Madison, IL - Gateway International Raceway completed its second of two NHRA King
of the Track Qualifiers this past weekend with Jason Phillips, Ron Rathgeb Jr., and Paul
Hagan emerging victorious. Phillips, Rathgeb Jr., and Hagan will join Pro Bike winner
Bruce Damewood on July 9 for the runoffs to determine the NHRA King of the Track.
With the rain-out last weekend, over 270 competitors were more than ready to get on
track and try to qualify for an opportunity to compete for the famous Wally and title of
King of the Track.
Taking the top spot in the Super Pro < mile division was Jason Phillips (Granite City,
MO) who ran a 7.808 at 171.08 mph in the final round. Even though Phillips had a
slower reaction time than runner-up Chris Eichelberger (Litchfield, IL) he still cruised
onto his first victory in over two years when Eichelberger broke out by .012. With this
win Phillips qualifies for the King of the Track competition to take place on July 9.
In the Carl's 4 Wheel Drive and Performance Pro Division, Ron Rathgeb Jr. (Godfrey,
IL) pulled off an amazing .004 reaction time and ran .006 over dial-in to win. Runner-up
James Bouckaert (Arnold, MO) could not compete with Rathgeb Jr's +.010 package.
Winning the final NHRA King of the Track qualifier position was Paul Hagen (Fenton,
MO) who won the Street E.T. class. Hagen had a better reaction time than his competitor
Nick Brem (Belleville, IL) which forced Brem to break out on the top end
of the Track Qualifiers this past weekend with Jason Phillips, Ron Rathgeb Jr., and Paul
Hagan emerging victorious. Phillips, Rathgeb Jr., and Hagan will join Pro Bike winner
Bruce Damewood on July 9 for the runoffs to determine the NHRA King of the Track.
With the rain-out last weekend, over 270 competitors were more than ready to get on
track and try to qualify for an opportunity to compete for the famous Wally and title of
King of the Track.
Taking the top spot in the Super Pro < mile division was Jason Phillips (Granite City,
MO) who ran a 7.808 at 171.08 mph in the final round. Even though Phillips had a
slower reaction time than runner-up Chris Eichelberger (Litchfield, IL) he still cruised
onto his first victory in over two years when Eichelberger broke out by .012. With this
win Phillips qualifies for the King of the Track competition to take place on July 9.
In the Carl's 4 Wheel Drive and Performance Pro Division, Ron Rathgeb Jr. (Godfrey,
IL) pulled off an amazing .004 reaction time and ran .006 over dial-in to win. Runner-up
James Bouckaert (Arnold, MO) could not compete with Rathgeb Jr's +.010 package.
Winning the final NHRA King of the Track qualifier position was Paul Hagen (Fenton,
MO) who won the Street E.T. class. Hagen had a better reaction time than his competitor
Nick Brem (Belleville, IL) which forced Brem to break out on the top end
