A day removed from the A-1 Performance $100,000 64-Car Shootout which saw Jim Glenn drive his 69’ Firebird to the win, the Fall Fling West presented by RAD Torque Systems moved into the Kidd Performance Friday $10K.  Racers jumped in action at 8AM with new entry time trials.

With new entry time trials complete, eliminations kicked off with the GearWrench Pro class followed by Super Pro doorcars and then dragsters.  Everyone was looking to grab the ATI Performance Products Bounty Award for stopping Thursday’s winner Jim Glenn.

After the completion of the first two rounds, promoters Peter Biondo and Kyle Seipel added a 32-Car $5,000 Shootout to the schedule.  The Shootout was open to racers that did not make it out of the second round of eliminations in the Kidd Performance $10K.

Speaking of the Kidd Performance $10K, there were twelve racers left in contention as we reached the ladder round.  The twelve racers consisted of Curtis Zinzilieta, Jeremy Wilson, and Howard DeVore in the GearWrench Pro Class.  They were joined by Thursday finalists Jim Glenn and Gabriel Torres who were both looking to go to back-to-back final rounds.  JR Leerkamp was double entered in his Corvette roadster and his dragster.  Jake Jones, Pete Bothe, Joe Leavitt, Shawn Hart, and Chris Northup rounded out the field.

In the GearWrench Pro class, Zinzilieta defeated DeVore to move into the Pro final against Wilson who had the bye in Round 6.  On the Super Pro ladder, Glenn defeated Leerkamp’s first entry, Torres had the bye, Jones defeated Bothe, Leavitt stopped Hart, and Northup took out Leerkamp’s second entry.

Round 7 found Funny Car Chris Northup sitting on the bye while Gabriel Torres kept rolling after defeating Jake Jones on a breakout.  Leavitt earned the ATI Bounty when Jim Glenn missed the tree.  Zinzilieta collected the GearWrench Pro Class bonus after Wilson was .010 red sending Zinzilieta to the semifinals. 

The Kidd Performance $10K semifinals saw the two doorcars of Leavitt and Zinzilieta battle for a spot in the final round while Torres and Northup squared off in their dragsters.  After winning the Pro Class, Zinzilieta left early sending Leavitt and his Chevy II to the final round.  In the dragster pair, Northup was .005 better off the line and posted a dead-on two pass (5.272) to prevent Torres from making a second consecutive final round. 

The final round saw Funny Car Chris Northup turn on the final win-light when his .033 initiated 5.261 (5.25 dial-in) more than covered Leavitt’s .031 light and .05 above 6.140 effort.  The winner’s circle was lively as Northup and his friends celebrated his victory.

The 32-Car $5K Shootout was also full of excitement as racers battled to make up for their early exit from the main event.  At the round of eight, Mark Kidd defeated Greg Hicks, Johnny Carter stopped Andy Schmall, Trey Vetter bested Jeremy Rupp, and Taylor Strange defeated Chuck Hawk Jr. 

The $5K semifinals was an all dragster affair which saw Strange pair up with Kidd and Vetter face off with Carter.  After a near even start, Strange posted a .016 over 4.736 to stop Kidd who slowed to a .029 over 4.609.  Vetter and Carter both posted .012 reactions but Vetter turned on the win-light after ripping the throttle twice to go 4.487 on his 4.47 dial.  Carter trailed with a .023 over 4.935 in the loss.

The real excitement began just as Strange and Vetter were about to pull under the famous LVMS arch.  A bolt fell out of Strange’s gas pedal just as he pulled up to the arch.  Once his crew found the culprit, Vetter kindly backed up and allowed Strange to fix the issue.  After a short delay, they pulled to the line where Vetter pulled off the win.  Trey used a .016 to .036 reaction advantage once again ripping the throttle to go one above four (4.484) to stop Strange’s dead three effort (4.723).

The Fall Fling West presented by RAD Torque Systems continues on Saturday with the Panella Race Engines $50K.  Eliminations start at 8 AM Saturday morning.

 

 

The Fall Fling West presented by RAD Torque Systems kicked off with A-1 Performance Thursday which included a $100,000 to win 64-Car Shootout.  The day began with clear skies, a stiff head wind, and a gorgeous backdrop. 

With fighter jets buzzing overhead, A-1 Performance Thursday began with time trial sessions for the GearWrench Pro Class, Super Pro, and the 64-Car Shootout.  With several rounds of time trials completed, the attention turned to the A-1 Performance $100,000 64-Car Shootout which consisted of 32 doorcars and 32 dragsters. 

At the round of 16 Daniel McClelland, Keith Horob, Jim Glenn, Larry Spitall, Chuck Hawk Jr., Mera Silvia, Emma Deuschle, and Ken Sweo remained in contention on the doorcar side.  The eight dragsters remaining included Duston Wurtz, David Myhre, Rayce Kidd, Taylor Strange, Larry Richardson, Dan Lafferty, Gabriel Torres, and Carson Campbell. 

