The Season’s Final Pass: Route 66, Fall Roads, and #RacecarFriends

Thank you all for the incredible support at Short Circuit 2025 presented by Summit Racing

76 unique drivers checked in on Friday to race one last drag and drive for the season. We had alot of drag and drive veterans, as well as a slew of newbies!

Packed Pits, Great Backroads and TIGHT Races

The format was simple, we would run within a test and tune already scheduled at Tulsa Raceway Park - shoutout to the TRP staff! - on Friday night. We did this for two reasons - 1: racing in the evening meant races wouldn't have to take an extra day from work. And 2: we could support the track with more cars. 

*Fun story, we thought Short Circuit would have 43-44 cars and the test and tune would be 25-30 cars.... Turns out, 55 test and tuners showed up, giving us 130+ cars!!

Then Saturday, we'd hit my favorite restaurant Waffle House for a good breakfast before a full day of driving and racing. With the help of Driven Racing Oil, we fed everyone, except for one bill of $7.25!

That led us down Route 66 and onto some Oklahoma backroads, stopping at Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum (there are some really cool cars in there! - Like The Official Chip Foose Imposter). Thankyou to all the participants that helped support the museum with tours and merch purchases. I got to spend some time with a few different groups of people in the museum, thanks to everyone that took the time to chat. 

The last stop on the drive was Keystone Dam and was a great break after almost 40 miles of driving. A few cars helped reseal the pavement on their way out, until the Rangers showed up....(so much for a shutdown).

Back at the track, we were added to the Run Order since the track was using the day as a make-up race and the Final Bracket Points race of the season. 

There were some hardcore bracket racers that stopped by the table for details and we look forward to seeing them on TC26!!

Friday night, racers were required to submit two passes, which really created some stress for a few of the fast cars. With a few oildowns and wrecks, it got tight there towards the end for a few racers. But, during one of the slow times, we kicked off the Pitza Party sponsored by Cornerstone Performance Transmissions and everyone was a little better having eaten, lol. 

Since we had such a leisurely drive on Saturday, enjoying the gorgeous weather, we decided that racers would only be required to submit one pass. We were provided five rounds and nearly 40 of the racers made passes each round!

One reason we love the car community is the outpouring of support by the participants. We asked for cold weather clothing for the teens and young adults that make their way through Youth Services of Tulsa this winter. The pile was HUGE and will provide clothing, gloves, hats, coats and more for those in need. We will deliver the donations on Tuesday. Thank you to everyone that brought supplies! Big shoutout to the Flores family who provided 100 packaged beanies and gloves!! And to Phil Balmaceda and Kristen Woodard, who got bullied into coming to the event. Everyone donated to get them here....they took that money and bought a pile of new clothes. 

Now, for the winners and stories from an event that was sparked by Eric White's photos from The Circuit 2025 and put together in just over a month. 

MVPs of Short Circuit

First up, thank you to Brandon Parker and Zoe for the help - they took timeslips, sold merch and provided guidance to no end!! Brandon offered to be the Right Hand Man of the event and I appreciate him so much! Zoe was a champ, slinging insane amounts of merch and doing anything asked without question. Please thank them next time you see them. 

Next up is April Barker who helped me get everyone checked in on Friday! She packed goodie bags, answered questions, checked people in, kept me on track and slung merch when it was asked! Then she raced!!

Lastly, thank you so much to my mom and niece Brantley. They were here for a fun weekend and were shoved into the fire when I had to run and announce and try to sort out a microphone for the awards. 

I can't say thank you enough for the help over the weekend from everyone that stepped up. 

Let's talk racing:

Power Adder

In Power Adder, our Quickest Quarter Mile Class, Boo Kvamso and Johnny Heller left Day one separated by just 0.006 at 8.1915 for Boo! Johnny laid down the Quickest Pass of the event at 7.944 - but was unable to complete the drive from a noisier than comfortable third member. But that didn’t mean Boo was in the clear because Neil Torbett’s truck as within striking distance if Boo’s newly upgraded car gave any issues with his 8.369 average after Day One. Boo returned to the track and laid down an 8.065 to seal the Win with his 8.149 Average! Neil moved into Second with Johnny out and didn’t let up, submitting a Personal Best of 8.277 in the F100 truck, finishing with an 8.338 Average. Third Place was held by veteran Hot Rod Drag Week racer Dan Saitz’s 8.616. The Top Six Racers in Power Adder finished with an Eight Second Average. 

