TIM MARKOGLU WINS AMERICAN/RACE TECH SUPER TUESDAY SHOOTOUT

BRISTOL, TN — The sun rose above the iconic hills of Thunder Valley to greet racers rolling through the gates of the final Fling event of the year. The RAD Torque Fall Fling presented by Optima Batteries fired to life with the Rob’s Automotive and Collision Center Test and Tune after racers got settled into their pit spots during the early half of the day.
Between sessions of testing would be the American Race Cars/Race Tech 32-Car Super Tuesday Dragster Shootout in which the two finalists would earn a dragster chassis valued at $16,000 — with the winner having their choice of builder.

As the afternoon shade crept over the racing surface, the shootout had dwindled down to eight competitors matched up on a ladder third round. Robert DiMino and Robert Hindman staged up as the first pairing, and Hindman quickly bowed out by way of a .007 redlight. Buddy Fleenor and Duston Wurtz were just two-thousandths apart on the tree and Fleenor used a .002 stripe to be dead-on nine for the win. Tim Markoglu advanced to the semifinals on a double breakout after being .001 and just one-thousandth under the dial against Shane Thompson, while Jim Glenn’s sixth-thousandths breakout awarded Scotty Richardson the win.
Two dragsters and two “shoebox” Novas returned in the semifinals. Markoglu used a nine-thousandths advantage on the tree and .015 stripe to guarantee himself a dragster chassis. Despite his .030 advantage on the tree with a .008 light, the ‘62 Chevy II of Richardson broke out one-thousandth to DiMino for the loss.

The Super Tuesday Shootout final was a battle between friends running out of the same trailer, neither Northeastern racer a stranger to a Fling event winner’s circle. Markoglu secured a $100,000 Spring Fling main event win at GALOT Motorsports Park earlier in the year; and DiMino was the winner of the 2020 Tuesday Shootout at Bristol, bringing home a custom-painted American dragster.
With both Race Tech dragsters running it down to be dead-on in the final, the round was over from the start after the redlight of DiMino. After putting up .019 total, Markoglu selected the new Race Tech Chassis and DiMino walked away with an American dragster chassis.

Fuel System Technology Carburetors 15K Wednesday will kick off at 8:30 a.m. with a time run for all on property starting with door cars. Racer appreciation prizes from leaders in the industry will be given out from the prize vault including helmets, weather stations, dragster scoops, and more.

HOWARD WESTBURY WINS FST CARBURETORS 15K WEDNESDAY WARM-UP


BRISTOL, TN — Another picturesque view of rolling green hills and blue skies set the scene for the second day of the RAD Torque Fall Fling presented by Optima Batteries. FST Carburetors Wednesday began with a time run for all racers on property to collect data in pursuit of the $15,000 purse.


The warm-up saw 354 entries stage up for the first round of eliminations with 196 dragsters and 158 door cars. The inclusion of buybacks made for ten rounds of racing to muscle through for one driver to end their night parked in the winners circle hoisting a big check and custom Fall Fling trophy.


Well into the night under the Bristol Dragway track lights, nine drivers remained on the ladder for round seven. Buddy Fleenor was .011 and one-thousandth under the dial on his solo shot, while Chris Gulitti took out John Labbous Jr. using a .029 advantage from the hit. Kris Whitfield put up .012 total on Timothy Thomas and Todd Ewing eliminated himself from the field by way of a .007 redlight which advanced Howard Westbury. The final pairing saw Will Holloman take just three ten-thousandths on Kurt Harrington to be dead-on one.


Gulitti and Westbury faced off in the first matchup of the quarterfinals where Westbury left .000 and crossed the stripe first by one-thousandth for the win. Holloman secured himself a spot in the semifinals using a .002 bulb over Fleenor, and Whitfield coasted on his bye run.


With three cars remaining in the semifinals Holloman and Whitfield battled it out to earn a place in the final round. Whitfield was .009 and dead-on two to be .011 total against Holloman’s .011 dead-on one, so by one-thousandth of a second Whitfield would meet the “Kick Booty” Chevy II of Westbury.


In a classic door car versus dragster final, Whitfield was just three-thousandths on the red side and one-thousandth under the dial. Westbury put up a .012 bulb and coasted on a free ride to $15,000.

Moving into the third day of the RAD Torque Fall Fling presented by Optima Batteries raised the purses and the stakes. On Moser Engineering Thursday, $25,000 was laid down on the line for the 370 Flingers with their sights set on a Fall Fling big check.


Wednesday crowned Howard Westbury as the FST Carburetors $15,000 event winner in the “Kick Booty” Chevy II over Kris Whitfield, and Tuesday saw Northeasterners Tim Markoglu and Robert DiMino walk away with American and Race Tech dragster chassis in the 32-Car Dragster Shootout.


