Aleman father-son duo sweep XFWD at Sport Compact Evolution By Nate Van Wagnen

“ I do this for the father-son time ,” Nelsito Aleman said . “ We both like it . He has his car , I have mine . We were the first and second fastest in XFWD this weekend . It ’ s an adrenaline rush I can ’ t explain when we race each other .”

The Alemans didn ’ t get to race each other at Sport Compact Evolution , but they were the quickest two drivers in the first round of eliminations . Driving his OStar Motorsports / Chapulin Performance ’ 99 Honda Civic hatchback , Nelsito fired off a 7.995-second pass at 181.86 MPH to beat Ryan Harmon , while Kevin ran a 7.876 at 183.82 .

In the second round , Nelsito stepped up to a 7.911 at 183.24 to defeat Akiel Jackson . Kevin ran a 7.854 at 185.13 , but his run was DQed due to a fuel rule .

Nelson won in the semifinals with his 8.059 at 180.65 , defeating Cesar Olin . Final-round opponent Minh Peoples wasn ’ t able to return for the final round , so Nelson idled down the track to close out the weekend as the Mapps Automotive XFWD presented by Precision Turbo winner .

“ We ’ re used to winning , but this race was harder

because of rule changes and everybody protesting our cars ,” said Aleman , who thanked OStar Motorsports , Arias Pistons , Gato Performance , PPG Transmissions , The Driveshaft Shop , Drag Cartel , and Precision Turbo . “ But we made the cars win . We put it on their rules and we still won .”

This race was the first event racing under a new rules set for the XFWD class . Track owner and event promoter Victor Alvarez worked with Chris Miller of Chris Miller Racing and tech official John Sears to develop the new rules set , while the tech team led by Vinny Laudicina enforced the new rules , which included new guidelines for things like wheelbase , fuel , and more .

“ I think this first event under the new rules went very well ,” Alvarez said . “ Our goal with the new rules is to make the class more competitive and as fair as possible . We had a good showing of cars , a good variety , different combinations and they were all pretty close together . We found ways that we can improve and make it even better moving forward . We ’ re going to build up the other classes as well and build up the Sport Compact segment .”

Alvarez went on to congratulate Aleman and the OStar Motorsports / Chapulin Performance team on the win , which included a $ 15,500 payday .

“ They proved themselves ,” Alvarez said . “ They proved no matter what the rules are , they ’ re going to work hard and they ’ re going to compete . They did very well . Those guys are fierce competitors in this class . Nelsito has been doing this forever

PHOTOGRAPHS BY BENJAMIN SHACKELFORD AND LASHARA GILKES FOR KC PHOTOGRAPHY

36 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 175