2022 Rancho Transaxles Super Pro Champion
Congratulations to Rick Lazar for taking home the 2022 Rancho Transaxles Super Pro Championship. Rick had to win the final race of the year to win the championship and he did it in exciting fashion. Congrats to Rick, his family and his team for such an amazing win.
2022 Atomizer Racing Injectors Pro Outlaw Champion
Our 2022 Atomizer Fuel Systems Pro Outlaw Champion is Spencer Smith. Unfortunately our final race of the year at Waterfest was rained out so Spencer held onto the points lead the entire year and was crowned the champion. We look forward to seeing Spencer and his team in 2023.
2022 Mason Dixon Results
In our Rancho Transaxles Super Pro Class it was Todd Chicklo taking the win over Jimmy Boone.
Also in our Atomizer Fuel Systems Pro Outlaw class it was Brad Mcbride taking the win over John Laspisa.
The weather was beautiful. It never got above 82 degrees. It was sunny and a nice breeze. The race track was absolutely JAM PACKED. This is the GO TO EVENT of the year. I can’t wait until next year for an even bigger better event.
Thank you Scott Pocaro for all of your hard work in making this so successful.
2022 June Bug Results
Our 2022 kicked off in Maple Grove for the annual June Bug event. We kicked off the day with our Rancho Transaxles Super Pro class. Our 2018 champion Eric Hengstenberger made the long drive from Ohio and looked to kick off the day in his winning ways. Unfortunately, he faced off against Dennis Miller from in the second round. Eric was a little late off the line and Dennis took the win and had a bye run into the final round. Scott Pocaro made the trip from New Jersey and was driving a borrowed car and made it to the finals to face off against Dennis. Just before the final round began Scott’s car was having transmission issues so Dennis took the easy win and started the year off with the points lead.
In our Atomizer Injectors Pro Outlaw class, we had 7 racers in attendance. This year we tried something new and opted to not do qualifying and instead we would just have 2 rounds of time trials (TNT). At the end of the 2 rounds, we did a chip draw to determine the first-round pairings and from that point forward we would be laddered up. The final round paired Spencer Smith from Pennsylvania versus Ricardo Tolay from New Jersey. Ricardo fell asleep when the tree came down and ended up with a .998 reaction time and ran a 9.782 and lost to Spencer who won on a holeshot with a 10.19 @140mph. Margin of Victory was .035. That is just an insanely close final round. Congratulations to Spencer Smith on his first win and for taking the points lead in the 2022 championship chase.
Our next event will be the Vw Nationals at Mason Dixon on August 13th. Please visit http://vwnationalsinfo.com/ for more information.
2021 Championship Results
Our 2021 Empi Vw Heritage Series championship has come to a close. Even in the middle of a Global Pandemic the turnout and support from the racers was amazing. We even broke attendance records at some of our largest races like the Vw Nationals at Mason Dixon Dragway. First and foremost we couldn't have done any of this without the support of the SPONSORS AND THE RACERS. It was a very uncertain year and none of even knew if we could even go racing. But we all perservered and moved forward and supported as many events as we possibly could and considering the obstacles we had this year it was a mind blowing success. From the bottom of my heart I want to personally thank each and every one of you that supported our race series during this difficult time.
In our Atomizer Fuel Systems sponsored Pro Mod Class it was a tight race coming down to the wire. The battle between Stephen Hawes and Austin Johnson III finally came to a close once qualifying was completed. With a small car count it was mathematically impossible for Austin to catch Stephen. Austin put up his best effort not only out qualifying Stephen but he even made it to the final round of the race. At the end of the day Stephen not only took the win of the event but also captured his first championship at the same time. Congratulations to Stephen Hawes and his entire team on their victory and championship. Also congratulations to Austin and his team for finishing 2nd in the championship and a runner up finish at the event.
In our Rancho Transaxles sponsored Super Pro Class it was long time east coast racer Pete Peek battling it out with Kevin Callahan, Bill Goehring and Rick Lazar heading into the final race of the year. When Pete Peek went out first round it opened up the door for Kevin Callahan to gain some points on the current point leader. Unfortunately for Kevin he was taken out by Rick Lazar who also went on to win the event. Kevin ultimately finished 2nd in points. Unfortunately for Bill Goehring he was unable to attend the event but was able to hold onto 3rd in the championship. Rick Lazar made up a lot of ground in points and finished 4th. Pete Peek was able to secure his first Vw Heritage Series championship with his daughter Megan at his side.
We want to thank all of our sponsors for 2021. Our Title Sponsor EMPI stood by us for 2 years during the pandemic and without them we wouldn't even have a championship series. Also Atomizer Fuel Systems for stepping up and sponsoring the Pro Mod Class and Rancho Transaxles for sponsoring our Super Pro Class. Each and every sponsor we have plays a vital role in helping this series survive. Please be sure to visit our website to see a complete list of sponsors. If you happen to order any parts/service from them please be sure to thank them for their sponsorship. Each and every thank you goes a long way. We wish everyone a safe and wonderful off season and we will see everyone in 2022.
iRev Results
On Saturday September 4th the Empi Sponsored Vw Heritage Series returned to Maryland International Raceway for their season finale. This year we brought 3 classes to showcase the Vw's in front of an import crowd at the iRev (Import Revolution). To kick things off we started with our fastest class which was the Atomizer Racing Injectors Pro Mod Class. After 2 rounds of qualifying new comer Brad Robertson sat in the #1 spot with a 6.21 @ 111mph in his street legal 63' Vw Beetle. Brad would have a bye run in round 1, Stephen Hawes took the win over Reggie Lee and Austin Johnson III took the win over Steve Kesterman. In the Semi Finals Austin had a bye run and Stephen Hawes took the win over Brad. Brad posted a career best run of 5.977 @ 116mph. That's smoking fast for a street legal bug with a side draft carburetor. The finals paired Stephen vs Austin with Stephen taking the win with a 5.593 @ 130mph. Also a HUGE thank you to Cookers Restorations for helping with the purse for this event.
