Bristol Dragway was blessed with another beautiful day for racing as two races were on tap for an action-packed Friday during the BTE Labor Day $250K. Early morning hours were spent warming up engines as the one-and-only time trial for today started at 8:30 AM. After everyone had a chance to figure out the mountain air and staging lanes were full of eager racers, it was time for the first $10,000 main event of the weekend to launch off the starting line.

 

As anticipated, the car count climbed on Friday to 312 entries during first round of eliminations. In a similar fashion to the previous race, by seventh round there were eight remaining entries but only seven drivers behind the wheel. The resilient racers still left in competition were Brad Plourd, Cody Spears, Todd McKinney, Nick Lucas, Scooter Hamlin, Trish Witt, and Nick Bowman with two entries.

 

 

The quarterfinal opened with a contest between two Nicks where Bowman’s .024 package is victorious against Lucas who turns it 1 thou red and runs dead on with a five to add insult to injury. The second pairing leaves with identical .025 reaction times as Hamlin runs dead on with a five to claim the .010 margin of victory over Witt. McKinney is .012 up front and runs two above to leave Plourd mathematically ineligible. Bowman secures his second entry in the semifinal with an .026 package beside Spears who turns on the dreaded red bulb by 12 thousandths.

 

Bowman managed to avoid himself on the ladder, but that means he would have to face Hamlin and McKinney back-to-back where a disappointing two thousandths end his night just shy of the final. In the first match up, Bowman lays down .016 total but doesn’t get the win light when Hamlin is perfect on the tree and .015 above to advance. Bowman returns to be .005 on the tree but breaks out by .001 after McKinney executes a drop at the finish line for the win.

 

Geographically, you probably wouldn’t find a more diverse final pairing with McKinney being the local Elizabethton, Tennessee driver staging up beside Hamlin who traveled all the way from Red Oak, Texas. Both drivers run dead on their respective dial ins but McKinney’s .007 starting line advantage gives him the winning edge over Hamlin.

 

 

It’s only fitting that McKinney is wheeling an AMC Spirit as this marks the first race win since the tragic passing of his son, Lucas, earlier this season. As a family that has attended many Coalburg Racing Promotions events, we continue to keep them in our thoughts.

 

 

Emotions were high but the competition was not over yet! Friday’s Gamblers Race had begun eliminations between the late rounds of the Main Event to keep both races running smoothly. Before first round, co-promoters Steve Stites and Jared Pennington had announced an increase in the payout from $3,000 to $4,000, but after the official 206 car count the ante was raised once again to pay $5,000 to win.

 

Once again, no buybacks quickly halved the competition until there were only seven still eligible to win: Gage Burch, Charlie Lockhart, Devin Dudley, Brian Cireddu, Brandon White, Shannon Woodring, and Josh Sutton, Sr.

 

Two S-10s roll toward the starting line to kick off the quarterfinal round. White is .010 red while Lockhart is .012 green to take the wheel-standing win. Burch has a 9 thou starting line advantage and turns it into a win light over Sutton during a double breakout race. Woodring is unable to make the call, therefore Dudley earns a competition bye run while Cireddu earned the odd car bye run to round out the semifinal field.

 

Four of the finest Footbrake racers meet up in Friday’s semifinal with five thousand dollars up for grabs. Burch has an .020 starting line advantage but breaks out 1 thou while Cireddu drops at the stripe for the win. Dudley pairs an .017 light with a dead on pass to lock out Lockhart who breaks out 7 thou for the loss.

 

 

A classic Ford versus Chevrolet matchup would conclude Friday’s racing festivities as Dudley stages his Mustang beside Cireddu in the Camaro. It’s all over on the starting line as Cireddu turns on the red light by 14 thousandths, while Dudley is .028 green and runs dead on with a six for the $5,000 win.

 

That puts a bow on Friday’s event, but Saturday is the big one! One skilled Footbrake racer is going to leave Bristol Dragway with at LEAST $100,000 during Saturday’s Main Event. The payout rises along with the car count with a $250,000 maximum payout.