Dan Fletcher Earns ThisIsBracketRacing.com 2009 BTE Driver of the Year Honors

Woodville, AL: Sportsman racing standout Dan Fletcher can add another accomplishment to his lengthy racing resume, as the 3-time NHRA World Champion earned a title of a new variety following the 2009 season. Fletcher earned the inaugural ThisIsBracketRacing.com BTE Power Rankings overall championship on the strength of a phenomenal season within NHRA’s sportsman ranks. The unique program, hosted by sportsman racings only online driving school, ranks sportsman competitors based upon final round appearances regardless of class, sanction, and type of competition. The program awards drivers “Power Points†for final round finishes at any and all NHRA and IHRA national, sportsman national, and divisional events in all sportsman categories; as well as any and all bracket-style events that boast a winners purse of $5,000 or more. Points are awarded in rough accordance to actual money won (For example, a win at a $10,000 bracket race earns 10 points. An NHRA national event victory earns 15 points, and so on).

Over 1400 sportsman competitors earned BTE “Power Points†throughout the 2009 season, but none earned more than Fletcher, who took a commanding lead at the season’s midway point and never looked back. His 155 point total trumped Edmond Richardson, who finished second with 110. The remaining top ten finishers from 2009 include Scotty Richardson (101 points), Luke Bogacki (94), Nick Folk (85), Adam Davis (80), John Labbous, Jr. (79), Troy Williams, Jr. (74), Tommy Phillips (66), along with Justin Lamb and Peter Biondo who tied for the tenth spot with 65 points each.

View the complete 2009 BTE Power Rankings Standings here:
www.thisisbracketracing.com/rankings2009.cfm

Fletcher amassed his incredible points total strictly within the NHRA ranks, where he racked up seven national event victories in Competition Eliminator alone, and added additional national crowns in Stock and Super Stock to total 9 NHRA national event titles in 2009. He also earned runner-up honors on the national stage twice (both in Stock), and rounded out his BTE Power Rankings Ledger with a trio of NHRA LODRS victories (two in Comp and one in Stock) and one runner-up (in Comp). Although his incredible Competition Eliminator campaign did not result in a second consecutive NHRA Lucas Oil Championship (Fletcher relinquished his crown to Bruno Massel, Jr.), it was class in which he scored the bulk of his “Power Points†to earn the BTE Power Rankings Crown.

For his efforts, Fletcher receives a lucrative prize package from ThisIsBracketRacing.com that includes a BTE Top Sportsman (or Top Dragster) Powerglide transmission (a $3590 value!), a K&N Carbon Fiber Scoop, a complimentary annual subscription to ThisIsBracketRacing.com, and a handful of other goodies from the site. Additional prizes were awarded to top ten finishers courtesy of gracious ThisIsBracketRacing.com advertisers and BTE Power Rankings sponsors, including Advanced Product Design, Bill Taylor Enterprises, Auto Meter, Nitroplate, and K&N. In order to be eligible for year end prizes, races had to be annual members of ThisIsBracketRacing.com by September 1, 2009. Of the sites registered members, the top ten prizes were distributed as such:

1.) Dan Fletcher: 155 Points
BTE Top Sportsman Powerglide, K&N Carbon Scoop, Annual Subscription to ThisIsBracketRacing.com

2.) Luke Bogacki: 94 Points
APD Dominator Carburetor (Gas or Alcohol), Annual Subscription to ThisIsBracketRacing.com

ThisIsBracketRacing.com’s own Bogacki earned his 94 point total in as diverse a way as any top ten finisher in 2009. Bogacki earned a pair of NHRA national event wins in Super Comp, and a pair of IHRA national event wins in Quick Rod. He added an IHRA All-Stars victory in the Top Dragster category. He enjoyed great success on the big dollar bracket level as well, scoring a pair of $10,000 box class triumphs and another $10,000 win in Footbrake competition. He also scored a trio of $5,000 bracket victories, with those coming in Box, No Box, and Footbrake respectively. He rounded out his 2009 ledger with a pair of runner-up finishes; first in a $5,000 Footbrake event, then in S/C at an NHRA LODRS.

3.) Nick Folk: 85 Points
Choice of BTE Racing Torque Converter, Annual Subscription to ThisIsBracketRacing.com

Much like Bogacki, Folk earned his 2009 “Power Points†in a variety of ways. He was most dominant in IHRA competition, where he earned three national event victories and a runner-up finish in three separate categories (Stock, Super Stock, and Top Dragster). He also scored on the divisional level with five victories and a runner-up finish. Not one to discriminate, Folk also collected hardware on the NHRA tour, with a national event title in Super Comp and a divisional triumph in Stock. On the big dollar bracket tour, Folk enjoyed immense success as well, highlighted by final round appearances at all three events along the annual Florida Winter Series, as well as the 7-come-11 Gamblers event in Wisconsin and the World Super Pro Challenge in Michigan.

