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.
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
Texas Harley-Davidson Super Car Division
Adam Gerety, Trophy Club, 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE
Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Modified Division
John Apple, Bedford, 1966 Chevrolet Nova
Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Division
Mirza Kovacevic, Arlington, 2009 BMW 335i
Reunion Tower GeO-Deck Bandit Division
Chance Brackeen, Saginaw, 2015 Ford Mustang
The Week 6 Hills Air Support Show-N-Shine winners were Dan Frazier (Best Current – 1973 or Newer), Shaun Sharp (Best Classic – 1972 or Older) andSteven Hemphill (Best in Show).
For more information and official rules regarding Universal Technical Institute Friday Night Drags, please visit http://www.texasmotorspeedway.com.
