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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
To see all the images from the day, please click here. If you see something you would like to purchase please click on the "Ordering" tab at the top of the page or here.
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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. 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. 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. 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! 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. 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. We also had two new drag racers licensing today. Norah McCloud of Galt, Il, age 7 and Riley Malek of Beloit, Wi. age 6.
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" 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. 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. 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! 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. 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! 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.
The schedule for the second day of the Midwest Junior Super Series consisted of the Quick !6, the age group classes followed by the Sportsman race. The Sportsman race consisted of all the cars running in their age groups through a series of elimination rounds. When the groups reached eight, they were put into a Ladder system with all the cars running against each other, regardless of group/class. In the Quick 16, it was Jesse Lasik against Madison Drafke, with Jesse taking the win light. In the 6-9 age group, it was Nash Rachford taking the win light over Griffin Kroening. In the 10-12 age group, Gavin Adams defeated Lane Fisher. In the 13 and over group, it was Jordan Ancel over Caleb Burns. After the age groups completed their competition, the Sportsman Race began it's eliminations. In the finals, it was Sarah Bazell against Alyssa Marten. Sarah is 16 years old and comes from Lancaster, Oh. If Alyssa's name sounds familiar, she won Friday night's $500 Gambler race. She was going for a double. With Alyssa in the far lane and Sarah, the near, it was a close race, however Alyssa took the win light to complete the double!
During the event, I was trying to think of something a little different to shoot that I don't normally do. It dawned on me that shooting the cars and documenting the races didn't tell the whole story. So I thought I would photograph the Mom's and Dad's as they prepped the cars to run. Without them, the kids wouldn't have the fun of racing. After nearly a year away from any racetrack, it was finally time to get back to work. As a return, I chose the Protect the Harvest, Midwest Junior Super Series. This Series does not run at my home track of Route 66 and I'm almost always working at 66 when it makes it's only Illinois appearance. The Series travels the midwest hosting races for youths, age 6 to 17., in various classes. The above links will take you to the Series sponsor and Series website. Friday, the schedule was a Test &Tune and a $500 Gamblers race to close the day. At 5:00 o'clock the call came from the tower to start lining up the cars for the Gamblers race, $500, winner take all. I want to reassure everyone that in the above photo folks were social distancing. It may not appear that way, but they were! The racing was very competitive with the kids giving it their all. After seven rounds of competition it came down to the final two cars, Alyssa Martin of Beaverton, Mi. and Caleb Burns of Fredericktown, Oh. In a very competitive race it was Alyssa taking the win light. The above photo is the finals, with Alyssa in the far lane. I have to apologize for the quality of the image, however by the time the race was run, it was very dark!
The weekend's events continue on Saturday starting at 8:00 a.m. You can check the schedule on the Byron Dragway website or Facebook page. To see all the photos from Friday, please click here. If you see something you would like to purchase please click here or the Ordering link at the top of the page. Saturday, was the 2020 version of the Ingalls Park A.C. Practice Tree Nationals to benefit the Midwest Junior Super Series. The Series' mission is to provide a fun and competitive racing environment for racers and their families at tracks around the Midwest. For 2020, the Series has a seven race schedule: The following sponsors contributed to the success of this event: Summit Racing Lucas Oil VP Racing Fuel Allstar Performance Diamond Pistons Antron Brown Racing Git Sidewayz Get'M Performance Car Chix The Roloff Family Pat and Dave Beimfohr (Midwest Junior Super Series) Ingalls Park A.C. Route 66 Raceway Chicagoland Speedway Sontag Speed Supply John Homestrom I arrived at the beginning of the event and shot a short video of the early happenings. The full crowd had not yet arrived. As friends gathered, the talk began! Route 66 representatives Bill Larson, Greg Nickleski and I spoke and cured all the ills, present and future, of every racing series in the United States! At the event, Jeanette DesJardins, from Car Chix/event sponsor, and I spoke. This is the "off-season" third event we have attended together. Jeanette has been on the road for the past six weeks for Car Chix and just returned from the Detroit Autorama. Not to rest, she is flying to Jacksonville, Fl., on Monday to consult with a business for a marketing campaign. Besides Car Chix, Jeanette is owner of Crank It Media. In the above picture, you will notice Jeanette is wearing a "Lawson Strong" T-shirt. She wasn't the only one. There was a large group wearing the logo wear in support of the John Lawson family, who as you know, lost all their racing equipment in a fire. I spoke with John's niece, Miranda Alley, and of course Corbin her son, and she told me that while the family has been grief stricken over the loss, they have been buoyed by the support coming from all parts of the country! If you have never been to the Practice Tree Nationals, it is a competition using a drag racing practice "Christmas" tree to test reaction times. However, anytime you get racers going head-to-head there is going to be competition, smack talk and attempted intimidation! Here is Dom Bowden attempting the "Stare-Down" of Todd Trench! I think Todd was locked-in and focused!! This is the type of fun that is to be had at this event. Another part of the fun, is watching different classes of drivers compete against each other. In the case below, Junior Modified driver Braden Bowden is going head-to-head with former Junior/ High School and now Super Pro driver, Tori Trench. Here is some more of the comraderies and competition. After the round robin competition, it came down to the finals in each of the three classes, Junior, Sportsman and Pro. In the Junior class it was Madison Drafke vs Mia Rybarski with Madison taking the #1 trophy. In the Sportsman Class, it was Troy Bogner vs Bob Churchill with Troy claiming the top prize. In the Pro Class, it was Braden Bowden vs Tori Trench, with Braden taking the win. This was another great event where everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. Congratulations to our winners and the beneficiary of the event, the Midwest Junior Super Series.
