They call it the K&N Spring Fling Million – and racers from around the country make their way to Las Vegas each year in hopes of winning bracket racing’s richest prize. With $200,000 guaranteed to pay out to the winning car without a minimum on car entrants, a great prize can become an even greater prize when more show up to race. While many racers’ eyes were on this lucrative, life-changing Friday event, plenty of opportunities to enter and win great prize money were in the works all week long.
Wednesday Results
The guaranteed top prize for this day was $30,000 and over $60,000 in prizes and awards for various achievements throughout the day. Co-promoters Kyle Seipel and Matt Biondo had started a trend where they separated door cars from dragsters until the later rounds. This technique has echoed to many bracket races across the country. Over 439 cars made the first round of eliminations and approximately 40-50% of them were door cars. Due to the long list of entrants, buybacks were also suspended for the day in order to get through the entire race. First round eliminations were not even complete until 5:30pm and at 10:00pm, round six had just started with 15 cars remaining.
In the semis, Bradley Johnson, who had won the 4-wide NHRA race two weeks earlier, saw the red light against former Spring Fling winner Marko Perivolaris. In the other semi-final match-up, Don Meziere was up against Buddy Ferrell and Meziere’s better reaction time turned on the win light. In the final round, Perivolaris was victorious and takes home $30,000 for the win. “I have to thank my family, my sister and mom and dad for all the support they give me,” said Perivolaris. “It’s an honor to race with them.”
Friday Results – K&N Spring Fling Million
Last year, Luke Bogacki won life-changing money at this race event. This year, another hopeful racer looks to feel the same glory and not to mention, big bump to their bank account. This year, it was Randell Reid’s turn to experience victory. In the semi-final round, Reid faced Dylan Stott and when Stott went red, Reid punched his ticket to the big money showdown. On the other side of the ladder, JR Lobner would face Aaron Kinard. It all boiled down to reaction times and Lobner bested Kinard.
And so it was, Reid versus Lobner. Both men have had success in NHRA, but neither had ever won such a large prize. Reid left the line before Lobner and the story was over. The starting line advantage propelled Reid to the win. “It’s really unbelievable,” said Reid. “As this was the first actual time I’ve raced all year. I want to thank my dad and my wife back home who is probably going crazy.” As a part of the prize package, Reid’s team was picked up by a limo and taken to a Cosmopolitan suite where they could continue to celebrate the victory in grand Las Vegas fashion.
Day 4 – Final Day of Racing
From the early morning to late at night, Spring Fling racing days prove to be long but fruitful for the drivers that make it to the top or even the winner’s circle. On the event’s final day of racing, the $20,000 Reaction Time Challenge was up for grabs. Twenty randomly selected drivers are chosen to have one attempt at the tree. Any .00x reaction time earns an automatic $100 cash. A perfect .000 reaction time would garner $1,000 cash and a 2nd attempt to go perfect back-to-back. If achieved, the driver gets $10,000. While there were no perfect reaction times, there were seven drivers who achieved .00x.
After the Reaction Time Challenge, it was time for the $30,000 top prize for the event’s last race. In the semi-finals, Vinny DiMino faced Ryan McClanahan. While DiMino may have slept at the tree, his dead-on the dial was too much for McLanahan and he cross the line with a win. DiMino’s opponent, Brian Cireddu, earned a semi-final bye with a .007 reaction time. DiMino was on the light in the final round with a reaction time advantage against Cireddu and crossed the line with a 4.744 on a 4.73 dial. The New Yorker said post-race, “This week didn’t start off that good for us as the car was having problems but my crew, Howie, Wink and my brother did a great job fixing it. But the competition here has gotten so touch in all the years we’ve been coming here. I’m just lucky to have done well today.”