In our Rancho Performance Transaxles Super Pro Class we had a mixed crowd of racers. Some coming all the way from Ohio to take on the locals from Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. In the end it was our 2018 Champion Eric Hengstenberger facing off against Rick Lazar. At the end of the day it was Rick Lazar taking the win. Rick also finished 4th in the championship chase. We also want to thank Dale Adams Racing for sponsoring the purse for this event.
In the Pro Class sponsored by Steven Pocaro Sr. and Jerry Lewis Roofing it was David Snowden Jr taking the win.
7th Annual KP Tuned Vw Nationals
Our EMPI sponsored Heritage Series race at the KPtuned VW Nationals #7 at Mason Dixon Dragway was jammed packed on August 14th. There was a Car Show, Used Parts Vendors, New Parts, and 7 classes to race your Vw.
In our Rancho Transaxles sponsored Super Pro Class we had close to 30 cars at the facility thanks to a joint effort of the Heritage Series and the South Eastern VW Association (SEVWA). This was a points race for both organizations and it has proven to be a great event for the North and South.
In the finals of Super Pro it was Clint Woolard making the trip from North Carolina to face off against the B. McKean from Maryland. Unfortunately for McKean the race was over as soon as he let the clutch out with a -.113 reaction time handing the win over to Clint Woolard. Congratulations to the entire Woolard Drag Racing Team on their win.
In the Atomizer Fuel Systems Pro Mod Class we had a total of 11 entries make the field. At the conclusion of qualifying it was Stephen Hawes sitting in the #1 position with a 5.38 @ 136mph. Followed by #2 qualifier Chris Schaeffer with a 6.17, and #3 qualifier Austin L. Johnson III with a 6.26.
Round 1 Results
Hawes - Bye Run
Reggie Lee over Spencer Smith
Austin L. Johnson III over Rob Gielarowski
Steve Kestermann over John La Spisa
Chris Schaeffer over Todd Howard(Dale Adams)
Paul Wolf over Oscar Ortiz Jr
Round 2 Results
Stephen Hawes over Reggie Lee
Austin L. Johnson III over Steve Kestermann
Chris Schaeffer over Paul Wolf
Semi Finals
Stephen Hawes over Austin L. Johnson III
Chris Schaeffer - Bye Run
Finals
Chris Schaeffer over Stephen Hawes
Congratulations to Chris and his father. They worked by themselves all day in the heat and posted a career best in the finals with a 5.925 @ 116mph to take the win.
Our next event will be on September 4th at Maryland International Raceway in conjunction with the iRev event. We will be campaigning the Super Pro Class and the Pro Mod Class. This will be our final points race of the year so make sure you come out to support because the 2021 EMPI Heritage Series Champions will be awarded. Also a friendly reminder we will be paying all the way down to 4th place in the series this year.
Also a HUGE..... thank you to the one and only Scott Pocaro for bringing the North and South together for one of the largest events we've seen in a long time. Scott works year round promoting this event and his hard work is definitely showing.
Thank you and see everyone on September 4th at MIR.
June Bug 2021 Results
Congratulations to our winners at the Maple Grove June Bug on June 6th, 2021. Kicking off our EMPI sponsored Heritage Series was our Rancho Performance Super Pro Class. Our 2014 champion Eric Hellmuth was faced against Bill Goehring who made the long drive from South Carolina. Bill had the slower dial in with a 7.67 and Eric dialed in with a 7.30. It looks like Eric got tired of waiting and left a little early red lighting with a -.098 to give the win to Bill Goehring. Since this is the first race of the season Bill now has the Super Pro points lead.
In our Atomizer Racing Injectors sponsored Pro Mod Class it was the #1 qualifier of Stephen Hawes faced off against #2 qualifer Ryan McBride who made the long drive all the way from Colorado. This was looking to be the match up of the day as both cars are capable of running deep into the 8's and possibly the 7's. The track was up against a very tight curfew and all of the finals of the day were rushed back up to the staging lanes. The Pro Mod Guys didn't get a lot of cool down time or proper service time to check everything over. Once in the lanes and given the cue to fire up Stephen heard a noise in the engine and shut it down giving Ryan the single in the finals to take the win. Ryan posted his best pass of the day with a 8.732 @ 156mph. Congratulations to Ryan on taking the win and with that he has a 12 point lead over Stephen going into the next race.
We hope to see everyone on August 14th at Mason Dixon Dragway for the 7th Annual Vw Nationals. For more information please visit http://vwnationalsinfo.com/