All Motor

For the All Motor racers, David Miller made it a race for Second. David came out swinging with a “shake down pass” of 8.983 with the intentions of making a nitrous pass and entering Power Adder. His fuel line had other ideas as the car burst into flames as he made the turn at the end of the track. Luckily, Todd Stadel had a fire extinguisher in his truck and they got the fire out, but not before damaging the wiring needed to run the bottle. His three run average of 8.935 put him as the 6th Quickest Car of the Event. John Dougherty took home Second Place with his 10.277 and Third was held by Scott Barker’s 10.585.

Stick Shift

In Stick Shift, peer pressure resulted in a Win for Phil Balmaceda with a 10.613 Average! He had the class on lock from the beginning as the only 10 second car in the class. The race between David Brewer and Rich Van Allen was TIGHT after Day One with David in the lead by 0.0005 at 12.03. The spots would reverse on Saturday with Rich taking Second Place with a Personal Best run of 11.877, resulting in an 11.979 Average. David would wrap the Top 3 with his 12.110 Average. Wade Sunderland (12.389), Kevin Lowery (12.430) and Ty Lytle (12.469) would have their own battle. Kevin ran a Personal Best of 12.077 to catapult ahead of Ty. 

6.50 Index

The 6.50 Index Class was ruled by Two Class entry Scott Barker. His Dart took him to Third in All Motor and a Win in 6.50. He had to submit dedicated timeslips for each class, proving the consistency he’s built into the car. He finished the event with a 6.719 average. He was followed by Brandy Roberts’ 7.366 for Second Place. Other racers in the class struggled with running too quickly, resulting in a 20 second timeslip. I want to callout Blake Flores, who is still sorting his Firebird, for running a 6.377 on Saturday. That car is going to be in the 5s very quickly. 

You VS You

Our Largest Class by far was You VS You, with more than half the field at 38 racers. Utilizing the format from Sick the Magazine events and basing Class Standings on the Spread between a Racers Quickest and Slowest Submitted Pass, really put some drivers to the test. Racers were looking every thousandth they could claw from the track. Day One ended with an insanely close spread 0.002 from Alex Rodriguez, followed by Dalton Howard’s 0.009, Chris Soupene’s 0.011, Eric Gibson’s 0.014, and Jimmie Baker’s 0.016. The Top 18 Racers submitted passes with less than a tenth between them. The weather was drastically different on Saturday, wreaking havoc on the You VS You racers. The list was a full shakeup, with racers moving up and down spots with each round. In the end, Dalton Howard would take home the win in one of the tightest races we have seen this year. Dalton finished with a 0.02 Spread with his 11 second fullsize Chevy truck. Second was Michael Baker in his 16 Second Suburban that once belonged to his grandmother, then his cousin and is now a Family Racecar. He drove the Suburban to a spread of just 0.022 across the three passes. Third place was taken by Eric Gibson with his 0.025, followed by Abby Larsen (the Quickest Female of the Event) and her 0.026 spread. The Top 11 racers had less than a tenth in their timeslips when the dust settled.

Specialty trophies were awarded as well.
Geezer Award by Maverick Dent Company - Don Gould at 74 years YOUNG

Furthest Travelled (in their racecar) by Maverick Dent Company - Phil Balmaceda at 572 miles ONE WAY

Quickest Female by Morrow Photography - Abby Larsen with her 10.256 Average

Biggest Energy by Morrow Photography - Michael Baker, Eric Carroll and Dustin Peterson

Quickest 60’ Time by Brandon Parker - Boo Kvamso

The Short Circuit 2025 was full of fun, tight competition, beautiful cars and Oklahoma roads. I feel it gave the racers one last chance to hang out with, and meet new, #racecarfriends and show kids at the Youth Services of Tulsa how great the car community can be. At the end of the day, that is why we host these events. 

For racers that signed up and are looking for another chance to race, we will be extending early, and discounted, entry to our flagship event The Circuit 2026. For those racers, plus the TC25 racers and their copilots, registration will be January 16. For racers that missed this and had serious FOMO, we will be opening registration on January 17 to new comers.