Scott Offermann drove his ’04 Spitzer to the winners circle for the 2nd time in Gateway’s ¼-mile points race. He had to beat both of the McKague’s to get there as he beat Jeremy in round two and took on JR in the final.. They left with identical lights (.009) and McKague took a bit too much stripe and broke out by the slimmest of margins running a 7.219 on a 7.22 dial. Offermann took the victory running a 9.963 on his 7.95 dial. Offermann also held a slim point’s lead over 2nd place Mark Gilliam, as the two of them faced off in the semi-final round. As in the final, they left with identical reaction times, but Offermann ran closer to his dial to grow his points lead to 27 points with the win.
Gateway’s 2006 Pro Points Champion, Ron Hendrixson, finally found his way back to the winners circle as he battle through seven rounds of eliminations. He took on Don Rauch in the final round as Hendrixson posted a .003 reaction time and never looked back. Rauch ran closer to his dial but wasn’t good enough to overcome the starting line deficit. Hendrixson had a tough road to the final, as he had to beat John Ratulowski in round two, and he used a perfect reaction time in round five to put Clay Tyler in the trailer. Rauch has been on a little hot streak as of late getting to the final round in two of the last three events, and getting to fifth round in the other of the three races. Tyler extends his point lead by 44 points over John Ratulowski and Rauch jumps to 7th.
Pat Taff got himself into the winner’s circle for the first time in five years in the Saturday night Street category. He faced off with Dan Smith in the final as Smith gave an early Christmas present to Taff by turning on the red light by -.003 seconds. Taff best reaction time of the night was an .039, but that is all he would need as his ’72 Cutlass ran close to the number all night. Smith suffered a tough .001 second loss in round one to Steve Zuener, but won the next five to earn a spot in the final.
Janie Palm, out of Bunker Hill , IL , is well on her way to be the first female bike champion at Gateway International Raceway. Palm, #1 in Gateway’s Pro Bike point standings, faced off with #2 Dusty Katich. Katich got a little too anxious and red lit by -.009 seconds giving Palm her 2nd Pro Bike victory of 2007. Palm defeated Mike & Heather Wagner in the first two rounds, then put Bob Lohr in the trailer as she received the bye into the final. Palm holds a commanding 123 point lead over Dusty Katich in Gateway’s Pro Bike category.
Denny Slusser is no stranger when it comes to 2007 final rounds, and now he is no longer a stranger to the 2007 winner’s circle. He took out the strong threat in Janie Palm in round two, Nelson Taylor in the final then finished the night off against Charles Willis. Willis was killer off the tree with .018, .018 and .026 lights in the first three rounds, but faced a .041 starting line deficit in the final. Slusser is now leading Gateway’s Street Bike point standings by 13 points over Dusty Katich as Willis moves to 5th. Pro Bike finalists Janie Palm and Katich, both unusually lost in the first and second rounds.
In the 1/8th mile money race, Kevin Prior drove past all those dragsters with his ’85 Camaro to victory lane Saturday night. He dueled with Tim Foley in the final as Prior shut the door on Foley with a .014 light while running a 6.079 on a 6.07 dial for a tough .023 package. That wasn’t his best package of the night though. In round five, he used a .003 light and a 6.072 on a 6.07 dial to defeat Jon Tignor. Prior must have known his car was dialed perfectly in round three as his opponent, Tony Atchison, had trouble off the starting line and sat there for almost 12 seconds watching Prior run it out the back door with a 6.100 on a 6.10 dial. This is Prior’s 2nd win this year after going on a 20 year winless streak.
Gateway’s 2006 Pro Points Champion, Ron Hendrixson, finally found his way back to the winners circle as he battle through seven rounds of eliminations. He took on Don Rauch in the final round as Hendrixson posted a .003 reaction time and never looked back. Rauch ran closer to his dial but wasn’t good enough to overcome the starting line deficit. Hendrixson had a tough road to the final, as he had to beat John Ratulowski in round two, and he used a perfect reaction time in round five to put Clay Tyler in the trailer. Rauch has been on a little hot streak as of late getting to the final round in two of the last three events, and getting to fifth round in the other of the three races. Tyler extends his point lead by 44 points over John Ratulowski and Rauch jumps to 7th.
Pat Taff got himself into the winner’s circle for the first time in five years in the Saturday night Street category. He faced off with Dan Smith in the final as Smith gave an early Christmas present to Taff by turning on the red light by -.003 seconds. Taff best reaction time of the night was an .039, but that is all he would need as his ’72 Cutlass ran close to the number all night. Smith suffered a tough .001 second loss in round one to Steve Zuener, but won the next five to earn a spot in the final.
Janie Palm, out of Bunker Hill , IL , is well on her way to be the first female bike champion at Gateway International Raceway. Palm, #1 in Gateway’s Pro Bike point standings, faced off with #2 Dusty Katich. Katich got a little too anxious and red lit by -.009 seconds giving Palm her 2nd Pro Bike victory of 2007. Palm defeated Mike & Heather Wagner in the first two rounds, then put Bob Lohr in the trailer as she received the bye into the final. Palm holds a commanding 123 point lead over Dusty Katich in Gateway’s Pro Bike category.
Denny Slusser is no stranger when it comes to 2007 final rounds, and now he is no longer a stranger to the 2007 winner’s circle. He took out the strong threat in Janie Palm in round two, Nelson Taylor in the final then finished the night off against Charles Willis. Willis was killer off the tree with .018, .018 and .026 lights in the first three rounds, but faced a .041 starting line deficit in the final. Slusser is now leading Gateway’s Street Bike point standings by 13 points over Dusty Katich as Willis moves to 5th. Pro Bike finalists Janie Palm and Katich, both unusually lost in the first and second rounds.
In the 1/8th mile money race, Kevin Prior drove past all those dragsters with his ’85 Camaro to victory lane Saturday night. He dueled with Tim Foley in the final as Prior shut the door on Foley with a .014 light while running a 6.079 on a 6.07 dial for a tough .023 package. That wasn’t his best package of the night though. In round five, he used a .003 light and a 6.072 on a 6.07 dial to defeat Jon Tignor. Prior must have known his car was dialed perfectly in round three as his opponent, Tony Atchison, had trouble off the starting line and sat there for almost 12 seconds watching Prior run it out the back door with a 6.100 on a 6.10 dial. This is Prior’s 2nd win this year after going on a 20 year winless streak.
