Russell Racing Crew

🏁 Ethan's Summit Motorsports Park Recap Saturday 6/13/26 🏁

Ethan started the day off showing just how consistent his car was. In the first time trial, he cut a .053 light and ran an 8.916. When he rolled up for the second time trial, he followed it up with a .061 light and an identical 8.916 pass. Seeing back-to-back runs that close is always a great way to start the day!

For Round 1, both Ethan and his opponent were dialed 8.90. Ethan was a little slower on the tree than he would have liked with a .083 reaction time, but he still held the advantage over his opponent's .149 light. Knowing he had room, Ethan gave the throttle several quick rips before lifting at the finish line, scrubbing between 6-7 mph and running an 8.97 to his opponent's 8.99. The combination of controlling the starting line and being closer to his dial-in earned Big E the Round 1 win.

Round 2 saw Ethan dialed 8.90 again while his opponent dialed 8.93. The reaction times were much closer this time, with Ethan holding a slight edge, .052 to .065. Our best guess is that his opponent experienced some sort of issue because they slowed to a 9.39 on their 8.93 dial. Ethan didn't know that, though, and drove the finish line exactly how he was supposed to. He gave the throttle several rips before lifting, killing roughly 10 mph and posting a 9.08 to advance into Round 3.

Round 3 turned into another heads-up 8.90 race. Ethan grabbed the advantage at the tree with a .038 light compared to his opponent's .079. At the top end, he gave a few quick rips and crossed the finish line with an 8.92 while his opponent ran an 8.91. The starting line advantage proved to be the difference-maker and sent Ethan into Round 4.

His .038 reaction time from Round 3 also earned him the bye run for Round 4, which happened to be the Semi-Finals. Since Ethan hadn't made a clean pass without ripping or lifting since the time trials, this was a great opportunity to see where the car really was. He responded with his best light of the day, a stellar .010 reaction time, and the car ran an 8.85. Based on his previous 60' and 330' numbers, we suspected the car might be on the quicker side, but now we had a full pass to confirm it.

That set up a trip to the Finals.

Both cars were dialed 8.90, but this time Ethan didn't have the advantage on the starting line. His .060 light was solid, but his opponent was nearly perfect with a .008 reaction time. There wasn't much Ethan could do to make up the time lost at the tree, so he did the only thing he could at the finish line—he let his opponent go in hopes that they would break out. Unfortunately, that's not how it played out. His opponent stayed above their dial and took the win, while Ethan finished the day as the Runner-Up.

While everyone wants to end the day in the winners circle, a Runner-Up finish is still a great result and caps off another strong points day for Big E. Coming into the race, Ethan was leading the Intermediate points standings, and after making it all the way to the Finals, he should have been able to extend that lead even further.

Congratulations on another great day of racing, Ethan! 🏁💚