Here are some pictures I took on my phone at the 2011 Royal Purple Raceway Banquet.  These pictures do not do the awards and trophies justice.  Every year, Royal Purple Raceway gives away very nice award plaques to all who make the top 10, and a small trophy to all who make the bracket finals team.  Congratulations to Jay Robinson and Derrick Patton for winning their respective classes, and to all who made the team!

O’Reilly E.T. Bracket Series Results - September 11, 2011

Footbrake

Winner – Robert Penn

Runner-Up – James Day

Semis – Mike “Drew” Porcher

Total Entries – 49

In the closing race of the 2011 season, it was a pair of familiar faces in the final round.  Houston’s Robert Penn, driving his ’83 Z28 Camaro, took the win over James Day from Pasadena.  Both drivers ran within .01 of their dial-ins, but Day pushed his ’00 Camaro just a little too hard, breaking out by .006.  Robert Penn and his shoe polish were getting along just great all afternoon, never missing by more than .02.  It was only fitting that the man responsible for arranging for the bracket racers to have “money winner” stickers to win the final race of the season.  On the other side of the ladder, multi-year track champion, Jason Patterson, was off to a great start laying down .00 lights in his first 4 rounds, including back to back .000’s, until he got petrified by “Casper” and James Day in round 5.  The other multi-year series champion, Jay Robinson, had already sealed his unprecedented 6^th straight championship before this weekend began.  The money winners for September 11, 2011 were: Thomas Iven, Billy Talbot, Nathan Gallagher, Drew Porcher, Henry Canales, Jr, Adam White, Shiela Day, Jason Patterson and Kendall Eisemann.  

O’Reilly E.T. Bracket Series Results - September 11, 2011

Super Pro

Winner – Derrick Patton

Runner-Up – Stephen Hughes

Semis – Mike Johnson, Eddie League, Jr.

Total Entries – 39

The last race of the season drew the smallest turnout of the year in the Super Pro category, with only 39 cars making the call for first round.  Baytown’s Chanse Bullock needed a strong outing and he needed points leader Derrick Patton to go home early for a chance to take home the series championship trophy.  Neither would be the case, as Chanse lost in the second round to a strong .008 package by John Winn from Deer Park.  And Derrick pulled one more out of his hat, putting the exclamation point on a fine season.  Pasadena’s Stephen Hughes made yet another final round appearance, taking home the runner-up trophy and $600 cash prize, and would make the case that the points would look a little different had he signed up at the beginning of the year.  Stephen only changed his dial in once all day, and he ran within .01 of his dial every time he needed to.  Derrick also kept his Maverick in a tight range, varying only from 6.79-6.81 after the 1^st round.  In the end, it was Highlands’ Derrick Patton crossing the 1/8^th mile stripe first by .005 seconds.  The money winners for the final Super Pro event for the 2011 season at Royal Purple Raceway were: semifinalists Eddie League, Jr and Mike Johnson, Glen Stepan, Bryan Day, Tony Davis, Ricky Kay, Mitchell Lawrence, Van Arnold, John Winn, Mike Frederick, Sr., James Kay, Bryan Harris and Jay Costales.   

O’Reilly E.T. Bracket Series Results - September 10, 2011

Super Pro

Winner – Robert Gregory

Runner-Up – Daryl Patton

Semis – Stephen Hughes

Total Entries – 46

Yes, you read that right.  It was Robert Gregory and Daryl Patton in the final again!  Kind of, sort of.  It was Robert Gregory, the son of Robert Gregory who won in August driving the same car.  And it was Daryl Patton again, but the round sheets say Daryl was driving a ’70 Maverick, but we all know that Daryl’s son, Derrick Patton, drives the Maverick and Daryl Patton drives the dragster, except for when they switch.  Hunter Patton used to drive a dragster, but now he drives a Mustang.  Ok, I think we might have gotten off track there.  Where were we?  Oh yeah, Robert Gregory took the win in the final on Patton’s -.001 red light.  In the semi’s, Gregory dialed up over half a second to chase down a throttle-stopped Stephen Hughes, both drivers running .01 over with a slight reaction time advantage going to Gregory.  Hughes started off the day with a pair of .009 lights and 8.93 passes on his way to his semifinal finish.  Congratulations to the other money winners: Tony Davis, Derrick Patton, Zach McDaniel, Earl Thrift, Mike Johnson, Glen Stepan and Jonathan Johnson.

O’Reilly E.T. Bracket Series Results 09/10/2011 - Footbrake

Winner – Henry Canales, Jr.