Footnote: As I was packing, I heard a commotion by the Tree. It seems a grudge match had developed and the bet was a steak dinner. Thus it was Bob Churchill vs Joe Zolper! It was Bob taking the win light to his great exuberance. He wanted to make it abundantly clear that, "I kicked Joe Zolper's (expletive deleted). The competition never stops!! Note: There are a couple of hundred more images to be processed and when they are done, I will post a link on Facebook for your perusal. After a years absence, the Race & Performance Expo returns for its 12th annual show. The Expo returned to the Schaumburg Convention Center on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday was the Trade Show portion which was not open to the public. Saturday and Sunday the show was open to everyone. Over the past few years, Jeanette Desjardins, founder of Car Chix, moderated a panel of motor sports women. The panel consisted of Kara Jinrich (1320 Wheels), Tiffany Olson (Sycamore Speedway Promoter), Stephanie Long (Lights Out race Promoter) and Natalie Hirschfield ( driver Natalie Hirschfield Motorsports). If you are female, mother, husband or father and want to learn how females are integrating into the male dominated sport of motor racing, I highly suggest this seminar. Among the topics discussed were entrance into motorsports, male dominated sport, use of social media and sponsorships. After the seminar, it was time to hit the floor. The first stop was my home track display, Route 66 Raceway/Chicagoland Speedway. The Hot Rodders of Tomorrow always have a display and the High School Engine Building Competition. The teams consists of five members and if they can disassemble and reassemble a small block Chevy engine in less than 35 minutes they qualify for the Championship in Indianapolis, In. In addition to the high schoolers, they provide instruction to junior drag racers on how to work on their motors. While walking around I found Emilee Ballard. I knew her car was being worked on, but not the extent! She explained the plan was to have the car here for display, however it wasn't ready, so she had a collage of photos of the car in disassembly and re-assembly. Emilee's boyfriend, Cody Medeisis, is heading up the entire car rebuild from the ground up. She is also getting an air shifter. The display was in front of Cody's truck, awaiting the new engine, and his sister's car, Nichole. Nichole recently graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Physiology from Iowa State and is enrolled at Lewis University for a Nursing degree. She stated the commute for weekend racing is going to be a lot better! A couple of weeks back, I saw a Facebook post that Herman Zehnder, five time Route 66 Track Champion, was looking for a ride. I found Herman and his brother Joe. They explained that Herman had installed a throttle stop on the his Mustang in order to run Super Street and Super Pro. He has a quick disconnect to disable it, if needed. He is looking for a different class car to enhance his chances to make the Division 3 Championships at Norwalk in 2020. If anyone knows of a ride, hit him up. Also Joe has been campaigning his white Mustang convertible in the Sportsman Class. However in the past, he drove a Camaro. He purchased a Camaro awhile back, however he hurt the motor. The car has been repaired and the plan is to drive the Camaro in 2020. On Saturday afternoon, Car Chix held a calendar autograph session with: Natalie Hirschfield - Ms. April Kimberly Deutsch - Ms. June Kamryn Schubbe - Ms. September Ashley Finney - Ms. October Stephanie Long - Ms. December Right across from the Car Chix trailer was one of the most popular cars on display. The Dodge Daytona "Dauntless" Pro Mod of Motor Trend TV's Garage Squad's Joe Zolper. Joe completed this car in 2019 and was seen racing at the Route 66 Raceway "No Prep" TV show. Todd Trench was signing up his team cars at the Route 66 booth and I had to ask who was driving this year? An earlier Facebook post, indicated that Todd may have been contemplating a return to the driver's seat of one their two dragsters. At this