Mark Micke DEMOLISHES scoreboards to Mid-West Drag Racing Series 131 Race!!

While it certainly should come as no surprise based on his history, Mark Micke dropped the hammer and absolutely demolished the score boards during the Mid-West Drag Racing Series (MWDRS) at 131 in Martin, MI over the weekend. It left some scratching their heads in utter disbelief.

Heading in to the Michigan race you never quite know what did of weather you are going to get, after all it is the upper midwest and that weather can change on a dime. We all knew that it was going to be cool, but there was always that threat of rain, and temperatures too cold to safely compete. Were you gonna were shorts or bundle up like it was winter time? Maybe, just maybe we’d see a little bit of both over the event.

I rolled in on Wednesday and it was a beautiful day. 131 had some radial testing going on, so we just hung out and watched for a bit as MWDRS wasn’t starting their testing until 3pm on Thursday afternoon. The weather for Thursday was set to be shorts and sunny for my enjoyment, and that’s exactly what it was.

Thursday’s testing went off without a hitch and their were some killer times ran. It was setting up to be a record setting event for MWDRS as long as the weather gave the racers the right opportunities. Friday morning was also time for test, but Friday was much cooler than Thursday. While it was still a shorts day for me, the hoodie was coming out as well. And there was no time for dinking around, as the nighttime window for racing was smaller due to cold temps.

Friday evening qualifying began and it was obvious that this was going to be a weekend for the ages. Cool temps, a DA below 1000’ and a track capable of holding pretty much anything you tossed at it. By the end of Q1 in Pro Mod, Mark Micke has shown the world what 50’s look like again. He was leading the pack with a .58 at 212. Mark wasn’t the only one that had a stellar first round of qualifying though. Former MWDRS World Champion Aaron Wells has snapped off a .62 and nitrous racer Chris Juliano has laid down a career best .65, and this was just Q1. We still had another qualifier to run on Friday night.

In AFC (Alcohol Funny Car) during Q1, they were knocking on the door of .50’s as well, with MWDRS World Champ Steve Macklyn leading the way. Steve mustarded a smooth .6061 and tight on his heals was Jim Whiteley in the J&A car putting down a .622. Would we be treated to both Pro Mod and AFC in the .50’s this weekend?

Q2 in Pro Mod saw pretty much the same, only series Founder Keith Haney grabbed the track surface in his Musi powered Camaro, tuned by Brandon Switzer, and cracked off a 3.633. The nitrous cars were on the property to show they can play with the boosted rides as well. In fact there were 7 nitrous cars on the property in Pro Mod over the weekend. Of those 7 nitrous cars that came to play over the weekend, six of them qualified in the top ten.

With cooler weather also seems to come carnage. Mark Micke had a bye in Rd. one after Keith Goolsby kicked a rod in qualifying and wasn’t able to fix it before eliminations. Dennis Hagedor was unable to get the car in the waterbox during his matchup with Corey Smith, and this allowed Corey to take the win by breaking the beams. Corey’s team wasn’t thrilled, but they’ll take the round win. Chris Juliano also ended up with a broke bye when Tony “Sandman” Williams was broken and unable to make the call. Jackie Sloan Jr. took a broke bye round win as Todd Bennett was broke also. The matchup between Aaron Wells and Wayne Roberts was one to keep your eyes on, as Wayne and his crew had to swap engines Friday night after a big boom in qualifying. Aaron got the best of Wayne, but it’s never a “gimme” when you face Wayne.

In the semi finals of Pro Mod it was all eyes on the track, as Mark Micke was facing off against Brandon Snider who he defeated in Q2 to wrap up the St. Louis win. When the scoreboard lit everyone’s jaws dropped. Mark tore off a 3.55 at almost 230 mph. You didn’t rad that wrong folks…almost 230 miles per hour in the 1/8th mile. I spoke to Mark’s crew man Damon and he stated that the number was legit. In the other semi final it was going to be two former MWDRS World Champs battling it out, as Aaron Wells in his screw blown Mustang was lining up with Founder Keith Haney and his nitrous powered Camaro. Aaron got the best of Keith and ran a new personal best of a 3.61 in the process to Keith’s 3.66. So the stage was set for Mark and Aaron to face in the finals.

Not to be completely outdone by the pro mods, the AFC cars were going to put on a show as well. MWDRS newbie Brain Hough from the beautiful state of Oregon joined the Funny party over the weekend and put of some staggering numbers. He ended up qualifying number one and dropping a 3.58 in his first round bye. In fact, the other two matchups in round one were just as amazing. Jim Whiteley faced off against Lance VanHauen with Jim winning the race 3.62 to Lance’s 3.63. The other pair featured Steve Macklyn taking on Jim’s wife Annie Whiteley and I think you’d need a strong calculator as this damn near a photo finish. Steve took the victory over Annie with a 3.581 to Annie’s 3.586.

Both Jim Whiteley and Steve Macklyn advanced to the finals on Saturday to face off, and this time Jim took the victory over Steve with a stout 3.594 to Steve’s slowing 3.86.

In the finals of pro mod, it was yet again a prime reason that we don’t run on paper or determine future victory based on the previous round. Mark Micke had been dropping .50s like he was tossing candy out to kids at a parade. The final round is always something different, as is each individual round in drag racing. Mark was able to take the victory over Aaron, but neither had a great pass. Mark ended up lighting the board with a 3.761, which is a time that would have barely gotten him in the top ten in qualifying, to Aaron’s well off the pace 5.08.

Other winners at the event which deserve a huge round of applause included Jared Ledford in Top Dragster. This was only his second event with his new dragster and he drove it to victory over the always hard charging Wade Pennington.

In Top Sportsman, a field led by the monster ET’s of Tim Paap in his gorgeous nitrous powered Vette, the same one that used to be campaigned by Marcus Birt on radials, it was Jim Hayes taking the win over Jon Vesper.

Zimmerman Sportsman Jr. featured Lexie Klinger vs. Ellie Vesper in the final with Lexie taking the win on Saturday night.

Racestar Wheels Pro Jr also had someone from the Klinger family competing. In this class it was Ethan Klinger vs. Evan Muchier. This time it was Evan with the win that relegated Ethan to a runner up finish.

And in Jr. Slammers it was Raylin Davis that defeated Kenzie Wells.

A great weekend of drag racing, capped up with victories for some, and continued hunger for others. Next week, E3xtreme rolls out to Flying H to cover the MWDRS Smackdown event. The richest payout in Pro Mod HISTORY!!