Buckeye Skip’s Moves From Fall to Summer for Second Event, and Despite the Ohio Heat, Rick Russell and David Lipps Score Second Event Wins of the 2026 Season to Lead Buckeye Skip’s Winners List!
After a successful first event in 2025, the Ohio-based Buckeye Skip’s drag and drive event made the move from its October 2025 date to an early July date for 2026. Kuhnle Motorsports Park would return for the second year, with a pair of IHRA (International Hot Rod Association) Darana tracks, Darana Raceway (previously known as National Trail Raceway) and Darana Dragway (previously known as Dragway 42).
The move to a summer date brought more competitors and new classes, a total of eleven. But it also brought extremely warm temperatures to the 140 competitors that were in attendance on Day Zero, check-in and tech inspection, June 30th.
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After traveling from Kuhnle Motorsports Park to Darana Raceway for the first day of competition, competitors raced and traveled to Darana Dragway for Day Two. For the third and final day, competitors returned to Kuhnle Motorsports Park to complete their trio of runs, get their final averages, and see winners crowned.
The 8.50 Index class would see Gregg Hull at the top of the list with his Monte Carlo thanks to his 8.83 average, while Mike Blewitt scored his second Buckeye Skip’s win, as last year’s 9.50 Index champion snagged the hardware in the 9.90 Index class with a 9.936 average.
A 10.92 average would be enough to get Zach Szczerba the top spot in the 10.90 Index class, while Aaron Darnell would scoop up the win in the 11.50 Index class courtesy of an 11.562 average.
The DYO (Dial Your Own) class is all about consistency, and Tyler Adams completed the trio of runs with just seven thousandths of-a-second separating them to earn the victory.
Last year’s DYO champion would score the win in the new Hard Tire class in 2026, as David Lipps made the switch from his familiar Charger to the more ‘plush’ Durango for this event, and picked up another drag and drive win. This marks his second win of the season, with just a hundredth of-a-second between his runs.
John Kinter scored the ‘Fastest Average’ win in the Stick Shift class for the second-straight year with a 10.01 average, while William Wise avenged his second-place 2025 finish by scoring the ‘Closest Average’ win with a trio of runs .046 of-a-second apart.
Rick Russell would be the fastest in the Truck class, as the ‘Lil Red Express’ Dodge posted up an 8.90 average. The smallest spread / closest runs came from Chad Pokopatz, and he won the ‘Closest Average’ win with a trio of runs just thirteen thousandths apart.
The new Gasser category also awarded a ‘Fastest Average’ win and a ‘Closest Average’ win. Familiar drag and drive name Garrett Hall picked up the top spot in ‘Fastest’ from his 11.919 average, while Justin Oakes would be the best of the bunch on consistency for the ‘Closest Average’ victory.
The final new class for the 2026 was the Junior Street – Young Racer class, where Hunter Butcher collected the win on his first drag and drive, completing the event alongside parents Cory and Amber.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Big 3 Racing, Mike Blewitt, David Lipps, Gregg Hull, Tyler Adams, and Cory Butcher.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com