ADRL Supercar Showdown

Butner takes inaugural ADRL Supercar Showdown Victory!

Words and photos by Brett Kepner

Bo Butner and Ford Motorsports laid claim to the first trophy in the American Drag Racing League’s highly anticipated new SuperCar Showdown division at the season-opening Dragpalooza VIII held at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas. Moreover, an all-Ford Mustang championship round pitting the top two qualifiers made for a clean sweep by Ford in the first drag racing category to feature the world’s quickest and fastest production automobiles in national competition.

A veteran of more than two decades of competition, Butner met teammate Chris Holbrook in the final round of eliminations with each veteran campaigner piloting a supercharged 2012 Ford Cobra Jet Mustang. Butner gained a large reaction time advantage off the starting line and thundered to an eighth-mile clocking of 5.86 seconds reaching a top speed of 119.46 miles per hour.

“It’s a huge honor to win the first race in the history of any series”, said an elated Butner only seconds after the victory, “but it’s an even bigger thrill to win it for the Ford Motor Company and Ford Racing. My Cobra Jet ran nearly perfectly all weekend and we proved to the world the incredible power in these showroom monsters!”.

The SuperCar Showdown features open competition among production vehicles from all automobile manufacturers worldwide with engines, chassis and even tires remaining in factory trim. While speculation ran wild concerning the potential performance of the machinery in the new class, even Holbrook and Butner were surprised with the elapsed times and speeds unleashed by the Mustangs.