KROPFIELD WINS $50K BRACKET
Tue, 2007-06-12 21:59
The second annual Ultimate 64 Shootout was held June 8-10 at legendary Mountain
Park Dragway in Clay City, KY. The racing action was jam packed, as twelve
separate winners were crowned on the weekend.
The marquee event of the weekend, the Ultimate 64 Shootout, featured a
64-car pre-entered field, with a single elimination format. Each entrant put up
$1,500 for a spot in the field, with the winner taking home a cool $50,000! Rob
Kropfeld drove his beautiful Vega Wagon to the $50,000 Ultimate 64 victory over
Chris Johnson on Saturday afternoon. Johnson was in the midst of a stellar
weekend in his Race Tech Dragster, having already won a $5,000 event the
previous day. Charlie Bellamy and Luke Bogacki were the semi-finalists.
The Footbrake version of the main event, a 64-car field of racers competing
for a $10,000 prize, was won by local racer and multi-time track champion Mason
Hatton. Hatton defeated Alabama competitor and former B&M Series champion
Jared Pennington in the final round. The semi-finalists in the Ultimate 64
Footbrake event included Rick Shepherd and Anthony Blackburn.
The final 64-car Shootout of the weekend featured a new addition to the
event for 2007, as Mountain Park Dragway hosted a 64-car Junior Dragster
Shootout. In a battle of Mountain Park regulars, Jessica Morton earned the
biggest victory of her career by knocking off Sean Florence in the final round.
Daniel Thorton was the lone semi-finalist.
In addition to the Ultimate 64 runoffs, the weekend also featured three
“Ultimate 32 Shootouts.” These special “gamblers” events featured the same
single elimination format for Box, No Box, and Footbrake competitors, with each
class running off for a $5,000 winners purse. These events, which kicked off
the weekend, were won by some of the biggest names in sportsman racing: Edmond
Richardson (Box), Chris Plott (No Box), and Anthony Blackburn (Footbrake).
Richardson won a sibling rivalry in the final round, knocking off brother
Scotty Richardson by less than a thousandth of a second. The Box class
semi-finalists were Jeff Burns and Wayne Adams. In No Box, it was Carolina
hitter Plott claiming the huge payday over Ed Beyer. The event saw Alabama
racers Luke Bogacki and Jared Pennington fall in the semi-final round.
Blackburn, a former $20,000 Footbrake winner, topped fellow Kentucky racer Steve
Foley in the Footbrake final. Once again, Pennington earned semi-final money as
did former IHRA Summit Super Series World Champion Rick Baehr.
On top of the myriad of shootout events, the Ultimate 64 weekend also
hosted daily Box and No Box events, open to all competitors. Each Box winner
earned a $5,000 prize, while the No Box champions took home $2,000 for their
efforts. Chris Johnson, who would later take runner-up honors in the main
event, claimed the first $5,000 win of the weekend by defeating local standout
Josh Baker in Friday’s Box final. The semi-finalists in that event were Scotty
Richardson and Dwayne Blair. In No Box, “Slick” Rick Baehr earned the Friday
victory in his familiar Camaro as he defeated Chris Garrett in the final round.
Chris Plott was Friday’s lone semi-finalist in No Box.
Saturday evenings action saw Chris Bear take the $5,000 Box victory when
Anthony Trauth had problems in the final round. Friday finalist Josh Baker
earned semi-final money. Rick Baehr once again dominated the No Box category on
Saturday, scoring his second win in as many days by defeating Marty McKinney in
the final round. Luke Bogacki was the lone semi-finalist.
Sunday concluded a hectic weekend of events and saw Derek Baum drive to the
Box victory over Ken Sullivan. Jared Bargo took home semi-final money in his
beautiful Worthy Dragster. In No Box, two-time DragRaceResults.com Bracket
Series Champion Phil Combs earned the victory over Luke Bogacki, with Dave
Wheeler taking home semi-final money.
Before the racing action kicked off Friday morning, promoters Kelly Estes
and Randy Helton had some fun non-racing events scheduled for Thursday. The
team of Steve Pointer, Josh Baker, Brooke Warren, and Lester Johnson won the
Ultimate 64 Golf Scramble, edging a number of close finishers. Later that
evening, Footbrake standouts Chris Plott and Jared Pennington did battle on the
felt, as the two were heads up at the final table of the Ultimate 64 Texas Hold
‘Em Poker Tournament. Plott ended up victorious, handing Pennington his second
runner-up finish in the event in as many years.
An additional Pit Vehicle Race was scheduled for Saturday evening, but was
cancelled due to inclement whether and a racing accident early in the day.
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