Two-thirds of the way through the 2017 season, a trio of tight points battles highlight the International Hot Rod Association Summit Sportsman National Championship.

Under the SSNC format, championships are determined using points claims from the best seven of the 10 events in which the racer competes.

With eight races under their belts, Marty Blair from Spicewood, Texas holds a 506-502 point lead over Mark Payne of Waynesboro, Virginia, in the Top Sportsman standings.

Johnny Tolisano (pictured above) from Jupiter, Florida, paces the Top Dragster field with a 10-point advantage (498-488) over Ivey Brannon of Boiling Springs, South Carolina, again with both drivers competing in eight races so far.

The margin is just three points in Hot Rod, where Christopher Webb from Four Oaks, North Carolina, has a 534-531 lead over Troy Williams Jr. of Daytona Beach. However, Williams could still be in the driver’s seat with one less race than Webb at this point.

It isn’t as close in Super Rod, where Steve Furr from Harrisburg, North Carolina, leads 555-493 over James Perry Jr. of Niota, Tennessee. Furr does have the advantage of nine races to pick his seven best compared to eight for Perry.

Another North Carolina driver, Danny Waters Jr. from LaGrange, is in great shape in Quick Rod with a 98-point lead over Frank Altilio of Apopka, Florida. With his weekend sweep at Piedmont, Waters has competed in eight races, while Altilio has competed in all 10 races.

Mark Nowicki, who scored a weekend sweep at US 131 in June, has a commanding lead in Super Stock. The Holmes Beach, Florida, driver compiled 608 points in just seven races. Second place Ed Longhany from Wade, North Carolina, has 481 points over nine races, although third place Peter D’Agnolo of Rochester, New York, could pose a serious threat with 470 points in just five races.

A pair of Florida drivers lead the Stock class with Myron Piatek (pictured above) from Holly Hill holding a 695-509 lead over Merrill Schrimscher of Lake Mary. Piatek does have one more race, 9-8, from which to choose his best seven performances.

The competition remains intense in the JR Race Cars Junior Dragster division as well. Paige Montgomery of Alden, New York, has been the hottest driver of late, sweeping races at Maryland International Raceway after finishing runner-up in the second Keystone Raceway Park race. Nick Ferraro from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, opened the season with a sweep of Immokalee, Florida, races.

The IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship returns to action on Aug. 18-20 with double-race weekends at Memphis International Raceway, Millington, Tennessee, and Empire Dragway, Leicester, New York.

For more on the IHRA, visit IHRA.com.