After knocking off notable racers Michael Rastall and Wesley Washington, Jr. in rounds two and three respectively, Siegel used a breakout 6.546 (6.55 dial) to defeat Alabama racer Heath Davis. In round five, his dead-on 6.542 was enough to best former Pro Stock standout Dave Connolly. He knocked off multi-time national event winner Jeff Stickland in round six with a .011 induced 6.543. The "Wheelie Wagon" then reeled off two more consecutive 6.543 ET's to stop Kevin Rodden in round seven, and fellow Florida racer Dwayne Roberts in round eight.

"The car was unbelievable," said Jon Siegel. "The run sheets tell the story. The car moved .001 in my last five runs. It's been like that all season. Actually, it's been like that ever since I put my FTI converter in the car. Before the quarterfinals Dwayne (Roberts, his opponent) asked what I was dialed. I jokingly said 6.543. I was that confident that number would come up on the board!"

With just three cars remaining and a $200,000 payday in clear sight, Siegel squared off with another Florida racer, Palmetto's Jeff Keen. There, Siegel's wagon once again ran dead-on, posting a fifth consecutive run within .003 of his dial-in, with a 6.542. However, an uncharacteristic .042 reaction time cost Siegel the round and his shot at Million Dollar race history.

"I've got mixed emotions about the day," explained Siegel. "On one hand, it was my first million, we were the last door car in the race, and after the split we made a ton of money. It's hard not to be happy with the performance. But on the other hand, I was deep in the million and had the car to win, so it's disappointing to not make a good run in the semi's."

Coming into the semi-finals, Siegel had posted three consecutive packages of .014 or better, with consecutive reaction times of .011, .011, and .006.

"Late in the race, the track got cold and I knew the fast cars were struggling. Jeff had just run .03 off his dial-in the round before. I knew I had the car to beat, but I think that was my downfall. I felt like the only way I could lose was to do something stupid on the starting line. I got really conservative: my mindset went from trying to win the race to trying not to lose. I can't remember the last time I was .040 late in a race. But that gave Jeff more than enough room to beat me and go on to the final."

While his payday at the million will almost certainly be Siegel's greatest memory of the 2009 campaign, it was far from a surprise for the Florida resident who has driven his FTI Converters Wagon to over a dozen final round appearances this season. Siegel, who normally races the Wagon in both electronics and footbrake competition, scored a $5,000 Footbrake victory at Emerald Coast Dragway earlier this summer. He also netted a $2500 victory in the Super Pro category at Bradenton Motorsports Park. He won a gamblers race at the NHRA Bracket Finals in South Georgia, and took runner-up honors in a 6.50 heads-up event the same weekend. He scored a double victory, winning both Super Pro and Footbrake in the same night at Sunshine Dragstrip, arguably one of the toughest weekly bracket tracks in the country. Outside of his familiar wagon, Siegel has enjoyed success as well; He won Hot Rod at the IHRA Pro-Am event in Immokalee, FL at the wheel of Vince Costa's FTI Nova, and scored a runner-up at Atco Drag way's $10,000-to-win Hoosier Footbrake Nationals in New Jersey.

"For a guy who has a real job and can't travel the country, I feel like I've had an excellent season," said Siegel. "None of this would be possible without Greg Samuels and the staff at FTI converters. He has constantly helped me tweak this combination throughout the season, and the consistency and reliability offered in his converters is second to none. I also want to thank John Kyle and the staff at APD carburetors and fuel systems, as well as Brent Fisher and the guys at Goodyear. Both companies produce excellent products that are a key to my combination."

Siegel's season may not be over just yet, as the annual Florida Winter Series brings a string of events to several of his home tracks. Racers and followers of big dollar ET racing have likely not seen the last of the "Wheelie Wagon" in 2009!

Courtesy of Luke Bogacki