Undefeated Brackeen among seven division champions crowned in season finale of UTI Friday Night Drags

by racedaysaeditor | Posted on Monday, July 30th, 2018

Courtesy of Texas Motor Speedway Media Relations

FORT WORTH, Texas – Chance Brackeen completed a rare undefeated season en route to being crowned one of seven division champions in the final week of the 10TH anniversary season of Universal Technical Institute Friday Night Drags at Texas Motor Speedway.

Adam Gerety (middle), who has never missed a UTI Friday Night Drags event in 10 years, won his second Texas Harley-Davidson Super Car Division title.

Brackeen, of Saginaw, drove his 2015 Ford Mustang to victory in each of the six weeks of competition to capture the Reunion Tower GeO-Dec Bandit Division championship. He was one of four drivers that had clinched their division prior to last week’s season finale while three of the divisions were settled that evening of the summer amateur racing series.

The Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman, Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Modified and Texas Harley-Davidson Super Car divisions were all decided by the eventual champion winning the final week of competition to secure the title.

Universal Technical Institute Friday Night Drags, which has spent the last 10 years promoting legal street racing at the speedway in an effort to provide a safer alternative off public roadways in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, had more than 900 unique competitors and close to 29,000 spectators visit Texas Motor Speedway over the past six weeks. The number of unique competitors established a record for the program while the crowd count was just shy of the record set in 2017.

“I was really impressed with not only the amount of cars we had competing each week, but the amount of support they were being shown by our incredible fans,” Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage said. “I think that’s a testament to the quality of the product these competitors are able to showcase. This program only continues to grow and I’m already looking forward to what’s to come in 2019.”

2018 Universal Technical Institute
Friday Night Drags Division Champions

Summit Racing Equipment Outlaw Division

Shea Thompson, Fort Worth, 1988 Ford Mustang

Thompson rebounded from a slow start in Week 1 with five consecutive wins to finish the season. Jesse Collett, of Argyle, finished second.

Texas Born Performance Black Smoke Warrior Division

Joe Watson, Haltom City, Chevrolet C10

It was a dominant four-win season for Watson, who was able to avenge his runner-up division finish in 2017. James Carney, of North Richland Hills, finished second.

Snap-on Tools All-Wheel Drive Division

Collin Keithley, Keller, 2016 Nissan GTR

Keithley won only twice in six weeks, but that was more than enough to propel him to the title. John Kuethe, of Arlington, finished second.

Texas Harley-Davidson Super Car Division

Adam Gerety, Trophy Club, 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE

The 2015 Super Car champion won three of the last four weeks for his second championship in four years. Wes Coleman of Arlington finished second.

Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Modified Division

John Apple, Bedford, 1966 Chevrolet Nova

Apple cooled off after reaching the final race in each of the first three weeks (winning twice), but rebounded with a victory on the final night to secure the championship. Chris Thompson, of Richland Hills, finished second.

Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Division

Mirza Kovacevic, Arlington, 2009 BMW 335i

Back-to-back wins in the final two weeks propelled Kovacevic to the championship as his three victories was the tie-breaker over second-place David Valdez, of Alvarado.

Reunion Tower GeO-Dec Bandit Division

Chance Brackeen, Saginaw, 2015 Ford Mustang

Brackeen completed an undefeated season as he amassed the maximum season total of 20 points. Atriana Rupnow, of North Richland Hills, and Kirby Hall, of Grapevine, tied for second.

Week 6 Universal Technical Institute Friday Night Drags Winners

Summit Racing Equipment Outlaw Division

Shea Thompson, Fort Worth, 1988 Ford Mustang

Texas Born Performance Black Smoke Warrior Division

James Carney, North Richland Hills, 2000 Chevrolet S10

Snap-on Tools All-Wheel Drive Division

John Kuethe, Arlington, 2009 Nissan GTR