4.) Adam Davis: 80 Points
Auto Meter Ultimate Playback II Tachometer, Annual Subscription to ThisIsBracketRacing.com

Davis scored a large total of points with a minimum number of final round appearances: the Alabama footbrake standout made them count! He scored a pair of NHRA national event wins in Stock Eliminator at the wheel of Todd Ewing’s Huntsville Engine and Performance Camaro, in which he also earned runner-up honors at an NHRA LODRS event. Scoring all of his points in bottom bulb classes, Davis was unstoppable at the year end big money Footbrake events, taking home a $20,000 payday in Montgomery, AL and following it up with a $25,000 score in Natural Bridge, VA. He added a pair of final round finishes in $5,000 events to round out his 2009 Power Score.

5.) John Labbous, Jr.: 79 Points
Nitroplate Header Coating, Annual Subscription to ThisIsBracketRacing.com

Second generation racer John Labbous, Jr. earned each of his 79 Power Points in the incredibly competitive world of top bulb big dollar bracket racing. At the wheel of a pair of Mopar powered dragsters, Labbous enjoyed arguably the best season of any bracket racer in 2009. He claimed a $50,000 windfall at the World Super Pro Challenge, appeared in $10,000-to-win bracket final rounds on nine different occasions throughout the season! His points total also includes a runner-up finish in a $5,000-to-win event.

6.) Troy Williams, Jr.: 74 Points
$200 Nitroplate Gift Certificate, 6 K&N Oil Filters, $50 Auto Meter Gift Certificate, Annual Subscription to ThisIsBracketRacing.com

With the exception of a handful of points earned in IHRA competition, nearly all of Williams 74 point total comes in the form of big dollar bracket events as well. Williams appeared in two IHRA final rounds at the Pro-Am level, and won Pro at the NHRA Division 2 ET Finals, but did the bulk of his damage in the top class at big dollar bracket events. Williams was runner-up in the $50,000-to-win Ultimate 64 Shootout in Ohio, and staged for seven $10,000-to-win final rounds in 2009. As if that weren’t enough, Williams also claimed a pair of $5,000 triumphs on the season.

7.) Tommy Phillips: 66 Points
$200 Nitroplate Gift Certificate, 6 K&N Oil Filters, $50 Auto Meter Gift Certificate, Annual Subscription to ThisIsBracketRacing.com

Like Fletcher, all of Tommy Phillips 2009 Power Points came from NHRA competition. Unlike Fletcher, Phillips competes mainly in Super Comp and Super Gas, where he earned all of his 2009 points equally. He earned a pair of national event wins in both Super Comp and Super Gas, and added a LODRS victory in each category as well. Phillips 2009 ledger did not include a single runner-up finish.

8.) Peter Biondo: 65 Points
$200 Nitroplate Gift Certificate, 6 K&N Oil Filters, $50 Auto Meter Gift Certificate, Annual Subscription to ThisIsBracketRacing.com

Peter Biondo’s unworldly talents were on display once again in 2009, as “The Terminator†scored points at various venues. He claimed a pair of NHRA national event victories; one each in Super Stock and Competition Eliminator (his first in that category). In bracket competition, he won a new dragster at an event in Atco, NJ and was runner-up in a race for an engine in South Georgia. He added a $10,000 win at the Bradenton 5-Day event en route to the 5-Day points championship, and capped his season with a second consecutive Ultimate Gambler victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

9.) Jason Lynch: 43 Points
$200 Nitroplate Gift Certificate, 6 K&N Oil Filters, $50 Auto Meter Gift Certificate, Annual Subscription to ThisIsBracketRacing.com

Jason Lynch’s 2009 tally came mainly from big dollar bracket races, as he makes his living in the top bulb category. Lynch earned his major windfall of the season at the annual Ultimate 64 Shootout in Ohio, where he claimed the $50,000 grand prize. He also earned a slew of big dollar runner-ups at races including the Ultimate 64, the Tenn-Tuck Triple Crown, and each of the three stops along the 2009 Florida Winter Series. Lynch added an IHRA national event title in Top Dragster, and showed his versatility by taking runner-up honors in a $10,000 No Box event.

10.) Bryan Robinson: 42 Points
$200 Nitroplate Gift Certificate, 6 K&N Oil Filters, $50 Auto Meter Gift Certificate, Annual Subscription to ThisIsBracketRacing.com

Former NHRA Super Gas World Champion Bryan Robinson quietly enjoyed another stellar season in the big dollar bracket ranks. Robinson, who competes locally almost exclusively, earned a trio of $10,000 victories at the Tenn-Tuck Triple Crown Events in Bowling Green, KY. His other three points earning events all came at Holly Springs Motorsports, where he won another $10,000 prize, and took runner-up honors at a $5,000-to-win event and the IHRA Pro-Am event in Stock Eliminator.

ThisIsBracketRacing.com would like to congratulate each of the drivers mentioned above on their outstanding 2009 seasons, as well as each and every racer that earned points within the BTE Power Rankings Standings this season. BTE will once again present the Power Rankings standings on ThisIsBracketRacing.com in 2010, stay tuned for details!