time TJ and Tori will both be driving their respective cars. Another of my favorite cars was on display. The Nostalgia Funny Car of Rocky Ausec, "Solid Rock" Hanging with Rocky for the show was Dennis Salzwimmer, President of the Great Lakes Nostalgia Funny Car Circuit. For 2020, they have 14 nostalgia funny cars running 12 events. They will be making a stop in August at Route 66 Raceway. The Junior Drag Racers were all on display. If you don't know what Junior Drag Racing is, it is this. Children ages 5-17 drive half-scale dragsters in several classes. Each driver is licensed by participating in a training program prior to racing. The "juniors" are the future of the sport. The fun part of attending the Expo is, reuniting with friends in preparation for the upcoming race season. Bruce Boyle had his Camaro displayed in the NMCA area. Bruce purchased the Camaro a couple of years back, however had not really done a lot to it. In preparation, for racing in six National events and other races throughout the season, he went through the entire car. Now he knows exactly what's in the car. I also met with Jim Luckett and John Hulbert of Illinois Beat the Heat. I asked John if his car was different car and learned that he had it painted and restored the name "Law and Order" to the doors. They already have numerous events scheduled including several at Cordova and the Nationals at Route 66. Here are some more images of the Expo. This was a good weekend to get pumped for the upcoming 2020 race season. The Expo provided a venue to renew friendships, see new products and cool cars. The crowds were good, especially after a year off. Now it is time to start racing. Can't wait!
Saturday Night was the final culmination of the 2019 Route 66 Raceway season with the Rockett Brand Racing Fuel E.T. Bracket Series Awards Banquet. This year was a special year in that the Route 66 ET Bracket Team won the Division 3 Bracket Championship in Indianapolis. Two of the team members, Jay Allen and Mike Krueger also went to Pomona for the National Championships. Will Tharpe, the NHRA Division Director was on hand for the festivities. Following the opening remarks, Track Chaplain Bill Beagle was introduced and gave memorial remarks for those lost in the past year. Janet and I want to thank Route 66 and Chaplain Beagle for including our son, Michael, in the Memorials. Chaplain Beagle followed the Memorials with the Dinner Prayer and blessing. It was then time to eat. At the conclusion of dinner, Bill Larson, the Captain of the winning Bracket Team took over the emcee duties and began the award ceremonies. First up, was the Junior Sportsman class. This year, it was a very close finish with Hayley Becker taking the Championship by two points over Mia Rybarski. Hayley collected two wins this season. Final Standings 1. Hayley Becker 2. Mia Rybarski 3. Ryan Brockman 4. Brody Grimes 5. Brindy Covell Next up, it was the Junior Modified's turn. With one win and 1 runner-up, Danny Ellis Jr. took the Championship. Final Standings 1. Danny Ellis 2. Zach Manaseri 3. Jake Lucky 4. Kamryn Schubbe 5. Madison Drafke Following the Modifieds the NHRA Junior Drag Racing Challlenge Winners were recognized Jr. Modified Zach Manaseri Jr. Sportsman - Brindy Covell Next up, was the High School Class. The High School participants have been battling each other for quite awhile through the Junior ranks. This year it was Darcy Ancel taking the Championship over Samantha Senko by 20 points with two wins and one runner-up. Final Standings: 1. Darcy Ancel 2. Samantha Senko 3. Allison Furman 4. David Kovar Jr. 5. Alex Mullin also Challenge winner Each year an individual is selected to receive the Spirit Award. This award is emblematic of the spirit and dedication to racing at Route 66: The 2019 Spirit Award went to Steve Zelipsky. Steve has long supported the Junior Program at Route 66. He is now involved in the Super Pro class with his grandson, former Jr. Champion, Nate Kelley. This year he took on the task of being junior modified racer Jake Luckey's crew chief. Jake finished a respectable 3rd in the