Five Takeaways from ‘No Prep Kings’ at Brainerd International Raceway

After a rare week off and weather delays pushing racing back to Sunday, we eventually saw some major shake-ups at the Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings event in Brainerd, Minnesota.

Ryan Martin took home $30,000 while adding to his already overflowing trophy case, Scott Taylor proved once again that he is the undisputed champ of a class he’d probably rather not be in, and Larry Larson debuted his gorgeous new Chevy II. 

In addition, James “Birdman” Finney had an unfortunate run-in with the wall, while sportsmanship and frustration were both on display as Justin Swanstrom gave Alex Laughlin more time than he was required to before their first round pairing – only to have Laughlin get the victory in a pedal fest.    

With these stories and more, let’s jump right in to my five key takeaways from No Prep Kings at Brainerd International Raceway.      

Martin Shakes Things Up with Invitational Win 

Three-time NPK champion Ryan Martin has quietly put together a strong season, despite not being quite as dominant as in previous years. On Sunday, he scored his second Invitational event win of 2024, and the 26th victory of his NPK career.  

“We were able to pull off a win in Epping and we got one of them little bitty trophies,” Martin said after the race. “Now we get one of the real ones, so I’m pretty excited about that.”

Martin defeated “Dominator” Joe Woods in the qualification round to put himself in the winner’s bracket. From there, he defeated Larry Larson, Jerry Bird, and points leader Giuseppe Gentile before meeting Kye Kelley in the finals. And as is always the case – or nearly always – Martin got the better of his longtime rival.

“It was definitely pretty close,” said Martin. “I pulled the chutes and he was right there. Kye can tell you – he probably had a little better view than I did. [Martin pauses] I don’t mean anything by that. It was for sure close. It always is, every time. Even though he thinks he knows how it’s gonna go, I know that one time’s coming where he does the same thing to me.”  

 With the win, Martin vaulted up to second in the points, just 15 behind Gentile. And according to “Stat Guy” Chris LeCloux, Martin also became the first driver in NPK history to win the Invitational in two different cars with two different combinations in the same season. His victory earlier this year at New England Dragway was with the screw-blown Fireball Camaro, but he has since switched to his ProCharger-powered Gray Car.

“We switched back over to this [Gray Car],” Martin said. “Had some problems with the screw car, and turns out this thing still runs pretty good.”  

Taylor Earns 3rd Second-Chance Victory of 2024  

David Hilner photo

Scott Taylor is quickly becoming the King of the second-chance bracket, winning it for the third time already this season. After falling to Clay Cole in the qualification round, Taylor received a bye in the first round of the second-chance group. He then outran “Daddy Dave” Comstock and Robin Roberts to take home $5,000 and 12 points.

While seeing him relegated to the “loser’s bracket” so often is a bit of a shock, he’s making the best of an unfortunate situation, consistently winning money and earning points – he’s currently tied for 12th.

“Not the win we were looking for, but we picked up $5k and a win in the 2nd chance race,” Taylor said on social media. “Hopefully we can keep getting faster every week. We’re getting closer to where we need to be.”

I’ve stated for weeks (perhaps months) now that Taylor has too good of a program to continue dropping into the loser’s bracket, and I stand by that. Some tough draws and lack of consistency with his previous twin-turbo combination are the main culprits, but he’s been very fast with the new ProCharger combo.     

And Then There was One

David Hilner photo

Heading into Brainerd, only two drivers had won in the qualification round at all seven events – Kye Kelley and Robin Roberts. With Roberts losing to Jeff Lutz in the qualification round on Sunday, Kelley now stands alone as the only driver to secure an opening-round win at every race.  

Kelley – winner of the past two NPK events at Brainerd International Raceway – nearly pulled off a three-peat, defeating Chris Rankin, Lutz, Murder Nova, and “Disco Dean” Karns on his way to the finals. There he met his long-time kryptonite, Ryan Martin, and once again fell to the winningest driver in NPK history.

“I got my ass kicked,” Kelley joked when asked what happened in the finals. “Nah, it was about like normal. He had me by about a car down through there. I’ve been working on my car trying to get it as fast as his. Just ain’t got there yet. But there’s no better way to try to defend my two titles here than being in the finals with the guy that won.”

Despite the loss, Kelley moved up to seventh in points, and seems to have his car running as well as it has all season.  

Larson Debuts New Chevy II

Larry Larson photo

Larry Larson made his long-awaited season debut at Brainerd International Raceway, showing off his brand new ‘66 Chevy II. Larson designed the car with a vintage look, painting it in the same style as his all-steel Nova that earned him five Hot Rod Drag Week titles.

Larson started the weekend off on the right foot, defeating Birdman in the qualification round to put himself in the winner’s bracket. While the car looked strong for having just a few runs on it, Larson had the unfortunate luck of drawing Ryan Martin in the first round. Overall, I came away impressed with his new car and am anxious to see if he can somehow manage to gain enough ground to crack the top 16 in points before the “playoffs” begin. 

Earning Elite Status 

During their week off prior to Brainerd, No Prep Kings announced the brand new No Prep Elite – a four-race playoff format during the month of October featuring the top 16 drivers in points from the regular season.

The playoff events will take place at Tulsa Raceway Park, Rockingham Dragway, Alabama International Dragway, and the season finale at the Texas Motorplex. 

With Brainerd in the books, there are only five events left for teams to earn their spot, and there’s a logjam near the cutoff point, currently held by Jim Howe. Nine drivers are separated by just 14 points between the 12th and 19th spots. With the winner’s bracket awarding 10 points per round win, that amount can be made up in a heartbeat.     

Next Up: No Prep Kings heads to Cordova Dragway in Cordova, Illinois this weekend, June 28-29.

This story was originally published on June 26, 2024.

The post Five Takeaways from ‘No Prep Kings’ at Brainerd International Raceway first appeared on Drag Illustrated.