As the sun came up on Saturday, June 27th – the pits were beginning to fill up rather quickly as over 200 racers and teams converged on Virginia Motorsports Park for the second race in the VP Racing Fuels ET Bracket Series event on the shortened season so far in 2020. After two time trials and eliminations started mid-day, the competition was as fierce as the temperatures at times in all four of our competitive points categories and in the Most Wanted Top 10 season opener.
As the rounds began to become shorter, the stakes began to rise and things got tighter on the racetrack. Hoosier Tire Super Pro was an eight round race to find the deciding factor on who would claim victory. Jeff Verdi and Tommy Franklin rolled into the water box for the final time on Saturday evening and it was all over on the starting line as Franklin turned on the red bulb by .002. Both drivers legged it out the back and proved the point of why they were the last two standing – both running dead on their dial-ins but the win light was illuminated in none other than the two-million dollar man’s side of the racetrack. Verdi wheeled his ’68 Firebird through tough competitors all day long including our lone semi-finalist Tracy Sillman. Eric Whitehurst and Jonathan Martin were the quarter-finalists. For a full breakdown of Super Pro’s eliminations, click HERE.
Pro ET took seven rounds to crown their champion but it was a dog fight between two 1968 model vehicles to decide who laid claim to the VMP Christmas Tree in the winner’s circle. Chris Moren wheeled his ’68 Dart past Jeff Littlepage’s Chevelle in the finals to park himself in the winner’s circle for yet another time. Moren’s win did not come easy as he fought through the likes of Adam Vanderslice in the semi-finals and many other names along the way. Jonathan Martin fell in defeat in the semi-finals of Pro ET as well, making a hard fought day of running two classes worth it. Phil Rutherford, Daniel Duff and Darren Wood were your quarter-finalists for the evening. For a full breakdown of Pro ET’s eliminations, click HERE.
It was an all-Marable final round in Pro Bike as father and son faced off in the round that meant the most. Craig Marable took a reaction time advantage over his father, Buddy, and never looked back claiming the win in Pro Bike. Roy Johnson was the lone semi-finalists while Derek Burkhead, Sr. and Luke Boykin, III were the quarter-finalists in the only two-wheeled category in the VP Racing Fuels ET Bracket Series. For a full breakdown of Pro Bike eliminations, click HERE.
Battery Barn Jr. Dragsters filled the lanes as they always do with some of the toughest kids in the area. The future of the sport of drag racing is in good hands with these young men and women who enjoy fierce competition and battle it out all while gaining life long friendships in the process. Christopher Suppers is quickly following in big brother, Anthony’s footsteps, starting the season with a win in the VP Racing Fuels ET Bracket Series over Bridgewater, Virginia’s Brooke Harper. Suppers big brother was the 2019 track champion but little brother is well on his way to a big year after a victory this past Saturday. Louis Crockett and Brooks McMath were the day’s semi-finalists while Gregory Firestone, Phillip Whitney and Neveah Gilbert rounded out the quarter-finalists. For a full breakdown of Battery Barn Jr. Dragster eliminations, click HERE.
This past Saturday also saw the return of Most Wanted – the top ten list series from 2019 which saw Tracy Eubank end the season holding the belt all winter and spring long. After a long day of list shake-up and shootout racing, Mark Austin from Crewe, VA is now holding the belt as the #1 man on the Most Wanted list here at Virginia Motorsports Park. Most Wanted returns to action on July 18th during the next installment of the VP Racing Fuels ET Bracket Series. For a full breakdown of Most Wanted round-by-round races, click HERE.
The VP Racing Fuels ET Bracket Series takes a few weeks off but that does not mean that the bracket racing stops. The 4th Annual Old Dominion Duels event is next on the championship drag strip with two days of big money bracket racing action including $10,000 to Win in Hoosier Tire Super Pro, $5,000 to Win in Pro/Footbrake and $300 to Win in Battery Barn Jr. Dragsters! New for 2020 – on Friday, we will have a 64-car gamblers race for Super Pro and Footbrake, two separate gambler’s races along with Test & Tune all night long in preparation for the next two days! All details will be coming within the next 24-48 hours regarding the entire Old Dominion Duels event along with pre-entry into the 64-car shootouts on Friday afternoon! The VP Racing Fuels ET Bracket Series returns to the pavement on Saturday, July 18th with all four categories in contention including Most Wanted back for their second race of the season. Battery Barn Jr. Dragsters will be in competition but will NOT be gaining points towards the year-end totals due to NHRA Eastern Conference Finals ongoing that weekend at zMax Dragway in Concord, North Carolina – best of luck to our teams that are going to represent Team VMP!
