With Hurricane Florence now behind us except for more rain and only the clean-up remaining, our thoughts go out to those displaced from the storm. But racers from all over the country will be turning their attention to the good times to be had at the ninth Sparco Fall Fling presented by Optima Batteries at Bristol Dragway’s Thunder Valley.
It was last year when the usually Spring Fling event was moved to the Fall and renamed in an effort to take advantage of a better weather pattern and the racers responded. “We love Bristol and want to stay there, yet we felt it was important to find a time of year that Bristol had better weather so that our racers can fully enjoy the experience we have to offer,” explained co-promoter Kyle Seipel.
In addition to this, one other change was a pre-entry system designed to cap the event at 375 entries. Pre-entries opened up back in June and within 45-minutes, all 375 entries were filled, making this a very elite field.
With this year being the ninth anniversary of the Fling in Bristol it brings up the importance of next year’s 2019 Bristol event. “We will be releasing at this year’s event all the details of the Special 10th Anniversary Fling for 2019,” said co-promoter Peter Biondo. “This will surely promise to get the bracket racing world excited and we can’t wait to break the news.”
The action this year begins on Tuesday with a Test & Tune session followed by the American Race Cars/Racetech Dragster Shootout where a select group of 32 racers will vie for a brand-new race car. Yukon Gear & Axle Wednesday follows with a $15,000-to-win warm-up race followed by Racepak Thursday where the win money increases to $20,000, which is the same for JEGS Saturday. On Friday, the ATI Performance-sponsored day brings the win money up considerably to $50,000, with each of the days win and round money guaranteed. Before Friday’s action begins, the Fall Fling Reaction Time Challenge will take place with 25 randomly selected drivers competing for a chance at a one run $10,000 reward.
If the win and round money isn’t enough, over $50,000 in racers appreciation giveaways are randomly awarded. On Thursday night, the Hoosier Tires Door Car Shootout takes place with another select group of 32 door cars only racing for $10,000-to-win. Friday night, the Sparco Racer Appreciation Barbeque takes place with great food, live DJ, dancing and karaoke to entertain all.
It all leads up to a week-long affair and thanks to Mickey Thompson Tires and JEGS, all of the action can be seen live as it happens on MotorManiaTV.com. For more information, visit www.bracketraces.com often and follow on Facebook for daily results.
This story was originally published on September 17, 2018. 
