After winning the Topeka and Great Bend, KS regional races followed by winning the 32nd annual Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals presented by PetArmor this past weekend, Rachel Meyer became the only driver in the Top Alcohol Dragster category of the NHRA to sweep all 3 Kansas drag racing events. She now holds a 139 points lead over the competition and is well onto her way to winning her first World Championship.
Rachel came into raceday of the Heartland Nationals in the No. 3 qualifying position with a stout 5.199, 274.83 during three intense rounds of qualifying. First round, Rachel had lane choice in her NTK Sensors dragster over heavy hitter competitor Joey Severance. With her biggest championship rival Shawn Cowie going out in the first round of eliminations a few pairs ahead of her, the Randy Meyer Racing driver knew capitalizing on that moment and going rounds would only benefit their chances of winning the championship at the end of the 2021 season.
Severance had the starting line advantage over Rachel at the starting line, but Rachel stormed by Severance by half-track to take the win with a 5.333, 265.06 to his 5.402, 266.90.
Second round, Rachel staged up against Jackie Fricke. Rachel used a slight starting line advantage over Fricke and her quickest pass of the weekend to defeat Fricke in a two-for-one victory. As she crossed the finish line with a 5.193, 278.69 to Fricke’s troubled 10.724, 68.54, she knew she had locked in her spot in the final round with a bye in the semifinal round.
In the semifinals, Rachel showed off her driving chops as she switched it to the high side and rocketed past the tree with a .036-second reaction time. She went straight down the boulevard with a 5.265, 273.05 but would lose lane choice in the final to Jasmine Salinas.
Coming into the final round at the Heartland Nationals, Meyer was 1-0 against Salinas in prior events and this was the first time they would race each other in a final round. The race was over at the starting line as Jasmine went -.110 red at the hit, turning on the automatic win light on Meyer’s scoreboard. Even with the win light illuminated in her lane, the Randy Meyer-tuned team showcased why they are one of the premier racing operations in the country in the category as Rachel was .045 on the tree and clocked in with a 5.258, 276.58 at the top end for her fourth national event victory.
The Meyer family was able to share the winner’s circle with Dusty Meyer, Rachel’s cousin, who got the win in the Top Sportsman class. Rachel and Dusty will both be competing together at the upcoming Brainerd Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in Minnesota.
Catch the NHRA on Fox replay of the Heartland Nationals on 8/26 at 7pm EST on FS2.