Runner-Up – Tim Ray

Semis – James Day

Henry Canales, Jr. and "Coach" Tim Ray

Fifty-one drivers lined their cars up in the lanes for first round on Saturday, but only one would take home the $800 cash prize and the Royal Purple Raceway trophy.  This time, it was Henry Canales, Jr., driving his silver 2001 Chevrolet Camaro.  The points championship was all locked up by Jay Robinson, but the other spots in the top 10 and the bracket finals team were still up for grabs.  In the first round, Henry played spoiler to Bryan Day’s efforts to move up the ladder, and it didn’t get any easier after that.  Canales went on to defeat Jaime Haines, Joe Villareal, Tiffany Butler and Lloyd Mikeska on his way to face the silver 2002 Camaro driven by “Coach” Tim Ray in the final round.  Coach was taken out in the first round by Sheila Day, but was able to buy back in and get his revenge in the 3^rd round.  Ray used a .011 light and .007 off his dial pass to send Gilbert Munoz home in the second round, earned the 4^th round bye, put in a solid performance to take out Gordon Smith in the 5^th round and survived a double breakout with James Day in the semi’s, logging a .000 reaction time and .003 under pass.  In the final round, the Cy-Ridge Ram’s wrestling coach was first off the starting line, but encountered mechanical problems, giving Henry Canales, Jr. his first win in the series.  Congrats to Henry, Coach and the other money winners James and Brian Day, Gordon Smith, Lloyd Mikeska, Tiffany Butler, Robert Penn, David Lissman, Jason Wittenburg and Nathan Gallagher. 

O'Reilly E.T. Bracket Racing Series Footbrake Results 8-21-2011



Billy & Hope Talbot, Bryan, James and Sheila Day, Paul Smith

With the season nearing the end and the final preparations for the Royal Purple Raceway bracket finals team being made, the competition was red-hot on this scorching August afternoon.  The call for first round brought 40 cars to the staging lanes for the Footbrake class, 6 of which would log a perfect or near perfect .00 reaction time and 9 of which would turn on the red light.  After the smoke cleared, it was James Day's turn to represent the family in the winner's circle at Royal Purple Raceway.  James was able to stop Jay Robinson from recording his 5th win in the series by breaking out the 5 time champion by .02 in the final round.  Runner-Up Jay Robinson won every round at the tree except the 4th round, but Sheila Day broke out by 2 tenths due to having the wrong dial in entered.  In typical Day Ja Vu Racing fashion, James used solid reaction times, top end driving and some luck in the form of red lights from Thomas Iven, Joey Cram and Jason Patterson and a semi-final bye run to top the 40 car field.  The other money winners on Sunday were Joey Cram, Sheila Day, Rickey Nelson, Nathan Gallagher, Jason Patterson, Gordon Smith and Billy Talbot. 

O’Reilly E.T. Bracket Series Results 08/21/2011 - Super Pro

Robert Gregory

Super Pro Results

Winner – Robert Gregory

Runner-Up – Daryl Patton

Semis – Arthur Edison

It’s easy.  Just go double O on the tree and run your dial in.  Nothing to it, right?  Well, if you’re Robert Gregory, maybe.  Houston’s Robert Gregory took home the top prize Sunday night by doing just that.  Out of 7 rounds of eliminations, Gregory was .00 on the tree 5 times and his worst light was .016, and ran dead on when he needed to.  Runner-up Daryl Patton survived some very close races with Arthur Edison, Danny Ray Martinez and Terry Sawyer, and used a perfect .000 light to take down James Ogden from League City.  Ogden was also the recipient of a .000 light from Bart Nelson in the 1^st round. 

O’Reilly E.T. Bracket Series Results 08/20/2011 - Super Pro

Super Pro Results

Winner – Chanse Bullock

Runner-Up – Adam Martinez

Semis – Jonathan Johnson

Baytown’s Chanse Bullock picked up another trophy and winner’s check to add to his collection Saturday night.  After a trip to the buyback booth, Bullock was able to string together consistent .01 lights and rack up his 3rd victory over the 53 car Super Pro field.  It was almost not to be, Runner-up Adam Martinez was on a roll himself, logging four .00 reaction times going into the final, and edging Chanse .010 to .028 in the final.  Mechanical failure got the best of Adam, however, running over a tenth off his dial in the final.  Derrick Patton ended the hopes of an all-Martinez family Super Pro final, taking out veteran driver Ray Martinez in the 4^th round.  Adam paid Derrick right back though, in the 5^th round with a .007 and one off package.  Other money winners this week include Daryl Patton, Earl Thrift, Jenifer White, Leslie Meyer, Jonathan Johnson, Donny Burleson, Terry Sawyer and Clark Barker.

