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.