Williamson Wins the Nightfire Nationals!
Courtesy of DCM
Boise, ID – The Don Carter Motorsports team had a great weekend of racing at one of the biggest events on the West Coast, Firebird Raceway’s 39th annual Nightfire Nationals event.
For everyone on the team this was their first trip to Firebird Raceway in Boise, Idaho and they were all blown away with the quality of race track the New family runs, both on and off the racing surface. When talking to the team members many stated it was one of the greatest events they have ever attended, the win was just icing on the cake for them.
Driver, Bret Williamson, set the bar high his first time down the track in round 1 of qualifying when running a 6.21 taking the top qualifying spot. The team opted out of running the second qualifying session and was bumped down to the number 3 spot as John Scialpi ran a 6.17 and Randy Kay ran a 6.18. In the third and final session Bret blasted down Firebird Raceway’s quarter-mile in 6.09 seconds, easily setting a new Pro Mod track record and placing an 8-hundreths of a second gap between him and the number 2 qualifier (Scialpi at 6.17)!
When eliminations rolled around Sunday afternoon Bret was faced against Dan Myers and his 1957 Chevy Cameo truck. This 2010 season Myers has been Williamson’s kryptonite so to say. The Don Carter Motorsports 53 Studebaker always seems to run into problems when Dan is in the other lane. Needless to say this wasn’t an “easy” #1 qualified vs. #8 qualified race, after all it was Firebird Raceway’s and the West Coast Outlaw Pro Mod Association’s quickest 8-car qualified Pro Mod field with a 6.47 bump spot.
When the tree dropped both cars were stuck together until about the 330’ mark where Myers popped a burst panel leaving him to watch Bret take the first round win with a 6.13 ET. Williamson would face WCOPMA President, Rod Burbage, in the second round.
The second round looked to be a great matchup as Burbage was running around the low .20 to high “teen” area all weekend, except on this pass. A little after 60 feet out, Burbage started to shake the tires and get a little crossed up forcing him to lift and watch Bret take the win light and advance to the final round with a 6.20, giving him lane choice against NHRA Pro Mod competitor Dennis Radford in his beautiful nitrous-assisted Plymouth Duster.
The final round was a classic Blower vs. Nitrous battle! The fans, Pro Mod racers and other competitors ranging from the bracket classes to nostalgia fuel classes were all torn on who was going to win the West Coast Outlaw Pro Mod final, from the conversations taking place it seemed 50/50.
Radford was running mid .20’s all weekend but everyone knew, including Bret Williamson and the Don Carter Motorsports team, that Dennis, Jim and their team were capable of anything. When the tree dropped Radford was off first with a .033 light to Williamson’s .056. Bret had the big screw blown power to chase Radford down within the last couple hundred feet and get the win light in the closest side-by-side Pro Mod race of the weekend, Radford’s 6.20 barely wasn’t enough for Williamson’s 6.17. While talking to Bret and crunching some numbers the difference was a couple of feet at the stripe, but that’s all was needed to win the Nightfire Nationals.
On a side note, every round the Don Carter Motorsports 1953 Studebaker went down Firebird Raceway’s 1/4-mile they set low ET of the round (6.21, 6.09, 6.13, 6.20, 6.17). The only time they did not was the second session of qualifying when they opted to sit it out.
Now, the Don Carter Motorsports team will travel straight from Boise, Idaho to Morrison, Colorado to once again compete with the West Coast Outlaw Pro Mod Association as the association will be headlining at the Super Chevy Show event at Bandimere Speedway. Bret and team will carry this high into the event and try to double up and clinch the 2010 West Coast Outlaw Pro Mod Association championship as they are 4-for-4 in final round appearances and 50/50 on win’s and runner-ups.
After Boise, Bret now has a 137 point lead over Rod Burbage who bumped up 2 spots from 4th to 2nd after a semi-final finish in Boise. Williamson is feeling very comfortable in the number 1 spot as he has not been bumped out of it, ever, this 2010 season taking the lead after the first event and expanding the gap over second place after each event that followed. With a maximum 108 points available at a WCOPMA event and Bret carrying a 137 point lead with only 2 events left it is safe to assume after this weekend the team will have their championship locked up, but you can’t race on paper and that is why the team is going to race till the end!
Don Carter would like to thank the following for their sponsorship’s this season:
Network Office Systems – www.NorCalCopiers.com
IDAK Transport
Folsom Lake Toyota – www.FolsomLakeToyota.com
Lucas Oil – www.LucasOil.com
Simpson Race Products – www.SimpsonRaceProducts.com
Marsh’s Carpet – www.MarshsCarpet.com
Don Beam Automotive
Honest Engine – www.HonestEngineOnline.com
Gladiator Challenge – www.GladiatorChallenge.com
This weekend there will be testing available at Bandimere Speedway on Friday from 12-5. Saturday will hold 3 qualifying sessions for the West Coast Outlaw Pro Mod Association scheduled for 2pm, 6pm and 8pm. Sunday eliminations for the 8-car field will start at 12 (noon) and go from there depending on how the event is going.
For more information please visit www.WestCoastOutlawProMods.com, www.Bandimere.com or www.SuperChevyShow.com.
