Comp racer Mike DePalma has been a win waiting to happen in the Rooftec Competition Eliminator Bonus Fund program this season. Saturday, after Friday's first race was rained out, DePalma sealed the deal on Saturday morning by becoming the fourth different winner in Competition Eliminator during the 2023 NHRA Division 4 double event at the Texas Motorplex. 

If the Lee Sharp-owned team ever needed a win, today was a bold move in the right direction. 

"Winning the race always leaves you feeling good," DePalma said. "We had a lot of problems with our second car. It blew an engine up, and it wore about five guys out trying to get it back together, and this other one, we've been pulling the transmission out and working on that thing like crazy, so I think we finally got it squared away."

DePalma entered eliminations as the No. 13 qualifier, running -.574 under the G/Altered index with an 8.426.

For the third consecutive time, Competition Eliminator, thanks to the Rooftec Competition Eliminator Bonus Fund, brought over 32 cars fighting for a spot in the top 16 in the specialty series point standings to earn a berth for the Rooftec Competition Eliminator Cash Clash. The race-within-a-race at the NHRA U.S. Nationals brings a $50,000 purse for the shootout.

Thus far, no driver has won two races in one season since the Rooftec Competition Eliminator Bonus Fund began in the NHRA's South Central Division. When points leader Rick Brown and second place Rodger Brogdon both went out in the first round, third place Craig Boureois take advantage of the situation and moved into the lead on the strength of a quarter-final finish. 

"These guys are so tough out here," said DePalma, whose teammate Monty Bogan Jr., won the season-opener in Belle Rose, La. "Rodger's put such a good thing together, and he's brought a lot of people out here, which is great for the sport, great for the class, and we appreciate him doing that. Every one of these guys are tough, so, really, you got to get lucky. It's hard just to mow this field down. There are too many good guys and too many good cars."

Other winners included Thomas Marlow (Super Stock), Brad Plourd (Stock), Vernon Rowland (Super Comp), John Long (Super Gas), Regan Wilson (Super Street), Jimmy Lewis (Top Sportsman), and David Dale (Top Dragster).