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The
Dash points playoff system was
designed to make the points battles
tight all the way to the last race,
or final round of the season. 2012
was a perfect example of the Dash
playing out exactly as designed.
Entering the final weekend of the
Speed Unlimited ET Series, the
points battles were tight in all
classes with several racers
realistically having a chance to win
in each class. And when all the dust
had settled on the 2012 season, the
class champion in 3 of the 4 classes
claimed their crown by one round or
less. With the point standings tight
entering the final event of the
year, the two-race Autofab Raider ET
Series, there was sure to be some
last second moves up and down the
points list at the high car count
event.
In Top ET, Robert Jones entered the
weekend with a one round lead over
Willy Hess Sr., Dale Smith and
Jaycee Largent. Jones, the defending
Speed Unlimited Top ET champ, had
close competition and couldn’t
afford to have an early exit on
Saturday and let his competition
close the gap. Jones made it through
first round, but turned it red 2nd
round, but was able to get back in
the race with a bye in the re-entry
round. His day ended earlier than he
hoped however when Todd Welzel
knocked him out in round 3. With the
points leader out in round 3, in an
8 round race, there was plenty of
opportunity for chasers to close in
on the lead. Two racers making a big
move were Jaycee Largent and Willy
Hess Sr. Both drivers ended the day
tied for the lead with Jones after
they both made 4th round exits. Hess
actually had a chance to make a
bigger move when he won the mulligan
and got put back in 5th round, but
he was stopped in 5th round by Bob
Avalos. Making the biggest move of
the day was Bobby Spence. Spence
entered the day in 9th place, 4
whole rounds behind the points
leader Jones, but was able to make a
big move to a tie for 4th, just one
round back on the strength of his
6th round showing Saturday.
Heading into Sunday, the points were
as tight as one could hope. Jones,
Largent, and Hess all shared the
lead, with 2010 points champ Dale
Smith and Bobby Spence tied for 4th
just one round back. Candi Derry and
Mike Nelson Jr. sat tied for 6th, 3
rounds out of first. Jaycee Largent
and Willy Hess got knocked out in
round 1 re-entry. They were shortly
followed by Mike Nelson Jr. and Dale
Smith in round two. The pressure was
starting to build as only three
racers still had a shot at the
points title heading into round 3.
In round 3, Jones faced off with
Darrell Lukhard. Jones got the jump
on the tree, but at the stripe,
Lukhard was able to run closer to
his dial. The margin of victory was
less than .001 seconds, in what must
have been one of the tightest races
of the day, with the win light
coming on in Lukhard’s lane. Derry
had already won her round 3 matchup
over Todd Welzel, closing her to
within two rounds of the lead. But
for Spence, the pressure peaked.
Spence was in the waterbox as he
watched Jones get knocked out.
Knowing that with a round win, he
would be tied for the points lead,
Bobby rose to the occasion and put
together a .010 package to beat
Ricky Harbaugh and move into a tie
for the points lead. In round 4,
Candi kept her momentum going by
getting drawn for the bye run. But
for Bobby Spence, he had to run
Lukhard, who had just knocked Jones
out of the race. This one was over
quick, as Lukhard turned it red,
giving Bobby a one round lead over
Jones, and two round lead over Candi
who still had a chance if Spence
were to get knocked out of the race
before the final.
Then in a twist that nobody saw
coming, Robert Jones won the
mulligan and was thrown back into
the race in round 5. Jones could
start earning points again for every
win light he got for the rest of the
night. So, all three drivers were
back in the race, with Spence
leading by one round over Jones, and
two rounds over Candi. All three
drivers made it through 5th round,
ramping up the pressure even more.
Then in 6th round, the story came to
its climax. The very first pair out,
matched up Bobby Spence and his
fiancé Chelsea Derry, Candi’s
sister. In what was show of true
sportsmanship, the couple raced it
out and didn’t take any dives.
Chelsea beat Bobby on the strength
of a holeshot, putting his fate as
points leader in limbo. In the next
pair, Candi Derry was knocked off by
Duane Marquess, ending her title
hopes. The following pair matched up
Jones with Marshall Grooms. Jones
got the win on the strength of a
starting line advantage, and pulled
back into a tie for the points lead
with Spence. Then in the semifinals,
Chelsea had a shot to help her
fiancé out when she staged up
against Jones. Jones was perfect on
the tree and that was enough to hold
off Chelsea’s run, putting Jones
back in the lead by one round, and
therefore clinching his second Speed
Unlimited Points Championship in a
row. In the finals, Jones lost to
his good friend Duane Marquess. With
the win, Marquess jumped into 3rd
place in the points, behind Spence
and in front of Candi Derry. Dale
Smith, Jaycee Largent and Willy Hess
Sr. all ended up in a tie for 5th.
Regarding the 6th round matchup
between Spence and Chelsea, MIR
owner and promoter Royce Miller had
this to say, “I was never been more
proud and never felt more admiration
for two young competitive racers as
I did for Chelsea and Bobby. Knowing
the Top ET Championship was on the
line this engaged to be married
couple played no games and raced for
it. They are a class act and I am
honored they race at MIR.”
