Bracket Races
2023 Strange Engineering Spring Fling Presented by Optima Batteries Pre-Race
Benson, NC — Two weeks after a historically high car count at the Spring Fling Million, the Fling Race Series is bringing big money to the 
east coast with the Strange Engineering Spring Fling presented by Optima Batteries at GALOT Motorsports Park.
“We had a huge week at the Spring Fling Million in Vegas with 671 entries followed by the highest paying Fling Million to date at $400,000,” said promoter Peter Biondo. “We caught our breath and are now excited to be back on the east coast and bring a great experience to our east coast friends.”
The Fling Team is keeping a close eye on the forecast for the week. In an effort to utilize the days with the best racing conditions, the following revisions have been made to the schedule from the original flyer.
On-track action will begin on Rob’s Automotive Tuesday with the Advanced Product Design $15,000 Warm-Up race. The RAD Torque Systems $20,000 32-Car Shootout will run later in the day.
Strange Engineering Signs Multi-Year Partnership for Title Rights of the Spring Fling GALOT
Dunn, NC – Strange Engineering will assume the title rights of the Spring Fling at GALOT Motorsports Park in Benson, North Carolina the week of April 25-29 as part of a multi-year contract with the Fling Race Series in 2023.
“Strange has been a part of the Fling events since 2014,” said promoter Peter Biondo. “It’s great to see a longstanding, quality company like Strange continue to give back to grassroots bracket racers. I know firsthand how well their products perform on the track.”
Based in Illinois, Strange Engineering has been a manufacturer of driveline, brake, and suspension components for drag racing and performance street applications for over 50 years. From struts to complete rear-ends, Strange is a proven leader in the aftermarket parts industry.
“Strange Engineering is proud to expand our partnership with the Spring Fling Series for 2023 and beyond,” said JC Cascio, Director of Business Development at Strange Engineering. “Kyle and Peter have done an incredible job growing the series over the past decade by attracting the highest level of competition and talent at every event. We are excited to be a part of the Spring Fling Series as it continues to thrive and grow.”
Fuel Factory Presents Summer Fling $100,000 All-Star Shootout
Columbus, OH — An invitation-only $100,000 All-Star Shootout will be contested on September 6, 2023 at the Summer Fling in Columbus, 
Ohio. Forty-eight of the best bracket racers in the country will be handpicked to compete for the $100,000 winner-take-all purse and bragging rights.
A panel from the Flings Race Series will choose the first 12 All-Star drivers on January 3rd, while the next 12 will be nominated by racers in an online vote. The 24 selected drivers will then each choose a teammate of the opposite vehicle type to complete the 48-car field. The teammates will be placed on opposite sides of the ladder. The team that accrues the most points will receive a $5,000 bonus.
Fuel Factory, a family-owned supplier of performance fuels, will be the title rights sponsor of the shootout. “As racers we understand the consistency that is needed to compete at the highest level,” said Marc Wesler, Fuel Factory Director of Sales. “Our goal is to provide industry-leading fuels that provide the quality and consistency racers expect, with great customer service and technical support. Partnering with Peter and his team to be the official fuel of the Fling races was the right fit for us as an organization and to be involved with the $100K All-Star Shootout is certainly the kind of exciting events we want to be associated with.” The Pennsylvania-based race fuel manufacturer will launch the distribution of over 20 leaded, unleaded, ethanol, and methanol fuel options in 2023.
Matt Dadas Wins JEGS Performance $30,000 Event at the Fall Fling
Bristol, TN — 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.
JEGS Performance $30,000 Race to Be Completed Sunday at the Fall Fling
Bristol, TN — 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.
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. For more information, visit www.BracketRaces.com, the Spring Fling Bracket Races Facebook page, or text the word “BRISTOL” to 74121 for race updates.
Ray Miller III Wins Moser Engineering $100,000 Friday at the Fall Fling
Bristol, TN — 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.
Josh Luedke Wins ATI Performance Products $30,000 Thursday at the Fall Fling
Bristol, TN — 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.
Blaine Mayer Wins Advanced Product Design $15,000 Wednesday at the Fall Fling
Bristol, TN — 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.
Cory Gulitti Wins American/Race Tech Super Tuesday Shootout at the Fall Fling
Bristol, TN — 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.
Garrett Griffith Wins American Race Cars $30,000 Saturday at the Summer Fling
Columbus, OH — The final day of the JEGS Performance Summer Fling presented by Optima Batteries at National Trail Raceway had 312 
entries staging up for $30,000 on American Race Cars Saturday.
A full week of beautiful weather continued throughout the day and into the afternoon. Increased round money and special awards would wrap up the third Fling event of the year.
The Fling Team selected Chris Bear as the 2022 Summer Fling MVP to receive the Todd’s Extreme custom-painted Impact Racing helmet and $1,000 bonus for his stellar performance over the course of the event, carrying double entries deep into eliminations during the Thursday 30K and Friday 100K races. Bear also had over five perfect reaction times, proving to be set up “on kill” each day and earning him a spot on the dragster side of the Brodix Best Package Runoff for the SR20 cylinder heads (qualifying with a .002 package).
After struggling early in the week and turning things around by going deep into eliminations on Saturday, the Fling Team selected Gary Williams as the winner of the Kyle Seipel Never Give Up Award presented by Ivey Hutto Golf Cart Sales. He received a custom crystal plaque and $1,000 bonus.
