Rt. 66 ET Bracket Race #6 w/ JDRL #3-Hot On and Off the Track

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On the drive to the raceway, it was a beautiful day that bode well for some great racing. As the day wore on it did get a little warmer than anticipated. And, of course, Mother Nature  couldn't leave us alone. At the end of the event with two cars to go, she had to give us a brief, spitting rain.  It did provide a nice rainbow. I will get to the end of the event later.

This bracket race included the Rockett Brand Racing Fuel ET Bracket Series, the NHRA Junior Drag Racing race #3 and the completion of the Super Pro and Pro classes of the NHRA. Tv Challenge for the Wally from ETB #4, which was a rain shortened event.

Like normal ET Bracket races, it started out with two rounds of Time Trials.

As soon as the Time Trials were completed, the round-robin style of eliminations began. The first to complete its Final was High School. This matched long time competitors (in the Junior classes) Allison (Allie) Furman against Darcy Ancel. Darcy ran closer to her dial-in (16.14/16.214) than Allie (13.78/13.971), however Allie beat her with a quicker reaction time (.132-.260)

Next up was Pro Bike. This matched Bob Sutterlin against John Niles. Bob was a little fast on the trigger and redlighted (-.004) giving the win to John. John's last win at Route 66 was in 2010. He had stayed away for five years before this race. In fact, he was using a Tom Ewig motor. Tom jokingly stated, "Maybe for not much longer!" as John had beaten Tom in the semi's. Welcome back to 66, John!

In the Sportsman Class, it was former champion Steve Flounders Jr. up against Craig Jones. As they launched Craig jumped a little quick (.006) redlighting and giving the win to Steve. It may have not made a difference because Steve had a .046 RT and ran a 12.155 on a 12.15 dial-in.

After Sportsman, it was the Pro class' turn to shine and shine it did. It was Matt "Fink" O'Connell against Mark Marusak. Mark ran a 9.964 on a 9.96 dial-in, however, it was Matt's .027 RT to Mark's .047 that gave the win to Matt as he ran a 9.897 on a 9.88 dial-in. It was a fantastic race. Matt commented that he had been running real well at US 41, but just couldn't get a handle on the car at 66. He recently figured something out and this was the result!

To complete the ETB #6, it was the Super Pro class featuring Nick Mistrata vs Mike Murray. This was a great heads-up contest! Look at these numbers:

Nick Mistrata  .011 RT   7.64 Di   7.634   175.39
Mike Murray    .009 RT   7.64 Di   7.621   172,72

Both broke-out but Nick ran closer to the Dial-in giving him the win-light.

Junior Drag Racing #3

The Route 66 Junior Drag Racers want to thank their race sponsors:

Junior Sportsman: Red Oaks Landscaping

Junior Modified: Lawson's Auto Rebuilders

The Juniors follow a similar format as the ET Bracket Series.

In the final of the Junior Sportsman Class, it was Hayley Becker against the driver with the day's Best Reaction Time, Ryan Brockman. This time Ryan was just a little too quick and redlighted awarding the win to Hayley.

In the Junior Modified Class, it was the #2 qualifier Zach Manaseri against Madison Drafke. Madison was just a little too quick on her reaction time causing a redlight by .036 sec. giving the win to Zach.

It was Sydney Senko having the Best Reaction Time and claiming the #1 seeding in the Junior Modifieds. Sydney lost in the second round to eventual runner-up Madison Drafke.

 After the conclusion of the bracket race, it was time to complete ETB #4 in the Pro and Super Pro classes. First up was Pro. This pitted good friends Mark Marusak against four time Pro Track Champion Troy Bogner. At the line it was Mark Marusak taking the win light for the NHRA.Tv Challenge Wally. This was Mark's first Wally!

In Super Pro, it was Mike Murray taking the win light over Nick Hooten for the Wally. This was Mike's second final of the day as he lost in the ETB #6 race final. He almost doubled up, however I think he was happy with the Wally!

Track Bites

The Trench family was racing with heavy hearts this weekend with the loss of the family Matriarch Susan Trench, mother to Todd and grandmother to TJ and Tori. The Junior teams displayed a sticker and ribbon on their cars in honor of Susan.

Earlier in the week, Andy Brody (Brodzinski Sr.) found a piece of the  oil pump bracket in the oil pan. He and his son Andy work through the night, Saturday, to get the car back together to race Sunday. From what I saw it was running rather well.

The Lawson family has been taking a hit lately. First their El Camino ate its motor and then the white Monte Carlo blew up for a second time. You need a scorecard to determine who is in which car this weekend. I think I got this right: Tyler was in the Blue Nova, Connor was in the shiny black truck and Audi was in the flat black truck. Miranda was having the most fun this weekend with Corbin while everyone else raced, including Ryan (her husband)!

Speaking of Corbin, he is not going to know how to act without a Wally in the Winner's Circle. First his Dad, Ryan, winning King of the Track and then Mark Marusak winning the Wally on Sunday!

I sometimes wonder when are racers having the most fun, driving or clowning around with each other! Bob Churchill and Todd Trench doing, I don't what, in the Winner's Circle!

I want congratulate all our Sunday winners! Next up for the bracket racers is the Sunday after the Rt. 66 Classic. I hope to see everyone out there!!

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