2023 Strange Engineering Spring Fling Presented by Optima Batteries Pre-Race

Two weeks after a historically high car count at the Spring Fling Million, the Fling Race Series is bringing big money to the east coast with the Strange Engineering Spring Fling presented by Optima Batteries at GALOT Motorsports Park.

“We had a huge week at the Spring Fling Million in Vegas with 671 entries followed by the highest paying Fling Million to date at $400,000,” said promoter Peter Biondo. “We caught our breath and are now excited to be back on the east coast and bring a great experience to our east coast friends.”

The Fling Team is keeping a close eye on the forecast for the week. In an effort to utilize the days with the best racing conditions, the following revisions have been made to the schedule from the original flyer.

On-track action will begin on Rob’s Automotive Tuesday with the Advanced Product Design $15,000 Warm-Up race. The RAD Torque Systems $20,000 32-Car Shootout will run later in the day.

Wednesday will feature the first JEGS $50,000-to-win event, and the Silver State $50,000 race will run on Thursday. The final Wiseco Performance Products $50,000 purse will be contested on Friday with the option of finishing it Saturday. Sunday will be a racer travel day or clean-up day.

In addition to over $50,000 in racer appreciation cash and product giveaways, a Fling Fun Zone will keep the kids entertained for the week. From Wednesday to Saturday, Premier Moving will provide a 50 foot inflatable obstacle course with a slide and other activities. The Laris Motorsports Insurance Racer Appreciation Party on Friday night at 7pm will host all racers on property and their families for a steak dinner.

The Strange Engineering Spring Fling presented by Optima Batteries at GALOT Motorsports Park fired to life on Rob’s Automotive Tuesday for the Advanced Product Design $15,000-to-win Warm-Up race. 327 entries were given the opportunity to dial their cars in with a time run session in the morning.

Sunny weather and warm temperatures earlier in the day were clouded by intermittent sprinkles throughout the late afternoon into the evening, delaying on-track action. After more precipitation before the conclusion of the fourth round, the track crew attempted to dry the racing surface to finish the final pairs.

In the interest of starting tomorrow morning fresh with the first round of the JEGS Performance $50,000 event, the Fling Team made the decision to postpone eliminations of the $15,000 race until later in the day on Wednesday.

JEGS $50,000 Wednesday Eliminations to Continue Thursday at the Spring Fling

The second day of the Strange Engineering Spring Fling presented by Optima Batteries at GALOT Motorsports Park saw 380 entries stage up for the first round of JEGS Performance $50,000 Wednesday.

In the afternoon during the second round, a weather system came in that is expected to persist into the evening. The Fling Team paused for an hour in hopes that the weather would improve, but made the decision to postpone eliminations until Thursday morning.

The tentative schedule is to continue the second round of the JEGS $50,000 event at 8:15 a.m. Thursday morning and run the race to completion. Afterwards, the fourth round of APD $15,000 Tuesday eliminations will resume and that race will run to completion as well. The RAD Torque Systems $20,000 32-Car Shootout will run in the afternoon after both races until the winner is crowned.

Friday will see the first round of the Silverstate $50,000 event weather permitting, and the Wiseco Performance Products $50,000 race will run on Saturday. If Friday rains out, the two remaining $50,000 races will be combined into a $100,000-to-win event on Saturday.

The Fling Team is looking forward to continuing to provide a safe track surface for racers and seeing multiple big checks hoisted in the winners circle on Thursday.

Matt Costabile Captures $50,000 and Will Holloman Wins $15,000 at the Spring Fling

Thursday saw the completion of two races at the Strange Engineering Spring Fling presented by Optima Batteries at GALOT Motorsports Park. Thursday was scheduled to begin with the continuation of JEGS $50,000 Wednesday, though the weather had other plans.

At 3:45 p.m. the track crew was able to dry and prep the surface for a full slate of racing. With the racers’ patience and cooperation, rounds moved quickly until 6 remained in the $50,000 event including Corey Manuel, Timothy Thomas, Nick Womack, Eric Thomas, Tanner Miller, and Matt Costabile.

Eric Thomas had a .004 advantage on the tree and turned on the winlight after the seven thousandths breakout of Womack, while Timothy Thomas laid down .008 total on Miller to advance. The winning packages became even tighter the following pair where Costabile put together .005 total against the .008 package of Manuel.

It was an all-Thomas family affair in the uncle versus nephew semifinals. Eric Thomas turned it just .005 red and ran dead-on four against Timothy Thomas, who would move on to the final round. Costabile left .005 early as well on his solo trip down the track and would face Thomas for the first main event big check of the week.

