Recap: Todd Moyer Banks $10,000 EX275 Win at North Star Dragway

EX275LEAD2

North Star Dragway in Denton, Texas has quickly become a leading destination for the quickest and fastest cars in the X275 class, with their EX275 program which debuted last year. After a highly successful outing in 2013, track owner Gene Nicodemus had no choice but to bring the program back this season with a stellar $10,000 payday to the winner! In October of last year, Shane Fisher clicked off the X275 elapsed time record in Denton which held up for several months until recently being broken. The track conditions at North Star Dragway are undoubtedly the best in Texas, a fact the track staff take great pride in. Hosting a 32 car field of EX275 competitors from across the nation, coupled with an Ultimate Street class sponsored by TurboBullet.com, the pits were packed with stellar drag racing machines including Shane Fisher, the Bruder Brothers, Cory Wheat, Todd Moyer and many more. This fine line-up was topped off by announcing from the one and only Al Tucci. Per Al’s call to the lanes, it was time to kick off the first of three heads up qualifying rounds on Friday night under the lights in North Texas.

T32Rich Bruder wheeled his “Desert Demons Racing” 1988 Ford Mustang from Edison, New Jersey to the top spot after the first round of qualifying with a 4.61 at 160 mph. Bryan Sandlin of Baytown, Texas claimed the number two spot in his 1990 Ford Mustang with a 4.65 at 152 mph and Todd Moyer rounded out the top three with a 4.67 at 159 in his 1991 Ford Mustang. Twenty seven cars made a hit in the opening qualifier with Lamar Swindoll rounding out the field.

In the second qualifying round, Bruder stepped up with a 4.59 at 161 to keep his spot atop the qualifying sheet. Moyer stole the second spot with a 4.62 at 158 mph and Shane Fisher moved into the top three with a 4.64 at 161 mph. Cory Wheat, Javier Carmona, Joe Johnson and Brad Medlock also clicked off passes in the 4.60 zone to solidify their spot in the top half of the field.

The call from Al Tucci went out to bring the cars back to the lanes for the final EX275 qualifier of Friday night. Bruder improved yet again, by just a thousandth of a second, to hold his spot on the top with a 4.594 at 160 mph. Joe Johnson of Rockwall, Texas made a big move into the third qualifying position with a nice 4.63 at 159 mph in this 1990 model Ford Mustang. Taylor Lastor had struggled a bit in the first two rounds of qualifying but in session number three, Lastor clicked off a 4.68 at 156 mph in his 1969 Camaro, good for the number nine spot after Friday’s action. Lamar Swindoll of Beach City, Texas moved into the top ten qualifiers in the third session with a 4.71 at 153 mph in his beautiful 1970 Nova.

In TurboBullet.com Ultimate Street qualifying action, Stephen Barnett of Willis, Texas led the pack with a 5.04 at 142 mph in his 1990 Ford Mustang. Barnett held a tenth on the field as number two qualifier Thomas Cox posted a best of 5.14 at 141 mph, who held a tenth on the number three qualified entry of John Mathis’ Fort Worth, Texas based 1969 Camaro. Five cars came to battle for the $2,500 to win top payout in Ultimate Street as the cars returned to the pits with action set to start at 3 p.m. on Saturday with a final qualifying session before the fields would be set.

110

Saturday’s action brought a few new cars into the pit area as parts attrition had eliminated a handful of cars and there were a few open spots left in the 32 car field for EX275. Kenny Hubbard and Chris Shortridge were two of those who fell to mechanical issues before eliminations got underway.

72With track temperatures hovering around 100 degrees for the final qualifier, odds were unlikely that anyone would improve from their Friday night efforts. Despite their odds, almost all the entrants brought their hot rods to the lanes to make the final qualifying hit, checking things over before eliminations started. The same could be said for Ultimate Street as Barnett held his top qualifying spot heading into eliminations. North Star Dragway stepped up with a second chance race for the EX275 class, sponsored by Royal Glass, which would give first round losers a $1,000 to win, $500 to runner up pot to compete for.

