Friday: “Triple 20” #2

As Friday’s Phantom Race Cars $20,000 event neared completion, there were two familiar faces in the late rounds, as Nick Folk and Kevin Brannon defied the long odds and advanced through six rounds against the toughest sportsman competitors in the nation to advance to the quarterfinal round for the second time in as many days. The duo was joined by a pair of former Million Dollar Race winners: inaugural winner T.J. Tracey and 1998 winner Troy Williams, Jr.  Alabama’s Nickey Lavechi and Texas based Jamey Jones joined the quarterfinal party, as did Ohio native Mike Bloomfield Jr., who came into the quarterfinal round with BOTH his 4-link dragster and ’66 Chevy II remaining in competition. 

In a battle of past Million Dollar Race winners, Williams bested Tracey with a perfect 4.530 E.T. to advance to the semi-final round. With his door car entry, Bloomfield missed the tree with a .030 reaction time and broke out with a 6.555 on his 6.56 dial, allowing Folk to move into the semi-final round for the second consecutive day. Jamey Johnson turned on the red light with a -.005 reaction, handing the quarterfinal win to Brannon, who joined Folk in his second consecutive semi-final appearance. After a brief delay to return to the lanes, Bloomfield avenged his earlier loss by earning a quarterfinal victory when Lavechi lit the red bulb with a heartbreaking -.001.

In the semi-finals, Williams used a .006 reaction to knock out Brannon’s bid at back-to-back finals and Folk picked up an easy win when Bloomfield had traction issues with his dragster. 

In sportsman drag racing’s version of a heavyweight title bout, Folk earned the $20,000 triumph over Williams on the strength of a .016 induced 4.504 (4.50 dial).

Saturday: The Nitrofish Million

The 16th annual Nitrofish Million saw nearly 180 entrants in Saturday’s main event, pushing the winner’s purse to an enormous $175,000.  The only two-time Million Dollar Race Champion, Gary Williams, saw his day end early.  He posted a stellar .002 reaction time and 6.434 on his 6.42 dial in the opening pair of round two, only to be turned away by Jared Pennington’s .005 induced 6.050 (6.04 dial) by a mere .001. The only consolation for Williams was that he did earn an FTI Torque Converter for the best losing package of round two. 

Defending Million Dollar Champ Larry Strickland couldn’t capture the same good fortune in 2011 either: he fell in round two when his opponent posted a .009 package. In fact, with only nine cars remaining in the sixth round of The Million, just one former Million Dollar Race Champion remained in competition. That racer was two-time Million finalist Jeff Rucks, who earned the title in 2005 and took runner-up honors to Greg Sesti the following season.