standings. In the pits, Steve is affectionately known as "Grandpa Steve"! Congratulations on the 2019 Spirit Award. After the Spirit Award it was time to continue driver awards with the Sportsman Class. Stephen Mroz took the Championship with one win and two runner-ups. Stephen was in a battle with Paul O'Keefe all season for the points lead. In the final race of the season, Paul went out early in the competition and Stephen won the race taking the Championship. Final Standings 1.Stephen Mroz 2. Paul O'Keefe 3, Steve Flounders Jr. 4. Andy Brodzinski Jr. 5. Megan Hurley 6. Autumn Larson 7. David Lyons 8. Fred Trombley 9. Raymond St.Pierre 10. Jeff Sandowski Pro Bike followed, with a tight race between Mike Krueger and Tom Ewig. It went down to the last race of the season with Mike and Tom facing off against each other in the Finals. Mike took the win and the Championship. 1.Mike Krueger 2. Thomas Ewig 3. Robert Sutterlin 4. Bruce Damewood 5. John Niles Next up, was the presentation of the Run Tuff Eliminator Trophy. At the Route 66 Classic in August, the bracket racers compete to qualify for the 16 positions who race for the trophy. In 2019, it came down to previous Run Tuff Eliminator winners, John Hixon and Mark Marusak. Mark was a little quicker on the light, however he slightly broke out at the stripe, while John ran a 9.903 on a 9.90 dial-in to take the win. John became the first two time winner of the Run Tuff Eliminator at the Classic. The cool thing was that it was almost four years to the day that John won his first with his oldest daughter Morgan crew chiefing and this time, with youngest daughter Savannah doing the crew chief job! Next up was the Pro E.T. Class. Troy Bogner matched a milestone by winning the Championship with one win, which tied Herman Zehnder with five Route 66 Track Championships! 1. Troy Bogner 2. Matt O'Connell 3. Adam Needles 4. Owin Profitt 5. Ryan Alley 6. Mark Marusak 7. John Coyle 8. Jodie Kovel - tie 8. Don Dumdie - tie 10. Dave Meccia - tie 10. Bruce Mason - tie The next presentation was to Tori Trench for Rookie of the year. She had a 4th place finish in her Super Pro class, with one Runner-Up and went four rounds at Indy. When, while accepting her Junior Modified Championship, she warned everyone that she would be a force to be reckoned with. Congratulations Tori! In Super Pro, it was Mike Murray taking the Championship by a scant 16 points over Kenny King. Mike had one win, 1 runner-up and went many rounds throughout the season. 1. Mike Murray 2. Kenny King 3. Jay Allen 4. Tori Trench 5. Nick Mistrata 6. Don Schomer 7. Michael Franklin 8. Nick Hooten 9. Alan Block 10. Al Kuefler The next presentation was for Family of the Year. The 2019 Family of the Year was the Mroz family. They actually go back to US 30 in the 70's and 80's. Dad, Tom, who passed away 18 years ago this month campaigned his unique chopped top 76 Buick that his son, Bill, races in Super Pro. Bill's brother, Stephen is this year's Sportsman Champion. The glue that holds this team together is Mom, Linda. They go out of their way to promote Sportsman Racing at Route 66 and their hometown of Summit! Before the last award of the night, time was taken to acknowledge the special Wally awards of the 2019 season. First was the NHRA Tv All Access Challenge. Super Pro - Nick Hooten Pro ET - Mark Marusak Sportsman - Paul O'Keefe Pro Bike - Bruce Damewood High School - Alex Mullin Next, was King of the Track. Class Winners: Sportsman - Fred Trombley Pro Bike - Mike Krueger Super Pro - Tom Begler And the Winner of the 2019 King of the Track...Pro ET Driver Ryan Alley! Now the last award of the night was Driver of the Year. After 22 years, Route 66 was finally able to send a RACE CAR to Pomona! That car was driven by Jay Allen, 2019 Driver of the Year! In honor of the 2019 Rockett Brand Racing Fuel E.T. Bracket Series Track Champions, I made the 2019 Track Champions Collage. Congratulations to all our Champs! This puts a cap on the 2019 Route 66 Raceway Season. In about 10 weeks we start all over again for the 2020 season. I will see everyone then!!
