012.

The final was a very close race between Thornton and Enno. Thornton won it off the line with a better reaction time. A .004 vs Enno’s .0152 was the difference.

Thornton, a 20-year-old from Lewistown, who has been racing since the age of eight starting in the junior class and graduated to the dragster in the last four years said, “That was a fun race, I just had to concentrate on my race. I had to stay focused on that.”

Saturday night, the PCMS held their annual fundraiser banquet at Malta City Hall.

PCMS President Dan Stout said, “Overall it was a good night. Attendance was down quite a bit this year, but those that were there gave a lot.”

PCMS Financial Director Jacy Stolem echoed Stout. “We had 103 tickets sold this year. That number is usually around 200. That being said, our car races that night were only $525 off of the total that we had for 2019, and one car sold for $2,700! The 50/50 was down from 2019, but the silent auction wasn’t too big of a difference from 2019 either. Everyone seemed to have a really fun time.”

On Sunday, the Junior Dragster Ironman was held as well as a regular points race for the other classes.

The Junior Ironman was won by Ava Lloyd, from Glasgow. She beat Blake Lloyd in the final when Blake’s dragster had a problem on the line and wouldn’t get going. Ava had a RT of .0878 and an ET of 8.3356 with a dial-in of 8.22.

In the Sportsman Division, Duane Lloyd beat Tim Secord right off the line with an RT of .0758 vs a .2307.

In the Pro Division, Jake Hentges beat Larry Lloyd in a very close race. Hentges had a RT of .0410 with an ET of 7.8929 and a dial-in of 7.87 vs Lloyd’s RT of .0610 with an ET of 6.4426 and a dial-in of 6.42.

In the Super Pro Division, Jesse Dobson of Scobey beat John Enno of Williston, ND. Both drivers broke out, meaning they ran faster than their dial-ins, with Dobson running closer to his dial-in to get the win. Dobson had a RT of .0226 with an ET of 5.3054 and a dial-in of 5.31. Enno had a RT of .0147, an ET of 6.1686, and a dial-in of 6.19. This is the third time that these two have met in the final round this year, and the second win for Dobson.

Dobson said, “It’s always a close race with him(Enno). And it’s always great to pull into victory lane.”

Dobson added, “I want to thank all of my sponsors, Stahl Seed Cleaning, Big’s Performance Carburetors, Nemont, Cahill Seeds, Thievin Autobody, and Summers Red Angus. And the biggest thanks to my wife Shalece and my biggest fan Hayzen.”

Monday was this year’s Ironman competition for each division.

In the Sportsman Division, Ann Stahl of Glasgow beat Holly Haas from Havre in the final. Stahl had a RT of .0791 and ran an ET of 9.6364 with a dial-in of 9.61.

Stahl said, “This was a lot of fun. We used to race all the time, but quit a couple of years ago. My husband put this car together for me, he just finished it a couple of weeks ago. It’s my original race car. A 1981 Camaro.”

Stahl gets bragging rights in the family, beating her son in the semi-finals.

In the Pro Division, Jason Erfle of Billings beat out Dustin Ruhkamp of Havre off the line in a close race. Erfle had a RT of .0363 and an ET of 6.3838 with a dial-in of 6.34 vs Ruhkamps RT of .0960 and ET of 6.3815 and dial-in of 6.40.

In the Super Pro Division, John Enno won a really close race against Malta’s own Rick Starkey. Enno had a RT of .0268 and an ET of 6.3680 with a dial-in of 6.35. Starkey had a RT of .0267, an ET of 6.1969 with a dial-in of 6.15.

The PCMS will host its Big Money Weekend and last races of the year this weekend, Sept. 18 and 19.