Shutter Speed Racing

Byron Dragway Junior Fest D2 & Drag Week 500 D3

9/22/2020

Adam Jakupcak (background) and Jesse Lasik (foreground)

Sunday was the second day of the Junior Fest and Day 3 of Drag Week 500. Drag Week 500 was created when the Hot Rod Drag Week was canceled due to Covid-19. In conjunction with Rock Falls (Wi) Raceway, this three day event fills the void created by the cancellation. The racers held the first race event on Friday at Byron. Packed up their equipment and drove the race cars the 250 miles to the Rock Falls Raceway to compete Saturday. At the conclusion Saturday, they drove back to Byron for Sunday's race. The race cars had to be street legal and driven to the events, no trailering allowed.

In the Junior Fest, it again was two classes, Novice and Elite, running for a Wally. In Novice, there were four rounds of competition before the final. In the final for a second day in a row, it was James Pfohl. His opponent was Aiden Malek from, Beloit Wi. This race was won at the start line as James had a significant better light than Aiden, .125 to .188. Aiden ran closer to his dial-in, but could not overcome the start. This would be classified as a "Hole Shot Win".

James Pfohl

In the Elite Class, it was Algonquin's Ryan Mackey against Joe Schubbe of Plainfield. Joe had been cutting great lights all day. His worst was a .077! At the start of the final, Joe must have gotten a little anxious because he went red by -.014. This gave the Wally to Ryan.

Ryan Mackey

For the Drag Week 500, there was a bracket style race for Street Eliminator and two classes where the winner was declared by their average of the three races-two tracks.

The Street Eliminator Class ran three rounds of competition before the finals. In the final it was JT Barnes against Tony Churchwell. Tony was the slower car so launched first with JT playing catch up. Both drivers pushed each and both broke out. JT took the win by running closest to his D/I of 10.28 with a 10.274 to Tony's 11.55/11.500.

In the Street Class Power Added, it was Cameron Alley with an 8.58 average. In Super Street Power Added it was Scott Keplinger with an 8.05 average.

Here are some images from the entire day.

Track Bite

I had to leave the track before the completion of the Junior Fun Run. I understand Hayley Becker won the race. Congratulations to Hayley and the Becker Racing Team!

It was another beautiful weather day and a day full of great competition. I want to give kudos to BJ and the entire Byron Dragway Team for filling the void of the Hot Rod Drag Week with the Drag Week 500. All I heard Sunday was how grateful the Drag Week racers were for being able to compete in this event.

To see all the images from Sunday's event, please click here.

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Byron Dragway Junior Fest Day 1

9/21/2020

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Saturday was Day One of the 2-day Junior Fest at Byron Dragway. In addition to the competition, there were awards for best costumed crew and best decorated golf cart. Above was one of the competitors. As far as the crews, here are some examples.

I almost didn't recognize Bill Freis in the black wig!

The first cars to hit the track were the Test & Tuners. Almost immediately a car had a problem with a transmission seal blowing out causing a major oil-down.

Staff worked extremely hard to fix the track, however it took some time. So what do you do with kids who were expecting to be racing, let's check out the track!

After the delay, it was time to go racing. Today's racing included Wally's for each class of Novice and Elite. Both classes went four rounds to get to the finals. In the Novice class, it was Clinton, Iowa's James Pfohl against Berlin Wi.'s Thomas Konen. Thomas had cutting good lights in each round, however he went red by -.025. It would have been a very close race as James had a .009 light and ran an 8.930 on an 8.90 D/I.

James Pfohl

In the Elite Class, it was Jack Nolan, Lemont, against Jesse Fritts, Greenup. This race was similar to the Novice because Jesse had good lights all day, but in the final he left just a little early, -.005, to give the win to Jack for the Wally. Both broke out, but that red light was Jesse's downfall.

Jack Nolan

In addition to the Juniors running today, the Buick Club was on hand and ran a competition amongst themselves. In their final it was Perry Carlini against Joe Garcia. Again, the win was a gift of a red light, when Joe went red by -.121.

Track Bites

It was a good day for Pfohl family. Not only did James win the Wally, but his sister, Jillian, won the Fun Race.