O’Reilly E.T. Bracket Series Results 08/20/2011 - Footbrake

Footbrake Results

Winner – Sheila Day

Runner-Up – Pat Richter

Semis – James Day

It was one familiar face and one newcomer to Royal Purple Raceway in Saturday’s Footbrake final.  Pasadena’s Sheila Day used some late round double O lights to take home the groceries in Saturday’s contest.  The Day family and their stable of relentless 4^th generation Camaros have failed to share the winner’s circle with many competitors over the past few seasons.  Wichita, Kansas’s Pat Richter made sure it wasn’t an “all-Day” final by laying down a .004 and .003 off his dial run against James Day in the semi-finals.  Driving his mid 10-second ’82 Chevy S-10 to a runner-up finish was no cake walk, Richter faced some of RPR’s best along the way, including Jack Robinson, Henry Canales Jr. and Jason Patterson in addition to James and Sheila.  The 52 car field was no match for Sheila’s Circle D sponsored ’01 Z28, which ran within .02 through 7 rounds of eliminations.  So much for fuel injected cars being inconsistent.  Other money winners include Lloyd Mikeska, Donna Lummus, Jason Patterson, Hunter Patton, Robert Penn, Brian Gallagher, Billy Talbot and Jay Robinson. 

O'Reilly E.T. Bracket Series Results Saturday June 18-19, 2011

Saturday 1/4 Mile

Super Pro

Winner – Derrick Patton

Runner-Up – Jason Lummus
Semis – Eddie League, Jr.
Total Entries – 47

Super Pro Final Derrick Patton (near) vs. Jason Lummus

Highland’s Derrick Patton recorded his second Super Pro victory Saturday, placing him at the top of the points.  Derrick decimated the 47 car field by edging out some of the best racers in the area.  Most of his victories were earned at the starting line, having rather large reaction time advantages over Earl Thrift in the second round and Jason Lummus in the final.  Stephen Hughes laid down a .004 to Derrick’s .014 in the 4^th round, but Derrick’s Maverick saved the day, running right on his 10.34 dial with a 7.  Runner-up Jason Lummus made us all cringe in the semifinals when it was clear to us on the starting line that Eddie League’s dragster was going to be late to the finish line.  Despite everyone yelling and motioning for Jason to slow down, he showed us all how it is done by running 10.050 on his 10.05 dial.  Lummus also ran dead on his dial with an 8 in the previous round against a nearly one full second off Robert Gregory.  There are a lot of jealous racers out there who wish they could trust their car like Jason did Saturday night.  (Not to mention the fact his son, Dalton, won both days in his junior!)  Derrick Patton and Jason Lummus were the big winners in Super Pro, taking home $1200 and $600 and they each get a trophy for the mantle from Royal Purple Raceway.  Saturday night’s other money winners were Derrick’s father, Daryl Patton, Arthur Edison, Ray Martinez, Stephen Hughes, Eddie League Jr., Glen Stepan, Michael Kennedy, Terrance Harrison and Robert Gregory. 

Saturday 1/4 Mile

Footbrake

Winner – Gordon Smith

Runner-Up – Bryan Day
Semis – Jay Robinson, Bill Arning
Total Entries – 53

Footbrake Final Gordon Smith (near) vs. Bryan Day

Round one of the footbrake class started off with 53 drivers seeking the $800 top prize and the mantle-crowding Royal Purple Raceway trophy.  Gordon Smith from Crosby took the honors Saturday, driving his ’74 Vega all the way to the Winner’s Circle.  Gordon was solid on the tree all day, besting all of his opponents at the starting line except for Runner-Up Bryan Day.  Bryan, fresh off of his elimination of points leader Jay Robinson, took a .025 to .061 green light advantage but was forced out by the 125 mph charge coming from Gordon Smith in the other lane.  Smith earned the 2^nd round bye with his .004 light against Thomas Ray in the first round, but there was a lot of competition for that honor.  Chris Talbot, Drew Porcher and Manuel Rios all recorded double zero reaction times in the first round, and Tommy Huffman of Dayton was triple zero, but was unable to close the deal, running 12.699 on his 12.70 dial-in.  It didn’t get any easier in the second round of Footbrake, with Donna Lummus, Daniel Martinez and Kendall Eisemann all putting together near perfect runs.  Chris Talbot, Drew Porcher and Donna Lummus were able to parlay their great runs into a money winner sticker along with Keenan Eisemann, Robert Penn, Jay Robinson, Brian Gallagher, Blair Nelson, Bill Arning, Reginald Newman and Sheila Day. 

