6-30-2007
J.R. McKague was a force to be reckoned with Saturday night. In the Super Pro ¼-mile race, he got a little unlucky as his opponent, Brian Buch, put together a .004 package to defeat McKague. J.R. got back in and won the next six rounds to take home the win. McKague faced Scott Offerman in the final as both contestants missed the tree but Offerman had the starting line advantage with a .054 light to McKague’s .069 but McKague was able to run closer to his number with a 7.162 on a 4.14 dial to take home the victory. With his runner-up finish, Scott Offerman goes to third in Gateway’s Super Pro points, as Mark Gilliam, out of Staunton, IL, takes the lead over Brian Suhre by 11 points.
In the Saturday night money race, Darryl Sutton switched back to his door car for the 2007 season, and seems to be enjoying it. Sutton could not escape his first round opponent of Brad Gebhardt, but put the rest of his opponents in the trailer as he won the next six rounds to win the $ 2,000 to win prize. In the semi-final round, it was the battle of the brothers as Darryl took on his brother Dirk, as Dirk got a little too anxious and went red by .007. Dirk had the best run of the night hands down, as he had a PERFECT reaction time and went on to run a PERFECT 5.430 on 5.43 dial! Dirk went to the semi-final round in both the ¼-mile and 1/8-mile Super Pro race. JR McKague found himself in yet another final round of the night, but could not overcome Sutton’s stellar .009 reaction time and went on to run a 5.526 on a 5.51 dial for a .025 package.
Coming into this race, John Ratulowski seemed to be running away with Gateway’s Pro points lead as he was leading by 65 points over Clay Tyler. Ratulowski had an unusual early round exit as he was defeated by James Bouchaert in round two, which left the doors wide open for Tyler to gain some points. The only way that he could overtake the points lead, is if he won the event… and he did. Tyler won ALL seven rounds Saturday night to take the points lead by ONE point over John Ratulowski. Tyler faced off with Don Rauch in the final round, in which Rauch was courteous enough to red light by a slim .003. Rauch has not gotten past 2nd round all season until Saturday, as he jumped from 33rd in points to 17th.
Dan Smith appeared in his third final round in Gateway’s Street category on Saturday night, as he has a record of 1-1 so far. But when Smith got a .114 starting line advantage, it was over from there. Smith put a 12.00 dial-in on his car at the beginning of the night and left it there for all seven rounds as his car consistently ran around the number and all Smith had to do was cut a light and that he did. Smith had a better reaction time than his opponents in EVERY round! Runner-up Kevin Goss had a hard time for most of the night getting a good reaction time, but his car made up for it all as it ran close to its number as well for the majority of the night. With the win, Smith closes the gap on Gateway’s Street points leader Ron Beach Sr. to 32 points as Smith sits in 3rd. Goss’ final round appearance puts him right behind Smith in 4th place.
Bing Bingham came to Gateway Saturday night with a new look… without his afro. Apparently it works for him as he went all four rounds to take home the Pro Bike win. Bingham defeated current points leader Janie Palm in the semi-final round and went on to beat Jim Ryan in the final round as Ryan went red by .043. Bingham went on a cut a .094 light, running a 8.870 on a 8.90 dial at 145.55 miles per hour. Bingham moves to fourth in Gateway’s Pro Bike points while Ryan moves to fifth.
In the first round there were five bikes, in the second round there were five bikes as the two competitors that were defeated used the buy-back feature, one of them was eventual winner Janie Palm. Palm faced the one of the Taylor brothers in the first three rounds. Nelson Taylor beat Janie in the first round with an astounding .004 reaction time, but his brother Marcus could not do the same. Although Marcus had a huge starting line advantage, he could not run the number as Janie went right around him. Palm got revenge on Nelson as he pushed it too far and turned on the red light by .064. Denny Slusser has appeared in three final rounds this season, and has yet to win one as Palm unusually missed the tree with a .221 light, but it did not matter as Slusser went .005 red. Palm closes in on Dusty Katich, which was not at this event, in Gateway’s Street Bike points While Slusser remains in third. (photos available)
Story by: Brody Bernshausen
J.R. McKague was a force to be reckoned with Saturday night. In the Super Pro ¼-mile race, he got a little unlucky as his opponent, Brian Buch, put together a .004 package to defeat McKague. J.R. got back in and won the next six rounds to take home the win. McKague faced Scott Offerman in the final as both contestants missed the tree but Offerman had the starting line advantage with a .054 light to McKague’s .069 but McKague was able to run closer to his number with a 7.162 on a 4.14 dial to take home the victory. With his runner-up finish, Scott Offerman goes to third in Gateway’s Super Pro points, as Mark Gilliam, out of Staunton, IL, takes the lead over Brian Suhre by 11 points.