Low-80 degree temperatures and light breeze made for some tough competition throughout the day. By the time the ladder was set for round seven, each match-up consisted of a door car versus a dragster. Greg Hicks, Cameron Manuel, Gary Gross, Jason Lynch, Cody McDaniel, Tim Thomas, Jesse Edens, Matt Dadas, and Garrett Griffith remained.


Griffith used a .016 package to move past McDaniel while Gross was the lesser side of a double breakout against Lynch. Dadas held a .013 advantage off the line against Hicks for the win, and Manuel threw down a two-thousandths package on Edens. Thomas posted a .008 bulb on his bye run.


Two door cars and three dragsters returned for the quarterfinals. Griffith’s .024 better reaction allowed him to turn on the electricity against Thomas, moving his S-10 into the semifinals. Despite Gross running it down to be dead-on three, Dadas’s .001 bulb gave him a substantial advantage and the win. On his single Manuel showed out, turning it just one-thousandth red and running dead-on two.


In the semifinals, Griffith put together a .017 package against the .024 light of Manuel to meet Dadas in an all-door car final. On his solo shot, Dadas was .001 red and dead-on one.


In the final, two young guns matched up with Griffith in the S-10 he scored a 15K win in at the Summer Fling in Ohio just a month prior, and Dadas a runner-up at the 2019 Fall Fling 500K in Bristol. With a .007 advantage on the tree, Griffith pushed Dadas to break out four-thousandths for the Moser Engineering $25,000 win.


Friday brings our main event — the ATI Performance Products $100,000. The Fall Fling Reaction Time Challenge will precede the beginning of eliminations, with 25 randomly selected drivers staging up to hit the tree. Any driver with a double “O” reaction will receive $100 and for every perfect light there is a $1,000 reward. If a racer is perfect they can come back for another look at the tree, and if they post a .000 a second time they will be paid $10,000 on the spot.


At 9 a.m. Peter Biondo and the Fling Team will release some big news regarding 2022 Fling events. All of the action will be streamed live as it happens on MotorManiaTV.com free to the viewer thanks to JEGS Performance and Mickey Thompson Tires and Wheels.

KYLE CULTRERA WINS ATI PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS 100K FRIDAY

BRISTOL, TN — A packed day of action was in store for ATI Performance Products 100K main event Friday at the RAD Torque Fall Fling presented by Optima Batteries. The day began with the Fall Fling Reaction Time Challenge followed by New Entry Time Runs before getting into a special presentation preceding the first round.


From the beginning of the week, promoter Peter Biondo and the Fling Team promised to deliver a “game-changing” announcement for select events in 2022. At 9 a.m., racers and staff gathered in front of the Thunder Valley tower and viewers tuned in on MotorManiaTV.com and the Spring Fling Bracket Races Facebook page live streams.


“At the first two Fling events of 2022, we will allow doubles in any form. Same driver/same car doubles will be allowed. But the game-changer will be in the structure and enforcing it.” Biondo added, “There are no blurred lines in this new format. You can double any which way but we will separate the doubles where they are grouped separate from single entries for the first two rounds.”


And with that, 371 drivers staged up for their shot at the $100,000 payday. As the sun sank down, it was time for the Mullis Race Cars Racer Appreciation Barbeque and the ladder round. Scott Albrecht, Jeff Serra, Kyle Cultrera, Cameron Manuel, Kris Whitfield, Robert Hindman, TG Paschal, William Daniels, and Ken Clark.


Hindman threw down four total after a perfect light in his foxbody Mustang on Serra for the win, Whitfield took one ten-thousandth on Albrecht to advance. Paschal defeated Manuel with a .019 advantage on the tree, and Cultrera took .001 on Daniels to get through. Clark ran it down to be dead-on one on his bye.


In the quarterfinals, Whitfield took .006 on Hindman to move into the semifinals, and Cultrera was .006 and dead-on six to knock out the S-10 of Clark. On his solo shot, Paschal turned it just two thousandths red.


The semifinals saw Whitfield take .002 to secure his place in the final round, and Cultrera let go .009 on his bye run. The final round match-up would be composed of two past Fling event winners — Cultrera a Wednesday 15K event at GALOT in 2020, and Whitfield at the first Spring Fling Vegas in 2013 for 3K. Whitfield also runnered-up several days ago in the Wednesday 15K, and earlier in the year at the Spring Fling Million main event.


Six thousandths separated them on the tree in the final with the advantage going to Whitfield who ultimately broke out, and so Cultrera secured the $100,000 big check on ATI Performance Products Friday.