Saturday, at Byron Dragway was a day of firsts! This was my first Byron Diesel Drags Presented by Superior Automotive. Back in the day, I had covered an earlier iteration of this event at Route 66 Raceway. This was also my first witnessing of a World Record. Brett Deutsch, from Elburn, Il., brought his 1969 C10 Duramax to attempt to break the world record for a non-dragster Duramax vehicle. The time to beat was 7.44 in the quarter mile. On Brett's first attempt, at about the 300 foot mark, the truck broke traction and got a severe tire shake. Brett backed out of it and re-gained control. On the second attempt, the truck launched well but something wasn't quite right and Brett had to get out of it, again. On the third attempt, the truck launched really well witnessed by the title photo. It wasn't an easy run as the truck started to drift left. Brett was able to keep control and hit the stripe with a 7.289 at 175.41 mph to break the world record! Here are more images of the world record breaking day. Congratulations Brett! Brett's wasn't the only diesel vehicle at Byron Saturday. There was a large contingent diesels putting on a great show. There were several awards for the diesel vehicles. One of which was for overall fastest. That was won by Adam Twarowski from Warren Mi. There was also a small Gamblers Race. In the final, it was Robert Hill, Beloit, Wi., vs Gil Odjick, Byron, Il. Both broke out at the stripe, however Robert ran closer to his dial-in to take the win. Besides the racing trucks, there were several display diesel trucks. This is Austin Ingram's, Bristol Wi., 2016 Super Duty. It had a unique tranmission cover. Austin has two other trucks, an 05 and 08 and is looking for a 97. And there was Preston Lewis's, Gilberts, Il., 2014 F250. In addition to the on-track diesel trucks there was a Test & Tune happening. During the Test & Tune, I saw the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air of Don Dumdie, driven by Brian Dumdie, approach the starting line. I though it was unusual that a normal bracket car would be testing this late in the season. I found Don and he explained that at the Indy Brackets, they broke the crankshaft in the motor. They were ready to replace that motor in the off-season. To get a jump on next season, they installed the motor and came to test. They are trying to work out some of the bugs in the total car. There was also a dragster licensing this Saturday. I saw Rob and Dana Highland with the car and assumed their daughter Mikayla was licensing as she is leaving the Junior ranks. Then I saw Jim Schubbe with the car. Now, I didn't know who was in the car because Jim's daughter Kamryn is also graduating to the "big" car from juniors. I caught up with the families and learned that Kamryn was in the car. Her dad, Jim, stated they have a dragster for her to drive in Super Pro bracket racing next season. All told this was a great race day, with all kinds of action and surprises. Several diesel trucks had catastrophic failures, a world record and a great show put on by the diesels.
This is my last on-track event for 2021. While it was a trying season, at the end I was sad to call it over. Almost every year, by the time you get to October, you are looking for some down time. You've been at a race track almost every weekend from April through October. You are tired mentally, physically and your equipment is tired. However, this season I was forced to the sidelines until July. During the dog days of summer, I was just trying to get back on my game. Saturday was the best I have felt all season. I am looking forward to 2022. I want to thank everyone for their support this year and hope to see many at PRI in December. If not, we will see you next season. To see all of Saturday's photos please click here. If you see something interesting and wish to order, please click on the "Ordering" tab at the top of the page or here.
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This past weekend, Byron Dragway hosted the Fall Bracket Nationals. This was the last bracket race for the 2021 season. Saturday was the Super Pro Box/No Box race. There was one Time Trial pass for all cars, followed by the first round of eliminations. Here is some of the action. The No-Box cars ran seven rounds before reaching the finals. In the final it was Steve Roehrs, Federic Wi., against Cross Plains, Wi.' Taylor Schlueter. Steve was killing the tree all day with his worst light being a .036 on his bye run. Before that his worse light was a .014. That continued in the final with a .011 to Taylor's .066. Taylor tried to lead at the stripe, however in so doing he broke out, 7.042 on a 7.05 DI. Steve ran a 6.443 on a 6.40 to take the No-Box win a spot in the $4,000 Super Pro final. After seven rounds of eliminations, the Box final came down to Tim Vincent, St. Charles, Il., against Stephen Liss, West Bend Wi. In a very close race, it was Tim Vincent taking the win light. Tim was slightly better on the tree .042 to Stephen's .047. However, it was Stephen running closer to his dial-in 5.095 on a 5.09 DI to Tim Vincent's 5.080/5.07. Tim won by .0001. It doesn't get much closer than that! As darkness closed in on the track, Tim Vincent and Steve Roehrs turned their cars around quickly to run for the winner's $4,000 Big Check! At the tree Tim was slightly quicker with a .018 RT to Steve's .024. At the stripe, Tim took the win light with a 5.069 on a 5.06 DI. Steve broke out slightly with a 6.423 on a 6.43 DI. It was a long day of racing, but the racing was quite spectacular. It appeared, everyone was pushing everything to the limit. Sunday The day broke with a lot of rain clouds stretching as far as the eye could see. The forecast was not looking particularly good. Because of the threat of rain and the addition of classes to the schedule, Staff decided to start earlier than announced. They were in the "Hurry-up Mode". About half way through Pro Eliminator time trials, it started to rain. The action was stopped, but the rain didn't. After several hours, the rain let up and track drying started. The sun was out briefly and as the track was nearly dry, the clouds rolled in and it started raining with lightning and thunder this time. After a period of time, it was clear that there weren't enough daylight hours left in the day to get the track dry to start racing again. The decision was made to call a rainout that would not be made up. The Byron Staff did everything humanly possibe to get this race in, but Mother Nature had a different thought. This concluded the Bracket racing season. Here are a few images from the racing prior to the rain. I want to thank the entire Byron Staff for allowing me to cover the Big Bucks Bracket 2021 season. Due to my early season health issues, I wasn't able to get out until around mid-season. I hope I was able to capture some of the racer's memories. I will probably be out for the Diesel Drags in late October so I hope to see everyone there.