Pfohl Family

In the Test & Tune portion of the day, Launching Larry with his wheel-standing Barracuda asked me to get a shot from the rear as the car went up. Here is an example.

The North Shore Corvette Club was also on-track Saturday with some beautiful Corvettes.

Other than the little blip in the morning, everyone had a great time with some great weather and great racing.

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Byron Dragway - 45th US Bracket Nationals, Day 3

9/8/2020

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As you will notice from the title, this is Day 3 of the 45th Annual US Bracket Nationals. You might be wondering, Day 3? What happened to days 1 & 2? Well day one, Saturday, I had to leave the track earlier than anticipated and day two was a weather day. These will be discussed in Track Bites.

So, onto Day 3. The racing on Monday consisted of a non-points, Super Pro race for a NHRA TV.com Challenge Wally for each class of Super Pro (Box/No Box) and for the overall winner, a $5,000.00 "Big Check". The No Box cars led off the day with their one round of qualifying for the entered 43 cars. The Box cars followed with their 72 cars. In between the end of qualifying and the beginning of eliminations, a small contingent of Test & Tune cars hit the track. After Round 2 of eliminations, the Test & Tune group got larger as eliminated cars joined the group. After six rounds of eliminations in No Box, it came down to Jesse Leonard, Hastings, Mn., in his 67 Camaro against David Strepek, St. Charles, in his 63 Chevy Pick Up truck.

David was slightly quicker off the line than Jesse, (.028/.030), however, Jesse ran closer to his 6.01 D/I with a 6.019 to take the Wally. David ran a 7.335 on a 7.32 D/I.

After seven rounds of Eliminations in the Box category, it came down to Johnny DiPiazza in his Chevy Vega against Steve Folk in the 65 Chevy Nova wagon. Johnny cut a .003 light and Steve had a very respectable .028. Johnny's quick light led to Steve trying to make up the difference and breaking out, D/I 6.11- E/T 6.097. The breakout gave the Wally to Johnny.

In the Box/No Box runoff race for the "Big Check", it was Johnny in the left lane and Jesse in the right. Both had respectable lights, Johnny .029 and Jesse .039. They pushed each other hard to the stripe where both broke out. Jesse ran closer to his D/I (6.00/5.999) to Johnny's 6.24/6.237 to take the big money payout.

Winner's Circle was a happy place for both drivers.

Track Bites

On Saturday, Day One of the US Bracket Nationals was a great day of racing. As I stated earlier, I had to leave the track and did not see the finals of the Super Pro points race. It was Johnny DiPiazza taking the win and the "Big Check". With two wins, one for a Wally and another for the big money, I would say Johnny had a great weekend!

On Sunday, Day Two, it started raining overnight and into the morning. Mother Nature wasn't playing nice as track personnel dried the track three times! The cars didn't hit the track until 4:30 pm and ran as many rounds as they could until halted by darkness. At that point, it was decided that the competitors would split the money and the Wally's would be awarded at a later race. Kudos to BJ and his staff for all the hard work it took to get cars on track.

On Saturday, Brian Dumdie had a very close call after his '57 Chevy starting spewing transmission fluid at the launch causing Brian to have a wild ride.

It was great to see Brian back on track Monday, no worse for the wear and in the same lane!

On Monday, it was time to welcome another young driver to the sport of Drag Racing. Jackson Lang of Hincklely, Il. was licensing his junior dragster. These kids in the Junior Program are the future of the sport!

Even with Mother Nature throwing us a curve on Sunday, it was a very successful weekend and we did get to hand out two Walleys. Here are some more images from Monday.

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Byron-Day 2 of Two Wheel Speed w/Midwest Index Shootout and T & T

8/31/2020

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Joe Robbins

Sunday broke as another beautiful day for racing. It was partly sunny with temps in the 70's. It was to be the second day of Two Wheel Speed and a Test & Tune with the addition of the Midwest Index Shootout with six classes competing.

First up is SS Bike 950. This is a 9.50 index race. Larry Sargis gained his right to the Finals with a bye run and Gil Odjick made it in when Chris Panko redlighted. At the start, Gil was just slightly better with his reaction time, .084 to Larry's .087. Larry made it up at the stripe running closer to the index, 9.714 than Gil's 9.763.

