By John Bisci – March 26, 2016, St. Louis Region – The first race of the Gateway Motorsports Park Dragplex’s 2016 bracket-racing season now is in the record books and eight drivers and riders scored opening-night wins: James Thurston (VP Racing Fuels Super Pro), Jeremy McKague (Pro), Ted Lipka (Sportsman), Scott Leonard (Super Pro Motorcycle), Craig Powell (Trophy), Lindsey Schmidt (Jr. Dragster Thunder) Preston Tanner (Jr. Dragster Lightning) and Corey Landoit (Box/No Box).
Thurston, of Wentzville, Missouri, won the Super Pro final over Litchfield, Illinois native Dustin Bryant, 6.162 sec./103.59 mph to 6.555 sec./102.76 mph.
Schmidt, of Imperial, Missouri, was the first racer to visit the Dragplex’s brand-new Domino’s Pizza Victory Lane when she defeated Sam Stewart of Washington, Missouri, in the Jr. Dragster Thunder finale.
NEXT RACE:
April 1 (Friday) — Midnight Madness — Spring Break/April Fool’s Day
April 2 (Saturday) — Bracket points race No. 2. Jr. Dragster race No. 2.
April 3 (Sunday) — SCCA Solo (www.stlscca.org).
Final-round results, indicating racer, hometown, vehicle, reaction time, elapsed time, top speed:
VP Racing Fuels Super Pro
Winner: James Thurston (Wentzville, Missouri) Mustang .013 6.162 sec. 103.59 mph.
Runner-up: Dustin Bryant (Litchfield, Illinois) 1975 Monza .017 6.555 sec. 102.76 mph.
Pro
Winner: Jeremy McKague (Chamois, Missouri) 1997 Stubby dragster .028 5.850 sec. 111.91 mph.
Runner-up: Chad Lidy (Effingham, Illinois) 1976 Camaro .046 6.577 sec. 102.42 mph.
Sportsman
Winner: Ted Lipka (O’Fallon, Missouri) 2002 Camaro .034 12.008 sec. 110.62 mph.
Runner-up: Aaron Worstell (Union, Missouri) 1989 Mustang .013 12.030 sec. 110.54 mph.
Super Pro Bike (Motorcycle)
Winner: Scott Leonard (Glen Carbon, Illinois) 2002 Hayabusa .065 9.236 sec. 149.58 mph.
Runner-up: Nicholas Holshauser (Edwardsville, Illinois) 1982 Suzuki .103 8.593 sec. 136.79 mph.
Trophy
Winner: Craig Powell (St. Louis, Missouri) 1985 Monte Carlo .060 12.352 sec. 103.01 mph.
Runner-up: Christina Jones (O’Fallon, Missouri) 2007 Mustang .214 13.381 sec. 104.19 mph.
Jr. Dragster Thunder
Winner: Lindsey Schmidt (Imperial, Missouri) 2006 McPhantom .013 8.945 sec. 72.87 mph.
Runner-up: Sam Stewart (Washington, Missouri) 2015 JR Race Car .028 8.967 sec. 72.07 mph.
Jr. Dragster Lightning
Winner: Preston Tanner (Rensselaer, Indiana) 2016 Halfscale .047 7.992 sec. 78.82 mph.
Runner-up: Kayden Kochler (Festus, Missouri) Motivational .060 8.080 sec. 72.07 mph.
Box/No Box
Winner: Corey Landoit (Hermann, Missouri) 2010 American dragster .015 7.317 sec. 179.42 mph.
Runner-up: Jeremy McKague (Chamois, Missouri) 2010 dragster .020 9.055 sec. 169.36 mph.
For more information, please call GMP at (618) 215-8888 or visit www.gatewaymsp.com. Follow GMP on Facebook and Twitter.
The vision for the new Gateway Motorsports Park is to create a racing lifestyle that attracts enthusiasts, professionals, amateurs and car lovers by harnessing the energy and passion of the thousands of racing fans in the heart of the Midwest.
Located just five minutes from downtown St. Louis and covering nearly 200 acres, Gateway is the largest outdoor entertainment facility in the region, encompassing a ¼ mile NHRA-sectioned drag strip, 1.25-mile superspeedway, 1.6-mile road course, a state-of-the-art Karting facility and a new 14-acre, multi-purpose dirt off-road venue.