Advanced Jr. Dragster

Boyd Hightower & Family

Boyd Hightower, Crosby, TX, '05 Harden, 7.969, 79.65

Dillon Richards, Moss Bluff, LA, '05 Half Scale, 7.935, 82.99

Sportsman Jr. Dragster

Dalton Lummus wins one...

Dalton Lummus, China, TX, '06 Hardens, 9.117, 72.16

John Legg, Liberty, TX, 10 RPC, 8.936, 73.55

Sunday 1/8^th Mile

Super Pro

Winner – Stephen Hughes

Runner-Up – Brenda Kay
Semis – John Winn
Total Entries – 46

Stephen Hughes wins on Father's Day

Despite the unrelenting heat, 46 drivers made the call for first round of Super Pro on Sunday.  After the first few rounds, it appeared we were going to see Scott Boyd and John Winn in the final after recording multiple double zero and dead on packages each, but the smart money was on the Million Dollar man, Stephen Hughes.  No stranger to final rounds, including 3 in this series so far, Stephen cut through the field with relative ease.  Last time out, Stephen faced biker Ricky Kay in the final, this time it was Ricky’s wife, Brenda on her 120 MPH (1/8^th mile) Suzuki GSXR.  Covering the 660’ in the mid-5 second range, Brenda was able to end John Winn’s viable quest for his third final round in the semi’s and footbraker Bryan Day’s chase for the gold in the quarters.  You’ll get it one day, Bryan.  Brenda didn’t cut any slack (.009) on her husband, Ricky, in the 4^th round or Saturday’s winner, Derrick Patton or a .004 Glen Stepan.  Stephen Hughes’ biggest scare came in the quarterfinals, when he faced Saturday’s Runner-Up, Jason Lummus.  China, TX’s Jason Lummus was fresh off of back to back double zero lights when he faced Hughes, but both drivers were off their game a little bit, and it was the 4-second dragster of Stephen Hughes running closest to his dial.  The $1200 winner’s check pales in comparison to events that Stephen has won in the past, but getting to stand in the Winner’s Circle on Father’s Day with his wife, Lindsey, and their two young kids is priceless.  Other drivers taking home money on this Father’s Day were Arthur Edison, Scott Boyd, Greg Roberts, Leslie Meyer, Dewayne League, Ricky Kay and Bryan “000” Day. 

Sunday 1/8^th Mile

Footbrake

Winner – Jay Robinson

Runner-Up – Bubba Dodge
Semis – Sheila Day
Total Entries: 44

Footbrake Final Jay Robinson (near) vs. Bubba Dodge

Start the countdown.  With this latest victory, Jay Robinson has all but sealed his unprecedented 6^th track championship at Houston Raceway Park.  Jay only needs to win 10 more rounds in the next 4 races to guarantee his name to be the one engraved on the cup and his entry into the Division 4 E.T. Finals Race of Champions.  With that being said, I would like to congratulate Jay on his performance this year, and the rest of us mere mortals will be battling it out for the remainder of the top 10 spots.  This Sunday was no different than any other race for Jay, he used killer lights and excellent top end driving skills to annihilate the competition once again.  Jay didn’t have it easy all day, drawing some of the best drivers Houston has to offer.  Blair Nelson and Bryan Day both ran dead on their dials against Jay in the first 2 rounds, then he went on to face a redlighting Dennis Clark, “Mr. Final Round” Drew Porcher, Jamie Haines and then Bubba Dodge in the final.  Danbury’s Bubba Dodge let off the brake just a tad early in the final, turning on the red light, giving Jay Robinson his 4^th victory in the O’Reilly E.T. Drag Racing Series this season.  Up to that point, Bubba was able to catch red lights from Nathan Gallagher and Steven Talbot to start off his day, then he earned the 3^rd round bye with his .008 against Talbot, then John Stelly and Sheila Day left early on Bubba in the fourth and sixth rounds.  “Coach” Tim Ray had the right idea by somehow managing to go green on him in the 5^th round, but it was a little too green, giving Dodge a .028 advantage at the tree.  Jay and Bubba took home $800 and $400 respectively, and a couple of nice Royal Purple Raceway trophies.  Some others who got to take home some cash and a “money winner” sticker are Robert Penn, Sheila Day, Joey Cram, Jamie Haines, Mike “Drew” Porcher, Brian Gallagher, “Coach” Tim Ray and John Stelly. 

Advanced Jr. Dragster

Dillon Richards

Winner - Dillon Richards, Moss Bluff, LA, '05 Half Scale, 9.747, 48.29

Runner-up - Justin Penton, Houston, TX, '05 Mike Bos, 7.952, 83.29

Sportsman Jr. Dragster

Dalton Lummus wins 2!!