Congratulations to Robert Jones on
his very hard earned Speed Unlimited
points title in a row.
The story may have been slightly
less dramatic in Mod ET, but the
points standing finished tighter.
Entering the weekend, Nicole Talbert
had an 11 point lead over three
racers, Joe Goldey, Bradley Tippett,
and her father, Ed Talbert. Steve
Cross Sr. sat in 5th with Brian
McLaughlin in 6th just more than 2
rounds back. The Talbert family was
unable to attend the final event of
the season due to family
commitments, so with the points
leader not on the property and one
of the racers tied for 2nd not
around as well, the points lead was
completely up for grabs. Then, as if
it was going to be jumbled enough at
the top, three of the 4 racers with
the best shot at taking the lead
went down early, before third round.
Only McLaughlin made it to third
round Saturday, but he was ousted
there by Steve Cross Jr. After third
round Saturday, every racer who
entered the day in the top 7 in
points was eliminated. This opened
the door for some guys back in the
pack to make a charge. And charge
they did. Frank Thompson Jr. came
into the day in 8th place, more than
4 rounds out of the lead. Eight time
track champ, Johnny Mattera entered
the weekend tied for 11th in points,
more than 6 rounds out of the lead.
But these two racers weaved their
way through some tough competition
to make big strides in the points.
Thompson and Mattera eventually made
their way all the way to the final
round. Making it to the finals
guaranteed Thompson the point lead
entering the final day of the
season, and with a win, he would
have a commanding 31 point lead. But
Frank turned it red to Mattera, and
with a win Saturday, Johnny closed
to within 9 points of Thompson’s
lead.
Going into Sunday, Thompson was on
top of leader board, with Johnny
close behind. Goldey and McLaughlin
sat tied for 3rd, three rounds out
of first place. Steve Cross Sr. and
Bradley Tippett still had a
legitimate shot at the title as
well. The shakeup started early with
Johnny Mattera losing to Joe Goldey
in round 1 and then Bradley Tippett
in round 1 re-entry. He was shortly
followed by Steve Cross Sr. who lost
to the points leader Thompson and
then was ousted in 2nd round
re-entry by Jason Stern. McLaughlin
lost in the first pair out in round
3, leaving only Thompson, Goldey and
Tippett to battle it out for the
points championship. Then in round
3, Thompson and second place, Goldey
matched up. Both racers had their
fate squarely in their hands, and
Goldey was the one to rise to the
challenge. Posting a nice .021 light
to get the jump on Thompson on the
line, he was able to hold on for the
win and pull to within two rounds of
the points lead. Bradley Tippett
also made it through round 3 to keep
his championship hopes alive. Goldey
and Tippett got through 4th round,
closing the gap even more on
Thompson. In round 5, Goldey faced
off with Rich Harger. With a round
win, he would pull into a tie with
Thompson for the points lead. Goldey
got a big jump on the starting line
and was able to hold on for the win,
and pull into a tie with Thompson
for the lead. Tippett turned it
-.005 to Steve Witherow 5th round,
ending his shot at the points
championship. After 5th round, only
defending Mod ET Champ Joe Goldey,
who won the points championship with
a deep run at the last race in 2011,
was left to take home a second
consecutive points championship. In
round 6, he matched up with long
time Mod ET racer, Tony Mattera.
Tony got a big jump on the line with
a .018 light and that was enough for
him to hang on for the win, ending
Goldey’s points run in a tie with
Thompson for the lead.
The title came down to the tie
breaker. The first round of the tie
breaker is the driver with the most
wins on the season. That locked it
up for Frank, who had won the last
Dash qualifying race less than a
month ago, just to get into the Dash
in the first place. In that final,
he beat none other than Joe Goldey.
Thompson, a two time track champ in
Junior Dragster, came from deep in
the pack to win his first Speed
Unlimited Mod ET Championship. He
had to win a race to qualify for the
Dash. He started the three race
playoff 16th in points, and climbed
his was to the top on the strength
of semifinal finish in the first
race of the Dash and a runner-up
performance in the second race. Then
he was able to hold on in the last
race to claim his championship by
the narrowest margin Dash history, a
0.5 gap on strength of his
tie-breaking win over Goldey earlier
this year. Joe Goldey followed up
his 2011 championship with a
runner-up finish in 2012. Bradley
Tippett finished third with Johnny
Mattera and Brian McLaughlin
rounding out the top 5.
Congratulations to Frank Thompson
Jr. for his first Speed Unlimited
Mod ET Championship, and for being
the first driver to win
championships in two different Speed
Unlimited ET Series classes.
In Juniors, the points battle was
tight entering the weekend.
Christopher Mattera won the first
race of the Dash to take over the
points lead. Robert Estevez and Brad
Keyton were still close enough to
make a move with Cory Maloney, Blair
Buckler and TJ Estevez within
striking distance as well. On
Saturday, Blair Buckler went down in
1st round re-entry. Brothers Robert
and TJ Estevez went down in round 3.
