2009-2010 WAR STORIES SHOWDOWN - EVENT HOMEPAGE
DONER WINS THE THIRD ANNUAL WAR STORIES SHOWDOWN
Less than 15 Votes Decide The Winner
After one month, hundreds of thousands of votes and 56,549 words, a champion has emerged.
Bill Doner, drag racing promoter extraordinaire from the 1970s, will go down in War Stories history as the first contestant since the inaugural event to win in his first participation.
Doner and finalist Pat Musi battled down to the wire with less than 15 votes deciding the winner. The three day voting was deadlocked last evening, but Doner pulled ahead on Thursday afternoon and never relinquished his lead.
Musi, a doorslammer drag racing legend, scored a bit of history as well, by becoming the first two-time finalist in the history of the event.
For Doner, his one participation will be his final one, as War Stories Showdown rules only allow a contestant to win the competition once.
Doner joins Scotty Cannon and John Force in the champion line-up.
“This thing was great fun,” said Doner, following Thursday’s voting. “I must have had people email me from all over the world, from Sweden to the middle of Canada.
“Pat Musi was so tough in the finals I felt like voting for him ... almost.
Perhaps in a year or two we'll have a Champions Showdown and I can see just how tough John Force is with the written word. I know for sure how tough he is in real life.
“We got to relive some super old times and I know I speak for all the people who voted, "Under the lights and on that trick traction compound, God it was sensational."
Doner entered the competition as the ninth qualifier, a seeding determined by fan voting. He reached the finals by stopping Tommy Ivo, Billy Glidden and Rickie Smith.
Musi was the third seeded contestant and reached the finals on the strength of victories over Jim Rockstad, Gary Densham and Louis Force.
For Doner, there's going to be a celebration for years to come.
"These War Stories have revived an entire era for my friends," Doner added. "Moments ago, and you can use this, Wild Bill Shrewsberry called me and said, " I'm so excited over your story, I'm going to get the LA Dart out of storage and we'll (I guess I'm included at this point) get it together and run down the race track at Bakersfield in March to start the race."
"Imagine? If only Linda Lovelace was alive to ride with him. But then again, perhaps we can use all this in the new Linda movie. Don't bet against this happening."
#9 Bill Doner (51.41) def. #3 Pat Musi (48.51)
Completed Semi-final Races
#9 Bill Doner (75.68) def. #5 Rickie Smith (24.32)
#3 Pat Musi (53.93) def. #2 Louis Force (46.07)
Completed Quarter-final Races
#9 Bill Doner (62.26) def. #1 Billy Glidden (37.34)
#5 Rickie Smith (87.38) def.#13 Steve Earwood (12.62)
#2 Louis Force (53.12) def. #10 Gordie Bonin (46.88)
#3 Pat Musi (50.4) def. #6 Gary Densham (49.6)
Completed 1st Rd Races
#2 Louie Force (65.28) def. #15 Don Gillespie (34.72)
#10 Gordie Bonin (81.53) def. #7 Fred Miller (18.47)
#13 Steve Earwood (75.49) def. #4 Roy Hill (24.51)
#5 Rickie Smith (63.77) vs. #12 Steve Reyes (36.23)
#1 Billy Glidden (83.22) def. #16 Ted Jones (16.78)
#9 Bill Doner (59.38) def. #8 Tommy Ivo (40.62)
#3 Pat Musi (61.68) def. #14 Jim Rockstad (38.32)
#6 Gary Densham (61.38) def. #11 Billy Meyer (38.37)
TUES, JAN. 12 - DONER TAKES SEMI-FINAL LEAD INTO FINAL DAY OF VOTING
Master drag racing promoter of the 1970s Bill Doner holds a commanding lead over doorslammer drag racing legend Rickie Smith in their War Stories Showdown semi-final race.
The winner will be declared this evening at 8 PM, EST.
Doner grabbed a 74.86 share of the voting in the first day on his interesting tale of a unique race promotion and even more unique race queen.
Smith, for his part, shares a humorous tale about his youthful days in King, NC, and his infamous fight with a real-life monkey.
