SUNDAY, May 20

After four long days of racing, the K&N Spring Fling 20s presented by Sparco came to a close with the grand totals of over 450 racers making the first round call each day representing 37 different states and three different countries competing in just one fast bracket class. There hasn’t been 450 cars show up to run in one class at one single race since the old Moroso 5-Day Bracket Championships and earlier versions of the Million Dollar Race.

Although he wasn't able to get his hands on one of the $20,000 top prizes, third-generation racer Troy Coughlin Jr. did manage a respectable Round 4 finish in Sunday’s final event. More importantly, he believes the experience and knowledge he gained was priceless.

"I learned so much this weekend," Coughlin said. "I try to learn something new every time I’m at the track but this weekend was different. Tony Collier [veteran JEGS crew member] wasn’t here with me and I decided to take more responsibility for setting my dial-in. Bristol Dragway is a fantastic track but it’s very tricky because it’s surrounded by mountains and the wind swirls and the temperature can change very quickly. You really have to stay on your toes. I made some mistakes this weekend but I also learned a lot that will help me at future events. No matter what, I plan to take a more active role in dialing-in this car from now on."

On Sunday, with the field down to four cars left, Jeff Strickland and Jimmy DiCiacco faced one another with Strickland pulling out a .019 package to defeat the New York-based DiCiacco.

In the other semifinal, Terry Sawyer met 18-year-old Denver Maltba who had just graduated high school on Friday night. Sawyer tried valiantly to use old age and treachery to defeat the youngster but it was not to be.

In the final, Maltba, driving his graduation present, a brand new Racetech dragster, scored the win when Strickland slowed to .08 over his dial to keep the Spring Fling trophy in the family. It was two years ago at the inaugural event when Maltba’s uncle, Junior Houston, won the Sunday race.