OHIO JR. DRAGSTER DRIVER GETS $1,500 WIN AT THE ROCK
Michael Ruurk Makes Long Trip Pay Off at Southeastern Spring Nationals

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. – In an event shortened by one day due to weather, Michael Ruurk of Galena, Ohio waltzed away with the biggest single prize at the third annual Southeastern Jr. Dragster Spring Nationals at Rockingham Dragway.

Ruurk used a great .018 of a second reaction time to beat Youngsville’s Kaylee Love by a scant .001 of a second in the Bracket 1 final on Saturday to claim a $1,500 share of the posted purse. Love picked up $500 for her runner-up finish.

Other winners included Harley Ely of Mont Alto, Pa., in Bracket 2, Connor Caulder of St. Pauls, in the 7.90 Index class and Samantha Hollingsworth of Greenwood, S.C., in Outlaw 330.

Unfortunately, a second planned day of racing on Sunday was washed out and track owner Steve Earwood issued a credit to all those who had entered both days and purchased two-day crew passes.

As the 7.90 winner, Caulder earned $500 while runner-up Madison Pennington of Lexington, S.C., took home $150.

The event drew Jr. Dragster racers from 11 states including Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Next race at The Rock will be this week’s season-opener in the Phantasm Motorsports/KMS Drift Series.

ROCKINGHAM – Saturday results in the third annual Southeastern Jr. Dragster Spring Nationals at Rockingham Dragway:

Bracket 1

Round 4 – Kaden Haynes, Mount Carmel, Tenn., .010, 7.929 on a 7.900, 80.09 mph, def. Ryan Ely, Mont Alto, Pa., .097, 7.932 on a 7.900, 84.57 mph; Noah Lind, Keymar, Md., .034, 7.934 on a 7.930, 83.69 mph, def. Connor Caulder, St. Pauls, .030, 7.896 breakout on a 7.900, 81.15 mph; Cameron Gibson, Chaptice, Md., .024, 8.082 on a 7.930, 78.63 mph, def. Blake Denton, Lillington, .063, 8.092 on a 7.970, 82.94 mph; Michelle Deisbeck, Ruckersville, West Va., .044, 7.931 on a 7.900, 81.60 mph, def. Braden Wells, Midway, Ky., .113, 7.957 on a 7.900, 78.26 mph; Michael Ruurk, Galena, Ohio, .017, 7.934 on a 7.900, def. Kaylee Creech, Clayton, .061, 7.894 breakout on a 7.900; Brittany Dial, Maxton, .010, 7.895 on a 7.900, 80.62 mph, def. Caleb Burns, Fredericktown, Ohio, .051, 8.878 breakout on an 8.900, 73.97 mph; Austin Alvey, Mt. Washington, Ky., .090, 7.947 on a 7.910, 82.73 mph, def. Blane Parrish, Clayton, foul; Kaylee Love, Youngsville, .055, 8.852 on an 8.830, 74.34 mph, def. Samuel Peterson, Richlands, Mich., .069, 7.922 on a 7.900, 80.87 mph; Zach Pennington, Lexington, S.C., .047, 7.957 on a 7.900, 76.57 mph, def. Noah Johnson, Fayetteville, .048, 8.082 on a 7.900, 82.40 mph; Bailie Zepp, Hanover, Pa., bye.

Round 5 – Haynes, .011, 7.901 on a 7.900, 82.27 mph, def. Lind, .055, 7.963 on a 7.930, 82.50 mph; Ruurk, .005, 7.942 on a 7.900, 78.12 mph, def. Gibson, .005, 8.000 on a 7.930, 78.41 mph; Zepp, .039, 7.921 on a 7.900, 80.39 mph, def. Pennington, .059, 7.892 breakout on a 7.900, 77.98 mph; Alvey, .046, 7.911 on a 7.940, 81.28 mph, def. Deisbeck, .037, 7.867 breakout on a 7.900, 82.78 mph; Love, .059, 8.832 on an 8.840, 74.54 mph, def. Dial, foul.

Round 6 – Love, .006, 8.856 on an 8.820, 73.75 mph, def. Haynes, .141, 7.901 on a 7.900, 83.67 mph; Zepp, .046, 7.936 on a 7.900, 79.31 mph, def. Alvey, .160, 7.911 on a 7.910, 82.44 mph; Ruurk, bye.

