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MILLINGTON, Tenn. -- The Summit Bracket Racing Series Presented by: COMP Cams returned to Memphis International Raceway (MIR) over the weekend for what was intended to be a doubleheader race event until rain showers moved through the area. Drivers battled it out on Saturday to see who would end up victorious in the third edition of the Summit Bracket Racing Series at MIR. In addition, a new Jr. Dragster category was introduced, Second Chance Shootout. Unfortunately, drivers would not see any track time on Sunday as rain fell throughout the day. "We saw some great racing Saturday and the day was extra special as Tony Newberry won the Rick's Powder Coating Super Pro on his daughter, Sophie's ninth birthday", said Paul Cartwright, Director of Race & Facility Operations. Cartwright continued, "The only downfall was once again Mother Nature worked against us as we were not able to race on Sunday and host a doubleheader as we had planned."
RT Turbines Jr. Dragsters
This weekend marked the creation of a new twist to the Jr. Dragster category, a Second Chance Shootout. Racers who didn't qualify for third round of eliminations in the main event were entered into this race. Tara Taylor, from Bolivar, Tenn., took the victory over Weiner, Arkansas' birthday girl, Sophie Newberry in a red-lighting affair as Sophie turned on the red light by six thousandths of a second (.006) too soon.
This category has been one of the most competitive of the season so far, with a tight race already in the point standings for the Chase for the Championship. Saturday's action kept that trend going with drivers pushing the limits and going after the win. After seven rounds of grueling competition, J.L. Blackard in his Chevrolet Nova, from Olive Branch, Miss., came out victorious over the Chevrolet Vega of TJ Tracey, out of the Motorvation Motorsports camp, from Millington, Tenn. In one of the best races of the day, Blackard recorded a stellar .012 package in the final round of B&B Towing Footbrake with a .010 reaction time and running a 6.372 elapsed time off the 6.37 dial-in at 105.08 miles per hour. Tracey had a good pass as well with a .020 reaction time and running a 5.983 off his 5.97 dial-in at 114.67mph but was no match for the almost perfect run posted by Blackard. The lone semi-finalist was Alex Hubbard driving Jim Kelley's S10 pickup, from Memphis, and the quarter-finals were rounded out with David Elam, Richard Sanders and John Castellaw III.
As the day started out, there were a lot of stellar packages being thrown on the table, including one perfect reaction time by Buddy Ferrell in round one of eliminations and a .004 package by points leader, Cody Graham. The rounds continued to roll on and as the money rounds began, there were seven drivers that all had a chance at taking home the event win. Tony Newberry from, Weiner, Ark., came out victorious on his daughter, Sophie's ninth birthday. Newberry defeated Millington's own Ron Minton in a very close final round with the margin of victory only one thousandth of a second (.0013). Newberry took the win with a .024 reaction time and a 5.017 elapsed time at 135.28mph off of his 5.00 dial-in on the 2014 American Race Cars dragster sponsored by Newberry Auto Sales. Minton posted a .032 reaction time and a 6.650 elapsed time at 100.65mph pass off of his dial-in of a 6.64. Semi-Finalists were Kenny Pease from Dyersburg, Tenn. and Rusty Ashmore from Southaven, Miss. Quarter-finalists were Jeff Bobo, TJ Tracey and Tim Combs.
This past Saturday's event marked a season high in entries for the D.O.T. program, sponsored by R.T. Turbines in Marianna, Ark. This class is layered with competitive drivers who all have the drive to win and battle it out on the full ? mile. David Elam, from Covington, Tenn. ,came out as champion this week in his Chevrolet Nova over John Buchanan, from Eads, Tenn., in his Nova. John pushed the tree and left too early, turning on the red light by three thousandths of a second (.003). Elam, coasted to the finish line after seeing the event victory was his. Jerry Miles, from Tiplersville, Miss., was the lone semi-finalist in his '70 model Plymouth Duster.
Don't miss a minute of action at Memphis International Raceway in 2014! To stay up to date with all the racing excitement be sure and check out our website at www.racemir.com, like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RaceMIR, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RaceMIR. The entire MIR team looks forward to seeing you at the track in 2014!
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