Vote on this race, SEMI-FINALS, DAY ONE
The other half of the semi-finals gets underway tomorrow morning when Louis Force meets Pat Musi.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
 |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
THUR, JAN. 7 - HEAVY-HITTERS REACH SEMI-FINALS
Musi Edges Densham in closest race ever; Force tops Bonin
If they were drag racing, the quarter-final match between Pat Musi and Gary Densham would have been a photo finish. Fifteen minutes before voting ended the storytelling combatants were deadlocked in a 50 – 50 percent tie. That was the first time a race has been that close in the history of the competition. The largest lead between the two at The lead changed hands another two times in those final fifteen minutes and within the last five minutes, Musi edged ahead by five votes to win 50.4 to 49.6.
Louis Force didn’t have as hard of a battle with Gordie Bonin, but he didn’t have it easy either.
Force, the older brother of 14-time NHRA champion John Force, grabbed 53.12 percent of the votes to beat Bonin by less than 40 votes as voting ended at 6 PM, EST on Thursday. Bonin turned in a very respectable and competitive 46.88 percent in the losing effort.
By virtue of his larger vote percentage, Force gets lane choice against Musi in the semis.
On the other side of the ladder, Rickie Smith holds lane choice over Bill Doner.
The semi-final round begins on Monday.
WED, JAN 6. - DONER, SMITH ADVANCE TO SEMIS
Master drag racing promoter Bill Doner pulled off a huge upset during the second round of the War Stories Showdown presented by Attitude’s CompetitionPlus.com, as he knocked off the No. 1 seeded Billy Glidden.
Doner emerged with a 62.26 percent of the vote share on the strength of his story about Jungle Jim Liberman and Porky the Pirate.
Longtime southeastern doorslammer racing icon Rickie Smith dominated his match against Steve Earwood, and in the end his story about match racing Roy Hill at Sumerduck Dragway earned an 87.38 percent share of the votes.
By virtue of his larger vote percentage, Smith earns lane choice against Doner in Monday’s semi-final race.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
 |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
TUES, JAN 5. - DONER, SMITH LEAD FIRST DAY QUARTER-FINALS VOTING
Legendary drag racing promoter Bill Doner has jumped out to an early lead during his quarter-final race in the 2009 – 2010 War Stories Showdown presented by Attitude’s CompetitionPlus.com.
Doner’s story of Jungle Jim and Porky the Pirate found favor with the readers and as a result, he holds a 62.67 percent share of the votes over No. 1 qualifier Billy Glidden. Glidden, for his part, told a humorous tale of how the Glidden family combated cheating accusations back in the day.
Rickie Smith, No. 5 qualifier, holds a commanding lead over former NHRA Publicist turned drag racing owner Steve Earwood.
Smith holds a commanding 87.68 percent share of the votes with his story of match racing Roy Hill at Summerduck Dragway. Earwood’s story of the old days when the pros ran divisional events is an entertaining offering as well.
Voting for this race ends today at 6 PM.
The winners of these races will meet in the semi-finals.
QUARTERFINALS - Day Two
Tomorrow’s races will open with Gordie Bonin versus Louis Force and Pat Musi meets Gary Densham.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
| |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
FRI, JAN. 1 - MUSI, DENSHAM VICTORIES SET UP SECOND ROUND PAIRINGS
Defending War Stories runner-up Pat Musi and first year participant Gary Densham maintained their leads to clinch the final two spots in the quarter-finals of the competitive story-telling event.
Musi defeated Jim Rockstad by securing 61.68 percent of the vote total in their first round match.
Densham got around fellow first-time participant Billy Meyer with 61.13 percent of the votes cast.
Musi and Densham will meet in the quarter-finals, with the former earning “lane choice”. Lane choice means that Musi will tell his story first in their race.
The first round of the War Stories Showdown presented by CompetitionPlus.com transpired with the majority of the higher seeded participants advancing easily to the quarter-final final round. There were a few surprises as No. 13 Steve Earwood upset No. 4 Roy Hill and No. 10 Gordie Bonin got by No. 7 Fred Miller. No. 9 Bill Doner also beat No. 8 Tommy Ivo.
