brsd-spongebob
Light Man
BONNE TERRE, MO – With beautiful, sunny skies and temperatures in the 70’s, Big River Sand Drags opened the 2008 points season last Saturday evening with above-average attendance, new ownership and what most would label a bright future.
Seventy-four competitors participating in ten different classes attended Marler’s Performance Towing Night at the track. “James and I have been life-long friends,” says the owner of Marler’s, Kevin Bess. “When I heard that he had bought the track, I wanted to offer as much help as I possibly could.” Kevin and wife Janice were on hand enjoying the festivities and showering guest with souvenirs. Marler’s Performance Towing will be on-site most of the 2008 season to assist if the need arises.
Another new feature at BRSD was the introduction of four new ATV classes. Pee Wee ATV, designed for children ages 3-6 on youth ATV’s of 90cc or less, sported two youngsters new to the track. Since the new class was composed of only two competitors, a “Best 2 of 3” competition was forced leading to Ty Martin taking home the first place trophy and Justus Ross second place honors.
Single Cylinder, Twin Cylinder and Utility Heads Up ATV make up the remaining three new classes. These classes differ from the existing “bracket” ATV classes by offering a traditional, heads up, best reaction time and first to the finish line style of racing. If that isn’t crazy enough, they also run a pro-light christmas tree instead of the full tree used in bracket racing. In Single Cylinder, Jeff Ross won first place with Mike Barton winning second. In Twin Cylinder, Travis Fulton was the first place winner and Ross Nungester took home second. Finally, in the Utility ATV class, Danita Ross was first with Cliff Martin in second place. All four classes are expected to grow bringing a new crowd and new ideas to BRSD.
Now, for the results of the points’ classes (NOTE: by registering as a member, the racer is able to accumulate points for attendance and placing first, second or top eliminator. The racers with the most points at year-end will win special prizes). Junior ATV brought forth exciting racing action as local Reagan Posey took home first place honors and Illinois native Skyler Barker won second place and top eliminator. Pro ATV also sported a local and long distance winner’s circle. Dillon Cordia of Potosi won first place, but Bobby Cunningham of Wood River, IL took second place and top eliminator. In Super Pro ATV, we watched Bobby Cunningham win first place with Tony Pannell of Arnold winning second and top eliminator. Unlimited ATV awarded Larry Hedrick of Marthasville, MO first place honors while Rob Schmidt of Arnold wins second and top. Vehicle E.T., a class for any type of dune buggy, car or truck, brought back long time heroes by crowing Gladys Edwards of Bonne Terre first place and Ronnie Maples, Jr. of DeSoto second place and top eliminator. Lastly, in Competition Eliminator action was Steve Barton of Bonne Terre in his modified 4x4 funny car “Barely Legal” in first place. During the top eliminator race, second place winner James Casteel of Bismarck was awarded top eliminator after Barton ran an almost perfect run. Dialed in at a 3.96 seconds, Steve tripped a “red light” with a .396 reaction time (.400 being perfect) and running a 3.97 seconds at almost 80 MPH.
“Even though we had a late start due to technical difficulties, the overall response from the crowd was still positive,” stated track co-owner James Merseal. “I want everyone to be able to come out and have fun, but still understand that we have a standard of practice and rules to follow.” Over the last several weeks, the Merseal family as well as friends of the family and track participants have assisted in improving the facility. “A huge THANK YOU goes out to everyone who has helped including all of the track sponsors. Special thanks to King’s Construction (May 17 sponsor) for their hard work in preparing the track for the season opener.”
Big River Sand Drags will be closed on May 3, however, racing action returns on Mother’s Day weekend. Gates will open at 2pm on Saturday, May 10th with time trials from 3pm-5pm and racing at 6pm. Admission is $10 for adults and children are FREE. For more information, call 573-225-8360 or 573-701-5184. You can also visit us on the web @ www.bigriversanddrag.com or www.stlracing.com.
Seventy-four competitors participating in ten different classes attended Marler’s Performance Towing Night at the track. “James and I have been life-long friends,” says the owner of Marler’s, Kevin Bess. “When I heard that he had bought the track, I wanted to offer as much help as I possibly could.” Kevin and wife Janice were on hand enjoying the festivities and showering guest with souvenirs. Marler’s Performance Towing will be on-site most of the 2008 season to assist if the need arises.
Another new feature at BRSD was the introduction of four new ATV classes. Pee Wee ATV, designed for children ages 3-6 on youth ATV’s of 90cc or less, sported two youngsters new to the track. Since the new class was composed of only two competitors, a “Best 2 of 3” competition was forced leading to Ty Martin taking home the first place trophy and Justus Ross second place honors.
Single Cylinder, Twin Cylinder and Utility Heads Up ATV make up the remaining three new classes. These classes differ from the existing “bracket” ATV classes by offering a traditional, heads up, best reaction time and first to the finish line style of racing. If that isn’t crazy enough, they also run a pro-light christmas tree instead of the full tree used in bracket racing. In Single Cylinder, Jeff Ross won first place with Mike Barton winning second. In Twin Cylinder, Travis Fulton was the first place winner and Ross Nungester took home second. Finally, in the Utility ATV class, Danita Ross was first with Cliff Martin in second place. All four classes are expected to grow bringing a new crowd and new ideas to BRSD.
Now, for the results of the points’ classes (NOTE: by registering as a member, the racer is able to accumulate points for attendance and placing first, second or top eliminator. The racers with the most points at year-end will win special prizes). Junior ATV brought forth exciting racing action as local Reagan Posey took home first place honors and Illinois native Skyler Barker won second place and top eliminator. Pro ATV also sported a local and long distance winner’s circle. Dillon Cordia of Potosi won first place, but Bobby Cunningham of Wood River, IL took second place and top eliminator. In Super Pro ATV, we watched Bobby Cunningham win first place with Tony Pannell of Arnold winning second and top eliminator. Unlimited ATV awarded Larry Hedrick of Marthasville, MO first place honors while Rob Schmidt of Arnold wins second and top. Vehicle E.T., a class for any type of dune buggy, car or truck, brought back long time heroes by crowing Gladys Edwards of Bonne Terre first place and Ronnie Maples, Jr. of DeSoto second place and top eliminator. Lastly, in Competition Eliminator action was Steve Barton of Bonne Terre in his modified 4x4 funny car “Barely Legal” in first place. During the top eliminator race, second place winner James Casteel of Bismarck was awarded top eliminator after Barton ran an almost perfect run. Dialed in at a 3.96 seconds, Steve tripped a “red light” with a .396 reaction time (.400 being perfect) and running a 3.97 seconds at almost 80 MPH.
“Even though we had a late start due to technical difficulties, the overall response from the crowd was still positive,” stated track co-owner James Merseal. “I want everyone to be able to come out and have fun, but still understand that we have a standard of practice and rules to follow.” Over the last several weeks, the Merseal family as well as friends of the family and track participants have assisted in improving the facility. “A huge THANK YOU goes out to everyone who has helped including all of the track sponsors. Special thanks to King’s Construction (May 17 sponsor) for their hard work in preparing the track for the season opener.”
Big River Sand Drags will be closed on May 3, however, racing action returns on Mother’s Day weekend. Gates will open at 2pm on Saturday, May 10th with time trials from 3pm-5pm and racing at 6pm. Admission is $10 for adults and children are FREE. For more information, call 573-225-8360 or 573-701-5184. You can also visit us on the web @ www.bigriversanddrag.com or www.stlracing.com.
