It seems Emporia drag racer Gary Stinnett has found a car worth keeping around.
At the Thunder on the Plains NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event in Great Bend this past weekend, Stinnett took home the championship in the Super Stock race for the second time in as many finals appearances this season, and he did it with the same car — a 1992 Camaro — that won him his first title of the season in Dallas.
“We did it again,” Stinnett said of his second consecutive victory. “I have never done that before. We’ve raced that car twice this year, and it’s won both times.
“You can’t win every race, but if you can maintain any kind of pace of that nature, you’re in contention for a divisional or even a world championship.”
In the Super Stock finals, Stinnett faced off against Phil Unruh of McPherson — a customer of Stinnett Automotive in Emporia — and defeated him with a winning time of 9.721 seconds at 133.34 mph.
The victory kept Stinnett perfect in the points race for the world championship, as he has 200 points through two events. Stinnett, who is gunning for his third world championship, said it takes 650-700 points to win a world title.
“Obviously, it keeps me on the potential for a championship season with two victories and no losses,” Stinnett said. “You basically just have to have six more events of almost that good.”
In the Super Comp division, Stinnett wound up as a semifinalist. He now has 177 points after two Super Comp events.
Stinnett Automotive Racing picked up another victory over the weekend when 19-year-old Luke Siebert defeated Troy Henderson of Tecumseh in the Stock Eliminator event. It was the first time Siebert has participated in an NHRA divisional event. It also was the debut race for his car — a 1969 Camaro.
“We obviously had an outstanding weekend of success,” Stinnett said.