YUKON GEAR & AXLE WEDNESDAY AT THE ‘FLING

Open in 1957, Dunn-Benson Dragstrip has a long history as an eighth-mile facility. Four years ago, all of that changed.

That was when Earl Wells purchased the property and made “some improvements.” Some improvements? Anyone who had been there on opening day in ’57 could never have imagined just what Galot Motorsports Park looks like today. “When our racers come into a Spring Fling event, they are expecting a one-of-a-kind experience at a premier facility,” co-promoter Peter Biondo explained earlier this year. And that’s exactly what the hundreds of racers who came to the K&N Spring Fling presented by Optima Batteries found when they pulled in the gates.

Yesterday’s Test & Tune session included the American Race Cars/Racetech Dragster Shootout which found Paul Warick and his door car taking home a new dragster for his efforts. Today’s schedule called for one time run for all competitors followed by eliminations on Yukon Gear & Axle Wednesday with $15,000 on the line for the winner.

The survivors of round six were Cory Manuel, Jeremy York, Shane Carr, Kenny Underwood, Tom Cable and “Disco Dean” Karns. In round seven, Manuel defeated York, Carr took out Underwood and Cable won out over Karns. For the semifinals, Carr received the last bye run of the night to automatically advance to the final, while Manuel and Cable tussled with Manuel turning on the red-light to advance Cable.

In the final you had Cable, a former ‘Fling winner and ‘Fling points champion, and Carr who has several wins on the big stage in addition to just this year alone having won three times in his last four outings with his dragster. Leaving first due to his dial-in, Carr left first with a .005 reaction time, coupling it with a dead-on the dial with a “9” for a .014 package and the win, essentially boxing out Cable who had a .016 reaction time and as they say, mathematically ineligible.

“I don’t know what it is,” said Carr after the run, “but this car and I have been very good this year. We might dust off the dial-in board and ‘maybe’ run the valves but we’re not going to change anything.”

Following the Yukon Gear & Axle Wednesday eliminations, the Hoosier Tire Door Car Shootout took place. Thirty-two randomly selected door car racer Tech Cards were pulled with each receiving one time trial prior to eliminations. Each semifinalist receives a new Bell GP-3 helmet, while the runner-up pockets $1,000 with the winner walking away with $10,000.

With four cars left, it was Don Hansen and Gary Williams tangling with Hansen scoring the win, while Randall Blinson took the win over Joe Gary. For $10,000, it was another final where one competitor was “mathematically ineligible” when Blinson used a .013 package to defeat Hansen’s .026 initiated start.

And so ended the night to set up Wiseco Thursday when the plot thickens with a $20,000 to win day. As they always are, MotorMania TV.com will bring you all the action live as it happens thanks to sponsorship from JEGS and Mickey Thompson Tires. Click on over to www.bracketraces.com for more information and race results.