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Here we go! The semi-finals of the Strange Engineering Throwback Showdown 2, and this round promises to be a dogfight. The A-side of the ladder match between Bob Bode and Tim Wilkerson runs through Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at 8 PM EST. 

The B-side battle begins on Wednesday and ends Friday, at 8 PM, EST.

NO. 5 TIM WILKERSON DEF. NO. 1 BOB BODE

 

 

 

 

Both Jeff Diehl and defending event champion Del Worsham breezed through their quarter-final matches to create a battle which should go down to the wire next week.

In a rematch of the inaugural event, Diehl, the #2 seed will try to avenge a loss to Worsham. Diehl is representing the late Jungle Jim Liberman, while Worsham rode his way to the title with Raymond Beadle's Blue Max.

To get to the semis, Diehl took the measure of the No. 7 ranked Jonnie Lindberg, in the Roland Leong Hawaiian-tribute. For his part, Worsham took out third-generation drag racer Austin Prock in the Detroit Tiger entry.

On Wednesday, Bob Bode and Tim Wilkerson were declared winners of their matches.

Bode, in the Tom Hoover Showtime-themed throwback, won the closest match of the weekend, stopping Ron Capps in the Ed McCulloch R-r-r-evellution Mopar.

Bode will meet Wilkerson in the Chi-town Hustler entry which elimination J.R. Todd's Dale Pulde War Eagle tribute. 

Eliminations on the "A' side of the ladder begin Monday morning and run through Wednesday at 8 PM, EST. On Wednesday morning, Diehl and Worsham will decide the final round representation from the "B" side. This match will end on Friday at 8 PM, EST.

 

 

 

 

 

NO SURPRISES AS FAVORITES ADVANCE TO QUARTER-FINALS

Defending Strange Throwback Showdown champion and #6 seeded Del Worsham scored his fifth consecutive virtual reality round win as he took out No. 11 Robert Hight.

Worsham, representing Raymond Beadle's Blue Max dynasty, never trailed in a match where he 75-percent of the votes. 

No. 5 Tim Wilkerson, the Illinois-racer sporting the Chi-Town Hustler, won by the largest margin as drew 84-percent to run past Jack Beckman, representing the Pisano & Matsubara entry.

First-time competitor and sophomore Funny Car racer J.R. Todd, and the first-time Throwback scheme of Dale Pulde's War Eagle also won by a large margin with a 63-percent share over Jim Campbell in the Dunn & Reath tribute.

Closing out the round was Austin Prock, who Tom Prock Detroit Tiger slipped past Matt Hagan, in the Don Schumacher Wonder Wagon with a 58-percent majority. 

Strange Throwback Showdown 2 competition begins on Monday morning with the A-side of the quarter-final ladder hitting the virtual track. No. 1 seed Bob Bode will match up with the only bottom half of the ladder winner No. 9 Ron Capps. No. 4 J.R. Todd squares off with No. 5 Tim Wilkerson. Voting for these matches ends on Wednesday at 8 PM, EST on January 17.

The B-side will kick off on Wednesday with #2 Jeff Diehl versus #7 Jonnie Lindberg.  Third-seeded Austin Prock will look to end Worsham and the Blue Max streak. The quarter-final round concludes at 8 PM, EST, January 19.
 

CAPPS PULLS THE UPSET WIN IN FIRST ROUND COMPETITION; BODE, DEAL AND LINDBERG ADVANCE

Four racers will advance to the second round of the Strange Engineering Throwback Showdown 2. Three of the four virtual drag races were won by the favorites while one racer used a familiar combination to mow down a higher-seeded opponent.

Ron Capps scored a monumental victory as his #9-seeded Ed McCulloch R-r-revellution Dodge Charger knocked off the #8-seeded John Force "Brute Force" entry. In a campaign which went back and forth in the first day, Capps pulled into a slight lead on Day 2 and held on by a slim margin, winning the closest race of the four contested on the first day, 53-percent to 47.

No. 1 seed Bob Bode didn't exactly breeze into the second round, but his 56-percent share of the three-day voting was enough to squelch the upset bid presented by ARP Race to Qualifying winner Dale Creasy. Creasy had to win three rounds of voting just to make it into the event. 

Defending event runner-up and # 2 qualifier Jeff Diehl [Jungle Jim] jumped out to a commanding lead early in his battle with Funny Car newcomer Shawn Langdon, representing team owner Connie Kalitta, and never looking back en route to a 76-percent share of the voting. 

Closing out the first-day winners #7 Jonnie Lindberg behind the wheel of 1979 Hawaiian-themed entry had just enough punch, 74-percent to thunder past the Chain Lightning-themed Mustang of Brian Stewart. 

The quarter-final round kicks off Monday, January 15 with Bode matching up with Capps, and Diehl battling it out with Lindberg. 

