Tim Foley, Casey Beckmeyer, Mike Vishino, Ricky Thomas, Dan Sides, and Marcus Taylor Score at Gateway's National Dragster Challenge
The Super Pro category did all but disappoint as there were many races decided by thousandth’s of seconds. In the final round, Tim Foley took on Randy Crowley Sr., as Foley took a slim .005 starting line advantage, then went on to run a 7.746 on a 7.74 dial. Crowley swallowed a tough loss as he took at little too much stripe and broke out by .001 running a 8.009 on a 8.01 dial. Foley added to his 2007 Wally collection by winning Friday night and at the Sportsman Open in the Super Comp category. He escaped Scott Offerman’s .005 light in the quarterfinal round as Foley had the better overall package by .002 seconds. With Offerman’s quarterfinal appearance, he moves in to first place in Gateway’s Super Pro points standings by five points over Tim Foley.
Gateway’s Drag Racing Manager, Jason Dukes picked Mike Vishino to take home the Wally two days before the event took place, and that’s just what happened. Vishino lined up against Ron Beach Jr. as Beach Jr. was too quick off the tree and went red, letting Vishino run it out for a 10.443 on a 10.44 dial. Vishino and Dan Smith lined up in the semi-final round, and only .001 separated them at the starting line but Smith took too much stripe, breaking out by .004 seconds. With the win, Vishino goes from fifth to a tie for third with Dan Smith in Gateway’s Pro point standings while Ron Beach is right behind them in fifth. Clay Tyler and John Ratulowski both only record one round win, which keeps Tyler in first place by one point.
Ricky Thomas took home his 2nd Wally Saturday night as he won a Wally at last year’s National Dragster Challenge here at Gateway. He lined up against Ron Beach Sr., as Thomas took a .036 starting line advantage which need needed because Beach Sr. ran a 12.000 on a 12.00 dial but wasn’t good enough to cover the starting line disadvantage as Thomas ran a 12.021 on a 12.00 dial. With yet another final round appearance, Beach Sr. extends his point lead over David Gamber and Thomas jumps from 22nd in Gateway’s Street points, to 12th.
Dan Sides won his first Wally Saturday night in the Pro Bike category. Although he couldn’t get past the always tough Janie Palm in round one, he bought back and won the next four rounds to take home the prestigious Wally. In the final, Sides matched up against Bob Lohr, as both competitors cut respectable lights with Sides getting an advantage with his .011 to Lohr’s .024. In amazing race, both racers got their time slips to look at the margin of victory and it read: .000. It had to go to the ten-thousandth of a second in which Sides got the win by an eyelash. Janie Palm made it to the semi-final round and she continues to dominate the Pro Bike category as she leads by 88 points. Lohr’s runner-up finish puts him in 7th.
Marcus Taylor is another first-time Wally winner Saturday night as he took his ’06 Suzuki to the winners circle. Marcus and his brother Nelson were both defeated in round one, but used the infamous buy-back feature as they both made it to the semi-final round paired up against each other, guaranteeing that there will be one Taylor in the final. Nelson took a shot at the tree but barely missed it as he went red by .001, matching up Charles Willis and Marcus Taylor in the final. Taylor had a .048 starting line advantage, but Willis still got around him, but took too much stripe as Willis broke out by .003, giving Taylor his first Wally. Marcus is in 4th place in Gateway’s Street Bike points, while Willis is in 6th. Katich continues to lead all other competitors by 20 points over Denny Slusser.
Casey Beckmeyer won his 2nd Wally Saturday night in the Super Pro 1/8. He won his first Wally in the Jr. Dragster ranks. In the final round, Beckmeyer and Jeremy McKague matched up for the 2nd time in the night. These two faced off in round one, as McKague put a .009 light on Beckmeyer and forced him to buy-back if he wanted to win. Beckmeyer did and he made it to the final round, to face McKague again. Both racers wanted each other, as both competitors had a .005 red light, but McKague was the slower car and left first, giving Beckmeyer the easy win. Beckmeyer took out hard-hitter Angelo Belosi in the semi-final round as both racers had a .005 light, but Beckmeyer was closer to his dial. From round two to the semi-final, Belosi had a light between .005 and .015, making it extremely difficult to be beaten. (photos available)
