SUNDAY - MATT DADAS WINS JEGS PERFORMANCE $30,000 EVENT 

The final day of the RAD Torque Systems Fall Fling presented by Optima Batteries at Bristol Dragway saw a five hour rain delay on JEGS Performance $30,000 Saturday. With 648 entries to run first round, the Fling Team attempted to complete as many rounds of eliminations as possible Saturday afternoon and evening within the window of maintaining a safe racing surface. As the sun went down and temperatures dropped, dew began to roll in leading to race officials making the call to end Saturday's racing activities after the completion of round 2.

Sunday’s on-track action began with round three, where the remaining racers battled it out for the last Fling big check of the 2022 season. The last six drivers in competition included Jamie Holston, Noah Pollard, Steve Law, Bart Nelson, Matt Dadas, and Ray Miller III.

Dadas used a .002 reaction to advance past Pollard while Holston knocked out Miller, Friday’s $100,000 champion. Law let go just .001 red, which earned Nelson a place in the next round.

In the semifinals, Dadas went down the track on his solo shot to the final round. On the other side of the ladder, Holston fouled out with a .003 redlight while Nelson laid down a .012 package after being .008 and dead-on four.

After 648 cars staged up for first round, it came down to two in the door car versus dragster final round where one of the drivers would become a first-time Fling event winner. Dadas let go .001 in his ‘98 Grand Am to be .016 total, locking out Nelson to secure his first Fling victory for the JEGS Performance $30,000 payday. Dadas had also made it down to six cars in the $100,000 main event. 

The Kyle Seipel Never Give Up Award was presented to Mark Kidd of Twin Falls, ID for his comeback effort after breaking an axle in the middle of Wednesday’s eliminations. After replacing both axles and center section, Kidd laid down consistently good laps and carried two entries into round six of the $100,000 main event. He was given $1,000 and a custom crystal plaque courtesy of Ivey Hutto’s Golf Cart Sales and Service.

Two spectacular performances over the week from both Ray Miller III and Matt Dadas made for a tough decision in crowning the 2022 Fall Fling MVP. With consideration for both racers’ round-by-round statistics and round wins, the Fling Team used Miller’s $100,000 event win as the deciding factor. Miller received a $1,000 bonus and a Todd’s Extreme custom-painted Impact Racing helmet.

The RAD Torque Systems Fall Fling presented by Optima Batteries concludes the 2022 Fling Race Series season as the largest Fling in the thirteen years of the series with a highest car count of 674 on $100,000 Friday. 

With 2023 dates to be announced soon, the Fling Team has put up a $5,000 bonus in a “Race To 5 Wins” for the first driver who wins five Fling events with a purse of $20,000 or more, sure to make next year’s season more competitive than ever.

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SATURDAY - JEGS PERFORMANCE $30,000 RACE TO BE COMPLETED SUNDAY 

What was assumed to be the final day of the RAD Torque Systems Fall Fling presented by Optima Batteries at Bristol Dragway began with a spell of intermittent precipitation that turned into a five hour rain delay, postponing the first round of JEGS Performance $30,000 Saturday eliminations until the early afternoon. 

With a massive field of 648 entries, the Fling Team announced the $30,000 event would be concluded on Sunday with the intent of running through as many full rotations of eliminations as possible Saturday afternoon and evening within the window of maintaining a safe racing surface.

At the completion of the second round, it was announced that eliminations would resume with the third round at 8 a.m.

 

 

FRIDAY - RAY MILLER III WINS MOSER ENGINEERING $100K FRIDAY 

 

Moser Engineering $100,000 main event Friday brought the largest Fling car count in history at an unprecedented 674 entries during the RAD Torque Systems Fall Fling presented by Optima Batteries at Bristol Dragway. The best bracket racers from across the country had their sights set on the biggest payday of the weekend, which would make for one of the most prestigious Fling victories in the franchise’s thirteen years of events given the enormity of the field.

The best door car and best dragster package of the weekend throughout eliminations from Wednesday to third round Friday met in a match race for a set of Brodix cylinder heads. Matt Dadas qualified on the door car side with a .001 package (perfect and dead-on one) while Lee Dixon was the representative on the dragster side after being .001 total as well (.001 and dead-on zero). Dixon showed why he deserved to be in the runoff by throwing down a .002 package to lock Dadas out, and picked up the brand new set of SR20 heads.