Larry Sargis

Up next, was another index class, 890 Bike. Chris Panko received a bye to make into the finals. Where he was to face Thomas "Turtle" Cole, who defeated Bruce Damewood, when Bruce redlighted. At the start, it was "Turtle" with the faster response time, .024, to Chris' .055. Chris made up that time by not by much, 8.941 to Turtles 8.975. That was a .003 win for Chris.

Chris Panko

Street Bike is a Bracket style race. The riders each select a time they cannot go less. If they are under the Dial-in (D/I) they breakout and lose. To get to the Finals, Larry Sargis defeated Ted Thompson and Jeremy Murphy had the Bye. Larry had this one from the start with a .026 light to Jeremy's .057. At the stripe, Larry ran closer to his D/I of 9.45 with a 9.505 as Jeremy ran hard to catch Larry and brokeout by .002, 9.20/9.198. This gave Larry his second win of the day!

Larry Sargis

Drag Bike is like Street Bike in that is a Bracket race. The finalists were Thomas Cole and Bill Homuth. "Turtle" defeated Bruce Damewood in the Semi-final and Bill defeated Bill Baker, Bill had the better light (.010/.031. However Turtle ran significantly closer to his D/I, 8.293/8.27 than Bill at 9.358/9.28 to take the win.

Thomas "Turtle" Cole

As the final race for the bikes, the Street Bike winner, Larry Stargis, faces off against Drag Bike winner, Thomas "Turtle" Cole for the overall Bike win. Larry was going for the triple. Larry had a D/I of 9.45 and "Turtle" at 8.28. Turtle had the better light, .042, to Larry's .069. At the stripe it was Larry running closer to his D/I, 9.487 to "Turtle's" 8.346 to take the win. This gave Larry three wins for the day. I would say that was a good day.

The Midwest Index Shootout runs six classes of Index racing. The first was Street Intimidator. In the final it was Jeff Smith against Brian Hampton. Jeff had a much better light than Brian, .054/.149. Brian had to push to overcome the bad light and ended up breaking out giving the win to Jeff.

Jeff Smith

In Steet Heat it was an all truck final. Damien Hampton, from Mendota, against Rockford's DJ Jones. DJ had the better light. .032/.042, however Damien made up the difference by runing closer to his D/I to take the win.

Damien Hampton

In Street Limited, it was Alyx Kemp versus DJ Matiecka in a classic Mustang against Camaro race. Street Limited uses a 10.80 dial-in. DJ was a little quick on the throttle and redlighted giving the win to Alyx, who was driving the Mustang.

Alyx Kemp

In Pro Avenger, it was Jimmie Moore from Byron against Elgin's Scott Frost. Jimmie had the better light .027/.106. Scott didn't have as good a light and actually came closer to the 10.20 Index with his 10.212 to Jimmie's 10.227. Scott could not overcome an R/T of .106 with Jimmie taking a "Holeshot" win.

Jimmie Moore

It was Lenny Anderson, Genoa, against Rockford's Kelly Spears. Lenny had the better light .020/.040, but Kelly came closer to the 9.50 Index but could not overcome the slower reaction time. This was another "Holeshot" win in Pro Dominator for Lenny.

Lenny Anderson

In the final race for Midwest Index Shootout, Pro Extreme, with Jim Hickey against Darryl Appel. Darryl had the better light, .051/.055, but Jim ran closer to the 8.60 Index. Jim's victory was by .004!

Jim Hickey

In between the Series' runs, there was a Test & Tune.

Track Bites:

Junior driver Allie Coonan completed her NHRA licensing requirements to be able to compete in the NHRA Junior Drag Racing League. Congratulations Allie and welcome to the drag racing community.

Allie Coonan

In the Bike runoff it was Larry Sargis and Thomas "Turtle" Cole. In the first round eliminations in each of their classes, both riders lost. They both purchased a "Buy Back" to be able to return to competition. I think it was money well spent because they won their classes and earned their run off positions.