O’Reilly E.T. Bracket Series Results 05/22/2011

Footbrake Results – Sunday 1/8^th Mile

Winner – Jason Patterson

Runner-Up – Robert Penn

Semis – Brian Gallagher, Tim Ray

Despite the blazing heat, 58 footbrake racers made the call for first round for the 1/8^th mile contest on Sunday.  After the smoke cleared, it was 5 time Houston Raceway Park Footbrake champion, Jason Patterson, who made his first appearance in the Winner’s Circle for the 2011 season.  He faced off against the familiar ’83 Z28 of Robert Penn in the final and used a .030 starting line advantage to put the finishing touches on a great performance.  Oddly enough, these two racers also paired up in the first round with Robert Penn being the one with the .032 advantage at the tree and pushing Jason out by .010.  As many of us know, Jason is tough to beat once in a race, let alone twice, and that proved to hold true on this unseasonably hot afternoon.  Patterson didn’t have a free ride to the final after buying back, he had to get past the likes of Matt Exner, Adam White, Joey Cram, and “Coach” Tim Ray.  Rounding out your list of money winners are: Bryan & James Day, Nathan Gallagher, Rickey Nelson, David Styron, Paul Smith, Saturday’s winner Jay Robinson, Joe Villareal (who also semi’ed on Saturday) and Blair Nelson. 

Super Pro Results - Sunday 1/8^th Mile

Winner – Ricky Kay

Runner-Up – Stephen Hughes

Semis – Daryl Patton

Over in Super Pro, where not only are delay boxes, transbrakes and throttle stops allowed, they’re encouraged, it was Ricky Kay riding to victory over the 49 “car” field.  I put car in quotations, because it wasn’t actually a car that won, but a motorcycle.  At every Super Pro event at Royal Purple Raceway, you will find a handful of two-wheelers mixed in with the dragsters and door cars.  If you’ve never seen drag bikes in action, they are definitely worth the trip out to Baytown.  The husband and wife team of Ricky and Brenda Kay are two exceptional riders, and are no strangers to final round appearances.  Ricky added a nice big Royal Purple Raceway trophy to the family collection at this race by taking out the likes of Dale Holquest, footbraker Bryan Day, League City’s Scott Boyd, Ricky Whittington and Jonathan Johnson on the way to a final round matchup with Stephen Hughes.  If big block Chevy powered dragsters are more your speed, there are plenty of those too, most notably this weekend was the one driven by Stephen Hughes from Pasadena.  Stephen drove his familiar black RSH sponsored ’03 Miller rear engine dragster to a runner-up finish this time out, running close to dead on his dial-in all day long.  Stephen had to race several bikes to get to the final round, including the aforementioned Brenda Kay, Tony Davis and the ’84 Suzuki of Paul Holman.  This race’s money winners were: Daryl Patton, the long-overdue Bart Nelson, Baytown’s Mitchell Lawrence, Ricky Whittington from Beach City, Jonathan Johnson, Jay Costales, Dewayne League and Jason Lummus. 

O’Reilly E.T. Bracket Series Results 05/21/2011

Footbrake Results

Winner – Jay Robinson

Runner-Up – Mike “Drew” Porcher

Semis – Adam White, Joe Villareal

A couple of familiar faces made it to the Royal Purple Raceway Winner’s Circle once again this week.  Santa Fe’s Jay Robinson and Conroe’s Drew Porcher faced off after eliminating the rest of the 57 car field on Saturday.  Jay Robinson recorded his 3^rd victory on the season, extending his already massive points lead.  In typical fashion, Jay used a reaction time average of .021 to best or tie 5 out of 6 of his opponents.  Semifinalist Joe Villareal hung a .003 light on Jay, but the reliable ’73 Nova came through for Jay at the top end, running dead on his 11.24 dial.  Pine Valley Raceway’s points leader, Drew Porcher, seems to find his way to the final just about every week now.  He’s been doing so well that the pits and message boards were buzzing with rumors to the point where they inspected his ’88 S-10 pickup on Sunday.  Like the guy doesn’t have enough stress in his life.  Between dominating PVR and now RPR, having a new house built, moving and all the other stresses of everyday life, you guys gotta go out and accuse him of cheating.  I hope you haven’t made him angry.  He might stop settling for the runner-up spot and just run the table from here on out.  Porcher carried a .030 reaction time average before going red in the final, his second final in the 2011 O’Reilly Bracket series.  Other money winners were Steve Exner, Richard Forrest, Joe Villareal, Craig Stevenson, Adam White, Brian Gallagher, David Lissman, Gordon Smith, Jamie Haines, Rickey Nelson and James Day. 

