Dirt
Williams
Does It
Again
Bracket racing hero Troy
Williams collects third Fling
victory at Spring Fling GALOT
By John DiBartolomeo
What was originally scheduled
as four separate races at the K&N
Spring Fling GALOT presented
by Optima Batteries paying $15K,
$25K, $100K and $25K to the winners had to
be curtailed when Mother Nature threatened
to intervene at GALOT Motorsports Park, June
9-13. The entire purse from the two $25K races
were combined and paid $50K to one winner,
who ended up being Josh Luedke from Boonville,
Indiana. Due to heavy storms on Thursday,
that race was completed Friday, after which the
Strange Engineering Friday $100K race began.
Because of the late start on that race, only
one round along with the buyback round was
completed Friday night with the balance of the
rounds completed Saturday.
With $100,000 on the line, once again over
380 racers made the first-round call and has been
the number all week, round seven consisted of
nine cars; Leon Robertson, Richard Wilk, Joey
Harrison, Dan Fletcher, Hunter Patton, Josh
Baker, Parker Dotson, Kyle Cultrera and Troy
Williams. In that round with an odd number of
cars, Dotson ended up with the bye run into the
quarterfinals.
Round seven survivors were the very red-hot
this year Patton, perennial high-dollar winner
Williams, Harrison in his Mustang, multi-time
NHRA champ Fletcher driving his Chevelle
wagon and Dotson in his dragster. It was three
dragsters against two door cars with Patton on
the bye in the quarters, followed by door cars
against dragsters; Williams against Harrison
and Fletcher against Dotson.
Unfortunately, Dotson broke on his bye run
and couldn’t make his date with Fletcher. Harrison
then red-lighted to advance Williams, and
Fletcher took his unearned bye run. In the semis,
Williams received the bye into the final, while
Patton and Fletcher battled it out.
With the field narrowed down to three cars left,
the decision was made to award Hunter Patton
the Todd’s Extreme Paint
MVP Award, voted on
by the Fling staff as the
person who was most
consistent in turning on
win lights all week. The
award carries a custompainted
Spring Fling
MVP helmet along with
a check for $1,000, courtesy
of Todd’s Extreme
Paint. Going into the
semis, Patton showed
his talent and still had
some work to complete.
Unfortunately for
Patton, he ran into “this
guy named” Fletcher. A
better reaction time by
Fletcher was all it took to move the man who has
been a little dry on NHRA national event wins for
the last year, now moving into his biggest bracket
racing final round with $100,000 on the line. But
first he had to deal with another big-time winner
in Troy Williams.
In the final for $100,000, by virtue of the dialin,
Fletcher left first but lit that big red cherry
at the bottom of the ‘Tree by -0.003. And the
two-time Spring Fling winner – make that now
three-time winner – cruised to another big win.
“I’d guess you could say we were a little concerned
on Tuesday when the weather forecast
looked so grim,” said co-promoter Kyle Seipel.
“We were sorry we had to make the schedule
adjustment but it just appeared to be the right
decision. And then the weather forecast turned
around. But the racers accepted the change
and we couldn’t be happier with the outcome.
We are so thankful for each and every one of
them who had the confidence in us to put on
a great event. Thank you from the bottom of
our hearts!”
Next up on the Fling schedule is the Sparco Fall
Fling presented by Optima Batteries in Bristol,
Tennessee, September 29-October 3. Promoters
Peter Biondo and Kyle Seipel are still working
with the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to reschedule
the Spring Fling Million, which unfortunately
had to be postponed from April. DI
PHOTOS: JOHN DIBARTOLOMEO
30 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated.com Issue 159