FINAL EX275 QUALIFYING ORDER:

1. Rich Bruder (Edison, NJ) – 4.59 @ 160
2. Todd Moyer (Pasadena, TX) – 4.62 @ 158
3. Joe Johnson (Rockwall, TX) – 4.63 @ 159
4. Shane Fisher (Dewitt, AR) – 4.64 @ 161
5. Bryan Sandlin (Baytown, TX) – 4.65 @ 152
6. Cory Wheat (Katy, TX) – 4.65 @ 159
7. Javier Carmona (Spring, TX) – 4.66 @ 158
8. Brad Medlock (Little Rock, AR) – 4.67 @ 159
9. Taylor Lastor (Cleveland, TX) – 4.68 @ 156
10. Lamar Swindoll (Beach City, TX) – 4.71 @ 153
11. Fred Silbernagel (Oklahoma City, OK) – 4.72 @ 156
12. Chris Shortridge (Temple, TX) – 4.72 @ 157
13. Chase Driskell (Pasadena, TX) – 4.74 @ 143
14. Marty Pearcy (San Angelo, TX) – 4.77 @ 152
15. Chad Smallwood (Bertram, TX) – 4.79 @ 147
16. Mike Graham (North Richland Hills, TX) – 4.79 @ 147
17. Mike Kelley (North Richland Hills, TX) – 4.82 @ 155
18. Justin Curry (Beach City, TX) – 4.86 @ 144
19. Derek Lewis (Grand Prairie, TX) – 4.90 @ 147
20. Mike Kurtz (Richmond, TX) – 4.91 @ 152
21. Paul Eason (Spring, TX) – 4.96 @ 149
22. Roy Rees (Ruston, LA) – 5.03 @ 143
23. Odie Sturgeon (Moore, OK) – 5.08 @ 149
24. Mark Brewton (Winnfield, LA) – 5.09 @ 141
25. Angel Padilla (Austin, TX) – 5.20 @ 145
26. Rodney Whatley (Sanger, TX) – 5.32 @ 134
27. Chuck Clague (Henderson, TX) – 5.60 @ 125
28. Chip Pike (Hot Springs, AR) – 6.65 @ 76
29. Miguel Varela (Ft. Worth, TX) – 7.33 @ 92
30. Bob Bales (Yukon, OK) – 8.60 @ 82

The line to get in the track was almost out the front gate and the stands and fence line were filling up fast as spectators packed into North Star Dragway to see the best of the best duking it out for the big money in the EX275 class. In the opening round of eliminations, all the higher qualified cars earned round wins except for an exciting pedal fest between Derek Lewis and Marty Pearcy. Both cars struck the tires at the hit but Lewis had the better response and his 6.11 at 142 was just enough to take out Pearcy’s 6.40 at 142 mph.

T38MartyPearcy

In what could have been the biggest upset of the event, Miguel Varela’s 4.94 at 149 came up just short of taking out Shane Fisher’s off pace 4.83 at 160 mph. Taylor Lastor clicked off a 4.68 at 156 to advance over Mark Brewton. Rich Bruder’s 4.65 at 154 earned him a round win in a bye run and Justin Curry stepped up to a 4.63 at 158 mph to take out Chad Smallwood’s 4.85 at 147 mph. Javier Carmona’s nice 4.69 at 157 mph knocked out Rodney Whatley’s 5.03 at 141 mph as the first round of EX275 concluded.

139

In round two EX275 action, the first pair set the pace for the rest of the event with some great side by side drag radial action. Mike Graham in a stunning brand new 1968 Camaro used a hole shot and a 4.78 at 152 mph to take out Brad Medlock’s quicker but loosing 4.74 at 160 mph. In a powerhouse match-up, Rich Bruder squared off with Taylor Lastor. Lastor was drilled on the tree as Bruder clicked off a 4.652 at 160 mph to Lastor’s 4.659 at 157 mph. Todd Moyer knocked out Lamar Swindoll with a 4.66 at 157 mph after Swindoll blew the tires off at the hit. Justin Curry turned heads as his 1968 Camaro went into a huge wheelstand in his match-up with Javier Carmona. Curry never lifted and the front wheels finally returned to Earth as Curry’s 5.15 at 143 mph took an impressive win over Carmona’s 6.09 at 130 mph.

Shane Fisher laid down a 4.67 at 161 mph in a bye run to advance while Joe Johnson matched that 4.67 to take out Silbernagel’s 4.72 at 155 mph. Derek Lewis kept his winning streak alive with a career best 4.84 at 149 mph to knock out Chuck Clague and Mike Kurtz advanced to the quarterfinals on a bye run to close a very exciting second round of eliminations.

EX275 champion Todd Moyer and his turbocharged Ford Mustang.

EX275 champion Todd Moyer and his turbocharged Ford Mustang.