There are two albums covering this weekend and here are the links: For Saturday click here. For Sunday click here. If you see something that interests you, it can be ordered by clicking here or on the Ordering tab at the top of the page. On Saturday evening I arrived at the Rockford Speedway a little later than normal due to working a race at the Byron Dragway. The Heat races were nearing the end. When I was allowed into the infield, I needed to reconfigure my equipment from drag racing to stock car racing. The first of six feature races was the Midwest Dash Series. This was a 50 lap race starting 20 cars. The race was slowed on Lap 1 when the #50 car crashed between turns 3 and 4. The cars were put under caution on Lap 5 for light rain and restarted after a short delay. The attrition rated was high for this race as there were only seven cars running at the end. Loves Park's George Sparkman #5 won the race. Next up was the Sportsmen Class with 15 cars racing in the 30 lap feature. There were several cautions as the racing was quick and furious. On Lap 28, Robert Hansberry of Beloit, Wi. took the lead and brought home the checkers. In the third feature of the night was a new class for me that I had not seen run. This was the 602 Late Model Series. This Series is a late model chassis with outlaw style body and a crate engine. Tonight, there were only 7 cars starting the 35 lap race. On Lap 3, four cars were involved in a dust-up between turns 1-2. All the cars were able to continue. At the end of the race, it was Onslow, Iowa's Dennis Miller taking the win. Dennis hadn't raced at Rockford in 21 years. Welcome back, Dennis. The fourth feature was the first of the two Rich Bickle Invitation 45's for the Super Late Models. There were 16 cars taking the green with Ricky Bilderback #2 leading the pack. On Lap 11, Bilderback unexpectedly spun. It was suspected something broke. This gave the lead to Austin Nason who cruised to the victory. Next up were the Hobby Stocks with a 20 lap feature and 14 cars starting. On Lap 6, an unusual thing happened when a car drove straight off the track, down the ramp to the pits without slowing down! I never found out who the driver was. The racing was tight throughout the race and in turn 4 the #52 got into the #33 of Jimmy Robinson causing a spin. The #52 took the checkered flag, however the win was awarded to Jimmy Robinson from Beloit, Wi. In the final feature of the night, it was the second of the 45 lap Super Late Model races. Due to the Bilderback retirement in the first, 15 cars started this second race. On Lap 3, Rich Bickle drove to the lead followed by Austin Nason #14. Austin continually pressured Bickle #45, however Rich was able to hold him off and take the win and the combined overall win. Rich Bickle has become a midwest racing legend and this was a very popular win! This night's racing had it all! A lot of good racing and a fitting way for a Champion to end his career at Rockford.