Super Pro Results

Winner – Larry Thomason

Runner-Up – James Kay

Semis – Earl Thrift, Tommy Costales

Over in lanes 7-10, it was Port Arthur’s Larry Thomason taking care of business on this unusually hot day in May, holding off James Kay’s ’80 Camaro in an all doorcar Super Pro final.  After getting off to a rough start with a first round loss to Stephen Hughes, Thomason visited the buyback booth and now he has something to loan out to the Museum of the Gulf Coast.  Larry averaged .012 at the tree until the final round, and went home with the $1200 winner check and RPR trophy.  James Kay also had a good night post-buyback window, averaging .008 after his first round loss to Ricky Whittington, including a .000 to end the racing portion of the afternoon early for Glen Stepan.  Chanse Bullock and Daniel Martinez earn the award for closest race this time out, both drivers posting .00 lights and running .01 off their dials for a MOV of .003.  Derrick Patton, points leader Chanse Bullock, ’09 & ’10 champ Donny Burleson, Dan Hamrick, Earl Thrift, Craig Sites, Stephen Hughes, Friendswood’s newest business owner Jonathan Johnson, Michael Kennedy, Terrance Harrison and Tommy Costales were your money winners. 

Junior Dragster Results

Advanced Jr. Dragster

Boyd Hightower, Crosby, TX, '05 Harden, 8.008, 81.04

Candi Beth Glasco, Friendswood, TX '06 RPC Bullet, 8.026, 82.20

Sportsman Jr. Dragster

Kedrick Redd, Jr., League City, TX, '95 Spitzer, 8.953, 70.82 

Amirris Davis, LaPorte, TX, '09 Half Scale, 11.728, 55.44

O’Reilly E.T. Bracket Series Results 05/08/2011

Footbrake Results

Winner – Jay Robinson

Runner-Up – Terry Sawyer

Semis – John Stelly

Jay “Footbrakin’ Fool” Robinson turned a trip to the buyback booth into his second event win for this season on Sunday.  His first round loss to Brian Nelson didn’t seem to faze him as he went on to extend his points lead with a solid performance.  Saturday’s Super Pro semifinalst Terry Sawyer showed what he could do at third bulb racing on Sunday with a sound second place finish.  Sawyer proved he could run with the best of them, taking out both Steve and Matt Exner, Gilbert Munoz, Jason Patterson, Robert Penn and John Stelly.  In the final, however, Robinson took a .047 starting line advantage over Sawyer all the way to the 1/8^th mile finish line to seal the victory.  Jay survived a tough race with Daniel Martinez in the third round, perhaps due to a late miscalculation at the stripe.  Other victims of the “fool” were Matt Exner, who had to face both eventual finalists on this day, and Keenan Eisemann from Sugarland.  Also worth mentioning is John Stelly’s overall performance for the weekend, finishing deep in the rounds on both days.  Quarterfinalist Bryan Day also went to the quarterfinals in Super Pro to take the prize for most trips down the track in the same car.  Congratulations to all the money winners on a job well done! 

Super Pro Results

Winner – Chanse Bullock

Runner-Up – Tony Rabito

Semis – Brenda Kay

In Sunday’s Super Pro class, Baytown’s Chanse Bullock took home the grand prize over a redlighting Tony Rabito from Houston.  This is the second time this year Bullock has parked his ’67 Camaro in the Royal Purple Raceway Winner’s Circle, putting him back on top of the points list.  Chanse was solid on the tree all day, earning himself a first round bye in time trials and carrying a .009 reaction time average through 7 rounds of eliminations.  Only Robert Gregory carried a better average into the late rounds, with a .006, including a very tight race with Bart Nelson in the 3^rd round where both drivers were double O and dead on, with a MOV of .001.  It was Tony Rabito who ended our hopes for a Footbraking Super Pro winner, taking out Bryan Day in the 5^th round on a double breakout.  In fact, it was a very good day for those that choose to take a knife to a gun fight, with 4 of 5 known footbrakers surviving the first round.  Jay Robinson decided not to dial exactly what I was dialing in the first round this time, and that seemed to be a recipe that works for him.  Sheila Day tied Ricky Kay to the tree with a .004, husband James took out heavy hitter Stephen Hughes only to face him again in the second round with a different result.  Son Bryan forced a red light from Danny Ray Martinez and picked up where his dad left off with a 3^rd round win over Hughes.  There were some really close races this time out, and Chanse Bullock seemed to find himself on the winning side of a lot of them.  Congratulations on your win, and to all the other money winners, Runner-Up Tony Rabito, semifinalist Brenda Kay, quarterfinalists Mitchell Lawrence and Bryan Day, and 1/8^th finalists Robert Gregory, Jonathan Johnson, Kenny White, Chris Le Blanc and Mike Johnson, who was able to just get his car fixed in time to buy back into the second round with no time trials. 