Semifinals – Ruurk, .021, 7.910 on a 7.900, 81.97 mph, def. Zepp, .031, 7.913 on a 7.900, 82.50 mph; Love, bye.

FINAL – Michael Ruurk, Galena, Ohio, .018, 7.969 on a 7.900, 74.30 mph, def. Kaylee Love, Youngsville, .084, 8.834 on an 8.830, 74.33 mph.

7.90 Index

Round 4 – Michelle Deisbeck, Ruckersville, Va., .011, 7.901, 82.83 mph, def. Rachel Weis, Ashland, Va., .014, 7.896 breakout; Morgan Miles, Jackson, S.C., .028, 7.898, 82.84 mph, def. Bailie Zepp, Hanover, Pa., .037, 7.887 breakout, 83.57 mph; Dawson Wiggins, Dunn, .041, 7.988, 82.27 mph, def. Blake Denton, Lillington, .112, 7.927, 83.28 mph; Madison Pennington, Lexington, S.C., .015, 7.914, 81.35 mph, def. Zach Pennington, Lexington, S.C., .010, 7.899 breakout, 77.58 mph; Connor Caulder, St. Pauls, .027, 7.924, 79.51 mph, def. Kaylee Miller, Lancaster, S.C., .050, 7.913, 83.97 mph.

Round 5 – M. Pennington, .005, 7.937, 81.52 mph, def. Wiggins, .015, 8.023, 81.19 mph; Caulder, .035, 7.905, 79.84 mph, def. Miles, .074, 7.893 breakout, 81.57 mph; Deisbeck, bye.

Semifinals – Caulder, .011, 7.902, 80.09 mph, def. Deisbeck, .033, 7.895 breakout, 82.95 mph; M. Pennington, bye.

FINAL – Connor Caulder, St. Pauls, .044, 7.907, 80.91 mph, def. Madison Pennington, Lexington, S.C., .023, 7.941, 82.02 mph.

Bracket 2

Round 2 – Hayden Dial, Roland, .176, 9.015 on an 8.950, 73.13 mph, def. Breanna Gleason, Huntsville, Ala., .212, 10.571 breakout on a 10.580, 60.77 mph; Cale Pittman, Selma, .059, 12.061 on an 11.910, 49.82 mph, def. Saylar Bustle, Sherrills Ford, 275, 8.924 on an 8.900, 71.99 mph; Harley Ely, Mont Alto, Pa., .362, 14.019 on a 13.970, 45.91 mph, def. Colt Laing, Ravenswood, West Va., .293, no time; Bryce Pittman, Selma, bye.

Round 3 – B. Pittman, .025, 9.083 on a 9.040, 71.64 mph, def. Dial, .107, 8.958 breakout on a 9.000, 73.74 mph; Ely, .080, 13.882 on a 13.970, 47.01 mph, def. Bustle, foul; C. Pittman, bye.

Semifinals – B. Pittman, .135, 9.137 on a 9.080, 72.15 mph, def. C. Pittman, foul; Ely, bye.

FINAL – Harley Ely, Mont Alto, Pa., .101, 13.961 on a 13.900, 46.52 mph, def. Bryce Pittman, Selma, .072, 9.291 on a 9.150, 71.03 mph.

Outlaw 330

Round 1 – Maria Kay Bowie, NA, .071, 4.318 seconds, def. Wallace Wilson, Taylors, S.C., .075, 4.619 seconds; Samantha Hollingsworth, Greenwood, S.C., .055, 4.300 seconds, def. Zach Penington, Lexington, S.C., .096, 4.316 seconds; Eathan Bickford, NA, .068, 4.315 seconds, def. Noah Johnson, Fayetteville, .001, 4.395 seconds; Kaylee Miller, Lancaster, S.C., bye.

Semifinals – Hollingsworth, .056, 4.275 seconds, def. Bowie, .044, 4.333 seconds; Miller, .063, 4.254 seconds, def. Bickford, .078, 4.310 seconds.

FINAL – Samantha Hollingsworth, Greenwood, S.C., .056, 4.275 seconds, def. Kaylee Miller, Lancaster, S.C., .106, 4.264 seconds.