You can only hope for good weather and good racing. Sunday, both were on display at Byron Dragway making for a great day! Next weekend is Labor Day Weekend which means it's US Bracket Nationals at Byron. Within the restrictions of Covid-19, I hope to see as many folks as are able to come and while practicing social distancing.

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Byron - Two Wheel Speed and Test & Tune

8/29/2020

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Thomas "Turtle" Cole

Saturday was the first of two days of Two Wheel Speed. This day, the bikes were competing in four classes, 890 Bike, 950 Bike, Street Bike and Drag Bike. Several of the riders were competing in more than one class. There were six competitors in 890 Bike. The Finals were an all Iowa race with Bruce Damewood, Clinton, against Thomas "Turtle" Cole, Davenport. Bruce had the better light (.012/.037). They pushed each other into a double breakout where Bruce ran closer to the 8.90 index to take the win.

Bruce Damewood

In 950 Bike there were only four competitors with Larry Sargis, Midlothian, against Byron's Gil Odjick. in the Final. Larry was better on the tree with an .031 to Gil's .068. At the stripe it was Larry with the win by .003.

Larry Sargis

In Street Bike, there were six competitors going two elimination rounds before reaching the Final. In the Finals it was Rockford's Ted Thompson against Larry Sargis, Midlothian. Ted had the slower ET and therefor left first. Larry gave it his best, but at the stripe he brokeout by .036 handing the win to Ted.

Ted Thompson

Bill Baker

In the runoff between the two bike classes it was Bill Baker, Drag Bike, against Ted Thompson, Street Bike. Ted had the slower bike so he left over three seconds before Bill launched. Bill was playing catch up while Ted was trying to time his race to beat Bill to the stripe. Ted was just a little fast and broke out, 12.30/12.262, handing the win to Bill.

In addition to the bikes, there was a relatively good number of Test and Tune cars.

Track Bites:

Allie Coonan, age 5, started her NHRA Junior Drag Racing Licensing training. NHRA has developed a complete training program to ensure children are safe driving a junior dragster. NHRA sanctioned tracks have designated trainers who teach the kids the rights and wrongs.

During the Test & Tune portion of the day, it was announced Greg Darm had brought a contingent of racers to the track. They call themselves the Streator Streakers. Here is Greg racing with one of his streakers. Greg is in the white car and racing against Steve Quickel.

Saturday was one of those days when something happens and you realize you are growing old! Julia Hooten was licensing in the family Chevrolet Nova racecar. Julia, who is 21, used to drive a junior dragster. And this was on her parent's, Tom and Denise, wedding anniversary. First, Congratulations to Tom and Denise and second, Congratulations to Julia on licensing in the "big" car!

Julia Hooten

Great weather and good racing make for a fabulous day. Looking forward for another great day on Sunday, when Two Wheel Speed, Midwest Index Shoot Out and Test & Tune run at Byron.

To see all the racing images from Saturday, please click here.

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Byron Summit King of the Track Bracket Racing

8/24/2020

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Sunday was Byron Dragway's NHRA Summit King of the Track race. The Summit King of the Track is a bonus program, normally, run in conjunction with an existing weekly program. Sunday was one of the weekly Bracket Races. The winner of the four classes, Street Eliminator, Sportsman ET, Pro and Super Pro, face off for the right to claim the title of King of the Track Champion. Of course, with this title comes the "Wally"!

In Street Eliminator, there were four elimination rounds leading to the Finals. In this race it was Naperville's Ted Thompson against Bartlett's Robert France. This ended up being a "Hole Shot" win for Ted. Robert ran closer to his Dial-in but couldn't over Ted's .003 light. Their numbers were Ted .003/14.40/14.473 and Robert's .120/12.75/12.781.

Ted Thompson

The Sportsman Class ran four rounds of eliminations to reach their Finals. Racing their way to the Finals, was Jeff Toepper, Channon,Il., and Steve Quickel, Streator, Il. Jeff and Steve were close on the tree, however Jeff ran closer to his Dial-in (12.00/12.012) while Steve broke out (.15.12/15.116) to give the win to Jeff.

