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Memphis, TN. - On July 6 and
July 7, 2001 the first annual Mega Bucks ATV Drag Race was held at
Springhill Dirt Drag’s in Ashland, MS. With 115 participants
from 10 states it was one of the largest ATV only drag races ever
held. With a total purse of nearly $10,000 it was also one of the
richest.
Spring Hill Track is a 300ft. dirt drag strip with Porta-Tree
timing and scoring equipment. The races are held in a standard bracket
(E.T.) racing format, as well as heads up racing on a pro-tree. There
are no major differences between the racing on dirt and asphalt other
than the classes all compete on a four tenths tree. Break outs, red
lights, and center line infractions are all handled the same in both
forms of the sport. So asphalt racer’s make good dirt racer’s and
vice versa.
There were 5 classes run at Spring Hill Track over the Mega
Bucks weekend and they included the following heads up classes; Top 2
stroke (2 stroke ATV motor’s only), Top 4 stroke (4 stroke ATV motor’s
only), and Open ATV (Unlimited class). The following bracket classes
were run during this event, with the E.T. class paying the Mega Bucks
pay out; Quick 8 (Qualification during time trials fast 8 qualifiers
run for the money) and the Pro E.T. class (Open to all except
automotive powered vehicles). During the event the track E.T. and
M.P.H. record was broken and reset three times.
The racing Friday night became a marathon event as Tony White
from Ashland, KY outlasted the field with a string of dead-on his dial
in runs and near perfect reaction times to take home the 1st
place money. On Saturday night it became an encore performance as once
again Tony stormed through the field to take 1st and
3rd honors. Tony defeated local rider Shane Brooks in the
finals to claim the top prize. Overall Tony’s weekend was very
profitable as he returned to Kentucky with over $5000 in winnings.
Congratulations, Tony on a remarkable performance by you and your
crew, we look forward to you defending your crown as the 1st
Annual Mega Bucks winner.
Friday night July 6, 2001
(Heads Up Classes)
Top 2 stroke winner – Jay English
Top 4 stroke winner - Cody Jordan , Brookhaven, MS.
Open ATV winner – Mike Goodale, Grand
Rapids, Mi.
Open ATV runner up – Randy Edley, Memphis, Tn.
(Bracket Racing Classes)
PeeWee
Winner – Tyler Martindale, Walnut, MS.
Runner Up - Scott Thompson, Ashland, Ms.
3rd - Justin Mitchell, Potts Camp, Ms.
Junior
Winner – Craig Stamper, Ironton, OH.
Runner Up - Justin Gray, Ashland, Ms
3rd - Jeremy Null, Walnut, Ms.
Pro E.T.
Winner – Tony White, Ashland, KY.
Runner Up - Dennis Hopkins, Ashland, Ms.
3rd - Grant Spencer
4th - Mark Stanford
5th - Joshua Keeling, Ashland, MS.
Saturday night July 7, 2001
Quick 8 winner – Mike Brooks, Coppell, TX.
Pro E.T.
Winner – Tony White, Ashland, KY.
Runner Up - Shane Brooks, Walnut, MS.
3rd - Tony White, Ashland, KY.
4th - Dennis Hopkins, Ashland, MS.
5th - Robert Gray, Ashland, MS.
6th - Jamie Weaver, Walnut, MS.
Springhill Dirt Drags Inc. would like to once again thank all
the racer’s and our sponsor’s Polaris of Memphis, Bob’s House of
Honda, allrightatv.com and winkys.com for their attendance and support
during this event and we hope to see you all again at he next Mega
Bucks event. Please contact the ATVDRA for information on the next
Mega Bucks event.
See www.springhilltrack.com
for more information on drag racing in the dirt and additional
pictures and stories about this event.
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Mike Goodale set the track E.T. record at 3.43
on his rear engine turbo
nitrous injected
Suzuki 3 wheeler.
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Darren Landers set the new M.P.H. record at 93.87 m.p.h. on his
Banshee
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The staging area was packed with ATV's all weekend long and the
racer's patience was greatly appreciated. |
The bikes of Mega Bucks!
We had them in all shapes and sizes!
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Story by: Randy Edley
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