POINTS RACE NUMBER TWO ESTABLISHES 2014 CONTENDERS APRIL 26, 2014 MADISON. IL / ST. LOUIS - The second race of the 10 race Gateway Motorsports Park Championship Series is now complete and, if the first two races of the season are indicative, Wentzville, Missouri racer Dirk Sutton is officially the man to beat for the championship. Sutton, who won Super Pro in race number one, advanced to not only the Super Pro finals in race number two but also captured the Top Eliminator title. For the year, Sutton has now made it to three finals in four opportunities and has scored two wins. St. Louis driver John Tignor made sure that Sutton didn’t run away with the Super Pro title right off the bat. In the class final, Tignor took the win on the quarter mile with a run of 7.536 on a 7.52 dial with a .022 reaction time at 177.37 mile per hour against Sutton’s .017 reaction time and 8.502 on a 8.48 dial at 155.94 mile per hour. The win was worth $1,000 to the Hillsborough, Missouri driver. A few minutes later the 1/8 mile Top Eliminator final rolled to the starting line with a match-up of, incredibly, Tignor and Sutton again. This marked the first time in more than 13 years that the same two drivers were able to advance to both the finals in quarter mile and eighth mile competition. On the second shot Sutton used a .007 reaction time and ran perfect on his 5.40 dial at 124.68 to take out Tignor who posted a strong .026 reaction time on a 4.813 e.t. on a 4.81 at 140.47 mph. The win for Sutton was worth $750 and brings his final round earnings in two race weekends to $2,150. Pro Bracket proved to be as competitive as ever with 54 cars battling for the $850 winner’s share. St. Ann, Missouri’s Gary Lewis cut a .009 light in the final and ran 12.254 on a 12.10 dial at 108.23 mph to defeat Doug Graf from Troy, Missouri who experienced problems on the line with a .317 reaction time that made his 10.476 on a 10.47 dial-in at 129.69 a lost cause. Although he fell short in the semi, one of the highlights of Saturday’s event was a rate accomplishment posted by Granite City, Illinois driver Andy Hartline. In his round 3 match-up versus Dennis Richardson, Hartline cut a perfect light and ran 12.240 on a 12.24 light for a perfect package. This package is very, very rare in drag racing and is comparable to being struck by lightning when done in a non-electronics assisted car leaving from the bottom bulb on the tree. Tim Schaffer of Maryland Heights, Missouri earned $500 for his win in Modified Eliminator over Geoff Pugopolski from Hazelwood, Missouri. Tim’s .007 reaction time and 6.882 on a 6.87 dial defeated Geoff’s .025 reaction and 7.801 on a 7.07 dial. Steve Zeuner of Imperial, Missouri was the best of 42 drivers in Sportsman when his familiar 2002 Dodge Dakota consistently took out seven opponents on it’s way to a $350 payday. In the final round, Zeuner ran 14.471 on a 14.47 dial after Aaaron Hagen from Highridge, Missouri fouled out by -.009. Marcus Taylor was the star in motorcycle competition as he made appearances in both the Street and Pro Bike finals. Taylor took the win over Denny Slusser in Street Motorcycle before falling to Charles Willis from Bunker Hill, Illinois in the Pro Motorcycle final. Aaron Koehler of Swansea, Illinois was the first Street Trophy winner of 2014 in his Ford Mustang. The first appearance of 2014 for the Russellville Eliminator club had Darren Haldiman from Jamestown, Missouri earning the victory. More than 250 racers from 5 states participated in round 1 eliminations for Saturday’s event. The next Gateway Motorsports Park Bracket Championship event will be held on Saturday, May 10 as part of the first annual Nitro Rendezvous. Super Pro, Pro, Sportsman, Street Motorcycle and Pro Motorcycle will be in competition along with the Victory Nostalgia Super Stock Series, the Nostalgia Drag Racing League and Drag Racing Online Nitro Funny Car Series.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Apr 2014 00:18:52 +0000
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