Heads Up Hustle 2026 Recap
Margin of Victory: 0.0056!!
Heads Up Hustle 2026 gave racers an experience only available with this event. For three days, racers and copilots raced and drove 300+ miles in northern Ohio and southern Michigan. With tracks like Dragway 42 and Milan Dragway, racers were offered tracks that could handle anything thrown at them. We knew this event was going to be different from the very first round of passes.
On Day One, we saw an 8.510 in the 8.50 Index, plus ALL FOUR racers in the class leaving with an 8.5xx pass! A 13.004 in 13.00 Index, followed by the number two spot making NINE passes trying to close the gap! A lifted Crown Vic ran a 7.82, a Personal Best! A Chevelle with a Naturally Aspirated 815 cubic inch engine lays down a 7.81 pass in one of the most violent uses of every square inch of the big tires! And the Diehl brothers putting everyone on notice with a 6.76 at 204 mph! The racing is a great aspect of this event but the drive is the great equalizer, but we’ll get to that in a little bit….
Heads Up Hustle 2026 gave us THE BEST and QUICKEST racing in event history.
Let’s start with the Street Car Class, the Premiere Class of the Event. Jon Moore took home the Winning hardware in his lifted Crown Victoria. Yes, a Crown Victoria that rides on 31” tall mud terrain tires, even on the racetrack. He does run a 315 radial on the rear when racing, but those BF Goodrich All Terrains have been 170+ mph. He went into Sunday as #1 Qualifier after submitting a Personal Best 7.82 on Friday, followed by a 7.92 on Saturday. The Street Car class was stacked with some seriously heavy hitters, like Runner-Up Warren Hurt’s Chevelle that is powered by a twin-turbo, 604 cubic inch engine. The final match-up was the quickest side by side pass of the day at 7.87 for Jon Moore and 8.85 for Warren Hurt. A huge story for this class was the participation of the Diehl Brothers. With a 6.76 on Day One, the event was elevated to a new level with the first 6-Second pass in its history. Sadly, the guys hurt the planetary in the transmission and will have to wait until 2027 to run a backup pass at the event. Great job to Jeff Kurczak for his performance during the weekend. He ran a best ET of 9.39 at 150mph.
The second quickest class of the event, and probably the rowdiest, is Stick Shift. Vance Cooper took the #1 Qualifier Spot and the Class Win in his Cadillac CTS-V. This car is a Certified Street Car as witnessed by the multiple drag and drive decals on the windshield. Vance ran a Best ET of 8.92 on Day Two, after putting up a 9.301 on Day One, also the quickest pass of the class for Day One. The racing was the easy part for Vance and his family. After leaving the track on Day One, he had to replace a water pump, luckily Summit Racing was close. With just a little while left to drive on Day Two, the alternator decided it was done. Being late at night, Vance just put the generator on the roof and a charger on the battery and finished the drive. Runner-Up in the class is another multi-time drag and drive racer, Greg Black in his coupe Mustang. He did go second quickest of the class with his 9.12 on Day Two at Milan. Maybe the biggest upset of the class came in Round One as Timothy Furchak, in his Corolla GR, took down Peter Cisler in the flame-shooting twin-turbo Camaro out of the Nightmare Garage.
The 8.50 Index class Finals came down to #1 and #2 Quailifers. TJ Linebaugh (#1) and Jeremy Ortiz (#2) gave the fans the race they wanted. Jeremy Ortiz would come out on top to win the classes first year. Their race was the closest of the Eliminations, with just 0.0056 seconds as the Margin of Victory. That is 16” at 160 mph, side by side, with two of the best dudes in the 8.50 Index drag and drive game. Neither racer knew who won as they were at the top end of the track. This class will be highly contested in the future if it is anything like this year. All four racers in the class submitted 8.5x timeslips each day. Jeremy ran an 8.510 on Day One (quickest of the class) and 8.554 on Day Two. TJ ran an 8.524 on Day One and 8.511 on Day Two to move into the #1 Qualifier spot with an 8.517 average. Newcomer Chad Smith ran 8.544 and 8.541 in his S550 Mustang. And Rick Beem came in with a single goal of running an 8.5-anything and took home two timeslips at 8.589 and 8.581, with an 8.5211 in Round One of Eliminations.
Another great class is the 10.00 Index class, with the Top Three cars separated by just 0.022 going in to Eliminations. Chris Reiter (racer and sponsor - Mountain Machine and Fab & Reit-Coat) takes home the hardware this year in the Two Scoops Mustang, with a 10.19 pass in the Finals against #1 Qualifier Caleb Kars. Kaleb came into Eliminations as the #1 Qualifier with a 10.111 Average from a 10.071 on Day One and 10.151 on Day Two. Chris was #2 Qualifier from his 10.227 on Day One and 10.051 (Best Pass of the Class) on Day Two. A great race came in Round Two of Eliminations with Caleb taking a holeshot win with a 10.25 against Clint Taylor’s 10.13. #2 and #3 Qualifiers were separated by 0.004 on average. Clint’s #3 Qualifier passes were 10.156 and 10.130.
