Keystone Raceway Park Sets the Stage for the 2023 Summit Bracket Finals, Eastern Division
Competition for the 2023 Summit Eastern Bracket Finals, presented by Laris Motorsports, was hotly contested at Keystone Raceway Park in New Alexandria, Pennsylvania. Many of the winning racers commented that the round-by-round eliminations were some of the tightest reaction times and dial-in efforts they have experienced.
Another example of close competition was the battle for team championship points. The host track earned the team championship over Maryland International Dragway by just one-half a point.
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Tom Scott – WDRA 2023 Box Eliminator Champion
Charlie White – WDRA 2023 No Box Eliminator Champion
FRIDAY GAMBLER’S RACE
With racers testing, tuning, and preparing themselves for the “big race,” Friday gamblers shootouts were offered to each class. In the Box-Gamblers category, the final round paired Shannon Heaberlin and Steve Lenig. Lenig cut a .006 reaction time and ran a slim .032 second off his dial-in. It wasn’t good enough for Lenig as Heaberlin combined a .002 reaction time and ran a tight 5.884 on a 5.87 to take the win.
In No Box–Gambler’s final round, Tony Mattera and Mason Fix left the starting line with nearly identical reaction times. With this race decided at the finish line, Mattera turned on the win light over Fix with a 6.265 on a 6.26 dial-in.
Kevin Whalen took on Paul Costley in the last round of Gambers–Sportsman. Costley broke out with 7.547 against his 7.56 dial-in, handing the winner’s spoils to Whalen.
The last round of Junior Dragster–Gamblers paired Jordan Denny with Kaiden Groves. Denny was off first with a .057 reaction time and covered Groves at the finish line with an 8.076 ET against his 8.05 dial-in.
Dale Rhoads – WDRA 2023 Sportsman Champion
Kevin Twardowski – WDRA 2023 Bike Champion
WDRA RACE OF CHAMPIONS
The WDRA Race of Champions pits the individual class champions from each qualifying team. This year’s teams included racers representing: I-64 Motorplex, Keystone Raceway Park, U.S. 13 Dragstrip, Empire Dragway, Maryland International Raceway, Lancaster Dragway, Sumerduck Dragway, and Beaver Springs Dragway.
In the Race of Champions–Box, Dwayne Marcum became the champion over Tommy Ketterman. Marcum cut a .008 reaction time to better Ketterman’s .019-second start. Marcum hit the finish stripe first with a 5.296 on his 5.28 dial-in.
Scott Campbell is the WDRA Race of Champions–No Box winner in a double break-out race against Jeff Kerl. Kerl stopped the Keystone Raceway Park timing system too quickly by .016 seconds under his 6.40 dial-in. Campbell ran only .006 seconds under his dial to get the Race of Champions win.
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Gillian Mattera – WDRA 2023 – Junior Dragster Champion
Royce Miller – WDRA 2023 Team Captain Race Champion
The Race of Champions–Bike paired James Farmer and Mike Charcalla in the final round. Charcalla scored the starting line reaction advantage but gave the win away at the finish line when he broke out by .023 of a second against Farmer’s 5.73 ET on his 5.71 dial-in.
Nico Giordano is the 2023 WDRA Race of Champions–Junior Dragster winner when he defeated Peyton Bunch in the final round. Giordano ran a 9-flat ET on his 8.95 dial-in compared to Bunch’s 8.105 against an 8.04 dial-in.
The final pairing in the Race of Champions–Sportsman featured Kale Wischman taking on Dale Rhoads. Rhoads ran a 7.58 to his 7.53 dial-in, but Wischman crossed the finish line first with a 7.581 elapsed time on a 7.84 dial prediction.
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Dwayne Marcum – WDRA 2023 – Race of Champions–Box Winner
Kale Wischman – WDRA 2023 – Race of Champions–Sportsman Winner
SATURDAY GAMBLER’S RACE
When the finals of Gamblers–Box pulled out of the staging lanes, it was Joe Karosik and Ben Calhoun side-by-side. Both racers were incredibly deadly on their dial-ins, with Calhoun only .001 above his prediction and Karosik .007 above. A slight starting line reaction advantage was enough for Karosik, who physically got to the finish line first for the win.
Brad Tippett won the Gamblers–No Box, Saturday edition when he used a .007 reaction time for the advantage over Mark Brewer. Brewer ran a 6.341 on his 6.35 dial-in to break out as Tippett finished .013 above his 6.63 dial-in.
The Gamblers–Sportsman finals saw Mike Fornwalt taking on Dale Rhoads. Both racers predicted identical 7.63 ETs. There was only a .004-second difference in elapsed times between the two, with Fornwalt accomplishing the win.
The final round of the Gamblers–Junior Dragster competition paired Brandon Jenkins and Calvin Weaver. Weaver cut the better .0007 reaction time but gave up that advantage at the other end of the track as Jenkins ran a mere .003 above his 8-flat dial-in to better Weaver’s pass.
Jeff Santin and James Farmer were the final pair in the Gamblers–Bike race. Farmer broke, not completing his pass, while Santin slowed, taking an easy pass to enjoy the victory.
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Austin Able – WDRA 2023 Best Appearing Junior Dragster
Brooklyn Bunch – WDRA 2023 Best Engineered Junior Dragster
THE WDRA EASTERN BRACKET FINALS SPECIAL AWARDS
The Easters Bracket finals presented exceptional entries with chosen special awards. These awards included: :
Best Appearing Open: Josh Rietscha (Keystone Raceway Park)
Best Appearing Bike: David Leaf competing for U.S. 13 Dragstrip.
