Sometimes, it takes drag racers very little time to realize when they are on the right pathway.
Bo Butner knew he’d made the right decision to transition from 500inch Pro Stock to the Mountain Motor format long before he picked up his second NHRA Wally in his seventh different category. The large displacement Pro Stock arena suits him just fine.
“It was probably a pretty good call, making the move from 500 cubic inch Pro Stock to this,” said Butner, who held onto the points lead with his win. “It was awesome winning here at Bristol, especially because Jason Johnson hadn’t seen me race this car yet, and we’re at his home track. We started the weekend at the JHG open house over there in Columbia, Tennessee, and then to have him here for the race and to be able to celebrate with him, it’s very special. He’s happy and pumped up, and he loves these cars. He’s a great friend and the reason I’m racing the car.”
Butner won the Mountain Motor Pro Stock division at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, the second stop on the tour for these cars, which was once the staple on the IHRA tour. And for Butner, the 2017 NHRA champion, he credits the crew including one of those former IHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock standouts as the driving force for his success.
“I have such a great team behind me – “Meatball” Frank Gugliotta, he’s our crew chief,” said Butner, who now has 32 NHRA national event wins to his credit. “He makes good power, and we make good runs. I have my old crew back, and it just really feels like we’re back at home,
“I have the best of the best, the best wife. Randi Lyn [a teammate] didn’t qualify here, and it really hurts me; I was sick to my stomach yesterday, but we’ll go to work and get better. I didn’t deserve to win a couple of those rounds this weekend, but let the car win some rounds for you, and it does. This car is very capable of winning, and it does. I’m just very blessed.”
Butner, who was the No. 2 qualifier, picked up the final round victory at the starting line. Racing against John DeFlorian and his Graber Concrete Chevy, DeFLorian fouled by .008 seconds to hand Butner the win. He eased to a 6.712-second pass at 162.10 mph for the win.
“It was awesome winning here at Bristol, especially because Jason Johnson hadn’t seen me race this car yet,” Butner said. “We started the weekend at the JHG open house over there in Columbia, Tennessee, and then to have Jason here for the race and to be able to celebrate with him, it’s very special. He’s happy and pumped up, and he loves these cars. He’s a great friend and the reason I’m racing the car.”
