Julie Nataas scored her second win of the 2021 season at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Cavalcade of Stars event presented by Budweiser held in Norwalk, Ohio just one week after the NHRA Norwalk Nationals.
Julie qualified in the second position with a 5.19 ET at 271 mph, while teammate Matt Sackman, who was making his first appearance in Top Alcohol Dragster for this season, drove to a 5.21 ET at 279 mph for the number four spot. Julie was paired up against Duane Shields who smoked the tires as Julie ran a 5.28 ET at 275 mph for the round win. Matt did not have the same luck as the car slowed to a 5.34 ET at 266 mph to lose to Jasmine Salinas.
Julie went on to take down Robin Samsuel in the second round with an outstanding .005 reaction time for a holeshot victory, running a 5.35 ET at 269 mph. The team was able to improve to a 5.32 ET at 273 mph for the win in the final round against Jasmine Salinas.
“We were looking to get the OTG dragster back to being consistent this weekend after some small bugs the last couple races,” said Julie. “Randy tuned the car to a 5.22 ET Friday night and two 5.19 ET runs on Saturday, but then the weather conditions changed for Sunday. The car slowed down a little, but we had our consistent car back.
“The 8-car field was stout, and I knew I had to be on top of my game to be able to go rounds and get the win. I was lucky in the second round of eliminations when I went a .005 on the tree. I knew right away I left early and was waiting for the red light to show up, but without the .005 reaction time we wouldn’t have gotten the win.
“It was awesome racing at America’s racetrack for 4th of July! Summit Motorsport Park put on a great show for all of us and fans were loving it.”
Julie and the Randy Meyer Racing Team will return to Columbus, Ohio for the JEGS SportsNationals for their next event on July 15-16th held at National Trail Raceway. Julie previously won this race in 2019, followed by Megan Meyer in 2020. The team is looking forward to putting the OTG Dragster back in the winner’s circle and extending their North Central Region points lead.