Drag Illustrated Issue 148, September 2019 | Page 65

out the day with $100,000 on the line. When the
dust settled, it was Jeremy Bousman driving his
2000 Chevy S-10 to the biggest payday of his
career. Bousman was brilliant off the line with a
.005 holeshot against Bradenton, Florida’s Gary
Williams, who left at .038 in his 2013 Phantom
dragster. Williams dialed 4.81 and ran 4.829.
Bousman’s holeshot came in handy, as he clocked
a 5.862 on a 5.84 dial. “I’ve won 5-granders and
10-granders, but this is by far the biggest race
I’ve ever won,” smiled Jeremy.
Bousman’s win is even more remarkable
than meets the eye since he lost first round and
lacked the funds to buy back in. “I loaded the
truck and was taking a nap when my uncle, Ed,
came in and woke me up and said, ‘Get your butt
ready and get the truck ready because I paid for
your buyback!’” Energized by a second crack at
eliminations, Bousman marched all the way to
victory and a $100,000 payday! Bousman was
admittedly tired, worn out and fully intended on
sleeping after losing first round on Saturday, but
understandably has no regrets of the outcome.
Sunday’s finale saw Kamryn Mason take home
the $30,000 payday while driving a 1997 Camaro
and hailing from Winnebago, Illinois. It was an
extremely close final round between Mason and
Gary Williams driving a 2014 Phantom dragster.
Mason took the win with a reaction time of .016,
running 6.915 off a 6.91 dial. Runner-up for Wil-
liams saw a reaction time of .018, running 4.758
off a 4.75 dial.
In addition to the Firecracker Bracket Nation-
als, Byron Dragway hosts many events through-
out the year, including the Glory Days Vintage
Drag Race, Car Show and Swap Meet; a Mid-
west Junior Super Series race, the Diesel Drags,
the Wheel Standing Championships and much
more.
DI DI DI
DI DI DI DI
DI DI DI
September 2019
DragIllustrated.com
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