Advanced Jr. Dragster -- Ryan Grigsby, Baytown, TX, '06 Half Scale, 7.907, 83.29 def. Brooke Heckel, Baytown, TX, '06 Half Scale, 7.939, 76.29

Sportsman Jr. Dragster -- Austin Watson, Deer Park, TX, '00 So Cal, 9.196, 68.99 def. John Legg, Liberty, TX, '10 RPC, 9.124, 72.45

O’Reilly E.T. Bracket Series Results 05/07/2011

Footbrake Results

Winner – Richard Forrest

Runner-Up – Mike “Drew” Porcher

Semis – Donna Lummus, Dennis Clark

Saturday’s Footbrake class was dominated by our friends from the North, Richard Forrest and Drew Porcher.  These guys can be seen racing at Pine Valley Raceway in Diboll, TX when they’re not down here teaching us how it’s done.  Lufkin, TX’s Richard Forrest used a reaction time advantage in all 7 rounds of elimination to defeat his opponents, including a .001 in round 5 to knock out Adam White from Houston.  In the final, he put down a .015 light and ran .004 under his dial to survive the double breakout with Porcher from Conroe, TX.  Porcher also used good reaction times to get through some rounds, but when he wasn’t right on time at the tree, his ’88 S10 was there for him, running dead on the dial in rounds 4 and 5 and one over in round 2.  Semifinalist Dennis Clark recorded two .000 perfect reaction times in eliminations Saturday, including one in the 4^th round that took out current points leader, Jay Robinson.  Congratulations to Richard Forrest for surviving the 66 car field and taking home the $800 winner’s check and 3’ tall Royal Purple Raceway winner’s trophy.  Congratulations also to Mike “Drew” Porcher for the runner-up finish and to all the other money winners, Donna Lummus, Dennis Clark, Joey Cram, Jason Patterson, Adam White, John Stelly, Kim Milton, Matt Exner, Ronny Speer, Joel “Dusty” Fincher, Steve Exner, Troy Lakey and Jay Robinson.  Thanks to our friend Robert Penn, you have something to take home in addition to prize money. 

Super Pro Results

Winner – Derrick Patton

Runner-Up – John Winn

Semis – Terry Sawyer, Bill Arning

Saturday’s Super Pro contest was brought to you by the color red.  “Daunting” Derrick Patton must’ve been doing something right, he was able to draw red bulbs in the other lane 5 of the 7 rounds of eliminations.  One of those being a controversial “time-out” by Bart Nelson and another was a bye run he earned by surviving a heads-up race with James Fruge.  In that race, both drivers dialed 10.34 and both drivers cut .001 lights at the tree, but Patton ran closer to his dial with a 10.341, giving him a .002 total package.  Leaving the tree just a bit early was not uncommon in Super Pro this time out, 8 of the first 17 pairs of cars that went down the track on Saturday were decided by the red eye.  Runner-Up John Winn is no stranger to final round finishes, in fact this makes back-to-back trips to the finals for the Deer Park resident.  Winn was able to earn a 5^th round bye by throwing down a .005 to take out Humble’s Rick Kay in round 4.  His next victim would be Conroe’s Terry Sawyer in round 6, where Winn went .002 and dead on with a 1, setting up the final round with Derrick Patton.  The “missed it by that much” award for Saturday has to go to Tommy Costales, who went .000 on the tree, scrubbed 12 mph and broke out by .006 to a .056 and .02 over Howard Kramer in round 2.  Congratulations to Derrick for taking home the $1200 top cash prize and 3’ Royal Purple Raceway trophy, John Winn for his Runner-up finish, $600 cash prize and to all the other money winners:  Terry Sawyer, Eddie League Jr, Donny Burleson, Chanse Bullock, Stephen Hughes, Paul Holman, Roy Martinez, Ricky Kay, Jenifer White and Tony Rabito.  We can thank footbrake racer Robert Penn for arranging for us to get our “money winner” stickers again in 2011. 