Jeff Toepper

The Pro Eminator Class ran five rounds to reach their Final. It was Brian Dumdie, Sycamore, against Tim Flynn, Naperville. Tim had a better response time than Brian, .019/.029. Unfortunately for Tim, it continued all the way to the stripe, where he broke out by -.04. Normally, Brian's dad, Don, drives this '57. Don decided Brian should try the big car. It looks like Brian's car will be sitting now.

Brian Dumdie

The Super Pro Class was sub-divided into Box (electronics) and No-Box. Each runs against their sub-class cars until each have a winner. At that point, the two race against each other for the Class win and the right to represent Super Pro for King of the Track. Since this is a Big Bucket race the winner takes home $5,000. In that Final it was Bruce Van Stratten representing Box in a dragster and John Coyle representing No-Box in a Camaro doorslammer. Bruce had a better light (.010/.023) than John and ran closer to his Dial-in.

At the end of the race Bruce decided to let John represent the King of the Track from Super Pro. This meant no dragster would be the running for King of the Track.

Ted Thompson, Street Eliminator
Jeff Toepper, Sportsman
Brian Dumdie, Pro Eliminator
John Coyle, Super Pro

It was Jeff Toepper and John Coyle advancing to the Final to take home the Wally.

In the Final Jeff had the better light, .009/.040 and they pushed each other to the stripe. Both drivers broke-out with Jeff running closest to his Dial-in.

Jeff Toepper 7.60/7.595
John Coyle 7.66/7.609

Congratulations Jeff!

Track Bites

Earlier in the day, I saw Mark Marusak's cream/yellow Nova doing it's burnout. Then I saw Mark crewing not driving the car. I caught up with Mark a short time later and learned that Dave Ancel was driving. Dave wanted to have some fun!

Ted Thompson was having a strange race day driving four wheels. Ted normally races a motorcyle winning both last Saturday and Sunday in Street Bike ET Class.

As the day began, I was listening to the PA system as Brett Williamson was introduced as he was starting his burnout. I looked up, but did not see the Black '57 Chevrolet. I learned later that he had spun a bearing in the motor and had to borrow a car to race today.

This weekend, with two days of racing, ending with the awarding of a Wally for Summit King of the Track and handing out Big Bucks cash, what could be better? The great weather contributed to fantastic races. Congratulations to all the winners.

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Byron - She Speed Ladies-only Event w/Super Pro

8/22/2020

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Kamryn Mason

Saturday was the first Byron Speedway, She Speed Ladies-Only Event. I had some questions for Byron General Manager Randy Simpson.

The event that precipitated this event was the cancellation of the Car Chix Ladies Only race on August 15th due to Covid-19. In the She Speed event, there were two classes, Pro and Street. Pro was divided in to Box/No Box classes.

In the Street Class, after four rounds of eliminations it was Darcy Ancel, Morris, II., against Byron, Illinois' Kristin Vincent. Darcy had the better light and drove closer to her D/I to take the win (.130/16.55/16.562) over Kristin (.168/13.81/13.846).

Darcy Ancel

The Pro Class ran its rounds of Box/No Box eliminations. At the end of each sub-class:

In Box, the winner was Chelsey Simpson and in N0-Box, it was Jurnee Bennett from Neenah, Wi.

Chelsey and Jurnee then faced off for the overall Pro Class winner. Chelsey left with a great light of .040 and then ran a 6.685 to break out, however, Jurnee went red by -.001! This gave the win to Chelsey.

The Super Pro race, like the She Speed Pro class, was divided in Box and No-Box. There was some great racing and both sub-classes went six elimination rounds to get to the final. In the No-Box class, it was Rockford's Ray Smith against Byron's Jeff Billeter. Ray cut a great .001 light and ran a 6.301 on a 6.29 D/I to take the win after Jeff had -.309 redlight. I can only think something happened to Jeff's car because throughout the eliminations he cutting down the tree

Ray Smith

The Finals for Box was one of the best races of the day. It put TJ Trench, Alsip, against Orland Park's John Schober. John had a R/T of .005 to TJ's .021. TJ ran a 4,791 E/T on a 4.79 D/I to John's 4.999 E/T on 5.00 DI. John broke out by .001 to give the win to TJ.

TJ Trench

In the Super Pro faceoff between TJ Trench and Ray Smith, it was TJ taking the win, .016/4.78/4.791 to Ray's .035/6.29/6.302.