It's been a week since the PRI Tradeshow. The nice thing about being a "blogger" vs a "Journalist", I get to write when and what I want. I don't answer to an editor, copywriter or have deadlines. So saying that here is sort of a recap of my Friday PRI day. I drove down at "0" dark early in the morning to catch Jeanette DesJardins' 8:00 a.m. seminar on Opportunities for Women in Motorsports. I am a very big supporter of women in motorsports. It might stem from the fact I have a wife, three daughters and a female dog! This year's panel consisted of Leah Pritchett, Top Fuel Dragster (driver for Schumacher Racing), Alex Taylor (driver of the "Badmaro" Camaro door-slammer), Lea Ochs (driver of the "Lead Sled Resurrection" Ford Fairmont SW), Sarah Burgess (former Drifter and currently Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series racer), and her daughter, Bridget Burgess (LOORRS and asphalt modified driver). This was an excellent seminar with discussions on sponsorships, building your brand, personal relationships and social media. Over the last twenty years there has been a big push for diversity. Motorsports is the largest sport where men and women can compete together on the main stage. While we have made strides, there is still a long way to go with different series having better success than others. NHRA is probably the most successful for women to compete at the highest level. There have been two women world champions in the last several years at the Pro level, Brittany Force (Top Fuel) and Erica Enders (Pro Stock). At the Sportsman levels of drag racing, there are many women competing including young girls in the Junior Drag Racing programs. In Stock Cars, there aren't as many women competing, yet, at the highest levels, however there are some up and coming drivers like Natalie Decker and Hailee Deegan. If you come to PRI next year, I would highly recommend this seminar. After the seminar I took some time to walk around the convention center to get the lay of the land. As I was walking around, I found Nate Kelley and his grandfather, Steve Zelipsky. For 2020, Nate is driving a dragster and intends to drive in the Route 66 Bracket Series and some Super Comp races. I was then off to find the Garage Squad's Joe Zolper with this Dauntless Daytona Pro Mod dragster. If I remember correctly, this car was nine years in the making. This was my first time seeing the car and I was not disappointed. It is beautiful! Joe was busy all day attending to the admirers! Awesome car. I just heard that Joe's daughter, Ruby, wants her junior dragster painted like Dad's car. Go Ruby! I then went and found part-time Route 66 racer Don Yonkers, who was working the Palmgren booth. Don works for Palmgren, a C.H. Hanson company, who are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Palmgren business. In 2019, Don started the bracket season at Route 66, however when his torque converter went south, it prematurely ended his season. The torque converter has been repaired and he is looking for a more positive 2020 season. He also stated he has a great torque converter repair company! When you are wandering around PRI, you never know who you may run into. It could be this guy. Or these guys! Or these folks. There was even a sighting of legendary NASCAR crew chief Ray Evernham. (No photo though) Here are some more sights of the show. In past PRI's, the trailers and haulers were exhibited outside. This year they were inside Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the NFL Colts. Having never been in a NFL domed stadium, I decided to take the trek to see it. In comparison to race tracks, I was struck by how small it seemed. I have been told when it is full of fans it appears bigger. Being a Bears fan, I unfortunately had to look at this banner. The Colts Super Bowl win over the Bears! As I was leaving Lucas Oil Stadium, I ran into Route 66 racer and track announcer Bill Larson. He pointed out a car that I had missed on my way into the Stadium. It was Route 66's own, Ted Peter's new Nostalgia Pro Stock car. I'm told the car has some good history, I can't wait to find out! This concluded my 2019 PRI day. Because this event continues to grow, one of these years, I will have to extend my visit to Indy and PRI. If you haven't attended a PRI show, I would highly recommend it. It's worth the time!
