By Mike Haag

BAYTOWN, Texas – Drag racers have always said that the first victory is always the sweetest one.

NHRA Pro Stock driver Bo Butner definitely found that to be true on Sunday at the 30th annual NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway.

Bo Butner (Photo by Marc Gewertz/NHRA)

Butner, driving his Jim Butner’s Auto Chevy Camaro, completed a pass of 6.550 seconds at 212.26 mph in the final round to defeat No. 1 qualifier Jeg Coughlin Jr., who went the distance in his JEGS.com / Elite Performance Chevy Camaro in at 6.562 at 212.03 mph.

With the victory, the 42-year old driver and 15-time NHRA Sportsman winner earned his first NHRA Pro Stock Wally trophy of his career in his eighth final-round appearance.

“Any win that you stand on that stage, Super Stock, Super Street or whatever it is (the feeling) never gets old,” Butner said.  “It’s a great feeling and you can’t explain it unless you experience it.  To make four consecutive win lights is very tough and a lot harder than I expected.”

Bo Butner (Photo by Marc Gewertz/NHRA)

Butner defeated Allen Johnson in the first round and Greg Anderson in the second round before he faced Coughlin Jr. in the finals.  Coughlin Jr. advanced to the finals by advancing in the first round on a bye and then defeated Chris McGaha and Tanner Gray en route to Sunday’s finale.

In the finale, Butner and Coughlin Jr. left the starting line with identical .061-second reaction times, but Butner outraced him down the quarter-mile track and was first across the stripe.  The margin of victory was .0124-second, or approximately 4 feet.

“We finally got it off our back,” Butner said.  “It’s been dangled out in front of me, and I always, always had a chance to win. Today it happened, and who knows, maybe it will start rolling like a snowball.”

Butner’s victory helps close the gap in the point standings.  He enters this weekend’s NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, N.C. trailing points leader Greg Anderson by 31 points.

“It’s a great bucket list kind of deal and now that we got one let’s just go race now,” Butner said.  “Now that it’s out of the way it (more wins) will happen.  What I learned today is to stage shallow and that lane choice is very important.  It’s maybe not for the track itself, but as racers we are all control freaks.  So if we get to pull up there and I get to control of where you go, I think that makes a little difference.”