Luke Bogacki
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Bristol Dragway has been a good facility for Luke Bogacki and his ThisIsBracketRacing.com Vega. Two
years ago, at the inaugural World Footbrake Challenge, Bogacki drove the machine to one of the
biggest paydays in his well documented career; taking runner-up honors in the opening
$10,000-to-win event to Chris Plott, followed by another runner-up finish a day later in the
$50,000-to-win main event to Scotty Richardson. Last season, at the same event, Bogacki was
runner-up to John Labbous in a $5,000-to-win bracket event. Just months ago, he and the Vega teamed
for a $5,000 No Box triumph at George Howard's TCI Twins Series event. Last weekend, Bogacki
continued his winning ways at the Eastern Tennessee facility, claiming a $10,000 windfall on the
final day of the 2009 World Footbrake Challenge.
To earn his victory, Bogacki put forth an incredible starting line display throughout the final
five rounds of eliminations. In round five, he posted a .008 reaction time and dead-on 6.291 for a
.009 package to best Jeffrey Jewell. The following round, he used a .012 reaction and 6.280 (6.26
dial) to stop Matt Obertanec and earn a quarterfinal bye run, where he posted another stellar .003
reaction time. In a semi-final bout with Saturday's $10,000 winner Steve Alford, Bogacki posted a
strong .009 reaction and 6.320 on his 6.31 target, but narrowly escaped defeat. Alford trumped his
reaction time with a .002 of his own, but broke out by .004 with a 6.916. That set up a final round
match-up with fellow Alabama competitor Doyle Kay. Once again, both drivers would leave the
starting line with .00 reaction times; Bogacki's .004 holding a slight advantage over Kay's .009.
At the finish line, Bogacki posted yet another dead-on run, matching his 6.32 dial-in for a .011
package and the event victory.
"This is a huge victory to me," explained Bogacki. "The World Footbrake Challenge is as big a race
as there is on the sportsman racing landscape. Winning here, is like winning a national event, or a
day at 'The Million' or the Moroso 5-Day; the very best Footbrake racers on this side of the
country all come to this event. You see the packages getting thrown around, and it's like you're at
the Million; these guys are just that good on the bottom. I had some huge breaks along the way, but
to prove that I can compete on this stage, at this level. Well, that's a great feeling."
Bogacki wished to thank a number of marketing partners for their role in his success. In addition
to major sponsorship from his own website, ThisIsBracketRacing.com, Bogacki depends on quality
products from the following manufacturers: Bill Taylor Enterprises, Mickey Thompson Tires,
Huntsville Engine and Performance, JEGS, Nitrous Express, Milodon, Hedman Hedders, Nitroplate,
Moser Engineering, American Race Cars, Auto Meter, B&M, Figspeed.com, Goza Racing Products, K&R
Performance Engineering, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Advanced Product Design, Rockett Brand Racing Fuel,
ISC Racer's Tape, AFCO, Dixie Performance, CSR Performance Products, DragRaceResults.com, and K&N
Filters.
"I also want to thank my girlfriend Jessica for all her help and support, as well as Adam Davis,
Brett Murphree, and David Myhre for their help over the weekend. Plus, I want to give credit to
event promoters Jared Pennington and Steve Stites, as well as the Bristol Dragway staff for
assembling, promoting, and running the greatest footbrake event in the country."
Bogacki plans to test this weekend before setting off on a summer tour that will include the IHRA
Northern Nationals in Martin, MI (Where he has two seeds in the annual Moser Axle Mania Shootout),
the World Super Pro Challenge in Stanton, MI, and the NHRA national event in Brainerd, MN.
