New to the Hubble Motorsports Junior Dragster program at MIR this year is the Pro Purse. For the last few years, Junior racers have raced for a $100 winner’s purse. But this year, a Pro Purse was introduced by the folks at Hubble Motorsports, where any Junior driver can enter the Pro Purse for $10, and the last remaining driver who entered the Pro Purse will collect 100% of the Pro Purse money. This past weekend at Speed Unlimited ET Series race, many of the Junior Dragster racers entered the Pro Purse program. 21 racers in total entered the Pro Purse, bringing the total to $210 for the Pro Purse winner. With such good participation, class and Pro Purse sponsor, Ron Hubble added $50 to the pot to spice it up a bit. Then, Michael Cockrell, of Certified Auto Services, matched Hubble’s contribution with another $50 add on, bringing the total for the Pro Purse to $310, more than 3 times the normal ET Series winner’s prize.
ADRIANA ESTEVEZ
JUNIOR DRAGSTER WINNER
With two consecutive rainouts, this was just the third ET Series race of the year. In the first two events, the Estevez brothers, Robert and TJ picked up the Pro Purse money; Robert with a runner up in week 1, and TJ with the win in week 2. In the third race of the year, both Estevez brothers found themselves in the thick of things once again. Robert picked up a quarterfinal win over Michael Hankinson on the strength of his .018 light. Robert’s older brother TJ got past JD Walkers perfect light when JD couldn’t run the number, sending TJ to the semifinals. Robert and TJ’s cousin, Adrianna Estevez was .007 on the tree and was able to take down Logan Hubble’s dead-on run. Jeremy Fowler completed the semifinal foursome with his quarterfinal bye run. The semifinal parings setup the opportunity for the Estevez brothers to meet in the final for the second ET race in a row. But the other semifinalists had something to say about that. First up, TJ faced off with Jeremy Fowler, the lone semifinalist not in the Pro Purse. Jeremy strapped a .018 package on TJ with his .008 light and an 8.160 on his 8.15 dial which was more than TJ could overcome after being uncharacteristically late on the tree. With TJ knocked out, the winner of the second semifinal matchup would be the sole Pro Purse contestant remaining, adding $310 worth of pressure to the young drivers. The race was over quickly when Robert pushed the tree a little too hard, turning it -.016 red, and handing the final round berth and the $310 Pro Purse money to his cousin Adrianna Estevez. In the final, Adrianna, who missed the tree in the semifinals, once again found her spot and was .028 to get a big holeshot over Fowler who was .115. Adrianna did her job at the stripe, tightening it up to a snug .009 to pick up the win and the $100 winner’s purse for the race, bringing her total to a very nice $410 for the day. The Junior racers will once again have a shot to race for big money in just a couple weeks at the Junior Dragster Open on June 8th.