BURNDOWN AT SUNDOWN

JOLIET – Fans who enjoy the spectacle of late-night fire on the track might have had their money’s worth as Route 66 Raceway hosted its three-day Burndown at Sundown at Saturday evening’s festivities in Joliet.

A variety of jet-propelled cars lit up the night sky at nearly 300 mph in what was billed as the most explosive night of drag racing at the a frequently used drag racing facility.

The event concluded Sunday with title races in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series North Central Division’s Burndown at Sundown.

In the Top Alcohol Dragster division, Channahon’s Matt Sackman won the title over Julie Nataas. It was the debut in Top Alcohol Dragster for Sackman, a 25-year-old Top Dragster driver who is a cylinder head specialist on Antron Brown’s Matco Tools/U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster.

Sackman and Nataas had the top two times after Saturday’s qualifying.

Sackman ran 5.357 seconds at
273.83 mph while Nataas went 5.414 seconds at 275.17 mph in the finals.

Both Sackman brothers competed in the same event for the first time since they were in junior dragsters. Zach Sackman had the fourth-best time in qualifying in Top Dragster.

Matt Sackman earned his Top Alcohol license in 2015 but hadn’t been able to compete in an event because of his work schedule. However, an open week allowed him to compete at the track near his home, and Randy Meyer Racing had a car available that he could use.

Because Nataas competes for that same team, the finals was a clash of two cars from Randy Meyer Racing.

Zach Sackman, a winner during last year's NHRA Route 66 Nationals weekend, entered the weekend in the top 5
in the NHRA Division 3 Top Dragster after winning the previous week in Indianapolis and capturing a May race in Norwalk.

Other winners included Tyler Scott (Top Alcohol Funny Car), Troy Galbraith (Competition Eliminator), Jeff Dona (Super Stock), Ryan Rudrick (Super Eliminator), Danny Waddle Jr. (Top Dragster), Mike Sowards (Top Sportsman), Tony Elrod (Super Comp), Jacob Elrod (Super Gas), Dalton Deffenbaugh (Super Street) and Glenn Hall (Pro Stock Snowmobile).

Two other Illinois drivers reached the finals but claimed second place: North Aurora’s Greg Meyer (Super Stock) and Manito’s Larry Bernshausen (Super Comp).