The Fall Fling West presented by RAD Torque Systems kicked off with A-1 Performance Thursday which included a $100,000 to win 64-Car Shootout. The day began with clear skies, a stiff head wind, and a gorgeous backdrop.
With fighter jets buzzing overhead, A-1 Performance Thursday began with time trial sessions for the GearWrench Pro Class, Super Pro, and the 64-Car Shootout. With several rounds of time trials completed, the attention turned to the A-1 Performance $100,000 64-Car Shootout which consisted of 32 doorcars and 32 dragsters.
At the round of 16 Daniel McClelland, Keith Horob, Jim Glenn, Larry Spitall, Chuck Hawk Jr., Mera Silvia, Emma Deuschle, and Ken Sweo remained in contention on the doorcar side. The eight dragsters remaining included Duston Wurtz, David Myhre, Rayce Kidd, Taylor Strange, Larry Richardson, Dan Lafferty, Gabriel Torres, and Carson Campbell.
Moving into the quarterfinals was McClelland, Hawk, Glenn, Dueschle, Richardson, Wurtz, Torres, and Kidd. The highlight of the round was the battle between Richardson and Lafferty where Richardson laid down a perfect package to defeat Lafferty’s .001 dead one lap!
In the quarterfinals, McClelland posted a .012-pack in his wagon to turn back Hawk who was .002 and two above. Jim Glenn used a .005 to .041 reaction time advantage to move past Deuschle. On the dragster ladder, Larry Richardson capitalized on Wurtz’s breakout to move into the semifinals. In the last matchup of the round, Gabriel Torres moved past Kidd after dropping to dead on. Kidd’s .003 take .041 put him .005 under his 4.75 dial.
Both semifinal pairings were decided at the starting line when McClelland turned it red to Glenn by .006 and Richardson was -.001 red against Torres. Of note, McClelland won two rounds earlier in the day by virtue of the TruStart system as his opponents fouled by a greater margin than he did.
In the doorcar versus dragster $100,000 final, Glenn let go .005 beside Torres’ .030. At the stripe Glenn dropped to go dead-on seven (6.647) to take the win after Torres trailed with a 4.696 on his 4.68 dial. The emotions flowed over in the winner’s circle as Glenn and his family celebrated their $100,000 victory.
In addition to the 64-Car Shootout, promoters Peter Biondo and Kyle Seipel added a GearWrench Pro Class Run for the Shootout. Racers were given one shot to lay down the best package and earn their way into the four-car Shootout where the winner would receive $1,000 of the $2,000 guaranteed purse.
The four best packages came from Brandon Umberger, Jeff Jones, Matt Kielman, and Dustin Martin. In a heads up 5.94 race, Umberger used a .021 over 5.961 to turn back Jones who slowed to a 6.055. Kielman’s .011 trailed Martin’s .005 off the line but turned on the winlight when Martin was .003 under his 5.99 dial. Of note, Kielman’s .011 light was the worst light of the round by the four bottom bulb competitors!
The GearWrench Run for the Shootout final included two of the toughest bottom bulb racers in the country. Once again, Kielman was .011 and behind after Umberger posted a .005 light. At the stripe it was all Umberger as he was .00 take .00 for the win after his .021 over 5.961 was .004 ahead of Kielman’s .019 over 6.739.
In addition to the cash prizes in the GearWrench Run for the Shootout, Peter and Kyle donated $400 to the Racers for Christ from the extra entries in the Shootout.
The Fall Fling West presented by RAD Torque Systems continues on Friday with the Kidd Performance and Dyno $10,000 race. New entries time trials start at 8 AM with eliminations to follow.
This story was originally published on October 16, 2020. 