This concludes my reports from the NSTC as I have another assignment on Sunday. It had been nearly two years since I had been to Rockford Speedway and it was fun to be back. Sunday morning was a very wet one. Overnight there was a downpour, twice. The Byron staff was out drying the track and again very early in the morning. They did yeoman's work to get the track prepped for racing. Finally, Mother Nature helped as the sun popped out and the track was finally dried and prepped to race. Midwest Index Shootout was the first out for their first round of eliminations. This was quickly followed with first round eliminations for Midwest Top Sportsman. At this point, Mother Nature took back what it had given us earlier and the clouds rolled in and the rain fell. Byron staff immediately got to work trying not to lose the track, too badly. After several hours, as the rain tapered off, they gained ground. When the rain stopped, they were on the way to a dry track. Due to the lateness of the day, it was decided to call the support series races complete and move forward with the main event, The Wheel Standers! There would be two rounds with two runs per round The field of fifteen cars lined up and Jeff Wild came out first. He set the benchmark for the rest of the field at approximately 270 feet. Here is some of the action: In the first round, 7-time Champion Brian Ambrosini, in the orange Gremlin had a nitrous problem. In the pits, they scrambled to get ready for the second round. As it approached the line, the crew noticed something leaking from underneath the car and they immediately had to shut the car down. It turned out to be a bad oil fitting. They had to retire from the event. This left the door wide open for Chris Pearce in the "Chinto". In 2020, in this same event, Chris ended up on his roof. Before this event, he announced this would be his last go around for the Wheel Standing Championship. At the tree, he gave it his all and put the "Chinto" on its back bumper and traveled 410 feet to win the the event and his second championship! Second place was taken by Jeff Wild and third went to Jason Schubert. Track Bites When Dave Pearce announced this was his last go around, he invited all the fans to sign the hood of the "Chinto" so he could take them along on the ride. Launching Larry with the Bad Fish Barracuda had been practicing all month for this event. Apparently, he decided since he was at the track he might as well run with the Midwest Index Shootout. He obviously had to tone it down a little. For a day that threatened a rain out, the fans showed their support and came out in droves! This was a day that Mother Nature tried to stop, but with the hard work of the Byron staff, they won the day! Byron 1 Mother Nature 0!! It was a great day.
To see all the images of Sunday's action, please click here. If you see something of interest, it may be ordered by clicking here or on the "Ordering" tab at the top of the page. This past weekend was the World Power Wheel Standing Championship Presented by Don's Auto Parts & Machine Shop . The Saturday portion of the event consisted of Midwest Index Shootout and Midwest Top Sportsman qualifying for Sunday and some of the entered wheel standers testing. With the anticipated bad weather not making it's appearance, the Series decided to run Gamblers races. The Midwest Index Shootout would run two race classes and the Top Sportsman, one. Here are some pics of the qualifying and the gamblers races. In the Midwest Index Shootout Gamblers Race it was Rob Moore and Ed Frost winning their classes (at least that was what I was told). In Top Sportsman, it was Troy Finner racing in the final against Bob Romano in Rick Zirk's car. Troy took home the $1200 prize with the win! Track Bites Steve Malek was on property with his Plymouth Xtreme Bird Pro Mod. Steve made several passes, setting his best time a Byron Dragway! In the grandstand, Chauncey was celebrating his bachelor party with friends at the racetrack. Congratulations on his upcoming nuptials and to his beautiful Bride! On Saturday, the weather report was full of doom and gloom for a rainy day. What actually happened? Hardly a drop of rain fell. Byron was able to complete the program with the addition of Gamblers races. It only proves that you must come out to the track!
To see the rest of the day's action action, please click here. If you see something of interest it can be ordered here or by clicking on the Ordering tab a the top of the page. Friday night was the opening race sessions for the 56th annual National Short Track Championships. This year there was a format change. In the past the Sunday main event was a 200 lap super late model race. This year as a salute to Rich Bickle retiring, there will be twin 45 lap features Saturday night. This is the Rich Bickle Super Late Model Invitational with sixteen drivers competing. Friday night had five Feature races. Before the Features could run, there had to be the Heat races to decide the final starting order. These are the winners of those races. The first of the feature races were the Bandits. This was a 25 lap race with 20 cars starting. The race ended the way it started with Machesney Park's #2 John Riggs leading all the laps and taking the checkers. After the Bandits, it was the American Short Trackers turn. This was a 30 lap Feature with 17 cars taking the green. Kyle Stark, #19, from Marshall, Wi. took the lead on the first lap and led the rest of the way to take the checker flag. Next up were the Late Models. This feature was 40 laps with 18 cars starting. On the pace laps, long time Rockford competitor, Jon Reynolds Jr., had an oil line come loose and went to the pits. Fortunately, with some fast work, they were able to get it fixed and Jon re-joined the field before the start. He did have to start at the rear. On lap 28, Roscoe's Austin Nason, #14, took the lead and won a hard fought battle with second place Josh Thiering. Following the Late Models, it was the Roadrunners turn. This was a 25 lap Feature with 13 cars taking the green. Turn 2 seemed to be giving a couple drivers problems with two cautions there. In the end it was Loves Park's Austin Fowler taking the victory. The last race of the evening was a 20 lap race for the Season Championship for the Sixers. Twenty-four cars started and at the finish it was Matt Moore from Tomah, Wi., taking the race win. And it was Kody Parks taking the season Championship. On the first night of the Rockford Speedway's 56th National Short Track Championships, I want to congratulate all the winners.
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