Jr. Dragster driver Libby Ledford learned an important lesson about resetting her dial-in time this past weekend while racing at Mid-Michigan Motorplex and, it could be argued, she is a subscriber to the theory that truth is stranger than fiction.

On the heels of achieving a runner-up finish on Saturday, nine-year-old Libby (whose father and brother both compete in Bar’s Leaks/Rislone backed dragsters, SuperComp and Jr. Dragsters respectively) made a change to her bracket racing dial-in time for the final round of eliminations.  After dialing in at 13.03 and making a perfect run in the semis, Libby chose to dial in a hair quicker for the finals at 12.95, considering how well her Bar’s Leaks Jr.-sponsored Dragster was running.  However, as she began her pre-race burnout, Libby realized she had just made a critical error while changing her dial-in time, a change that per the competition rules could not be altered at this point.

Jr. Dragster driver Libby Ledford learned an important lesson about resetting her dial-in time this past weekend while racing at Mid-Michigan Motorplex and, it could be argued, she is a subscriber to the theory that truth is stranger than fiction.

On the heels of achieving a runner-up finish on Saturday, nine-year-old Libby (whose father and brother both compete in Bar’s Leaks/Rislone backed dragsters, SuperComp and Jr. Dragsters respectively) made a change to her bracket racing dial-in time for the final round of eliminations.  After dialing in at 13.03 and making a perfect run in the semis, Libby chose to dial in a hair quicker for the finals at 12.95, considering how well her Bar’s Leaks Jr.-sponsored Dragster was running.  However, as she began her pre-race burnout, Libby realized she had just made a critical error while changing her dial-in time, a change that per the competition rules could not be altered at this point.

Libby had made a mistake that even veteran bracket racers had been known to make;  she had changed the “.03” to “.95”, but had not dropped the 13-second mark down to the 12-second mark.  Her dial-in time was now 13.95, a full second more than what she was preparing to run for, and nearly a full second slower than what she had ran in the previous round.

“She was just about in tears,” said Denise Ledford, Libby’s mom and crew chief.  “I knew there was nothing we could do about it, so I told her to do the best she could do, and we’d make the most of it.”

As it turns out, fate intended to help the Ledfords make the most of it indeed.  As the Christmas tree dropped, much to the shock and delight of both Denise and especially Libby, Libby’s opponent red-lit, automatically deferring the win to Libby regardless of her time.  Her time, which would end up being 13.00 flat on a 13.95 dial-in, normally would have resulted in a break-out and near guaranteed loss.

“I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that would happen!” said an ecstatic Denise Ledford.

Her daughter echoed her sentiments and added with a chuckle that “Mom and I learned a pretty important lesson today about changing my dial-in time.”

With another final-round win under her belt, Libby is excited about the remaining events in the season.  No doubt she will have an eagle’s eye turned towards her dial-in time each and every time she comes to the line.  But for now, she’s content to enjoy the fruits of her labor, and savor the win, regardless of how it arrived, considering how tough the season has been thus far.

“Maybe our team’s luck is turning around some finally!” she said with a beaming smile.