Foley and Griffith Score

Words by Luke Bogacki

Photos courtesy World Footbrake Challenge

The sixth annual World Footbrake Challenge goes into the history books as the most attended Footbrake only event in drag racing history, as 434 entrants converged on Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tenn., July 13-15 for the “World’s Greatest Footbrake Race.” Those entrants represented 23 states, two countries, and a wealth of racing talent. When the smoke cleared on the Nitroplate Triple 10’s at the WFC VI, it was two regular Bristol Dragway competitors who hoisted the big checks and took home the lion’s share of a huge purse.

On Day 1, the only winner was Mother Nature, as rains forced a cancellation of the opening event following round 2. The 144 remaining competitors split the $27,000+ Friday purse. To make a nice, round number of $200 for each of those competitors, WFC promoters Jared Pennington and Steve Stites added a smooth $1600 to the original purse. This brought Friday’s total payout to a whopping $28,800!

Click to enlarge » A large Steve Foley contingent celebrates the Saturday win.

Click to enlarge »Tim Griffith in the winner’s circle on Sunday.

Saturday weather once again played a role in the event, but the race was completed despite persistent showers. Surviving not only the tough on-track competition, but also various weather delays was Steve Foley. If that name sounds familiar, that’s because Foley was the most recent winner of the WFC coming into the 2012 edition, having won the $20,000-to-win finale at the 2011 event.

Foley’s Saturday victory marked the first time any WFC competitor has earned back-to-back event titles. The Kentucky racer defeated another familiar face in the WFC VI final, in Chris Plott. Plott, one of the most accomplished bottom bulb racers in the country, won the first WFC event ever contested in 2007, and scored again at WFC IV.

Sunday brought the final Nitroplate Triple 10 event and saw a much needed break in weather. A whopping 419 entrants saw the Bristol Dragway starting line in round 1. Ten rounds later, Chris Plott was making his second final round appearance of the weekend.

But Plott would be denied WFC glory once again, as he fell to Virginia-based Tim Griffith in the final stanza. Griffith, another well-known bracket contender, picked up his first WFC title after several late round finishes in recent seasons.