Drag Illustrated Issue 148, September 2019 | Page 64

DIALED IN
FIRECRACKER BRACKET NATIONALS
with a pair of 30-granders on Friday and Sun-
day. “What’s unique about this event is that we
wear both hats in the sense that we are both the
landlord and the tenant; we’re the track and
the promoter,” says Randy Simpson, general
manager of Byron Dragway. “We don’t rent this
joint out...ever! We believe that the way to make
it in this world is to go back old-school where
you are the promoter.”
Vangsness completely agrees. “When you’re
your own promoter the money stays here and
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is reinvested in the property,” he says. “We’re
here for the long haul and have a more vested
interest in the sport than an outside promoter
would because we own the property, we invest
it, repair it, improve it...we do everything. A
promoter simply comes in, uses it and is gone
and takes the money out of the property, where
we reinvest it.”
Simpson is also a very entertaining announcer
on race days, which is another example of how
this track chooses to do everything in-house.
The most recent running of the Firecracker
Bracket Nationals was held July 5-7 and was
greeted with beautiful weather, with entry spots
selling out months in advance. The door cars
reigned supreme on this weekend, edging out
dragsters for a best 2 out of 3. In fact, Friday was
the best outing for the rear-engine contingent, as
Mooresville, North Carolina’s Doug Foley Jr. took
home the $30,000 prize in his 2013 American
dragster, getting past the 1988 Camaro of David
Davis from Toledo, Ohio. Davis was first out of the
gate with an .021 to Foley’s .023, but Davis broke
out with a 6.558 on a 6.56 dial. Foley cruised to
victory with a 4.985 on a 4.86 dial.
Saturday’s main event was electrifying through-
Issue 148