Advanced Jr. Dragster -- Henry Canales Jr., Baytown, TX, '02 Hardens, 7.946, 78.41 def. Dillon Richards, Lake Charles, LA, '05 Half Scale, 7.955, 78.88

Sportsman Jr. Dragster -- Blaine Hightower, Crosby, TX, '06 Hardens, 8.998, 73.60 def. Trace Casey, Van Vleck, TX, '08 Motivational, 16.261, 46.81

O’Reilly Bracket Series Results April 2-3 2011

Below are the results from the April 2nd and April 3rd bracket races at Royal Purple Raceway. I totally dropped the ball this time and forgot to ask for the round sheets, so I have very little to go on. If there’s someone at the track who can email the results to racerntx@aol.com, I will be glad to rewrite this. I guess I was distracted by my two favorite people showing up on Sunday afternoon. Congrats to all the winners!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Super Pro -- Stephen Hughes, Pasadena, TX, '03 Miller, 7.512, 169.83 def. Donny Burleson, Houston, TX, '01 Worthy, 7.274, 183.79

Footbrake -- Jamie Haines, Deer Park, TX, '99 Camaro SS, 12.005, 108.76 def. Joey Cram, Texas City, TX, '72 Chevy Nova, 9.285, 143.19

Advanced Jr. Dragster -- Boyd Hightower, Crosby, TX, '05 Hardens, 7.932, 83.85 def. Brooke Heckel, Baytown, TX, '06 Half Scale, 7.892, 82.59

Sportsman Jr. Dragster -- Austin Thorton, LaPorte, TX, '01 Half Scale, 9.013, 71.33 def. Kedick Redd, Jr., League City, TX, '95 Spitzer

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Super Pro -- Tommy Costales, Manvel, TX, '01 Worthy, 5.336, 128.90 def. John Winn, Deer Park, TX, 77 Nova, 7.076, 99.22

Footbrake -- Rickey Nelson of Houston outlasts the weather and a track timing malfunction to take home the gold in Footbrake over Drew Porcher of Conroe.  The two finalists had to rerun the final round due to an error in the timing system.  Congratulations to both drivers on their final round appearance and for showing great sportsmanship. 

Advanced Jr. Dragster -- Jason Richards, Lake Charles, LA, Dragster, 7.887, 82.95 def. Taylor Richards, Lake Charles, LA, '06 Half Scale, 7.863, 67.20

Sportsman Jr. Dragster -- Blaine Hightower, Crosby, TX, '06 Hardens, 9.016, 7038 def. Austin Watson, Deer Park, TX, '00 So Cal, 9.208, 70.48

A Good Start

Wow!  Time flies.  Here it is time to get ready for the next month’s race at RPR and I haven’t even finished writing all of last month’s blogs.  My lawn business is growing at an extremely fast rate, so that has taken up much of my time this month.  I guess it’s a good problem to have, but answering 50+ phone calls a day takes it’s toll on your desire to do anything but scream.  Now, let’s see if I can remember anything from last month…

The giant trophy still sits on the living room floor as a reminder.  There’s just something different about this one.  Why can’t I just put it in the office with all the other ones and let it be?  This isn’t the first time I’ve won an event, nor is it even the first time I’ve won a Super Pro event.  It’s just another trophy.  But there it sits.  Maybe it’s telling me: “write your stupid blog already, Bill.”  Or maybe I can’t put it with the others because it doesn’t belong there.  It doesn’t belong with the others because it’s different.  Different in that many people came together to win this one, not just one. 

Richard Cook and I were sitting at the banquet last year admiring the lustrous gold trophy cups that were given to Jay Robinson and Donny Burleson for winning their respective classes when I turned to Richard and said: “Next year, those will be ours.”  I’m sure the bottom of the Sam Adams bottle was saying part of that, but it sparked a discussion on what we would need to do to get the car to be competitive in an electronics class.  Within a week, Richard had lined up everything we needed to be able to run the car in both classes.  Gary Riccolo loaned us the powerglide transmission out of his Camaro, along with transbrake, delay box and three step.  This is some really nice stuff, delay boxes have come a long way since the Dedenbear RTD6.  And that Powerglide transmission and transbrake are just unbelievable.  For the first time since driving Kenny Teer’s ’69 Camaro in the mid-90’s, I am able to concentrate on my job of letting go of the button, and not worry about the occasional “creep” I used to get with my shadetree-custom-deluxe 4 wheel line lock system on my Camaros. 

Then there’s the always timely advice we get from other racers at the track.  Joey Cram has explained how Powerglides should work in a way that even I can almost understand, and his patience with someone as mechanically challenged as myself is quite virtuous.  Wayne Morgan, Daryl Patton, Bart Nelson, Jack & Jay Robinson, Jason & Donna Lummus, the list goes on forever, these people are always willing to assist.

So I’ve decided to take the trophy to the track today to let Richard keep it for a while.  Who knows?  Maybe I’ll get another one today.  Maybe I’ll get two.

Thanks guys!!