Mid-West Drag Racing Series Hosts a Stellar Season Opener at XRP
/Last weekend the time had come for the Mid-West Drag Racing Series to kick off its 2021 season at Xtreme Raceway Park in Ferris, TX and they did not disappoint.
Coming off a season where most championships were crowned at the final race of the season, including the Pro Mod championship coming down to the very end, the MWDRS had a lot to live up to with the kickoff of this season. Not only try to build on the success of the 2020 season but earlier it was announced that MavTV+ would be the streaming provider of the MWDRS during the 2021 season, along with Bangshift handling some of the qualifying. Adding to that, MWDRS had Al Tucci back in the booth and was joined by Banshift’s Chad Reynolds.
The Junior Dragster classes are always the backbone of any organization that runs them. They are the future of the sport and the series. This rings true at MWDRS as well. There are two Junior Classes that compete within the MWDRS series. That being Sportsman Jr’s and Pro Jr’s. In the Sportsman Jr’s class is was Makenzie Roberts taking home to victory, and in Pro Jr’s it was Addy Owen. Congrats to both young ladies on their victories over the weekend.
Makenzie Roberts, 2021 Mid-West Drag Racing Series Spring XRP Champion in Sportsman Junior Dragster
Addy Owen, 2021 Mid-West Drag Racing Series Spring XRP Champion in Top Junior Dragster
When they rolled into the Top Dragster and Top Sportsman classes, you will always see the heaviest hitters in the country battling it out for the victory. Top Dragster featured 15 of the best in the country all vying for a Mid-West Drag Racing Series victory at the first event of the year. At the end of the night though, the young, up-and-coming superstar in the making, Jessica Ogden was in the Winner’s Circle with her family after defeating all other comers. Watch for Jessica to start becoming a household name in the future.
Jessica Ogden 2021 Mid-West Drag Racing Series Spring XRP Champion in Top Dragster
The Champion is here! The man with the plan all weekend was Kelvin Brown. Kelvin was the 2020 Mid-West Drag Racing Series Top Sportsman World Champion, and he was looking to start 2021 on a solid note in an attempt to defend that #1 on his car. Kelvin, who is from Savannah, TN. is a teammate of sorts to Pro Mod driver Tommy Cunningham. I spoke to Kelvin early on Saturday and his wish was for both of them to be in the Winner’s Circle together. Qualifying #1 gave Kelvin the bye in the first round, and it was game on after that. His worst trees of the day were an .027 and an .028. The champ was on a mission to not only secure the win but to accumulate as many points as possible in the process. To share a Winner’s Circle with Tommy though, Kelvin would first have to wrap up a win in T/S and that’s exactly what he did.
Kelvin Brown 2021 Mid-West Drag Racing Series Spring XRP Champion in Top Sportsman
Funny cars to the lanes please. Nothing is a given in the Alcohol Funny Car Class. We are talking about MWDRS World Champion, NHRA World Champions and event winners, and just the baddest of the bad when it comes to Alcohol Funny Cars. Eight cars made the trek to Texas less than a week after the Gator Nationals and two weeks after Baby Gators. Wouldn’t you know it though, the Hussey Performance, Bartone Brothers entry, piloted by the 2020 Mid-West Drag Racing Series World Champion Sean Bellemeur was the one standing on his car come Saturday night. This victory certainly didn’t come easy either. While Sean did set the ET and MPH records at the event, he faced stiff competition, as he always does in the MWDRS. In the finals he was facing off against Chris Marshall, who himself had a small mishap earlier in the weekend, but kept pushing through. Sean’s 3.57 to Chris’ 3.64 in the finals sealed the deal. It also gave Sean three victories in three weeks. He took home victories at the Baby Gators, at the Gators, and now at the MWDRS season opener. This was also the 5th consecutive victory for the team overall.
Sean Bellemeur 2021 Mid-West Drag Racing Series Spring XRP Champion in Alcohol Funny Car
Pro Mods Pro Mods Pro Mods. That is what built the MWDRS that we see today, and the action, along with upsets throughout the weekend was jaw-dropping and absolutely mind-boggling. 21 Pro Mods made it onto the qualifying sheet, with Todd Martin and his new-look Mustang leading the way with an earth-shaking 3.66. Todd backed up that .66 in the first round of eliminations when he lit the boards with a .69 pass. Unfortunately for Todd and the crew, round two they faced off against Tommy Cunningham and had issues, while Tommy cruised to a victory with a stout 3.67 pass. Tommy then scored wins over Ed Thorton and Jim Whiteley to wrap up another MWDRS victory. The dream for Tommy and Kelvin was realized on Saturday when they were able to take the Winner’s Circle together. Some other news out of Pro Mod was the huge MPH passes laid down by Joey Oksas and Jeff Rudolf. Those two were running in the 210-217 mph range it seemed like on every pass. Watch for the turbo cars to be a force this season also.
Tommy Cunningham 2021 Mid-West Drag Racing Series Spring XRP Champion in Pro Mod
Tommy Cunningham, Kelvin Brown, and the entire family and crew in the Winner’s Circle at XRP.
The Pro Mod Slammers class is set up for those that either don’t qualify in the top 16, or those that exit during the first round of eliminations. This also allows for drivers to continue to accumulate points over the season and keep getting some passes on the car. Brian Lewis’ beautiful ProCharger Camaro took the victory in the slammers class.
Brian Lewis 2021 Mid-West Drag Racing Series Spring XRP Champion in Pro Mod Slammers
It was decided that MWDRS would add a new class this year. Outlaw N/T is the class that was decided upon. A lot of the rules in the class mimick typical N/T and No Prep rules throughout the country. I expect this class to grow leaps and bounds over the season. In Texas, though it was all about the Rattlesnake. His teeth were sharp and ready to attack. Landon Hobbs, the son of Pro Mod driver Ronnie Hobbs, was again behind the wheel of what is arguably the best-looking truck in drag racing. In the finals, Landon secured the victory, and unfortunately, his competitor took a hard hit into both walls. I was told that the driver of the other car was ok though. Is anyone going to have the gull to face off against the Rattlesnake this season? We shall see when the MWDRS rolls into Belle Rose, LA at No Problem Raceway next month.