My next event should be the January 25th Route 66 Rockett Brand Racing Fuels ET Bracket Awards Banquet. Make your reservations and I will see you there. Sunday was the final Rockett Brand Racing Fuel ET Bracket Series race of the 2019 season and crowned the Track Champions. This was highlighted by Troy Bogner winning his fifth Track Championship tying Herman Zehnder for the most track championships. When you realize that this is Route 66's twenty-first season and Troy and Herman have won ten of the 21 Pro Championships, that is domination by two drivers! Onto the rest of the day. First, I want thank Mother Nature for this weekend! This season has been a struggle and there haven't been too many kind words directed at her! The weather for Friday night's Race Your Ride and Sunday's ET Bracket race was spectacular. Great days to be at Route 66!! The racing started promptly in the morning with the two rounds of Time Trials. Sunday included a Junior Drag Racing League "Fun" race. Their last race of the season was rained out so it was decided to include this. The track appeared to be hooking well. After the completion of the Time Trials, the round robin eliminations began. The first to complete its class was Pro Bike. It's only right, that the race should come down to numbers 1 & 2 in the points, Mike Krueger vs Tom Ewig! Tom was slight quicker off the line, .022/.026. Both pushed each other to a double break-out, with Mike running closer to his dial-in, 8-46/8.450, than Tom's, 9.11/9.086. With this win Mike secured the Track Championship. Next up was High School. This pitted Darcy Ancel against Owen Rink. Darcy had the slower vehicle so she left first with Owen trying to race her down. Owen had the slightly faster reaction time, .071, to Darcy's, .076. Owen was not able to track Darcy down with Darcy running closer to her dial-in, 16.08/16.133, to Owen's 14.65/14.721. Like Pro Bike, this win secured Darcy the High School Track Championship. After High School, it was Super Pro's turn. This put long time bracket racers Don Schomer and John Woolwine against each other. They were very close in their Dial-in's, Don 9.71/John 9.32. They were both going for the win and pushed each other to a double break-out. John would have won, however he went red by -.001! This gave Don the win. In Pro, it was Troy Bogner against Jody Kovel. Jody had the slower car and started first with Troy trying to catch him. At the line, Jody ran closer to his dial-in,10.48/10.498 to Troy's 9.42/9.447, however Troy beat Jody on the tree, .059/.083. This goes down as a "Hole Shot" win for Troy and as previously mentioned, the Track Championship. The last class to be contested was Sportsman. This placed Steve Mroz against Andy Brodzinski Jr. Steve had the slower car leaving first with Andy trying to catch him. Andy tried a little too hard and broke out giving the win to Steve. However, I'm not sure it would have made much difference when you compare the numbers, Steve .060/14.34/14.342 to Andy's .086/12.58/12.536. This gave Steve the Sportsman Championship. This was Steve's fourth 2019 season final losing three previous times to Paul O'Keefe, #2 in points. Paul went out in the first round today which secured the championship for Steve. JDRL "Fun" race In the "fun" race, it was just a good time! No pressure, No money just racing! In the final it was Cooper Hamelen against Danny Ellis. It was Cooper taking the win with having the better reaction time and running closer to his dial-in than Danny, .074/8.96/8.991 to .144/8.02/8.055. Cooper was not available for photos after the race. In addition to those championships and photos already mentioned, it was Mike Murray taking the Super Pro Championship. In Junior Modified, it was Danny Ellis taking the Championship. In the Junior Sportsman class, it was Hayley Becker taking the championship. Hayley was not available for photos, however here she is from a previous race. Track Bites It was long time Super Pro racer Al Kuefler's birthday and what a birthday show it was! Look at these reaction times: Round 1 - .006 Round 2 - .000 Round 3 - .000 Round 4 - -.008 Al said he wasn't upset about going red by -.008 because he was so close to another perfect light. He will take that any day! To show the fun that was being had, in the first round eliminations of the Junior "Fun" race, I saw Sydney and Samantha Senko coming through the tunnel to race against each other. I thought this was going to be fun. Then I noticed there was dial-in of 17.00. It seems, Junior Sportsman racer Ryan Brockman selected their dial-ins. Syd won with a 17.633 with Sam breaking out with a 15.377. I don't think either have ever gone that slow down the track!! When photographing a bracket race, it can be fast paced with race after race. Trying to get the shot, sometimes, take precedence over which cars are racing. This was happening when I noticed a car that I hadn't seen in awhile. It was long time 66 racer John Singleton! John had moved to Tennessee and was back in town and decided to come race. It was good to see John back at 66! On Saturday, there was one of the last car nights at the Duke's Drive In, Bridgeview. Dukes has been a long time gathering place for car guys and racers. It is closing and eventually hopes to re-open at a new location. However there is no timetable for that to occur. Near the end of the night, Nick Hooten started his car and it backfired shearing off several teeth from the flywheel. The racing family jumped in with Joe Malfeo offering up his garage to make the repairs. The car was taken to Joe's, repaired and made it to 66 about 4:00 a.m. to race Sunday. Unfortunately, Nick went out in the first round, but the car survived. Great job everyone! And "POOF" like that the 2019 Route 66 ET Bracket Season is over. Next up for the Indy qualified bracket racers are the ET Bracket Finals. Good luck Team 66!
To see all the images from Sunday's race 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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