Hollywood couldn't have written a better script. 

Competition Eliminator racer Adam Hickey needed a miracle in the worst way. Hickey came into the Texas NHRA FallNationals as third in points behind Greg Kamplain and  Chase Williams in the Rooftec D4 Competition Eliminator Bonus Fund. 

The 2022 Comp Eliminator Bonus Fund rewards Competition Eliminator racers from NHRA's Division 4 who finish in the top ten on the divisional level. The fund, which pays out a total fund of $225,000, delivered a winner's prize of $100,000. The runner-up still pocketed $20,000. The remaining funds were dispersed to the top ten CEBF point earners.  

Hickey picked up the victory when he committed the lesser of the foul starts in his final round against Scott Cashio. 

"I truly didn't look at any of it," Hickey said when asked about his odds headed into the event. "I saw it but didn't concentrate or think about it. I just kept that out of my mind because I wasn't doing it for the money. But if it worked out, it worked out. And we got all the right breaks; we were able to make the right runs at the right time. Unbelievable. Unbelievable."

The cards began to fall Hickey's way early. Second-place Chase Williams didn't make the first-round call, eliminating him. And in the second round, Ashton Hudson eliminated Kamplain, who fouled. 

Hickey worked his way through a loaded field by stopping Brooke Heckel, Jeff Taylor, Clint Neff, and Raymond Martin to reach the final.  

Cashio had plenty of equity in the A/Super Modified index, qualifying second with a -0.754 under performance. Hickey was 12th, running -0.617 against the B/Dragster Automatic record.

Cashio had gone as far as -.66 under his index and rated the advantage in the final. 

Still, Hickey stayed true to his game plan. 

"We are usually right at the point [with our index] where we are going to save what we can; we don't really set it up to run to where we can kill it," Hickey said. "That saves a lot of thinking on my end, too, to be able to go out there and know that I can run it out the back door if I have to and not have to worry about it."

The "back-door" run was never needed as Cashio rolled the beams early, handing the win to Hickey. 

As Hickey stood waiting for his place in line for winner's circle photos, the magnitude of the situation hit him what had transpired not only that evening but for a Comp Eliminator division that looked like it was living on borrowed time. 

"It's incredible what has happened this year because of the Rooftec D4 Comp Eliminator Bonus Fund," Hickey said. "I don't know what we're going to do with this money. I never thought about it before until now. I just can't believe we pulled this off. It's an incredible thing Rodger Brogdon does for us, without a doubt."

FINAL POINTS UPDATE: 

1. Adam Hickey (500): $100,000
2. Greg Kamplain (477): $25,000
3. Chase Williams (439): $15,000
4. Jeff Taylor (368.5): $15,000
5. Scott Cashio (359): $12,500
6. Don Thomas (352): $12,500
7. Keith Hall (347.5): $12,500
8. Raymond Martin (333.5): $12,500
9. Craig Bourgeois (333.5): $10,000
10. Clint Neff (287): $10,000