Humes, Hastings, Mattera, Dudley, and Thomson take home big checks from the St. Patrick’s Footbrake Triple 10’s.
JULIAN, NC – Piedmont Dragway is the host facility for seven out of eight Loose Rocker Promotion events in 2021. This weekend, the 12th Annual St. Patrick’s Footbrake Triple 10’s brought four full days of foot-swapping action to kickstart the season.
Aside from three $10,000-to-win races, drivers also had an opportunity to earn $3,000 during Saturday’s gamblers race and $5,000 in Thursday’s Legendary 64 shootout. The Giddy Piggy and MotorManiaTV were on site to keep everyone’s appetite under control and to livestream the event for those stuck at home.
Legendary 64 Shootout
After Thursday’s track operated Test & Tune session, the Loose Rocker action opened with the Legendary 64 Shootout. And the final round pairing was nothing short of legendary.
Dave Harvey, Jr closed out the 2020 Loose Rocker season with a $20K win at the Fall Footbrake Frenzy. Now at the season opener, Harvey wheels his way into his third Loose Rocker final round. In the opposite lane, Ernie Humes is looking to add a fifth Loose Rocker win to his resume, during his eighth final round appearance.
Humes is .016 at the starting line and takes 9 thou at the stripe to pick up the $5,000 win. Harvey’s .021 reaction time and one above pass left him with the $1,200 runner up prize. The 64 Shootout win gave Humes a weekend entry into next month’s ATI Bigfoot $75K, where he will be looking to claim his second Bigfoot title.
In the all-Mopar matchup, Jay Norris was the lone semifinalist.
Summit Racing Equipment Friday
A sunny and 75 degree day made for excellent racing forecast for Friday’s $10K event. 302 entries rolled through the waterbox during first round of eliminations. With only 28 entries remaining, an unpredicted misty rain chose to linger Friday evening and the decision was made to finish the race on Saturday.
Friday’s $10,000 final round was another battle between two big names in the racing world. Nasty Nick Hastings needs no introduction for his footbraking fame as he continues to make headlines across the country. This makes his ninth final round at a Loose Rocker event including his $20K win during last year’s Fall Footbrake Frenzy.
Putting her in deep in the other lane is none other than “Hot Rod” Finchum of Fast & Finchum fame. Known for turning on win lights while narrating every second of the race, Rodney stalls 2900 on his FTI converter in hopes of claiming his second Loose Rocker event win.
Finchum is .020 on the tree and runs dead nine, but Hastings’ .012 reaction and one above pass gives him the finish line by 6 thou. Nasty Nick remains undefeated in Loose Rocker final rounds while earning $10,000 and another iconic eagle trophy.
ATI Performance Products Saturday
The car count increased to 336 entries for Saturday’s $10K creating a nine round race. The semifinal came down to Hannah Blevins, Nick Hastings, and two entries for Bobby Mattera. Mattera took the double breakout win over Blevins in the first pairing, while Hastings lays down a 17 pack to lock out Mattera’s chance to run himself.
Mattera stages up for his second Loose Rocker final in his Opal GT while Hastings is looking for his second win of the day in the Pontiac T1000.
Hastings is .002 on the tree but is two above the dial in to get behind 1 thou at the finish line. Mattera is .022 total to pick up his first Loose Rocker win, ending Hastings’ perfect record in the process.
Saturday’s Gamblers Race
The racing action was far from over with 106 entries competing in Saturday’s $3,000-to-win Gamblers Race. There were only four drivers remaining in the sixth round: Jesse Betterton, Mark Hunter, Derrek Thomson, and Bob Mullaney. Mullaney turns it red to advance Thomson, while Betterton uses the reaction time advantage to move on beside Hunter’s breakout pass.
The final was a pair of five second first gen Camaros where both drivers run dead on their dial ins. Thomson uses the reaction time advantage to package up Betterton and collects $3K in his newly acquired racecar.
Abruzzi Transmissions & Converters Sunday
Sunday’s event was just short of 300 cars and the last $10,000 check was up for grabs. The last two drivers remaining have been in their share of big money bracket race final rounds. As far as Loose Rocker events, Devin Dudley will be staging up for his tenth final round appearance while Scott Macy rolls up for his seventh final.
Deadly Devin Dudley lives up to the nickname as he’s .001 on the tree while earning $10K and his seventh Loose Rocker event win. Macy runs dead on his 5.93 dial in but ends with day with a runner up finish.
Race Season is in Full Swing
The St. Patrick’s Footbrake Triple 10’s was just the first event on Loose Rocker Promotions 2021 schedule. The impending poor weather forecast has delayed the St. Patrick’s 300 until July 27-31 at GALOT Motorsports Park, so the footbrake crowd will have the next opportunity for cash.
The ATI BigFoot $75K will be at Piedmont Dragway April 16-18. Bottom bulb drivers will be racing for two $12,500 purses as well as Saturday’s $75,000 prize. The Loose Rocker Facebook page will have the latest information regarding their events.
Some of the fun at the Loose Rocker St. Patrick’s Footbrake Triple 10’s
Check out last week’s results from Beech Bend Raceway here or find the latest bracket racing news by clicking here.
Jessica was born into a family of drag racers and fell in love with the sport at a young age. She began competing at 13 and has been hooked ever since! She even met her husband at the World Footbrake Challenge VII. Jessica works full time as an Ultrasound Technologist but spends almost every weekend chasing win lights at IHRA and NHRA bracket races.
You can contact her at Jessica@dragchamp.com or on her Facebook page.