As the Mullis Race Cars Fling Racer Appreciation Party kicked off at 7 p.m. with free food and live music next to the starting line for all to watch the remainder of eliminations, the last eleven drivers standing of the 674 entries included Mitchell McKinney, Kiley Thaxton, Trevor Denton, Lester Adkins, Jack Collier, Makenna Brown, Jordan Willis-Parker, Jesse York, Ray Miller III, Koy Collier, and Matt Dadas.

The Thunder Valley track lights reflected off the racing surface as the last six racers staged up for the quarterfinals - three door cars, and three dragsters. Miller was .002 off the line with a commanding starting line advantage to take .006 at the stripe for the win over Willis-Parker. Denton was .006 to the .021 of McKinny, but by way of Denton’s four thousandths breakout McKinney took the win. In the following pair, Collier was .005 ahead at the hit and took .004 to run dead-on eight to eliminate Dadas.

In the all Miller-built dragster final for the Moser Engineering $100,000 payday, Miller was once again double “O,” take double “O” with a .005 reaction time to have a substantial starting line advantage over Collier and took .007 at the finish line for the win. The $100,000 victory would be his first Fling event win to add to his already impressive super class and bracket racing resume.

The Fall Fling will conclude with JEGS Performance $30,000 Saturday. A time run for new arrivals will begin at 8:30 a.m. and the first round will fire off at 8:45 a.m. The Fling Team will be crowning a 2022 Fall Fling MVP with a Todd’s Extreme custom-painted Impact Racing helmet and $1,000 in addition to the Kyle Seipel Never Give Up Award presented by Ivey Hutto Golf Cart Sales.

 

 

 

 

 

THURSDAY - JOSH LUEDKE WINS ATI PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS $30K 

ATI Performance Products $30,000 Thursday at the RAD Torque Fall Fling presented by Optima Batteries at Bristol Dragway shattered the record for the highest entry count of any Fling event over the course of 13 years, with 640 staging up for the first round. 

An hour-and-a-half rain delay did not interfere with the momentum of the program or the spirits of the racers as the track was dried and prepared to continue eliminations. Four run groups designated by Fling competition numbers allowed racers to know when they could expect to make their next run with the magnitude of cars on property.

The group of six drivers left standing for round eight was made up of Kevin Brannon, Robert Holton, Coty Whitt, Josh Luedke, Cory Gulitti, and Chase McKay. Brannon let go perfect to the .003 of McKay and had the lesser of the two breakouts to earn the bye in the semifinals. Whitt was .004 on the red side, which allowed Luedke to advance, while Gulitti had a .013 advantage off the line with a .005 reaction to move past Holton.

In the semifinals matchup to see who would meet Brannon in the final, Gulitti was .006 and dead-on nine getting one thousandth behind at the stripe for the loss against the .014 package of Luedke.

The classic door car versus dragster final would be a faceoff between two multi-time past Fling event winners — Brannon, who most recently picked up the 2022 Spring Fling Million main event victory, and Luedke with a 2022 Summer Fling 15K Wednesday win just several weeks prior. Despite Brannon’s advantage off the starting line, it was Luedke who ran it down to be dead-on two for the ATI Performance Products $30,000 Thursday win after navigating through 10 rounds of competition.

Moser Engineering $100,000 Main Event Friday will begin with the Fall Fling Reaction Time Challenge at 8:00 a.m. followed by a time trial for all new arrivals. In the afternoon, the Fling Team will hold a treasure hunt for the kids before the Mullis Racer Appreciation Party at 7 p.m. where racers and their families can enjoy free barbeque and look on as one lucky driver parks in the winners circle as the $100,000 main event champion.

 

 

WEDNESDAY - BLAINE MAYER WINS ADVANCED PRODUCT DESIGN $15,000 AT THE FALL FLING 

The final Fling of the year had racers pouring through the gates at Bristol Dragway for the RAD Torque Systems Fall Fling presented by Optima Batteries. The Advanced Product Design $15,000 Warm-Up race saw 496 entries stage up for the first round serving as a record-high Wednesday car count for any Fling event at Thunder Valley in years past.

