Drew Austin and Jim Maroney earn final

The weather looked daunting and ominous heading into the 52nd Ignitor presented by The Blower Shop at Firebird Raceway. The Nitro Opener in western Idaho hosted the second stop in the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series for the Funny Car division.

After three rounds of qualifying the field of 13 cars were whittled down to the 8 quickest, which included: 1. Tim Boychuk (5.71), 2. Brad Thompson (5.71), 3. Kris Krabill (5.72), 4. Ryan Hodgson (5.75), 5. Billy Morris (5.78), 6. Michael Peck Jr. (5.78), 7. Jim Maroney (5.83) and 8. Drew Austin (5.86).

Round one saw Austin beat Boychuk; Maroney stopped Thompson; Krabill recorded low e.t. of the meet at 5.71 to crush Peck Jr.; and Hodgson drilled Morris. In the final four, Austin outran Hodgson 5.78 to a 5.89; and Maroney upended Krabill with a 6.01.

Shortly after the semi's concluded, a major thunder and lightning storm (the seventh of the weekend!) blew into the facility, ending any chance to finish the final round. The Funny Car title bout will move to the Nightfire Nationals and be run in conjunction with the Heritage final qualifying session on Saturday night, Aug. 5.

Sportsman champions at the Ignitor included: Gary Bullington (Super Pro), Andy Schmall (Pro), Chris Townsend (Sportsman), and Michael Pinkston (Motorcycle).