Doner’s victory pairs him opposite of top-seeded Billy Glidden, who scored the Top Vote total in the first round with an 83.22 share of the vote. Other quarter-final matches include No. 2 Louis Force versus Bonin, Earwood versus No. 5 Rickie Smith and Musi versus Densham.
The second round is scheduled for January 4, 2010.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
| |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
WED, DEC. 30 - ROUND ONE, DAY THREE VOTING ENDS TODAY
Round One, Day Three voting ends today and both race leaders enjoy comfortable leads. Voting for these races end today at 6 PM, EST.Louie Force holds a 65.16 – 34.85 lead over Don Gillespie.
Gordie Bonin enjoys a commanding 81.4 – 16.6 lead over “Waterbed” Fred Miller.
Pending a dramatic change in the voting, Force will meet Bonin in the second round. Because Bonin has a larger percentage of vote share, he should retain “lane choice” for the match, meaning that he gets to tell his story first.
READ THESE STORIES
The first round of eliminations in the third annual War Stories Showdown presented by CompetitionPlus.com ends tomorrow evening at 6 PM, EST.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
| |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
WED, DEC. 30 - MUSI, DENSHAM LEAD RD. 1, DAY 4 VOTING
Defending War Stories runner-up Pat Musi has a fight on his hands after one day of voting for the Round One, Day Four voting in his “race” against former Seattle International Raceway promoter Jim Rockstad. Gary Densham is in the same boat as he leads Billy Meyer.
The final brackets of the first round have been the closest for any of the six other races in the opening round.
Musi holds a 59.4 – 40.6 lead over Rockstad with his story of a match race with Rod Saboury, when everything went wrong for his opponent and right for him. Rockstad’s story of a woman scorned is a humorous tale of a cheating boyfriend and a porta-pot.
Densham leads Meyer 59.42 to 40.58 on the strength of his tale about the trip to Australia with a brand new Funny Car driver with the last name Force. Meanwhile Meyer tells a tale of smashed rental car, a little wine, some peculiar brownies and a shotgun.
READ THESE STORIES HERE
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
| |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
TUES, DEC. 29 - FORCE, BONIN LEAD RD. 1, DAY 3 VOTING
No. 2 seeded Louis Force and No. 10 Gordie Bonin lead their respective “races” in the third day of Round 1 competition at the War Stories Showdown presented by CompetitionPlus.com.
Force, who answers to the nickname Diesel, and is the older brother of 14-time champion John Force, jumped out to the lead from the moment voting started yesterday and hasn’t relinquished the advantage. He currently leads veteran photographer Don Gillespie by a 64.27 to 35.73 margin.
Force tells the story about he and his famous brother ended up winning in a no-win situation in Mexico. For his part, Gillespie offered up a hilarious tale of traveling to the Tulsa PRO National Challenge and emerging with a famous photo sequence in the midst of various travel calamities.
Bonin, a former nitro Funny Car racer, held a slim lead over former Blue Max crewman “Waterbed” Fred Miller in the early part of the competition but has since extended a sizeable lead. He now holds an 80.16 percent share of the votes in their race.
Voting in this race continues through Wed., Dec. 30 at 6 PM.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
| |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
THUR, DEC. 24 - EARWOOD, SMITH ADVANCE TO THE QUARTER-FINALS ROUND
For Steve Earwood, the third time is the charm. The Rockingham Dragway owner who once served as NHRA publicist has participated in every War Stories Showdown presented by CompetitionPlus.com and for the first time he’ll advance to the quarter-final round.
Earwood left no doubt as his story on rainouts and rental cars enabled him to thunder past former event finalist Roy Hill with 75.48 percent of the vote. Hill, for his part, provided an admirable challenge in the initial stages of the race with his story of kidnapped crewmen.
On the other side of the “B” portion of the ladder, doorslammer drag racing legend Rickie Smith generated 63.77 percent of the voting share to get past legendary drag racing photographer Steve Reyes.
Earwood has “lane choice” over Smith in the race scheduled to begin on January 4, 2010.