In the High Stakes (Gamblers), it was Grant Park's John Haut taking the win.

John Haut

In between the racing, there was a Test & Tune. Two of the more interesting cars were the Plymouth Barracuda of Launching Larry and Steve Malek's Pro Mod Plymouth Road Runner Super Bird.

There was also another Junior Drag Racer licensing Saturday. It was Olivia Kreyer, age 11, of Beloit, Wi.

...and come Sunday, there will be a complete Bracket Race with all the bracket racers racing against each other to win this King of the Track Wally

Here is a little video from today's action.

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Byron, Two Wheel Sunday w/ Super Comp, Midwest Index Shootout and Buick Club

8/17/2020

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Joe Robbins

Sunday was the second day of the Two Wheel weekend. The bikes were joined by the Midwest Index Shootout, Buick Club, second day of Super Comp and a Test and Tune. Above is Cameron, Wi's, Joe Robbins. Joe had a phenomenal day by winning both 890 Bike and SS Bike 950. In 890 Bike, he was up against Dave Spears. While Dave ran closer to the 8.90 DI with a 9.387 to Joe's 9.421, however he couldn't overcome a .238 light compared to Joe's .060.

In SS bike 950, Joe was up against Saturday's 950 winner Larry Sargis. Joe (.066) and Larry (.073), both, had good lights and they pushed each other to a double breakout. Joe with his 9.421 was closer to the DI than Larry's 9.387.

In the Street Bike ET class, there was three rounds of eliminations before Ted Thompson, Rockford, Il, and Leon Robinson, Mapleton, Il, met in the Finals. Ted Thompson took the win (.097/12.31/12.338) when Leon had a -.047 redlight. This was Ted's second weekend win in Street Bike ET.

Ted Thompson

Next up was Drag Bike. Like Street Bike, there were three rounds of eliminations. In the Final, it was Tom Ewig, Oak Creek, Wi, against Bill Baker, Sherrard, Il. This was a great race with Tom having a slightly better response time, .056 to Bill's .058. At the line, it was eyelash victory with Tom running at 9.056 on a 9.03 DI to Billl's 8.853 on a 8.82 DI. Tom has previously represented Division 3 at the Pomona championships.

Tom Ewig

In the runoff race between Tom Ewig and Ted Thompson, Ted nailed the light .014 to Tom's .057. However Tom ran an ET of 9.018 on a 9.00 DI to Ted's 12.33/12.402 to take the overall win.

Here is a little of the day's Bike racing.

The Buick Club was on hand this Sunday with a club competition. After two rounds of eliminations it was Dan Weiland driving his '70 Skylark against Jim Peterson's '66 Special. Jim had the better light, however at the stripe he was a little too fast and broke out giving the win to Dan.

Dan Weiland

The Midwest Index Shootout is a group of "doorslammer" racers, who on this day, competed in six classes. I am only going to go into the finals of each class:

Street Brawler

This was race was between Jen Rosendahl and Tracy Reeder. Both were close with their response times and pushed each other to a double breakout. Jen came closer to her Dial-in to take the win.

Jen Rosendahl (foreground)

Street Intimidator

It was Jeff Smith vs Trevor Beer. Both were close on the light but at the stripe Trevor pushed it just a little too hard and broke out giving the win to Jeff.

Jeff Smith (foreground)

In Street Heat, there were two elimination runs leading to the final. DJ Jones took the win in a double breakout, running closest to his dial-in.

DJ Jones

Street Limited

Again there were two rounds of eliminations with Bob Disch, Verona, Wi, against Byron's Emma Ballard. Bob was quicker at the light, however Emma was a little quick getting to the stripe, breaking out, giving the win to Bob.

Bob Disch

Pro Avenger

This class went three rounds to get to the finals. It was Roselle's Lee Kapustka against Jimmie Moore. Both had good lights and pushed each other to a double breakout where Lee took the win. Jimmie, in his Vega, did have some of the best wheelstands all day.

Lee Kapustka

Pro Dominator

This class also ran three rounds of eliminations. In the Final it was Lenny Anderson, Genoa, against Shannon, Ilinois', Kevin Lancaster. While Kevin had a quicker RT, he broke out at the stripe giving the win to Lenny.

