Stevie “Fast” Jackson capped off one of the most impressive seasons in E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service history, wrapping up his championship season with a victory over Todd Tutterow in the final round on Sunday.
The series was presented by Elite High Performance in Las Vegas and served as the final event of the 12-race 2019 season.
Jackson clinched his first career world title in the class at the previous event in Charlotte, but added one more dominant performance in his remarkable season. He qualified No. 1 in his blown Bahrain1 Racing Chevrolet Camaro, and then finished off the year by going 5.788-seconds at 247.84 mph in the finals to beat Tutterow. It gave Jackson his fourth victory this season and the ninth in his career.
“I never minced words,” Jackson said. “When I came to run NHRA in 2017, I said I was coming to win a championship. (Crew chief) Billy Stockiln is a magician running this car. He’s got this thing on a string. All my boys are killing it. I love racing here.
“Todd is my mentor. He taught me how to run a blown engine. Todd crushed me on a holeshot in the first race of the year at Gainesville. When I lit the top bulb in the final, Billy said, ‘Do not let this man wear your butt out. Bring your ‘A’ game.’ It worked out good for us and we’ve just got a bad hot rod.”
Jackson beat defending world champ Mike Janis, Scott Oksas and Mike Castellana to reach his eighth final round this year. With the win, Jackson also finished the year with the most points in class history.
Tutterow, who ended the year a career-best second in points, beat Bob Rahaim, Jim Whiteley and Steve Matusek to reach his fifth career final round.
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LAS VEGAS — Final finish order (1-16) at the 19th annual Dodge NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is the final of 12 events in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
PRO MODIFIED:
1. Steve Jackson; 2. Todd Tutterow; 3. Mike Castellana; 4. Steve Matusek; 5. Steven Whiteley; 6. Scott Oksas; 7. Jim Whiteley; 8. Eric Latino; 9. Brandon Snider; 10. Khalid alBalooshi; 11. Michael Biehle; 12. Alex Laughlin; 13. Bob Rahaim; 14. Mike Janis; 15. Doug Winters; 16. Clint Satterfield.
LAS VEGAS — Sunday’s final results from the 19th annual Dodge NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is the final of 12 events in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
Pro Modified — Steve Jackson, Chevy Camaro, 5.788, 247.84 def. Todd Tutterow, Camaro, Foul – Red Light.
LAS VEGAS — Final round-by-round results from the 19th annual Dodge NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is the final of 12 events in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
PRO MODIFIED:
ROUND ONE — Jim Whiteley, Chevy Corvette, 5.817, 243.77 def. Khalid alBalooshi, Chevy Camaro, 5.802, 253.04; Scott Oksas, Ford Mustang, 5.815, 251.67 def. Michael Biehle, Mustang, Foul – Red Light; Steve Jackson, Camaro, 5.767, 247.34 def. Mike Janis, Camaro, 6.000, 223.73; Eric Latino, Camaro, 5.798, 247.11 def. Brandon Snider, Corvette, 5.753, 248.43; Steven Whiteley, Camaro, 5.775, 249.53 def. Doug Winters, Chevy Chevelle, 8.547, 107.34; Mike Castellana, Camaro, 5.725, 249.76 def. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 5.836, 252.61; Steve Matusek, Mustang, 5.784, 253.75 def. Clint Satterfield, Camaro, 8.783, 125.59; Todd Tutterow, Camaro, 5.765, 248.57 def. Bob Rahaim, Camaro, 5.959, 227.57;
QUARTERFINALS — Jackson, 5.784, 249.26 def. Oksas, 5.798, 251.72; Tutterow, 5.816, 247.16 def. J. Whiteley, 5.831, 243.50; Castellana, 5.751, 249.35 def. S. Whiteley, 5.774, 249.21; Matusek, 5.813, 252.33 def. Latino, 5.846, 246.98;
SEMIFINALS — Tutterow, 5.804, 246.89 def. Matusek, 6.299, 176.51; Jackson, 5.770, 250.00 def. Castellana, 5.777, 248.66;
FINAL — Jackson, 5.788, 247.84 def. Tutterow, Foul – Red Light.
LAS VEGAS — Point standings (top 10) following the 19th annual Dodge NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is the final of 12 events in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.
Pro Modified
1. Steve Jackson, 1,017; 2. Todd Tutterow, 805; 3. Mike Janis, 683; 4. Mike Castellana, 615; 5. Rickie Smith, 580; 6. Jose Gonzalez, 527; 7. Sidnei Frigo, 517; 8. Khalid alBalooshi, 514; 9. Brandon Snider, 507; 10. Steven Whiteley, 402.
This story was originally published on November 3, 2019.