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Today was Day 3 of the Spring Bracket Nationals. This day is a non-points Super Pro race for the cash, in box/no box. The track was an 1/8 mile again today. The racing began with one round of Time Trials followed by eliminations. Although it was going to be another hot day, there was a little breeze that made it tolerable. Unlike Saturday, where there were twelve perfect lights, today's action was punctuated with red lights. There was also some nice action at the finish line. As the Rounds would down, it was apparent that Dave Ancel was having a very good day. Here is his second round win. Near the end of the day, we were down to four cars. In No Box, it was Joe Schmall vs Shane Pope.  In this final, Joe left just a little early and redlighted giving the win to Shane. Shane was having a very good weekend, having won Super Pro Saturday night. In Box it was Dave Ancel going up against the dragster of "Big Block" Schaun Anderson. Dave continued his winning ways, defeating Shaun. This brought the final race of the day to Dave Ancel in the Camaro against Shane Pope in the Ford Pinto. Dave was able to run Shane down to take the win and the big check. It was a very happy Winner's Circle for the Ancels. Shane had a very good weekend. He won the Big Check on Saturday and won the No Box Class today. A good weekend indeed!
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This was sort of an unusual day for me. Normally, I am at the track early for planning and setup for a bracket race. Due to a personal issue, I didn't arrive until the start of eliminations. Today's racing was the first of three days for the Spring Bracket Nationals Memorial Day Weekend Big Bucks Bracket Bash. Involved today was the Super Pro cars, Box/No Box, 1/8 mile track. In addition, near the end was a High Stakes, Box/No Box, Gamblers race. The day was extremely hot, but the racing was hotter. Ricky Pena was driving two vehicles today, his 1963 Plymouth Fury. ...And a Vincent S-10 truck.  One of the unique aspects of photographing Byron, is the finish line. At the top end there is berm that gives a great view of the finish line and allows for a pan shot. It's one of my favorite areas to shoot Byron! Near the end of the day, in the High Stakes races, it was announced that Dave Ancel just showed up and entered, while his car was still in the trailer! I talked to Dave and he had to work today, so he couldn't get here any earlier.  In the High Stakes, No Box final it was Andy Schmall defeating his Dad, Joe.  And in the High Stakes, Box final it was Eric Grace over Eric Pasevich.  In the Super Pro No Box Final, it was Kamryn Mason over Steve Malek. This was Kamryn's first win in this car.  In the Super Pro Box Final, it was Shane Pope over Gary Loeffelholz. The last race of the day was the box vs no box winners for the Big Bucks. It was Shane Pope, Box, against Kamryn Mason, No Box.  It was Shane taking the win light over Kamryn and the Big Check! Previous to today, Shane had only two passes in this car! It was a very hot day, but a great day for racing.
To see all the images from the day, please click here. If you see something you would like to order, please click here or on the "Ordering" tab at the top of the page. P.S. I will not be attending the second day of this event, however I will be back at Byron on Monday. Check back and see the results from that day.  The weather was a little iffy all day for Route 66's Race Your Ride #5. I believe this led to a lower than normal car count, however what we lacked in quantity was far exceeded by the quality of the cars that raced tonight. First, Bruno Massel, NHRA broadcaster, 2-time NHRA World Champion and co-host of Discovery Channel's Garage Squad, was out with his car. He stated he came out to have some fun.  During my pit walk before the event, I saw Andy Brody with his Buick. Andy had been working on the car during the off-season and just recently completed it. This was his first time on the track this season and he was testing some new front end components.  The Pro Mod driven by Harry Hruska, which was formally the Precision Turbo car had a new paint scheme and sponsor:HPL Superior Lubricants. Harry made several hits testing the car. Troy Bogner was out testing his ET Bracket Pro Class Camaro. Troy has been having problems with his reaction time. In two of his last hits, his reaction time were very good .026 and .029. I think he has fixed the problem. We also had three JDRL dragsters out testing. Samantha Senko was making a pass intended to ensure everything was okay with the car. The family is driving to Indianapolis tomorrow to compete in the Midwest Jr. Super Series. Bob Buckley was testing his nostalgic front engine dragster, Rock n Roll Express.  Mid way through the event, the weather caused staff to shorten each race from a quarter to an eighth mile. Although there was a cold wind blowing all night, it still turned into a great night of racing. Here are more images from the event.  First, I want to extend my sincere condolences to the family, friends and the racing community on the loss of Top Sportsman driver Randy Alexander at the NHRA Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga. Second, I want to praise the work of the Route 66 staff on an exceptional day of work. There were challenges all day, from several oil downs, car breakages, and near the end of the event, at the top end, an incident with the front engine dragster of Tim Cullinan. This included a major oil down and close brush with the wall. Tim is fine. The day started as a beautiful sunny partly cloudy sky with moderate temperatures. Besides a Race Your Ride, this was the first race of the season for Midwest Top Sportsman, Midwest Super Comp and the Chicagoland Buick Club. Chicagoland Buick Club: Midwest Super Comp: Midwest Top Sportsman: After qualifications, the elimination rounds started. In the Buick Club finals it was Keith Egon against Joe Rivecco. It was a good race, however at the end Joe went a little fast and broke out. In the Midwest Super Comp Series, it was Jim Glossen up against Russ Brown with Jim Glossen taking the win light.  The last race of the day, was to be the Midwest Top Sportsman final with Eddie Banderowicz taking on Kyle Dumke. Both cars made their burnouts and were staging when one cloud came over and the rain started pouring down. Part of the complex was in bright sunshine and the other part, it was pouring. Unfortunately, the track was lost and the finals had to be cancelled. The rest of the day was taken up by the Race Your Ride and teams doing some testing. Some of my favorite cars were out on Saturday testing. Tom Motry's Drastic Plastic with Troy Martin driving.  Bill Anderson's nostalgic funny car, Afternoon Rush Hour Roadshow.  Tim Cullinan and Jeff Cochran's nostalgic front engine dragsters. Greg King brought his nostalgic funny car to the track. This was built on the Discovery Channel television show, Garage Squad. I know this is not Wheels Up Wednesday, but I would be remiss not showing some of the more spectacular wheel stands from Saturday. Here are some of the Race Your Rider's: |
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