Jeff Taylor Secures Wednesday Advanced Product Design $15,000 at the Summer Fling
Day two of the Jegs Summer Fling presented by Optima Batteries felt more like autumn with high temperatures in the seventies and a comfortable breeze blowing across the scenic Bristol Dragway. However, the competition was far from cool with multiple racers displaying perfect reaction times, dead-on zero passes, and nearly invisible margins of victory.
Advanced Product Design Wednesday opened with 240 cars breaking the stage beam in round one with $15,000 on the line. The seventh round featured seven remaining drivers on the ladder: Jeff Taylor, Will Holloman, Cory Gulitti, Kevin Pollard, Joe Julsrud, Clifford Davidson, and Gage Burch.
In the first quarterfinal pairing, Pollard lets go .002 but finds himself .003 behind at the finish line beside Burch, who had an .010 reaction time and ran dead-on with an eight for the win. Holloman is .015 up front and one above to advance over Julsrud, who was left mathematically ineligible. Davidson launches .002 too soon to advance Taylor who was .006 green and rolls out of the throttle after the automatic win. On the bye, Gulitti is .009 on the tree and runs dead on with a zero on his way to the semifinal.
Three dragsters and one door car remain with only two win lights standing between one driver and fifteen grand. Gulitti has the starting line advantage with his .004 light, but breaks out three-thousandths at the stripe beside Burch who runs one above for the win. Taylor is .001 and takes .009 at the finish line to earn his spot in the final round over Holloman, who is .024 total for the loss.
Two drivers who are no stranger to the winner’s circle prepare to battle for yet another Fling victory to add to their racing resumes. Taylor earned the MVP award at the Spring Fling in GALOT after running himself in the $50K final in April, and Burch earned a $15K win at last year’s Summer Fling. In tonight’s final, Taylor turns an eight-thousandths starting line advantage into an .011 margin of victory over Burch to secure the $15,000 win.
During the winner’s circle celebrations, Taylor said, “I tried to figure out a game plan before I put the helmet on, and we executed them, and it all worked out. First and foremost, [I have to thank] my Dad, as always. He’s back working so we can come race and it means the world to us.”
Race fans can tune in on ATI Performance Products $50,000 Thursday at 8:15 a.m. where all drivers on property will receive a time run prior to eliminations. Everything will be streamed live from @RaceTheFlings on YouTube where our in-house camera crew is slated to deliver another high-quality broadcast with live timing, starting line camera, exclusive interviews, and more in partnership with Strange Engineering.
For more information, visit www.BracketRaces.com, the Spring Fling Bracket Races Facebook page, watch live @RaceTheFlings on YouTube, or text the word BRISTOL to (374) 974-7007 for race updates.
This story was originally published on September 5, 2024.
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