Moving into the quarterfinals was McClelland, Hawk, Glenn, Dueschle, Richardson, Wurtz, Torres, and Kidd.  The highlight of the round was the battle between Richardson and Lafferty where Richardson laid down a perfect package to defeat Lafferty’s .001 dead one lap!

In the quarterfinals, McClelland posted a .012-pack in his wagon to turn back Hawk who was .002 and two above.  Jim Glenn used a .005 to .041 reaction time advantage to move past Deuschle.  On the dragster ladder, Larry Richardson capitalized on Wurtz’s breakout to move into the semifinals.  In the last matchup of the round, Gabriel Torres moved past Kidd after dropping to dead on.  Kidd’s .003 take .041 put him .005 under his 4.75 dial.

Both semifinal pairings were decided at the starting line when McClelland turned it red to Glenn by .006 and Richardson was -.001 red against Torres.  Of note, McClelland won two rounds earlier in the day by virtue of the TruStart system as his opponents fouled by a greater margin than he did.

In the doorcar versus dragster $100,000 final, Glenn let go .005 beside Torres’ .030.  At the stripe Glenn dropped to go dead-on seven (6.647) to take the win after Torres trailed with a 4.696 on his 4.68 dial.  The emotions flowed over in the winner’s circle as Glenn and his family celebrated their $100,000 victory.

In addition to the 64-Car Shootout, promoters Peter Biondo and Kyle Seipel added a GearWrench Pro Class Run for the Shootout.  Racers were given one shot to lay down the best package and earn their way into the four-car Shootout where the winner would receive $1,000 of the $2,000 guaranteed purse.

The four best packages came from Brandon Umberger, Jeff Jones, Matt Kielman, and Dustin Martin.  In a heads up 5.94 race, Umberger used a .021 over 5.961 to turn back Jones who slowed to a 6.055.  Kielman’s .011 trailed Martin’s .005 off the line but turned on the winlight when Martin was .003 under his 5.99 dial. Of note, Kielman’s .011 light was the worst light of the round by the four bottom bulb competitors!

The GearWrench Run for the Shootout final included two of the toughest bottom bulb racers in the country.  Once again, Kielman was .011 and behind after Umberger posted a .005 light.  At the stripe it was all Umberger as he was .00 take .00 for the win after his .021 over 5.961 was .004 ahead of Kielman’s .019 over 6.739. 

In addition to the cash prizes in the GearWrench Run for the Shootout, Peter and Kyle donated $400 to the Racers for Christ from the extra entries in the Shootout.

The Fall Fling West presented by RAD Torque Systems continues on Friday with the Kidd Performance and Dyno $10,000 race.  New entries time trials start at 8 AM with eliminations to follow.

 

 

 

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RAD TORQUE TOOLS FALL FLING WEST COMING THIS WEEK

After an almost six-month delay, Peter Biondo and Kyle Seipel bring the Fling brand of bracket racing back to the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  After COVID-19 forced a complete overhaul of the Fling racing schedule earlier this year, race promotors Peter and Kyle worked diligently with Jeff Foster and the LVMS staff to insure West Coast racers had the opportunity to experience the Fling in 2020.

The result of those efforts is the Fall Fling West presented by RAD Torque Tools.  The four-day event provides racers an opportunity to race at a premiere facility with great payouts and a shot at over $20,000 in racer appreciation giveaways!  For the Fall Fling West only, gate entries will be allowed with no entry cap.  In addition, racers will be allowed to double enter under the special Fall Fling West rules.

The Fall Fling West kicks off on Thursday with the A-1 Performance $100,000 64-Car Shootout. 32 doorcars and 32 dragsters will face off for the $100,000-to-win race. This format guarantees a doorcar vs. dragster final round. In addition to the $100,000 winner’s check, the winner will also receive a Nitrous Supply Nitrous and Intake kit valued at $2,000!

Following the $100,000 Shootout is three days of bracket racing action. For a weekend entry of only $690, racers will compete for $10,000 on Friday and Sunday and $50,000 on Saturday! As always, the entire pursed is guaranteed by Peter and Kyle. First up is the Kidd Performance & Dyno Friday $10K followed by the Panella Race Engines $50K Saturday. Racing concludes on Sunday with the Silver State Refrigeration $10K.

For the Pro class racers, the Fall Fling West offers a chance to race your way into the Super Pro ladder. The Gearwrench Pro Field is an all-run field that runs separate from the Super Pro field until there is one Pro racer remaining. Pro racers are eligible for the same round money, purse, and prizes as Super Pro. In addition to the event purse, the last remaining Pro racer each day will receive a Pro Bonus! The Pro Bonus is $500 on Friday and Sunday and $1,000 on Saturday. 

In addition to the huge purse, racer appreciation prize vaults, and free giveaways, the Fall Fling West will also include reaction time awards, bounty rewards, best dialer award, and more. Racers will also have a shot at the Free Fall Fling Reaction Time Challenge. 25 lucky racers will be randomly selected for a chance to win $10,000. Each driver earns $100 cash for any .00X reaction time and $1,000 cash for a .000 reaction. There’s a $10,000 bonus if any racer hits two .000’s in a row!