Best Appearing Bodied: John Porterfield (I-64 Motorplex)
Best Appearing–Junior Dragster: Austin Able (Lancaster Dragway)
Best Engineered–Open Body: Ron Calhoun (Sumerduck Dragway)
Best Engineered–Bodied: Mike Pinder (Maryland International Raceway)
Best Engineered–Bike: Jeff Santin (Beaver Springs Dragway)
Best Engineered–Junior Dragster: Brooklyn Bunch (Maryland International Raceway)
Best Appearing Team: Summerduck Dragway
Best Decorated Grandstands: Keystone Raceway Park
Best Team Spirit: Landcaster Motorplex
THE WDRA MAIN EVENT
With all competitors now focused on each of their WDRA Division championship categories, Box, No Box, Sportsman, Bike, and Junior Dragster, it was time to get down to the races all qualifiers had come to win.
In the WDRA–Box Eliminator Championship, Tom Scott rolled out of the staging lames against Tommy Ketterman. They were both dialed-in similar elapsed times, but the race was decided on the starting line as Ketterman left a razor’s edge .001 too soon.
The Eastern Division Box Champion, Tom Scott, said, “Everything went pretty well throughout the main eliminations. Everything just fell into place,” Scott adds. “I think this bracket finals was great and my hat goes off to the WDRA, Keystone, Summit Racing and Laris Insurance—I think it is important to give them all credit.”
Scott won the championship with his 2001 S&W dragster powered by a 598 cubic-inch big block Chevrolet. He also spoke about how interesting it is to compete against racers he had never run against.
Scott continues, “I got lucky in a round or two where I needed them and had some good, tight rounds as well against some good racers. The track surface was pretty good, which tremendously helped, and we got to have some good runs.”
For the Summit Racing, Laris Insurance WDRA No Box–Championship, Charlie White won the category against Russ Archer. Archer ran too fast on his 6.72 dial-in by just .001 second, handing the win to White. White dominated the starting line reaction and covered the finish line with a 6.533 against his 6.50 dial-in.
White went out of his way to thank Greg Miller, the staff, and fellow track operators who put on a smooth event for its size.
The WDRA Sportsman–Class Championship was a Beaver Springs Dragway showdown between fellow team members Rhoads and Don Metz. “I had a roughly .020 light, and he had a .030 light,” recalls Rhoads, “I ran .01 on the good side, and Metz ran under his dial by one and a half.”
Rhoads won the event with his longtime hot rod, his 347 stroker-motor powered 1966 Mustang. “It’s street legal, everything in it,” adds Rhoads. “I got the Mustang when I was 16, back in 1976. I’ve been to at least 30 bracket finals, but my ‘rod trophy’ now is front and center on my mantle.”
In the WDRA Bike Category–Championship, Kevin Twardowski conquered gremlins in his Kawasaki Hayabusa. What he thought were fuel problems throughout the earlier gamblers’ racing turned out to be a bad coil, which was repaired, and Twardowski began to get back to his regular form in the 5.30 elapsed time range.
“The guy I ran in the final, Jeff Santin, is one of my best friends, and he is deadly,” said Twardowski. “I bought that Bike and spent the first part of the season getting it running. It was a strong season towards the end; I’m glad my work paid off.”
Twardowski slowed in his final round pass when he saw his win light illuminate right after Santin red lighted by .019 seconds.
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James Farmer – WDRA 2023 – Race of Champions–Bike Winner
Scott Campbell – WDRA 2023 – Race of Champions–No Box Winner
The spirit of competition was vigorous in the WDRA–Championship Junior Dragster Class. Gillian Mattera made her way to the final round alongside Austin Keys.
Like many competitors of the day who allowed the excitement of the final round to get the best of them, Keys left the starting line .023 of a second too soon, handing the 2023 championship to Mattera.
At the beginning of the race weekend, Mattera experienced a broken cam in her racing engine. Help from a teammate with an extra engine in their trailer allowed her to continue competing. She and her dad, also event winner, Tony Mattera, then used the gamblers races to dial-in the weight for Gillian’s reaction times, and to best get down the track.
The weatherman predicted the possibility of rain for the event’s late round on Sunday, so the accelerated rate of Saturday eliminations proved a positive recipe for Mattera to work her way through the rounds without worrying about the borrowed powerplant.
Austin Keyes met Mattera in the final round. Keys red-lighted by .022, handing Mattera the WDRA Championship win. Mattera finished, “All of the excitement of the finals and the winner’s circle celebration pretty much made this one of the coolest days of racing I have ever had.”
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Keystone Raceway Park’s operator, Greg Miller, said, “It was a great event; everything was good. A nice number of racers from other tracks said what a great time they had, which was a great tribute to the effort between WDRA, Keystone, and all the member tracks.”
Serious bragging rights were at hand for those track operators when team captains from the eight-member facilities lined up for their own Track Operators–Eliminator Class.
It was unsurprising to see past bracket racing veteran Royce Miller taking on home track team captain Greg Miller in the finals. Royce bettered Greg’s reaction time by .051 of a second. At the finish line, Royce won the final, covering Greg by .185 seconds.
“I started working here at Keystone when I was 14,” Greg Miller said. “It was exceptional to get everybody together. This camaraderie between tracks is truly an alliance; we want to work together. It also showed up in the positive reactions from the racers. All of these tracks operate like a family, I consider this a great annual reunion.”
