SISKO WINS $1,100,000 IN HIGHEST-PAYING DRAG RACE EVER 

After months of anticipation, promotion, and adjustment due to COVID-19, Steve Sisko was crowned the JEGS-SFG $1.1 Million Dollar winner last night at US 131 Motorsports Park. He defeated Bill Swain in an electric final round just before midnight to collect the $1,100,000 check, making him the winner of the biggest payday in drag racing history and fulfilling the vision of SFG Promotions’ CEO, Kyle Riley. 

“I know that I could do it… I’ve done it on other stages,” said Sisko in the winners circle. “The car was [subpar] all weekend so I just held… and took .00 every time. I think the rear broke [as I was coming back from the finish line].

I'm 43 years old and I consider myself one of the old guys now, I barely race anymore… but I have a lot of friends out here and the hugs and messages from them is what meant the most. I was texting Big Murph throughout the day and I’m surprised you can’t hear him from New York right now. Obviously this is Anthony Bertozzi’s car...

Anthony is somebody I met in the 90s going to Florida with Jim Harrington. Jimmy the Shoe was my mentor. My father taught me to drive a car, but Jimmy taught me to win and not complicate stuff, and everybody misses him dearly. This is for Jimmy the Shoe… This is the biggest [expletive] race you can have, and I just won the biggest [expletive] race there is.”

Quarterfinals: In the quarterfinals of this historic event, six of the fiercest drivers in bracket racing remained: Hunter Patton, Sugar Shane Carr, Brian Cireddu, Jason Hemerline, Swain, and Sisko. 

Sisko might’ve had his lucky break of the race in this round when Cireddu went -.010 red beside him while he left with a .029 light and put up a 6.328 on a 6.31 (albeit on a drop) for a very vulnerable .047 package. 

The next pairing brought up Patton and Carr, with Patton coming out victorious after a .017 light and 4.605 run on his 4.60 dial. Carr was mathematically ineligible after posting a .023 light. 

Swain and Hemerline moved onto the semis with their bye-runs in the dragster and door car categories respectively. These “categories” are kept separate for as long as possible at SFG events.

Semifinals: In the semifinals (final round of door cars), Sisko met up with Hemerline. Sisko was .018 on the tree and ran 6.301 on his 6.29 dial-in, beating Hemerline’s .019 light and 5.845 breakout run on a 5.86 dial-in. 

On the dragster side of the ladder, Patton was ousted out of competition when Swain put up a breathtaking .005 total package, being .002 on the tree and running 4.653 on his 4.65 dial-in. “Hunny Wayne” Patton was excellent as usual with a .007 light and 4.605 run on a 4.60 dial-in to be .006 behind Swain. 

Finals: In the final round of the richest drag race in history, Sisko put up a .012 total package starting with a .011 light and ending with a 6.281 run on his 6.28 dial-in. 

Swain was .004 on the tree beside him and took a touch too much stripe (.013) to breakout with a 4.644 on a 4.65 dial-in. 

The final day (Sunday) of the JEGS-SFG Million will be streamed live on MotorManiaTV.com. Final eliminations of the Hansen Global $100,000-to-win race will be contested to bring this historic event to a close. 

 

World Footbrake Challenge rookie Austin Alvey wrapped up Sunday's action at the BTE-sponsoired event in a Camaro that ran the numbers all day. #DragRacingNews -- https://t.co/KQOkyZqEPT pic.twitter.com/cuay0jV6vt

— Competition Plus (@competitionplus) July 6, 2020

 

 

GARY WILLIAMS WINS JEGS $20K WARM-UP RACE AT JEGS-SFG $1.1 MILLION  

Five days after the start of the JEGS $20,000-to-win warm-up race, Gary Williams was crowned its winner Friday evening. Williams defeated the door car of Anna-Lise LeBlanc by just .011 seconds. 

“It’s really cool man to be able to win this,” says Williams. “My whole family pretty much flew in and rolled into the gates at nine cars. I hope I survive the party to make it to tomorrow's race!”  

Semifinals: In the semifinals of the drawn out event, Williams sat on the bye to the finals after defeating Hunter Patton in what was effectively the dragster final. 