The event now pauses for Christmas break and will resume on Mon., Dec. 28 with the “C” portion of the bracket. Those races will feature No. 2 Louis Force versus No. 15 Don Gillespie and No. 7 Fred Miller versus No. 10 Gordie Bonin.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
| |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
THUR, DE. 24 - DONER, GLIDDEN ADVANCE TO SECOND ROUND
Billy Glidden and Bill Doner were declared first round winners and will advance to the second round of the third annual War Stories Showdown presented by CompetitionPlus.com. They will meet in the first day of quarter-final pairings scheduled for Mon., Jan. 4, 2010.
Glidden scored an 83.22 vote percentage with his story of one-upmanship with legendary basketball coach Bobby Knight and that was more than enough to get around former IHRA executive turned producer Ted Jones.
Veteran drag racing promoter Bill Doner had a close race with TV Tommy Ivo for the first day of voting but pulled away in the final 48 hours of voting. Doner won after securing 59.38 percent of the votes to beat Ivo’s 40.62.
Their stories are available to read, although qualifying was completed on Wednesday evening.
CLICK HERE TO READ THEIR STORIES
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
 |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
WED, DEC 23 - THIRTEEN PROVES LUCKY FOR EARWOOD AS HE JOINS RICKIE SMITH AS ROUND ONE, SECOND DAY LEADERS
First Day “A” Bracket Voting Ends Tonight
In many circles, 13 is an unlucky number. But for the second year in a row the CompetitionPlus.com War Stories may provide the exception. Last year's runner-up Pat Musi reached the finals from the No. 13 spot.
This year the position appears to have favor once again.
Steve Earwood, No. 13 qualifier in this year's event, has jumped out to an overwhelming early lead over mountain motor Pro Stock legend and drag racing school instructor Roy Hill. They are paired in the first round of the “B” portion of the sixteen-participant ladder.
Earwood concluded the first of three days worth of voting with 76.86 percent of the votes cast for his story of rainouts and rental car antics.
Hill, runner-up in the 2007 competition, shared a story of the day one of his crewmen ended up in Papa Musi’s car trunk.
Not to be outdone was Rickie Smith, the southeastern doorslammer drag racing legend, who leads Steve Reyes on the strength of a story chronicling his Rockingham staging battle with Warren Johnson. Smith leads Reyes by a 62.05 to 37.95 margin.
For his part, Reyes tells a humorous tale of legendary NHRA starter Buster Couch and his power struggles on the starting line.
Voting on the “B” portion of the bracket ends Dec. 24, at 8 PM, EST. You can read these stories at ROUND ONE, DAY TWO
Voting ends for Round One, First Day [Bracket “A”] voting at 8 PM, EST this evening. If you haven’t read and voted, please do so here ROUND ONE, DAY ONE.
Billy Glidden holds an 83.33-percent share of the votes in his match against Ted Jones. Bill Doner leads Tommy Ivo by a 59.71 to 40.29 margin. Pending a dramatic reversal of fortunes, Glidden will face Doner in the second round. Glidden will likely have “lane choice” meaning he will get to tell his story first.
“Lane Choice” is determined by the competitor who earns the highest percentage of votes in their “race”.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
| |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
TUES, DEC. 22 - GLIDDEN, DONER LEAD FIRST DAY RACES
No. 1 seed Billy Glidden and No. 9 qualifier Bill Doner lead their respective “races” in first day eliminations at the third annual CompetitionPlus.com War Stories Showdown.The unique storytelling competition assembles 16 of drag racing’s best yarn-spinners in an eliminations style competition to determine the grand champion. Readers determine the best stories of each “race” and inevitably have a hand in determining the champion.
Glidden, a former NHRA Pro Stock racer and current Extreme 10.5 frontrunner, grabbed an 83.07 share of votes against former IHRA executive turned producer Ted Jones. His story tells about growing up a Glidden child and then meeting Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight.
On the other side of the “A” bracket, a close battle between the veteran promoter Bill Doner and nitro legend TV Tommy Ivo was a see-saw battle early. As of the last few hours, Doner has pulled ahead with a 58.18 share of the votes in their “race”.
Doner tells of his near bankrupt introduction to drag racing promotions while Ivo reveals his practical joker nature.
