Shawn Carlson outlasted the top drag racers in Brainerd International Raceway's Bracket Drag Racing Series last Sunday to win the coveted title of King of the Track and take home a Wally trophy-the first in his drag racing career.
Carlson's the first to admit he's kind of an unlikely candidate for such royalty even though he's been in first place in the Sportsman class all season. His 1973 Plymouth Scamp, which he's been racing for only three years, doesn't have the electronics and gadgetry most of the fastest cars have. Plus, the 14 drivers in the King of the Track race typically are far more experienced.
But that didn't seem to matter Sunday.
"It was pretty cool," Carlson said in a news release. "The car was getting hot because i was making a lot of runs in Pro ET and Sportsman but we decided that we had to race-it was for the King of the Track!"
Carlson, from Elbow Lake, had gone four rounds in Pro ET and three rounds in the Sportsman class before getting to the King of the Track race. He beat Rory Emmans, Heather Ingman and Reno Loeffelholz to earn his way to the finals, which presented a good-news-bad-news proposition. The good news was that he was one win away from the crown. The bad news was that he was racing Ben Line, arguably one of the toughest racers in the series and has been for years.
"I figured this is it," Carlson said. "There's really no runner-up in this race, you just go home. So my goal was to do what I was doing, and it worked out pretty good."
Carlson and Line had similar reaction times at the starting line but Carlson was able to hold off Line at the finish, posting a winning time of 12.119 seconds and 106.13 mph.
The King of the Track race was part of the fifth race weekend in the Bracket Drag Racing Series. Sept. 30-Oct. 1 is the only weekend left: That race will determine series champions in 10 of the 11 classes and is also the NHRA All Access Challenge, commonly called the "Wally Race." On Saturday, winners of the Super Pro, Pro ET, Sportsman, Pro Bike/Sled, Comp Trophy and Street Trophy classes will receive a Wally trophy, like the kind that the pros in the NHRA win.
That Saturday is also the NHRA Summit Racing Junior Drag Racing League Challenge, which gives Junior Dragster drivers a chance to win a Wally trophy as well. There are three Junior Dragster classes for kids ages 8-18.
Another notable finish last weekend was Luke Schneider, who was well behind in the Sportsman standings but with 29 drivers racing in that class last weekend, he won Saturday and Sunday. That should vault him up significantly in the standings. Schneider, who was the only double winner last weekend, beat Lee Dugdale in both finals. Dugdale was in fifth place in the standings.
The Stock/Super Stock class will not race in the final series weekend. That class determined its series champion Sunday. Glen DeMenge finished off the season on top of the point standings, edging out second-place finisher Ben Line.
SATURDAY, JULY 22
Super Pro Finals: Dave Engler of Ramsey Def. Joe Kerner of Coon Rapids
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Pro ET Finals: Travis Reutzel of Howard Lake def. Steve Stockton of Colfax, Wis.
Sportsman Finals: Luke Schneider of St. Joseph def. Lee Dugdale of Scandia
Stock/Super Stock Finals: Alex Wiese of Brandon, S.D. def. Brett Speer of Pierz
Quick 16 Finals: Bryce Miller of Maple Lake def. Henry Wiebusch of Andover
Pro Bike/Sled Finals: Kayla Filipiak of Isanti def. Kelly Fager of Cedar
Comp Trophy Finals: Eric Blumke of Pillager def. Aaron Athman of St. Cloud
Street Trophy Finals: Bob Kuntz of Thompson, N.D. def. Nicole Grundman of St. Cloud
Jr. Dragster Advanced Finals: Sydney Haben of Hibbing def. Natalie Root of Montrose
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Jr. Dragster Intermediate Finals: Jocelynn Geib of Golden Valley def. Dylan Dancer of Foley
Jr. Dragster Novice Finals: Daniel Dancer of Foley def. Daniela Krech of Inver Grove Heights
SUNDAY, JULY 23
King of the Track Finals: Shawn Carlson of Elbow Lake def. Ben Line of International Falls
Super Pro Finals: Randy McFarland of Sabin def. Bob Ingman of Andover
Pro ET Finals: Christopher Takacs of Thunder Bay, Ontario def. Brandon Schmall of Palo, Iowa
Super Pro/Pro ET Shootout Finals: Randy McFarland of Sabin def. Christopher Takacs of Thunder Bay, Ontario
Sportsman Finals: Luke Schneider of St. Joseph def. Lee Dugdale of Scandia
Stock/Super Stock Finals: Glen Demenge of McGregor def. Jason DeForrest of Andover
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Pro Bike/Sled Finals: Jimmy Paulson of Stacy def. Kelly Fager of Cedar
Comp Trophy Finals: Devrin Walcheski of Foley def. Aaron Athman of St. Cloud
Street Trophy Finals: Joe Moriarty Jr. def. Dan Bennett of Bemidji
Jr. Dragster Advanced Finals: Sarah Johnson of Sabin def. Chandler Neimeyer of Brainerd
Jr. Dragster Intermediate Finals: Dylan Dancer of Foley def. Riley Luberda of Foley
Jr. Dragster Novice Finals: Brody Thompson of Nowthen def. Daniel Dancer of Foley