LeBlanc on the other hand went head to head with Howard Westbury in what would be a relatively easy round win for her. As Westbury left the starting line, his wheel standing Nova drove straight to the center of the track placing him completely out of the groove once he landed. After Westbury lifted to center himself back onto the racing surface, LeBlanc was free to run 6.016 on her 6.01 dial-in for the doocar win. 

Finals: In the finals, LeBlanc slowed to a 6.027 on her 6.00 dial-in giving Williams the room he needed to run 4.819 on his 4.81 dial-in and score a $20,000 payday the night before the richest drag race in history: the JEGS-SFG 1.1 Million. 

Racing action for the JEGS-SFG 1.1 Million resumed at 10am Saturday with the second round of eliminations- completed right around 1pm CT.  Although many racers have been eliminated, their chances for $1,100,000 are still alive with the SFG Jackpot option, which gives all eliminated racers a chance to get placed back into the big race after the third round of eliminations. 25 door cars and 25 dragsters will be drawn: 8 door cars and 8 dragsters will be placed back into the race while the remaining 34 of the 50 drawn will receive $1000.

 

 

 

EVENT NOTEBOOK - DICKEN POCKETS $100K IN SFG MILLION WEDNESDAY ACTION

Day three of the JEGS-SFG 1.1 Million at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, MI proved to be extremely productive for SFG Promotions, Inc. and highly lucrative for its racers. Eliminations for three events were contested on Wednesday preceding the $1.1M main-event with winners being crowned in two of those events.

Lane Dicken took the win in the FTI $100,000-to-win event and Madisyn McCormick was victorious in the FuelTech Ladies Shootout.

FTI $100,000-To-Win Race:

Quarterfinals: In the quarterfinals of the first of two $100,000-to-win races this week, five racers remained in competition: Mark Daniels, Jeff Ledford, Brian Rockwell, Danny Burleson, and Dicken.

Ledford took the win with a .005 light and 5.279 run on a 5.27 dial-in. That race was over from the start when Daniels went -.016 red at the start.

Dicken took on Burleson from Texas in an excellent race decided by .018. Dicken was .005 on the tree, then ran dead-on with a 0 on his 4.55 dial-in. Burleson was .000 on the tree before running 4.527 on his 4.54 dial-in.

Rockwell was on the bye, going .003 on the tree and 5.957 on his 5.94 dial-in.

Semifinals: With three cars remaining, local contenders Ledford and Rockwell went head to head. Ledford was .002 on the tree and ran 5.286 on a 5.27 dial-in for the win, while Rockwell was just behind with a .029 light and a 5.960 run on his 5.94 dial-in.

Dicken took the tree on the DragRaceSolutions.com bye to the final.

Finals: Dicken was .008 on the tree in the finals and ran 4.570 on his 4.54 to take the FTI $100,000 victory.

"We we’re doing well most of the day, but we had a rear end that was about to break,” says Dicken in his winners circle interview. “We thought about switching cars and using the break rule but we decided to just take the tree in the semis and drive it ‘till it goes. I was trying to do short burnouts to not hurt it and [it worked out]."

After a string of .00 lights, Ledford fell short in the final with a .043 light and 5.290 on a 5.27 dial-in.

FuelTech $5,000-To-Win Ladies Shootout

Semifinals: In the semifinals of the FuelTech Ladies Shootout race, three racers remained with Karyl Bell Tiscione of New York taking the bye to the final.

On the other side of the ladder, Madisyn McCormick and Maria Cross had a lackluster pairing when Cross had issues on the starting line, giving the semifinal win to McCormick.

Finals: In the end, McCormick reigned victorious in her first race in the car she was driving. She posted a .025 light in the final and whomped her way to a 4.584 on her 4.55 dial-in.

Vicione was only .005 over her 5.02 dial-in, but her .065 light gave McCormick the room she needed for victory.

Today (Thursday), the first round and the re-entry round of the Hansen Global $100,000-to-win race will be contested along with continued eliminations of the JEGS $20,000-to-win warm up race. Watch all of the action from the JEGS-SFG 1.1 Million live through MotorMania TV coverage presented by JEGS at CompetitionPlusTV.com.