Litton, Gallen, Manners dominate Nitro Jam weekend

Words by Larry Crum/IHRA
Photos courtesy IHRA

It was a great day for three individuals on Sunday, May 2, as the stars of Nitro Jam's three professional classes swept the weekend at Rockingham Dragway.

Despite vastly different track conditions from one day to the next Bruce Litton in Top Fuel, Peter Gallen in Prostalgia Nitro Funny car and Michael Manners in Pro Fuel were able to overcome the odds and put together a winning package as the trio swept the pro categories Saturday and Sunday at the Spring Nitro Jam at "The Rock."

In the 39th edition of the Spring Nitro Jam event hot, sticky weather greeted fans and plagued drivers on both days as the extreme heat added an extra dimension to figuring out the tricky track surface. On Saturday the cooler evening temperatures helped calm the storm, but Sunday's heat left teams scrambling.
Still, many of the teams were able to find a happy medium and get down the track with little trouble.

In addition to the three pros that mastered the high temperatures, Sunday produced another batch of winners during the professional rounds as Sheldon Bissessar (Top Dragster) and Ronnie Davis (Top Sportsman) claimed victories in the Harland Sharp Elite 8 Top Sportsman and Top Dragster Shootout.

For Bissessar (Marabella, Trinidad) it was this third consecutive victory in the quick eight program as he defeated Rob McKinley while Davis (Suwanee, Ga.) claimed his first Elite 8 win over Gilmer Hinshaw.

Sportsman winners from Sunday's sportsman national event were John Hochstedler (Top Sportsman) from Niles, Mich., Russell Leach (Top Dragster) from Reading, Pa., Gil Carty Jr. (Super Stock) from Wytheville, Va., Michael Beard (Stock) from Seagrove, N.C., Matt Weston (Quick Rod) from Hendersonville, N.C., Cameron Manuel (Super Rod) from Winston Salem, N.C. and Kenny Underwood (Hot Rod) from Tampa, Fla.

All seven drivers punched their ticket to the 2010 Sportsman Tournament of Champions at the World Finals at Virginia Motorsports Park in the fall. Beard was the only driver of the weekend to double up, winning the rescheduled '09 Tournament of Champions on Friday before winning the national event on Sunday.

During the pro rounds it was clear that the three winners had the perfect combination for Rockingham's tricky surface lead by five-time Rockingham winner Litton.