9/27/2024
Midwest Drag Racing Series
Smack Down 2024 Mark Micke and Mother Nature
Smack Down 2024 Press Release
Mark Micke and Mother Nature
The M&M Transmission Smack Down 2024 presented by ProLine Racing Engines, hosted by Flying H Drag Strip and Summit Racing Mid-West Drag Racing Series presented by J&AService LLC, brought racers from across the country, and world, to Odessa, MO for a weekend filled with great racing and a little bit of rain….
Racers from all classes began to arrive early in the week to test their cars and determination as they prepared their program to race for more than $300,000, one of the largest payouts in drag racing history. While the Pro Mod Class winnings were the largest cut, several other classes saw payouts larger than these racers had ever competed! Like Performance Bearing Top Sportsman racing for a $10,000 Winner Purse, or the J&A service Funny Car racers running for $10,000 for the first time in MWDRS history, or the Junior Classes getting a chance to race for $2,000!
With $150,000 Winner Purse and more than $266,000 in the pot for Stroud Safety Pro Mods, the list of racers was extensive. With names like Derek Ward, Spencer Hyde, Scott Palmer and Rodejan Busato on site we knew the field would be extremely tight. The Main Event would consist of 32 cars, meaning at least 9 cars would not make it… But, even the Undercard Racers would compete for their part of $45,000!
Mark Micke set the pace early, with the Quickest Pass in Round One of Qualifying with his 3.624, followed by Jason Harris, Ron Muenks and Spencer Hyde, all in the 3.6xxs. Round Two, Jason Harris was Quickest at 3.66, with Ron Muenks, Steve King and Melanie Salemi right behind him, all going Quicker than their Q1 ETs.
Sadly, because of the expected forecast, the event was condensed to 3 Rounds of Qualifying on Thursday with racing set for Friday. That meant if they weren’t in the big show, racers only had one more chance to make it. But, that chance would see the best weather conditions of the week! With the lowest altitude and best water grains, teams lined up for Q3. With Nitrous racer Dennis Hagedorn in the Bump Spot at 3.827, we knew it would take a 3.7xx to make the field. Q3 would be the Quickest Round of Qualifying with many racers running their best passes of the weekend during this session. The field was set with Mark Micke taking home the $10,000 #1 Qualifier check for his 3.591 (the only 3.5xx of the race) and Scott Palmer holding the Bump Spot at 3.769.
#1 Qualifiers in other Classes included Steve Macklyn in J&A Service Top Alcohol Funny Car, KC Ingram in Icon Forged Piston/Race Star Wheels Top Dragster, Tim Molinar in Performance Bearing Top Sportsman, and Big Shop Diesel Pro 4.20 Marc Stillwagoner.
With this much experience in the field, the racing was going to be tight, with some races coming down to a hole shot! A standout race of Round One was Mike Bowman taking out Mike “Hollywood” Decker III by just 0.009, sending Holywood to the Undercard. Kirk Williams, in his first appearance with MWDRS in a few years, would upset Lance Van Hauen in Round One of Funny Car. In Top Dragster, #1 Qualifier KC Ingram would be sent to the Undercards by John Lobner.
Round Two of Pro Mods would be a round of upsets and side by side action! Mark Micke would pair against Spencer Hyde for a race that would come down to just 1 foot at the finish line! Aaron Wells would defeat Derek Ward. Roderjan Busato would outrun Steve King on a holeshot. Funny Car would see Kirk Williams move on after Steve Macklyn’s uncharacteristic redlight. Rikki Molnar would pass Mark Moore, Robbie Gear would get past John Lobner, Jeff Libla would move past JR Lobner and Greg Rice would send John Biagi home in Top Dragster. Winners from Round Two of Top Sportsman were Tim Molnar, C. Satterfield, Kelvin Brown and Dwayne Gollogly.
The sun had set and the temps and DA were dropping as we moved into Round Three! In Pro Mod, Melanie Salemi took down Brandon Snider after he got loose about 150’ in the run, running her best pass of the weekend, a 3.625. Keith Haney would pair against Mark Micke, but the last remaining nitrous car wouldn’t have enough for Mark’s turbo combination. Haney would put up his Second Best MWDRS run of the year, a 3.640, to Mark’s 3.621. Jason Harris would send Aaron Wells home with a 3.638 to Wells’ 3.725. Busato would move to the Final Four after James Beadling does a huge wheelie as he pours the power in! Busato would run his best pass in Eliminations at 3.668.
In Top Dragster, Rikki Molnar moves past Robbie Gear after Gear breaks out by just 0.005. Greg Rice moves on past Jeff Libla.
For Top Sportsman, Dwayne Gollogly moves past Kevlin Brown in a nitrous on nitrous race. Tim Molnar and Clint Satterfield would complete the round as Satterfield moves on.
The Final Race of the event would be Matt Driskell’s Round Win over Jeremy Maples in the Top/Top Undercard. Sadly, a bit of oil was leaked by one of the racers so there was a delay for track clean-up.
With time dwindling on the curfew, the Bone Shaker Jet Truck made it’s way to the lanes for one last show for the fans! With the afterburner lit, Bone Shaker would trip the beams at more than 190 MPH in one of the craziest jet cars in the game!
The forecast looked bleak for a finish on Saturday. So, with the racer consent, the pots were split among the remaining teams. But, that leaves fans with an opportunity for this race to be finished at a later date for the Championship Belts. Rumors are we will see the Pro Mod class possibly finalized during a round of Qualifying of the World Series of Pro Mod 2025 that’ll take place at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Feb, 2025.
Article Credit: Michael Narx
Submitted By: Michael Narx
Article Media
