Andy Knebel of Pillager is one of 37 drivers named to the Brainerd International Raceway drag racing team that will compete Sept. 16-18 in the NHRA West Central Summit Racing ET Finals at BIR.
Knebel and the BIR team will compete against teams from 21 other tracks in the NHRA's West Central Division, which stretches from Wyoming to Wisconsin and from Colorado to Kansas, including part of Canada. Car counts are expected to be more than 600.
Drivers earned their way onto the team by successfully competing during the first four races in BIR's Bracket Drag Racing Series, which has one race left. Racers on the team are at the top of the points standings in their respective classes.
At the ET Finals race, there will be only five classes competing: Super Pro, Pro ET, Sportsman, Pro Bike and High School. At stake are individual and team honors, prize money and contingency awards. Some drivers have a shot at earning a trip to compete for a national championship in Pomona, Calif., during the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Finals in November.
The trip to Pomona is for the drivers selected to compete in the Race of Champions. Each team identifies one driver in each of the five classes to represent the team in the Race of Champions. On Saturday, those drivers are paired up in an elimination format by class to determine the class champion. Champions advance to compete against the top drivers from the NHRA's other six divisions for a national championship in Pomona.
BIR's team finished sixth last year and sent Toby Giese to Pomona where he won the Pro Bike Class.
"BIR has always had a really competitive team at the ET Finals, and this team could easily take first place in the team competition," BIR owner Jed Copham said in a news release. "The racers in our Bracket Drag Racing Series prove every year that they're some of the top bracket racers in the country and they represent BIR well at the ET Finals. We're excited about the makeup of this team and we're hoping we get a lot of fans out here to cheer them on."
BIR ET Finals team
SUPER PRO
Terry Pease of Blaine (Race of Champions representative), Rodney Thompson, Dave Ulhorn of Minneapolis, Chris Bishop of Grand Rapids, Ed Holmgren of Foley, Jim Higgins of South Haven, Nick Engler of Ramsey, Bob Ingman of Andover, Brian Johnson of Nowthen, Dan Smith of Buffalo, Trevor Larson of Starbuck, Willie Grey of Ladysmith, Wis.
PRO ET
Kelly Gjovig of West Fargo, N.D. (Race of Champions representative), John Marszalek of Brooklyn Center, Mike Casteel of Thief River Falls, Brett Speer of Ottertail, Pat Haubrich of New Ulm, Dave Engler of Ramsey, Steve Roehrs of Frederick, Wis., Mark Pease of Plymouth, Todd Larson of Bagley, Rory Emmans of Dayton, Travis Sorokie of Sauk Rapids, Wally Higby of Maple Grove
SPORTSMAN
Scott Heintzman of Fargo, N.D. (Race of Champions representative), Lee Dugdale of Scandia, Brad Mickle of Lino Lakes, Kevin Rolph of Minneapolis, Russ Elzy of Becker, Andy Knebel of Pillager, Joe Moriarty of Ham Lake
PRO BIKE
Mike Voss of Maplewood (Race of Champions representative), Jeff Arpin of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Brad Harder of Waconia, Toby Giese of Kandiyohi, Robert Arpin of Winnipeg, Manitoba
HIGH SCHOOL
Kayla Noyes of Andover (Race of Champions representative)