The 11.50 Index class racers are not scared to make as many passes as needed to get their number. Zach Szczerba, in his Mercury Marauder, put on a clinic in tuning and tiny adjustments, and the hard work paid off with the #1 Qualifier 11.543 average. He took the class win, running an 11.59 against the Last Place Qualifier Scott Glassbrook. Zach submitted an 11.539 on Day One, after running 11.98, 11.24 and 11.33. Day Two was a little better with an 11.546, 11.484 and 11.564. Scott Glassbrook had intended to run the 10.00 Index class but struggled on Day One, submitting an 11.653. He got the truck fixed and ran it all out on Day Two taking a 20 Second timeslip, ending in the Final Spot. Aaron Darnell ended qualifying in Second with an 11.691 after submitting an 11.79 on Day One and 11.592 on Day Two. A heartbreaking Round Two in Eliminations for Aaron as he redlit against Scott.
The 13.00 Index would prove to be another nailbiter. Tyler Adams would take home the win in a final race that pit him against last year’s winner and #1 Qualifier, Returning Class Champion John Pranger. Tyler came in to Eliminations as #2 Qualifier as submitting the quickest pass of the class, a 13.003 on Day Two, with a 13.108 on Day One. John Pranger proved he is the king of 13.00 Index with a 13.007 on Day One and 13.005 on Day Two. Tyler held a 13.056 average, with Sharon Bogardus (2024 #1 Qualifier and Champion) in Third at 13.058 after running 10 passes on Day One and five passes on Day Two. John and Sharon would pair up in Round 2 for the race we all wanted to see. Pranger would come out on top with his 13.0368 to Sharon’s heartbreaking 12.9978. Also in Round 2, Tyler would take down Brennan Darnell with a 13.19 to Brenna’s 12.9807. The Final Race would be over early with John leaving a hair too early, handing the win to Tyler’s 13.24 et. To John’s credit, he did lay down a 12.96 so he would have lost on both ends.
Naturally Aspirated was originally designated as a single class, but John-Paul told everyone that if there were enough cars to split into a Big Block and Small Block class, he would. With four cars in Big Block and nine in Small Block, the classes were set for racing.
For the Naturally Aspirated Big Block cars, Jay Grabiak would take the class win, with Jemeriah Kirby finishing Second. Jeremiah Kirby set the tone for the weekend in the 815 cubic inch Chevelle as they test the car for Drag Week. On Day One, we knew this was the car to beat, laying down a 7.811 in their “one and done” pass. With several hours to get the car “turned-over” for street use, the guys got to work. Day One looked to be a race for Second as Jay Grabiak submitted a 10.137 while Mike Silver turned in a 10.166. Paul Castiglione, in our favorite Challenger, had to bow out after a lower end noise; he and Joseph would continue the rest of the weekend in the tow rig as Side Hustlers. Day Two would be another one and done for the Kirby Chevelle with their 8.22. With Mike Silver out due to valvetrain issues, Jay Grabiak only had to make an A to B pass to lock up the #2 Qualifier spot. Driving these huge cubic inch engines, that require almost one inch of camshaft lift, is the great equalizer for naturally aspirated cars. With two cars left for the Finals, Jeremiah couldn’t get the car turned around in time to make the call and would ultimately end as Runner-Up to Jay Grabiak.
Naturally Aspirated Small Block was a much larger class. Congratulations to the Grabiak Family, with Tim Grabiak outrunning his sister Riely Grabiak in the Finals. You better believe there was a dinner bet gamble on the table for this run. Tim, in his ‘68 Camaro, showed Riely, in her ‘38 Chevy, the taillights as he made his way to a 10.36, quicker than her 10.81. Tim’s weekend was also capped by him running Personal Bests each day, with a Best ET of 10.17 during Round 2 of Eliminations. Tim was the #1 Qualifier with a 10.244 average. Riely ran a best of 10.533 on Day Two to lock in the #2 Qualifier spot. Other names in the class were Kathy Rugg with her daily driver Plymouth Valiant, Jesse Fox of 3G Video actually raced Benny the Volvo, and Derrick Adams brought back the Geo Tracker for this year.
