Randy Meyer Racing closed out an exciting weekend of Top Alcohol Dragster competition at the prestigious 71st annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals with both drivers McKenna Bold and Matt Cummings.
Cummings set the tone in qualifying, blasting to the top of the field with a 5.166 at 276 mph on Saturday in his Hedinger’s Equipment dragster to secure the No. 1 position. It marked the second race in a row, and the 12th time in his career, that he has qualified on the pole in Top Alcohol Dragster national event competition. Bold continued to show poise in her rookie season, steadily improving with each session. She recorded her best run of the weekend in the final qualifying session, a 5.299 at 269 mph, which moved her up the ladder into the No. 11 position for her first-ever start at the U.S. Nationals.
For Bold, this event marked her first appearance at the “Big Go” in her rookie season, and she wasted no time proving she belonged on drag racing’s biggest stage. In the opening round of eliminations, she grabbed a huge advantage at the starting line with a .038 reaction time over Melanie Johnson’s .065. However, tricky track conditions quickly came into play. Just a few hundred feet into the run, Bold’s dragster shook violently, enough to dislodge the parachutes. She pedaled to recover, but the loss of momentum was too much to overcome, as Johnson’s 5.556 at 268 mph defeated Bold’s 6.156 at 225 mph.
Cornwell Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals
Cummings continued his run of consistency through eliminations, and in round one, he powered to a 5.184 at 277 mph to secure the win and lane choice for round two. Facing veteran Jackie Fricke in the quarterfinals, Cummings never trailed, posting low elapsed time of the round with a 5.200 at 277.60 mph to advance to the semifinals on Labor Day.
In the third round, Cummings matched up against Jamie Noonan in what proved to be one of the closest battles of the weekend. Randy Meyer and Cummings delivered another strong performance with a 5.18 at 277 mph tune up, but Noonan recorded his quickest pass of the event, a 5.15, to advance to the final and end the team’s chance of defending their 2024 U.S. Nationals victory.
“Rolling into Indianapolis for the U.S. Nationals, the team had a lot of confidence of it being successful. I know I felt confident that we could continue our performance at the top of the field. We just came off back-to-back races being number 1 qualifier, and a fresh victory at the regional race in Bowling Green,” said Cummings.
“There was so much excitement getting into the car on Sunday, but I kept telling myself to just stick to my routine, don’t think or listen to any outside interference. Be like a machine. In the semis, we executed our game plan perfectly with a 5.18, but our opponent built a bomb overnight and took a big swing at us. They were successful in taking us out. Our team was disappointed in the result but not with our performance. Great effort and plan by Randy Meyer and the whole team. While we were disappointed in the result, we’re proud of the performance, the effort from the team, and the support from Tim Hedinger being at the track with us. We appeared in every round except the U.S. National final to give him maximum exposure. We’ll regroup and be ready to fight for another victory at Maple Grove.”
While the team came up short of its goal, Meyer is proud of Bold’s resilient debut at her first U.S. Nationals and Cummings’ continued ability to contend at the front of the field. The weekend also marked a special milestone for the team, as they welcomed Elite Motorsports onboard as a partner. With their help, the team arrived in style at Indy in a new toterhome that will support the team throughout the season. Serious buyers can find more information on the team’s trusted toterhome that is now for sale >> HERE <<.
Randy Meyer Racing will regroup and prepare for the next stop on the NHRA Drag Racing Series tour in Earlville, Iowa with Bold driving solo, carrying momentum and determination into the remainder of the season.
