Hughes and Hughes big winners at Inaugural Great American Bracket Race

Belle Rose, LA: The inaugural Huntsville Engine & Performance Great American Bracket Race took place last weekend at No Problem Raceway Park in Belle Rose, LA. Despite a dismal weather forecast, racers from across the country made their way to the South Louisiana facility in search of their share of the richest single race payout in the history of the Gulf Coast region.

Friday’s action began with local competitors Wade White and Wayne Henry advancing thru a field of touring “heavy hitters” to advance to the final round in Electronics competition. There, White got the Friday victory when Henry left the starting line with a red light foul. Friday semi-finalists were Jason Folk and Gary Williams, while Shawn Langdon, Chad Fox, Rustin Mayse, and Daniel Rolison advanced to the quarterfinal round.

In Friday’s No Box category, Jimmy Hidalgo, Jr. knocked off David Toups for the top prize, with Jay Robinson as the lone semi-finalist.

Saturday’s marquee event saw just over 80 entries despite threatening skies and a gloomy forecast at best. The racing was no less intense, however, as competitors battled for the $36,000 winners purse. When the dust cleared, it was a pair of Texans squaring off for the big money. Following a brief rain delay prior to the final round, Brian Hughes earned the biggest payday of his racing career, as he drove his American Race Cars dragster past former Million Dollar Race winner Stephen Hughes (no relation) in the final round. Byron Jordan and AJ Ashe were the semi-finalists; while Shane Carr, Mike Bloomfield, and Daniel Rolison advanced to the quarterfinals.

Following Saturday’s main event, the Great American Bracket Race hosted a special 32-car shootout presented by American Race Cars and Luke Bogacki Race Services. The elite event would reward one talented driver with a brand new 2009 American Race Cars swing arm dragster, assembled and wired as a complete rolling chassis by Luke Bogacki Race Services ($29,000 value!). The entry list read like a “who’s who” of sportsman drag racing to say the least. When the smoke cleared, however, Stephen Hughes continued his dominating performance, landing in his second final round of the event. This time, he would avenge his earlier loss, knocking off main event semi-finalist Byron Jordan in the final round. Shane Carr and Donny Burleson were the semi-finalists, while Robbie Mayse, Todd Ewing, Bart Nelson, and AJ Ashe lost in the round of 8.

Saturday’s No Box event was won by David Toups, who collected the victory in his second final round appearance of the weekend, this time over Craig Duplisses. Jody “Cool” Simoneux was the l one semi-finalist.

The weekend’s action wrapped up on Sunday despite repeated spotty rain showers that halted the action throughout the day. Longtime bracket standout Buddy Ferrell was able to weather the storm, however, driving to the victory over defending NHRA Super Pro World Champion Bart Nelson. Gary Williams collected his second semi-final finish of the weekend; and TJ Tracey, Michael Rastall, and Shane Carr each fell in the quarterfinal round.

In Sunday’s No Box competition, Luke Bogacki drove his ThisIsBracketRacing.com Vega to the final round triumph over Cody Pollage. Jody “Cool” Simoneux was the lone semi-finalist for the second consecutive day.

Event promoter Gaylon Rolison was pleased with the inaugural event, saying “Obviously, we had hoped to have more cars, but there were a lot of factors working against us. Heck, weather.com said it was raining all weekend, but we kept dodging rain drops and getting the events in. I want to thank track manager Paul Cartwright and the entire No Problem Raceway staff for their help and hard work. I think we dried the track five or six times on Sunday alone to get the race in. I also want to thank each of the racers who were able to attend for their faith in the event and for their patience throughout the weekend. The Great American Race will return to No Problem Raceway Park on Memorial Day weekend in 2010, and we’re already working on plans to make the event big ger and better. In time, this will be one of the premier big dollar events within the sportsman racing landscape!”