Another favorite is the Hard Tire Class, where the only rules are 200+ treadwear and to run out of the groove. Cars in this class fit all genres, including a low 10 second Mustang and an Audi wagon that trapped 140+ mph. The largest class is ALWAYS one of the best classes to follow and this year was no exception. With John-Paul Franks selecting the Hard Tire Class Winner’s car as one of the vehicles featured on the apparel for the next year, this class is highly competitive. Kevin Adams had a chokehold on the class from Day One, lighting the boards at 10.39 in his Mustang. Day Two would prove his time wasn’t a fluke as he took the #1 qualifier with a 10.46 ET. The race for #2 Qualifier was tighter, with Kobin Jessop’s Audi A4 holding strong at 10.871 Average (11.087 & 10.656). Jeff Martin (returning 2025 Champion) would land in Third, with his 10.909 average (11.004 & 10.815). With 10 cars, the class was setup on a 16-Car Ladder so there were many First Round Byes, with Kobin Jessop making the quickest pass of Round One at 10.628. Round Three really showed the racers were leaning on their cars, with Kevin running his best ET of the event at 10.086 on a Hard Tire! The Finals would be Kevin Adams VS Zach Schaaf (Dodge Ram). Kevin would take home the win and the custom trophy with a 10.176 pass.
To be a low 10 Second car with all the features in Daily Driver rules is insane. Just look at the rule package: Cars must have factory interior including headliner, full carpet, stock dimension dash, door panels, all factory seats except for driver and passenger seats may be lightweight replacements. All cars in this class must have functional heat and air conditioning if factory equipped. AWD allowed. This class isn’t for the faint of heart. Brett McMillin, in his CTSV, put the class on notice on Day One with the quickest pass of the class at 9.902. He followed it up with a 10.096 to take the #1 Qualifier Spot with a 9.999 average. Sadly, he struggled to make the drive back to the track on Saturday night and had to bow out of the Eliminations run. This opened the door for the battle of the day. Frank Veneziano (#2 Qualifier) and Chris Vanderwalker (#3) in the Finals. Round Two would prove these racers were destined for an epic matchup with Frank running a 10.618 in his win against Clint Livengood and Chris’s Bye Run of 10.688. Frank’s Shelby GT500 Mustang would be the victor as Chris made the fatal mistake of leaving too early, turning on the Redlight. These friends will be back next year for a rematch.
The Full-Size Truck Class may have been small this year, but it was packed with two of the bet stories of the weekend. Thomas Robb owns the Dodge Ram that Jon Davis drove this year. Thomas is John-Paul Franks right hand man for Heads Up Hustle and it’s just too hard to race and run an event so he had to call in a driver mod. Jon made it through the weekend with a 12.495 average after submitting a 12.747 and 12.243. Ralph Rugg would take the #1 Qualifier spot with his 1986 Dodge Ram. Ralph hadn’t had the truck out since Hot Rod Drag Week 2023 and was excited to be back in the driver seat after co-piloting for wife Kathy for the last few years. Ralph had two good days of runs, submitting an 11.945 on Day One and 12.098 on Day Two. In the Finals, Ralph would run a 12.157 to Jon’s 12.639 for a good side by side run to finish the event.
The First Race of an event sets the tone for the event (in our opinion) and this year’s race was a great one. Kathy Rugg, in her daily driven Valiant, would take on husband Ralph Rugg, in his Dodge Ram. This would be the first time in their 30 years of marriage they had lined up next to each other. Ralph’s truck was completely untested but had been quicker than Kathy’s car before the engine rebuild. With friends, family and other competitors watching, Ralph took home the win for the First Race of Heads Up Hustle 2026.
Heads Up Hustle is more than just a regional drag and drive, it has become an event that is helping newcomers and new drag racers get their “feet wet” in this motorsport. One of the best stories from the weekend comes from longtime copilot Amy Trettel. For Mother’s Day, husband Jim surprised her with a Chevy II Nova that would become her racecar. An ex-Stock Eliminator car with race cred and a rowdy 283 makes the perfect candidate for a first-timer right? Amy has been to many events in their 30 years of marriage, but had never made a pass herself. The couple had two goals for the weekend - Finish the Event and Run 100 mph in the car. They accomplished the first goal, but fell short of the second, running a best of 97 mph. Amy will be back in the driver seat at a future event.
The Diehl Brothers showed up in the Phoenix Mustang with the SML and were prepared to take on all comers with a 6.76 and 204 mph Quarter Mile run on Day One. But, after David finished picking up the chute, he felt the car seem to “bind” as he pulled away. They would give the car a once over and determine it was safe enough to drive and headed towards Mountain Machine for the Friday Night Racer Party. As they got closer, they lost first gear and noises began creeping in from the transmission area. After enjoying the car show and food, they were headed to a local racers house to attempt a rebuild. Sadly, the planetaries in the transmission were damaged beyond repair and the decision was made to pick up the car in the trailer in order to prevent more damage. We will see these guys back next year.
In summary, you need to have Heads Up Hustle on your calendar for 2027 as we feel it’s the best way to mix a traditional drag and drive with the excitement of heads up eliminations. John Paul and Thomas are already hard at work planning for next year and want to invite you to follow the progress at Heads Up Hustle on Facebook and on the Website.