Lenny Anderson

In between the various series, a contingent of various cars were making Test & Tune runs.

The last series to report on, is Midwest Super Comp. Overnight one car was added to the field, Randy Etheridge, for a total of 19 cars. There were four rounds of eliminations until the Final. Jeff Spierling of Streator would be in his second final in two days along with Jesse Smith, Elkhorn Wi. Jeff had a great light, .011 and ran 8.906 on 8.90 index to take the win, Jesse also had a great run, .053/8.912. This was a great race to end the day.

Jeff Spierling

There were a lot of different cars and classes that ran Sunday. Like Saturday, there was a lot of variety for every drag racing fan. It was a great day of racing.

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Byron, Two Wheel Saturday w/ Midwest Super Comp and Juniors

8/16/2020

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Saturday, was the first day of the Two-Wheel weekend. The bikers raced in three classes, SS Bike 950, Drag Bike and Street Bike ET. After the individual classes the Street Bike winner raced against the Drag Bike winner. In addition to the bikes, Midwest Super Comp was running the first of two days this weekend. We had Juniors, Corvette Club of Chicago and a Test and Tune. There was a little bit of everything for the drag racing fan.

In SS Bike 950 there were four entrants, In the final, it was Larry Sargis, Midlothian, Il. against Andy Bailey Dekalb, Il. This was a convincing win by Larry .094 RT/9.523 ET to Andy's .147 RT /9.671 ET. Larry had the better light and ran closer to the number.

Larry Sargis, foreground and Andy Baily, Background.

In the Drag Bike Class there were three entrants who raced two elimination races leading to the Final. In the final it was Jarron Christionson, Clinton, Iowa against Paul Summers, Joliet, Il. Paul beat Jarron on the light, .066/.074, but Jarron made it back by running closer to his dial-in, 9.03/9.08 take the win.

Jarron Christianson

In Street Bike ET, There were three rounds of eliminations prior to the Final. In the Final, it was Rockford's Ted Thompson on his 2008 Kawasaki against Leon Robinson on his 2000 Kawasaki. Ted took the win when Leon went -.006 red. Leon was inconsistent with previous lights and this could have led to the foul.

Ted Thompson

In the race-off between Drag Bike winner Jarron Christianson and Street Bike winner Ted Thompson, it was Jarron taking the win with a .026 RT and 9.092 ET on his 9.00 DI.

Next up was Midwest Super Comp with sixteen entrants. Through three rounds of competition the racing was intense. In the Finals it was Lake Villa, Il.' Jim Glosson against Streator, Il.' Jeff Spierling. This was a great race with Jim's .009 RT and Jeff's .014 RT. Both pushed each other to the stripe for a double break-out with Jim closest to the 8.90 index to take the win!

Jim Glosson

In between all the racing their was a Test and Tune.

And the Corvette Club of Chicago was out racing.

There was a good contingent of Juniors racing in two classes today, Novice and Elite.

The Novice Class raced three eliminations rounds to get to the Final. There, it was Wyatt Bacon of Kingston, Il. against Gaven Adams from Prophetstown, Il. Both drivers were doing well on their response times but in this Final, Gaven fired off a little early giving the win to Wyatt, Gaven went -.063 red.

Wyatt Bacon

In the Elite Final it was Morrison, Il.' Brady Wolf against Plainfield, Il.' Kamryn Schubbe. Both Brady and Kamryn had been doing well on the Tree. Brady had a perfect light in the third round. This trend continued with Brady's .044 and Kamryn's .069. With Brady slightly ahead, Kamryn pushed her car and just slightly broke out, 7.894 on a 7.90 DI to give the win to Brady.

Brady Wolf

We also had two new drag racers licensing today. Norah McCloud of Galt, Il, age 7 and Riley Malek of Beloit, Wi. age 6.

With a morning rain delay and a midday power outage, the day was longer than anticipated, however it was a great day of racing. To see all the images from the day, please click here.

If you see something you would like to purchase, click on the Ordering tab at the top of the page or click here.