In the Saturday night money race, Darryl Sutton switched back to his door car for the 2007 season, and seems to be enjoying it. Sutton could not escape his first round opponent of Brad Gebhardt, but put the rest of his opponents in the trailer as he won the next six rounds to win the $ 2,000 to win prize. In the semi-final round, it was the battle of the brothers as Darryl took on his brother Dirk, as Dirk got a little too anxious and went red by .007. Dirk had the best run of the night hands down, as he had a PERFECT reaction time and went on to run a PERFECT 5.430 on 5.43 dial! Dirk went to the semi-final round in both the ¼-mile and 1/8-mile Super Pro race. JR McKague found himself in yet another final round of the night, but could not overcome Sutton’s stellar .009 reaction time and went on to run a 5.526 on a 5.51 dial for a .025 package.
Coming into this race, John Ratulowski seemed to be running away with Gateway’s Pro points lead as he was leading by 65 points over Clay Tyler. Ratulowski had an unusual early round exit as he was defeated by James Bouchaert in round two, which left the doors wide open for Tyler to gain some points. The only way that he could overtake the points lead, is if he won the event… and he did. Tyler won ALL seven rounds Saturday night to take the points lead by ONE point over John Ratulowski. Tyler faced off with Don Rauch in the final round, in which Rauch was courteous enough to red light by a slim .003. Rauch has not gotten past 2nd round all season until Saturday, as he jumped from 33rd in points to 17th.
Dan Smith appeared in his third final round in Gateway’s Street category on Saturday night, as he has a record of 1-1 so far. But when Smith got a .114 starting line advantage, it was over from there. Smith put a 12.00 dial-in on his car at the beginning of the night and left it there for all seven rounds as his car consistently ran around the number and all Smith had to do was cut a light and that he did. Smith had a better reaction time than his opponents in EVERY round! Runner-up Kevin Goss had a hard time for most of the night getting a good reaction time, but his car made up for it all as it ran close to its number as well for the majority of the night. With the win, Smith closes the gap on Gateway’s Street points leader Ron Beach Sr. to 32 points as Smith sits in 3rd. Goss’ final round appearance puts him right behind Smith in 4th place.
Bing Bingham came to Gateway Saturday night with a new look… without his afro. Apparently it works for him as he went all four rounds to take home the Pro Bike win. Bingham defeated current points leader Janie Palm in the semi-final round and went on to beat Jim Ryan in the final round as Ryan went red by .043. Bingham went on a cut a .094 light, running a 8.870 on a 8.90 dial at 145.55 miles per hour. Bingham moves to fourth in Gateway’s Pro Bike points while Ryan moves to fifth.
In the first round there were five bikes, in the second round there were five bikes as the two competitors that were defeated used the buy-back feature, one of them was eventual winner Janie Palm. Palm faced the one of the Taylor brothers in the first three rounds. Nelson Taylor beat Janie in the first round with an astounding .004 reaction time, but his brother Marcus could not do the same. Although Marcus had a huge starting line advantage, he could not run the number as Janie went right around him. Palm got revenge on Nelson as he pushed it too far and turned on the red light by .064. Denny Slusser has appeared in three final rounds this season, and has yet to win one as Palm unusually missed the tree with a .221 light, but it did not matter as Slusser went .005 red. Palm closes in on Dusty Katich, which was not at this event, in Gateway’s Street Bike points While Slusser remains in third. (photos available)
Story by: Brody Bernshausen