In the final of the JEGS $50,000 event, Costabile and Thomas both ran it down to be dead-on - but it was the dead-on one for Costabile that earned him the victory. First-time Fling event champion Costabile parked the ‘86 Camaro in the winner’s circle after making the trip from Port Dover, Canada.

The next box to check on the list was the completion of APD $15,000 Tuesday. The remaining eight drivers included Will Holloman, Gary Williams, Tanner Miller, Jamey Coudill, Jeff Verdi, Steve Dunn, Donovan Williams, and Paul Skinger.

In the semifinals, Gary Williams fouled out against Holloman while Coudill and Miller were separated by just one thousandth on the tree. Miller broke out by .002, while Coudill wheeled his ‘67 Nova Wagon down to be dead-on four and advance to the final.

Holloman held a .009 advantage on the tree over Caudill and took .010 at the stripe to secure the APD $15,000 payday, winning his first Fling event as well.

Makenna Brown Wins RAD Torque Systems $20,000 32-Car Shootout at the Spring Fling

Day four of the Strange Engineering Spring Fling presented by Optima Batteries at GALOT Motorsports Park saw rain until the late morning, but that didn’t stop the track crew from working tirelessly on the racing surface to have cars ready to fire up at 1 p.m.

The Fling Team made the decision to combine both the Silver State $50,000 race and the Wiseco Performance Products $50,000 race into one $100,000 event that would begin Friday and be completed Saturday. With 383 entries staging up for the first round, the objective was to finish the buyback round and run the RAD Torque Systems $20,000 32-Car Shootout.

In the late afternoon, Blane Parrish and Will Holloman matched up in the Brodix Best Package Runoff. Parrish qualified with a .002 package on the door car side with his 1993 Mustang and Holloman on the dragster side with a .003 package. Parrish was .012 and .019 over the dial for the win against Holloman and walked away with the SR20 cylinder heads.

After the completion of the buyback round of the $100,000 event and the Brodix Runoff, 32 drivers went head-to-head in the RAD $20,000 Shootout. The eight drivers in the ladder round included Makenna Brown, Connor Caulder, Kevin Brannon, Troy Williams Jr., Ken Batchelor, Will Holloman, John Brown, and Jeff Verdi.

Williams bowed out by way of a .008 redlight against Batchelor, while the monster pairing of Holloman and Brannon was separated by just .002 at the stripe. Brannon was .006 and dead-on one to the .002 and dead-on seven run of Holloman. Although Makenna Brown was .009 behind at the hit against Verdi, she took .001 to run dead-on two for the win. Caulder was .008 on the tree and .001 ahead at the stripe to advance past John Brown.

One thousandth separated Brown and Brannon, but Brannon broke out by just two thousandths taking .007 at the finish line. Brown ran it down to be dead-on four to earn a spot in the final round. The other side of the semifinals saw Batcher let go .007 and run .017 over against the .005 and .010 breakout of Caulder.

Batchelor turned it .007 red in the final and Brown claimed the RAD Torque Systems $20,000 Shootout payday in the Burleson-owned dragster she had never driven prior.

Saturday will wrap up the Strange Spring Fling with the completion of the Silver State/Wiseco Performance Products $100,000 event! Everything will be streamed live as it happens on the MotorManiaTV YouTube channel free to the viewer courtesy of JEGS Performance and Hoosier Racing Tire with new exclusive content produced by the Fling Team.

Tommy Plott Captures Silver State/Wiseco Performance $100,000 at the Spring Fling

The last day at the Strange Engineering Spring Fling presented by Optima Batteries at GALOT Motorsports Park saw the continuation of the Silver State/Wiseco $100,000 event.

The five drivers on the ladder included Robert Holton, Tommy Plott, Cory Gulitti, Donovan Williams, and Stace Shrawder. Holton turned it just two thousandths red to Plott, while Gulitti and Williams were separated by one thousandth on the tree. Gulitti crossed the stripe first by .006 to break out by one thousandth while Williams put it dead-on four. Shrawder had the bye.

In the semifinals, Shrawder had a .007 advantage off the line against Plott but broke out .009 for the loss. Williams was .013 on the solo shot, earning lane choice in the final against Plott.

Plott won the MVP award at the first Spring Fling GALOT in 2017. After three runner-up finishes at the GALOT Flings since then, Plott finally secured a win in the $100,000 event. It was his second Fling event win following a $40K win at Bristol in 2013. He was .001 to Williams’ .014, taking .015 at the stripe.

The Fling Team selected Will Holloman to be the Spring Fling MVP and he was presented the $1,000 bonus and the Todd’s Extreme custom-painted Impact Racing helmet. Holloman’s driving, $15,000 win, and 24 round wins over the course of three events earned him the award.