Britt Cummings Drives Moser Corvette to 3rd NHRA National Event Win, First in Stock

Hammond, LA: When Britt Cummings drove his Moser Engineering backed Corvette to the Stock Eliminator crown at the NHRA AAA Auto Insurance Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis, MO, his emotions included exuberance, relief, and even a hint of redemption. A NHRA national event win is exciting, regardless of how many a racer has won or how often he or she visits the winner's circle. This wasn't Cummings' first rodeo; he'd won two prior NHRA events to go along with countless IHRA victories and numerous big buck bracket wins. Relief came in that this was the elder of the Cummings brothers first national event victory in over three years, and his first win ever in the Stock Eliminator category (both of his previous triumphs came in Super Comp). While Britt is confident in his abilities behind the wheel, he'll be the first to admit that he wondered when (or even if) this day would come. Finally, redemption came in two forms. For one, the victory bettered Britt's national event final round record to 3-6 after suffering a number of close final round defeats. More importantly, the win marked his first title since going through a transient ischemic attack (TIA), or mini-stroke a couple of years ago.

“That health scare really got my attention,” Britt explained. “I'm not a kid anymore, as much as I try to act like one. I don't have real serious after affects, but I'd be lying if I said it hasn't affected my racing. I still feel like I'm really strong on the finish line, but I struggle to concentrate at the tree. I normally don't even realize that I'm losing focus, but my reaction times often show it. It's not like I've been awful; at times I've driven really well – often much better than I did last weekend in St. Louis – but you know how this sport can be. Last week I was in the right place at the right time. Thankfully we were able to take advantage of it.”

And take advantage he did. Cummings began eliminations with a tough test opposite Trista Henderson. There, Britt recorded an excellent .013 reaction time, but trailed out of the gate to Henderson's .003. He worked his finish line magic, taking the stripe by a scant .011 seconds to win with a 10.604 on his 10.57 dial-in. He advanced past Don Turk in round two and caught a break when eventual Super Stock winner Brina Splingaire fouled in the third round.

That set up a quarterfinal matchup with the winningest driver in NHRA sportsman class history, Dan Fletcher. In that marquee matchup, Cummings posted a solid .021 reaction time, which trumped the uncharacteristic .065 light of Fletcher. Britt was able to hold on for a tight double breakout win. He then won another double breakout contest with Robin Lawrence in the semi-final round to advance to the final opposite Fred Suiter. There, Britt's respectable .037 reaction time has relegated meaningless when Suiter fouled, handing Cummings the third national event “Wally” of his career.

The victory continued a very solid run for the Moser Engineering backed Cummings Motorsports team of late. After taking several weeks off to recharge and reload, the team has come back with a vengeance: two weeks prior to Britt's national event triumph, his younger brother Slate captured a $50,000 payday by winning the main event at the Moser Engineering Great American Bracket Race in Memphis, TN.

In addition to Moser Engineering, the Cummings Motorsports team depends on quality products from the following manufacturers: Trumble Racing Engines, FTI Torque Converters, Overkill Motorsports, Sunset Performance Engines, B&M Performance, Weldon, Afco, Borla, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Mickey Thompson Tires, K&N, Holley Performance, Amalie Oil, Weld Wheels, Richmond Gear, Altronics, Harwood, Nitroplate, Edelbrock, Mr. Gasket, Nesbitt Racing Engines, Biondo Racing Products, Auto Meter, Phantom Race Cars, Simpson Safety Equipment, H&F Performance, Folk Race Cars, Moroso, Weld Wheels, Comp Cams, Renegade Race Fuels, Total Seal, Trend Performance, Diamond Pistons, Bell Racing Helmets, Total Seal, and Milodon.