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Byron, Midwest Junior Super Series Sunday

8/9/2020

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On Sunday, Byron Dragway hosted the final day of three days of racing for the Protect the Harvest, Midwest Junior Super Series. Today's racing consisted of four classes of Index racing and 330 Outlaw, followed by the $1,000.00 to win Pro Sportsman Race. This race has all the classes running against each in a Ladder type system.

There were seven cars in the 1390 Index Class. There were two elimination rounds followed by the finals. In the finals, it was Nash Rachford of California, Ky. against Carson Wied, Neenah, Wi. Both Nash and Carson beat their earlier opponents with better reaction times. That held true when Nash's .137 RT was better than Carson's .163. Carson had the better elapsed time but was beaten by the "Hole Shot"

Nash Rachford 1390 Index Winner

In the 1190 Index Class, like the 1390 Index there were two rounds of eliminations followed by the Finals. Jackson Summers, Franklin, Ky., faced off against Landen Brown, Brandenburg, Ky. Even though Landen's Elapsed Time was better, 11.925 to Jackson's 12.017, It was Jackson's .087 RT to Landen's .285, that took the win light.

Jackson Summers 1190 Index Winner

In the 890 Index Class, there were fifteen entrants which took three rounds of eliminations to get to the finals. In the Finals, it was Tyler Reid, Neenah, Wi., against Oswego, Ilinois' Madalyn Highland. In the races leading up to the Finals, Tyler was consistently cutting down the tree, while Madalyn was struggling with hers. This continued in the Finals, with Tyler's .028 RT to Madalyn's .093 to take the win even though Madalyn's ET was .035 better. There is hope because Madalyn's .093 RT was her best of the day.

Tyler Wied 890 Index Winner

For today's racing, the 790 Index Class was the largest of the Index Classes with 17 Entrants. It took five rounds of eliminations to get to the Finals. In the Finals, it was Kewanee, Illinois' Hannah Ince against Channahon's Braden Bowden. Braden ran the number perfectly with a 7.900 ET, but could not overcome Hannah's .001 RT. Her ET was 7.937. It was a great race!

Hannah Ince 790 Index Winner

The final race before the Pro Sportsman race was the Outlaw 330. There were nine entrants which allowed for three rounds of eliminations to get to the finals. It was Caleb Burns, Fredericktown, Oh. against Brent Wagner, Imperial, Mo. With a .036 RT, 4.366 ET, Caleb defeated Brent, .095 RT, 4.376 ET.

Caleb Burns Outlaw 330 Winner

The last race of the day, was the Pro Sportsman. This race is open to any class of driver with the winner taking home $1,000,00. The drivers race against their class until a pre-determined number are left. At that point, a ladder system is implemented. Thirty-nine drivers entered. After six rounds of hard fought eliminations, the Finals approached. It was Blaine Bazell against CJ Kilkenny. In the six eliminations leading up to the Finals, CJ had phenomenal Response Times, .004, .003, .005, .007, .000, and .005. Unfortunately for CJ in the finals he was a little too quick and he -.004 redlighted giving the win to Blaine and the big check!

Blaine Bazell Pro Sportsman Winner

This concluded the Midwest Junior Super Series weekend at Byron. Due to my past scheduling conflicts, I was never able to attend one of these. This was a great event for the families. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Since this was such a family oriented event, I will post some more working Mom and Dad images from today to honor their sacrifices to allow their children to participate in such a great sport.

If you wish to see more of today's images, please click here.

If you see something you would like to purchase, please click here or on the "Ordering" tab at the top of the page.

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Byron Dragway Junior Fest D2 & Drag Week 500 D3

Byron Dragway Junior Fest Day 1

Byron Dragway - 45th US Bracket Nationals, Day 3

Byron-Day 2 of Two Wheel Speed w/Midwest Index Shootout and T & T

Byron - Two Wheel Speed and Test & Tune

Byron Summit King of the Track Bracket Racing

Byron - She Speed Ladies-only Event w/Super Pro

Byron, Two Wheel Sunday w/ Super Comp, Midwest Index Shootout and Buick Club

Byron, Two Wheel Saturday w/ Midwest Super Comp and Juniors

Byron, Midwest Junior Super Series Sunday

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