 

 

 

STRANGE ENGINEERING THROWBACK SHOWDOWN II RD. 1 RESULTS

#1 - BOB BODE DEF. #16. DALE CREASY JR.

 #2 - JEFF DIEHL (JUNGLE JIM) DEF. #15 SHAWN LANGDON (KALITTA BOUNTY HUNTER)

 

#3 - AUSTIN PROCK (DETROIT TIGER) DEF. #14 - MATT HAGAN (WONDERWAGON)

 

#4 - J.R. TODD (PULDE'S WAR EAGLE) DEF.  #13 - JIM CAMPBELL (DUNN & REATH)

 

#5 - TIM WILKERSON (CHI-TOWN HUSTLER) DEF. #12 - JACK BECKMAN (PISANO & MATSUBARA)

 

#6 - DEL WORSHAM (BLUE MAX) DEF. #11 - ROBERT HIGHT ('79 BRUTE FORCE)

#7 - JONNIE LINDBERG (HAWAIIAN) DEF. #10. BRIAN STEWART (SHIRL GREER'S CHAIN LIGHTNING)

 

 #9 - RON CAPPS (MCCULLOCH'S REVELLUTION) DEF. #8 - JOHN FORCE ('76 BRUTE FORCE)

 

EVENT SCHEDULE

ELIMINATIONS - first rd   -  January 8 - 10, 2018  (No. 1 vs No. 16, No. 8 vs No. 9; No. 2 vs. No. 15; No. 7 vs. no. 10) (A-SIDE) -  - COMPLETED
January 10 - 12, 2018   (No. 4 vs No. 13),  No. 5 vs No. 12); No. 3
vs. No. 14, No. 6 vs. No. 11) (B-SIDE)

QUARTERFINALS - January 15 - 17 - A side  
January 18 - 20, 2018 - B-side

SEMI FINALS - January 22 - 24 - A -SIDE Ladder      
January 25 - 27, 2018 - B-side

FINALS -  February 3 - 5, 2018

WINNER CROWNED - February 5, 2018 - 10 PM, EST - Winner Crowned

 

 

 

 

BODE MAKES FINAL DAY CHARGE TO QUALIFYING NO. 1

When is the last time you've ever heard of Bob Bode overtaking Jeff Diehl in the final day of qualifying to secure the No. 1 seed headed into final eliminations of an NHRA Mello Yello Drag racing Series event?

Welcome to the wonderful world of virtual reality drag racing. 

Friday evening, as the polls closed for the Throwback Showdown II, a virtual reality drag race which is decided on a fan vote, Bode's Tom Hoover-themed Showtime entry passed original No. 1 qualifier Jeff Diehl's popular Jungle Jim Liberman-inspired machine.

Diehl appeared to be a lock on the top spot after leading the first two days of voting. Bode made a major run in Day 2 qualifying, effectively passing Diehl in the final three hours. 

"Very impressive deal, I must say," Bode admitted. "I was shocked to find out where we ended up. We were traveling to Gainesville with my son for a Junior Dragster race, he's got a lot of friends in the pits, and they spent most of the day campaigning for us. My son is pretty savvy with that kind of stuff."

Bode, who races on a modest budget in the real-life Mello Yello drag racing Series, has embraced the world of virtual reality drag racing.

"It's really neat," Bode said. "It brings in the computer world into our drag racing community. This allows us to reach the younger demographic of drag racing in the place where they hang out."

To win the event, Bode said would be a real highlight of his drag racing career. Bode does have one NHRA national event victory to his credit.

"It would be a huge victory for us," Bode said. "We are taking this very serious, and to go into the final eliminations as the No. 1 qualifier is very special.

"This event takes thinking outside of the box to a whole new level. There's a lot of people who aren't necessarily drag racing fans getting involved. And that is always great for our sport."

The top 15 entries are seeded into final eliminations, while the bottom eight vote-getters will participate in a three-round shootout for the final qualified position. 

The ARP Battle to Final Eliminations begins with the first round on January 2, 2017, and ends on January 4 at 8 PM, EST. This competition will be staged for voting on the pages of CompetitionPlus.com.

The Strange Engineering Throwback Showdown II will be contested on the Competition Plus Facebook Page. In order to participate in voting for this event, you must LIKE CompetitionPlus.com Facebook page. 

 

FINAL QUALIFIED ORDER

Bob Bode     - 948
Jeff Diehl   - 825
Austin Prock -530
J.R. Todd    -296
Tim Wilkerson  244
Del Worsham  - 202
Jonnie Lindberg 156
John Force   - 116
Ron Capps    - 115
Brian Stewart  79
Robert Hight - 76
Jack Beckman - 68
Jim Campbell - 62
Matt Hagan   - 60
Shawn Langdon  59
___________________
Dale Creasy Jr 58
Courtney Force 55
Tommy Johnson Jr 54
Cruz Pedregon  53
Bob Tasca III  49
Tim Gibbons  - 42
Gary Richards  28
Terry Haddock  24