All racers on property were given one time run session which ran into the early afternoon with the unprecedented amount of entries. With an efficient format in which drivers are assigned a Fling competition number and run in four designated groups — and a great crowd of cooperative racers — eliminations moved smoothly into the evening as the track lights illuminated the dragstrip.

The eight drivers returning for the ladder round included Bart Nelson, Mitchell McKinney, JR Lockhart, Blaine Mayer, Nick Hastings, Bo Sanders, Dustin Smiley, and Cameron Manuel.

Smiley used a substantial advantage on the hit to take the win over McKinney, while Lockhart advanced past the .008 breakout of Sanders with just a three thousandths separation on the tree. While Hastings was .004 to the .026 of Mayer, he bowed out of competition by way of a .010 breakout. Manuel let go .001 to the .007 of Nelson and ran it down to be dead-on seven for the win.

In the semifinals, Mayer advanced past the .002 redlight of Manuel, while Lockhart let go .000 and ran it down to be dead-on six for a .006 package to eliminate the ‘95 Grand Am of Smiley, creating an all-dragster final round.

Both Mayer and Lockhart were first-time Fling finalists, and it was Mayer who laid down .013 total for the Advanced Product Design $15,000 Wednesday victory, hoisting the first Fling big check and hardware of the weekend.

ATI Performance Products $30,000 Thursday will follow new entry time runs scheduled for 8 a.m. During eliminations, drivers with the best losing package of rounds one through seven will receive either $500 from Strange Engineering, Biondo Racing Products, FTI Performance, or Stainless Works; or a certificate for rear slicks from Mickey Thompson, Hoosier Racing Tire, or Goodyear.

Everything will be streamed live as it happens on the MotorManiaTV YouTube channel free to the viewer courtesy of JEGS Performance and Mickey Thompson with new exclusive content produced by the Fling Team.

 

 

 

 

 

TUESDAY - CORY GULITTI WINS AMERICAN/RACE TECH SUPER TUESDAY SHOOTOUT

The Fling Race Series returns to Bristol Dragway for its thirteenth year of events at one of the most iconic dragstrips in the country with the RAD Torque Systems Fall Fling presented by Optima Batteries. A beautiful week of weather was in store for the last stop of the 2022 Fling Tour featuring elite bracket racers from across the country. 

The first of five days of racing fired up with the Rob’s Automotive Test and Tune at 2 p.m. run in conjunction between rounds of the exclusive Super Tuesday American Race Cars/Race Tech Shootout where 32 racers battled it out for the opportunity to take home one of the two dragster chassis with the winner having choice between builders.

As the sun went down, 32 drivers dwindled down to a stout eight competitors including Gary Williams, Cory Gulitti, Greg Hicks, Bo Sanders, Peeps Pennington, Jack Ostrowski, Troy Williams Jr., and Steve Sisko.

Gulitti used a .017 advantage on the tree to light up the scoreboard over Troy Williams Jr. who took .0004 at the stripe for the loss, and Pennington turned it .002 red against Sanders who put down a .017 package. Ostrowski was .039 ahead off the starting line for the win over Hicks, while Gary Williams took .004 on Sisko to advance to the round of four.

In the semifinals, Williams and Sanders were separated by a thousandth on the tree and Williams took the stripe by .019 to earn a spot in the final. Ostrowski bowed out to Gulitti after turning it just .001 red.

The pairing of Gulitti and Williams was a rematch of the American/Todd’s Extreme Paint Dragster Shootout at the 2021 Spring Fling Million where Gulitti took home the very same dragster he wheeled in this final. Gulitti was .006 at the hit against the .009 bulb of Williams, and Gulitti ended up .001 ahead at the stripe for the win after breaking a rocker in the semis. Gulitti chose the American chassis, while Williams walked away with the Race Tech.

Advanced Product Design Wednesday will feature a $15,000 warm-up purse, while ATI Performance Products Thursday and JEGS Performance Saturday will be $30,000-to-win each day. On Moser Engineering main event Friday, racers will stage up for $100,000 while the Mullis Race Cars Racer Appreciation Barbeque kicks off trackside at 7 p.m.

Advanced Product Design 15K Wednesday will kick off at 8:30 a.m. with a time run for all on property. Racer appreciation giveaways from leaders in the industry will be given out from the prize vault including weather stations, dragster scoops, and more.