The remaining Dash contestants all
went down in round 4. However, Blair
Buckler was drawn for the mulligan,
and although he couldn’t take over
the lead, he could make up some of
the ground he lost with his first
round exit. He took full advantage
of the mulligan and turned it into a
race win over Shane Parker. There
wasn’t much of a shuffle in the
points after Saturday with all the
drivers going out about the same
time, so Christopher Mattera still
maintained his lead heading into the
final race of the season. Brad
Keyton moved into a tie for second
with Robert Estevez, with Cory
Maloney in 4th and Blair moving to
6th, only 4 rounds out of the lead.
The excitement started early when
Mattera lost first round, along with
Robert Estevez. Keyton, Maloney, and
Buckler all made it through round 1.
In re-entry, Mattera and Robert
found themselves paired up. For
Robert, it was the perfect
opportunity to seize control of the
points battle and make his move. But
it wasn’t to be for Estevez, as
Christopher got the better light and
was able to run slightly closer to
his dial to pick up the round win,
secure his points lead, and
eliminate Robert Estevez from
contention. Blair Buckler was the
only contender to go down in round
2, leaving Mattera, Maloney and
Keyton to battle it out. It wouldn’t
be settled in round 3, as all three
made it safely through to the 4th
round. In round 4, all three proved
once again why they were the ones
running for the championship.
Running back to back to back, each
racer watched the other turn on
their win light and move to round 5.
With the rounds running out, Keyton
and Maloney need Mattera to go out
to even have a chance at getting
around him. In round 6, Christopher
got past a red-lighting Jacob Bowie,
but then Maloney and Keyton faced
off. In a very tight race, Maloney
picked up the win over Keyton by
just .006. With his round win, and
Keyton’s loss in round 5,
Christopher Mattera clinched his
first points championship of his
young career. To end the season with
a bang, he defeated Maloney in the
semifinals and then won his second
Dash event of the year over Michael
Hankinson. The 2012 Speed Unlimited
ET Series Junior Dragster Champion
is Christopher Mattera. With his
semifinal finish, Cory Maloney
jumped into second place ahead of
Brad Keyton. Robert Estevez and
Blair Buckler round out the top 5
for 2012.
There was plenty of drama to be
found in Motorcycle as well. Jimmie
Miller started the Dash with the
points lead, but Devin McClain took
it away after the first race with a
race win. So coming into the final
weekend, McClain was the points
leader followed closely by Jimmie
Miller. Jeff Sweeney, Kenny Colbert
and defending track champ Shayne
Proctor all sat tied for third. In
Saturday’s race, McClain made an
early exit, losing to Wardell
Pinkney in round 2. Jimmie Miller
picked up a round in the points when
he beat the ever tough Shayne
Proctor in the 2nd round. Kenny
Colbert also made it to round 3.
Jeff Sweeney lost in round 1. With
the door open for Miller to make his
move, Miller missed a big
opportunity in round 3, when he lost
a tough double breakout race to
Jermaine Proctor, who was slowing
moving his way up the points sheet
throughout the day. Kenny Colbert
fell to Wardell Pinkney in round 3
as well. Wardell Pinkney, completed
his role as spoiler by winning
Saturday’s race over Mike Thomas.
Pinkney got the holeshot and was
able to hold on for the win.
Heading into Sunday’s season finale,
McClain had just a single point lead
over Jimmie Miller. Jermaine
Proctor, who lost in the semifinals
on Saturday now found himself in
3rd, just 16 points back. Kenny
Colbert and Shayne Proctor still had
an outside chance if all the racers
in front of them made an early exit.
The fireworks started right out of
the gate in round 1. Devin McClain
matched up with Shayne Proctor.
Proctor won a very tight race when
McClain broke out taking too much
stripe. In the very next pair,
Jimmie Miller went down to Jeff
Sweeney, sending 1st and 2nd in the
points to re-entry. Kenny Colbert
also lost first round, while
Jermaine Proctor picked up a first
round win. In the re-entry round,
none of the 3 contenders had to face
off, and all three survived their
“do or die” runs in re-entry. In
round 2, Jimmie Miller beat Shayne
Proctor to end Proctors run at
repeat champion. McClain, Colbert
and Jermaine Proctor all won 2nd
round, setting up a semi-final
matchup featuring the top 4 in
points. In the semi’s, Devin McClain
used a holeshot to take down Kenny
Colbert and move to the finals. In
the next pair, Jimmie Miller also
used a holeshot to take down his
opponent, Jermaine Proctor, setting
up a “winner take all” final round.
The stage couldn’t have been set any
better. A whole season of racing was
going to come down the very final
run of the season. In the end, both
riders made a good run at it, but
Jimmie Miller stepped up when it
mattered most. He had his best light
of the entire weekend, with a .011
to get the jump on McClain’s .060.
He was able to hold on the stripe,
breaking out less then McClain in a
tough double breakout race, winning
the round, the race, and the 2012
Speed Unlimited ET Series
Championship in Motorcycle. Devin
McClain came home second, with
Jermaine Proctor, Kenny Colbert and
Shayne Proctor rounding out the top
5.
After a long season of racing, the
2012 Speed Unlimited ET Series
finally comes to a close.
Congratulations to all the 2012
Speed Unlimited ET Series Champions.
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