Voting in these single elimination races ends on Dec. 23. The winners of these matches will meet in the quarter-final round on Jan. 4, 2010.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
 |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
EVENT SCHEDULE
Qualifying, December 16 – 18, 2008 – COMPLETED
Eliminations
1st round - #1 Billy Glidden (45.23) vs. #16 Ted Jones (0.15), #8 Tommy Ivo (3.57) vs. #9 Bill Doner (2.48) – Dec. 21, 22, 23
#4 Roy Hill (8.07) vs. #13 Steve Earwood (0.87), #5 Rickie Smith (6.28) vs. #12 Steve Reyes (1.24) - Dec. 22, 23, 24
PAUSE FOR CHRISTMAS BREAK
#2 Louie Force (10.32) vs. #15 Don Gillespie (0.16), #7 Fred Miller (4.27) vs. #10 Gordie Bonin (2.25) – Dec. 28, 29, 30
#3 Pat Musi (8.69) vs. #14 Jim Rockstad (0.62), #6 Gary Densham (4.58) vs. #11 Billy Meyer (1.47) – Dec. 29, 30, 31
PAUSE FOR NEW YEAR’S BREAK
Quarter-finals -
#1 Billy Glidden (83.22) versus #9 Bill Doner (59.38) – Jan. 4, 5
#13 Steve Earwood (75.49) versus #5 Rickie Smith (63.77) – Jan. 4, 5
#10 Gordie Bonin (81.53) vs. #2 Louis Force (65.28) – Jan. 6, 7
#3 Pat Musi (61.68) vs. #6 Gary Densham (61.38) – Jan. 6,7
Semi-finals
#5 Rickie Smith (87.38) VS. #9 Bill Doner (62.26) – Jan. 11, 12
#2 Louis Force (53.12) vs. #3 Pat Musi (50.4) – Jan. 13, 14
Finals
January 18, 19, 20
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
SAT, DEC. 19 - GLIDDEN NO. 1 SEED FOR WAR STORIES; ELIMINATIONS BEGIN MONDAY
Louie Force, Pat Musi, Roy Hill and Rickie Smith Round Out Top FiveBilly Glidden used a huge vote total to claim the No. 1 qualifying position for the third annual CompetitionPlus.com War Stories Showdown, an annual competition to determine drag racing’s best storytellers.
“I’m grateful that I’ve been chosen for this No. 1 qualifying spot, but this is going to be a tough competition because there’s heavy hitters in here,” Glidden said on Friday. “Whether I’m playing checkers or ping-pong, or telling race stories … I’m in it to win it. We’ll just see how it all turns out.”
Glidden claimed 45.23 percent of the 1,289 votes cast.
Now that qualifying is complete, the competition enters the eliminations phase just like a real drag race. The contestants are paired on an NHRA eliminations-style ladder according to their qualifying position.
Over the next three weeks, the combatants will go head to head until a final round is established in January.
Lane choice (or the ability to tell their story first) in the first round goes to the higher qualified entry. After that, the higher vote getter of the previous round earns lane choice.
The rules are simple. The stories must be PG-13 and cannot mention a felonious act that will get anyone arrested or killed. You cannot use a story about your opponent against your opponent.
Once a contestant wins the event, they are no longer eligible to participate in the competition.
There is one vote per IP address (household or office), to prevent multiple voting. Multiple votes will NOT be counted.
Eliminations begin Monday, December 21, 2009 at 8 AM, EST with the “A” portion of the bracket (No. 1 vs. No. 16, No. 8 vs. No. 9) and ends Wednesday, Dec. 23 at 6 PM, EST. The “B” (No. 4 vs. No. 13, No. 5 vs. No. 12 begins Tuesday, Dec. 22, at 8 AM and concludes Thursday, Dec. 24, at 6 PM.
The first round will pause for Christmas break and will resume on Monday, December 28 at 8 AM, EST with the “C” portion (No. 2 vs. No. 15, No. 7 vs. No. 10). Voting ends for this portion on Dec. 30 at 6 PM, EST. The “D” portion (No. 3 vs. No. 14, No. 6 vs. No. 11) begins on Dec. 29 at 8 AM and concludes Dec. 31 at 6 PM, EST.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
 |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