Al Tucci had the boys hustling in the pits and made the call to bring them to the lanes for Round 3 of competition. Rich Bruder and Mike Graham were out first as Graham knew he had to push the tree if he hoped to take the win light in this one. Graham pushed too far with a -.120 reaction time but laid down a nice 4.76 at 153 mph in his first outing for the team. Bruder showed no mercy with a stout 4.59 at 160 mph to advance. Todd Moyer didn’t give Justin Curry much of a chance as he was off the line with a .014 reaction time and coupled that with a 4.63 at 157 mph to defeat Curry’s 4.82 at 153 mph.

EX275 runner-up and current X275 national record holder Shane Fisher and his sinister Mustang.

EX275 runner-up and current X275 national record holder Shane Fisher and his sinister Mustang.

Shane Fisher destroyed Mike Kurtz on the starting line with a .003 reaction time and laid down a 4.64 at 160 mph to take down Kurtz’s best pass of the weekend, a 4.69 at 154 mph. In the final pair of the round, Joe Johnson wasted no time ending Derek Lewis’ day with a 4.69 at 159 mph to Lewis’ huge wheelstanding 6.16 at 78 mph pass. Lewis had his Nova on the back bumper at 500 feet before he was finally forced to lift as the crowd went wild.

Picking up the TurboBullet.com Ultimate Street action in the semi-finals, Thomas Cox moved into the finals on a bye run with a 5.15 at 140 mph. Stephen Barnett’s 5.07 at 142 mph defeated John Mathis’ red lighting 5.29 at 138 mph as Cox and Barnett would move on to battle for the cash in the final round.

In EX275 semi-final action, the first pair resulted in one of the quickest and fastest side by side passes in X275 racing history. Shane Fisher and Rich Bruder crept into the beams in a battle of go fast Mustangs. Fisher took a slight starting line advantage and the cars charged side by side through the lights with Fisher’s 4.597 at 161 mph taking the win over Bruder’s 4.597 at 160 mph.

After the fans and crew members picked their jaws up off the ground, Todd Moyer and Joe Johnson fired up to see who would advance to the final to battle Fisher. Johnson was ready as he blasted off the line with a .009 reaction time but he had troubles with a 4.80 at 151 mph as Moyer clicked off yet another 4.597 at 158 mph as Fisher and Moyer moved to the finals with identical elapsed times, setting up what would certainly be the drag race of the event as the winner would pocket a cool $10,000 cash!

Ultimate Street winner Stephen Barnett.

Ultimate Street winner Stephen Barnett

The Ultimate Street final brought the closest race of the class as Thomas Cox and Stephen Barnett came to the line. Both drivers were off the line with great reaction times, but Barnett had the ponies to get the job done as his 5.07 at 142 mph narrowly defeated Cox’s 5.11 at 141 mph. Barnett would make the short drive home with a $2,500 payday for his win in Ultimate Street. 

EX275 second chance winner Angel Padilla (left), and EX275 champ Todd Moyer in victory lane.

EX275 second chance winner Angel Padilla (left), and EX275 champ Todd Moyer in victory lane.

In the EX275 second chance race, Angel Padialla and Miguel Varela found themselves paired up in the final round ready to lay it down for a $1,000 pay day. Padilla was off the line with a .018 reaction time taking over a tenth of a second advantage off the line and he needed it. Padialla’s 5.03 at 146 mph was just enough to hold off the quicker but loosing 5.01 at 149 mph from Varela. 

Just before midnight, Al Tucci made the call to bring Shane Fisher and Todd Moyer to the lanes for the final drag race of the night. Almost all the spectators stuck around to see this battle royale between two of the best in the business. After side by side burnouts the crew chiefs brought their drivers to the line with the pressure on and all eyes on the tree. The turbos spooled up and fans plugged their ears eager to see this one go down. At the flash of amber, Fisher was -.019 red and his 4.609 at 160 mph was no factor as Todd Moyer blasted to a 4.603 at 158 mph to take the big win at North Star Dragway.

Yet another very successful EX275 event was in the books in Denton, Texas. Todd Moyer certainly enjoyed his drive home to Pasadena, Texas while Shane Fisher had nothing to hang his head about taking home $2,500 for his runner up effort. 

BROWSE THE PHOTO GALLERY AFTER THE BREAK

 

Drag Racing in your Inbox.

Build your own custom newsletter with the content you love from Dragzine, directly to your inbox, absolutely FREE!

Free WordPress Themes
Dragzine NEWSLETTER - SIGN UP FREE!

We will safeguard your e-mail and only send content you request.

Dragzine - Drag Racing Magazine

We'll send you the most interesting Dragzine articles, news, car features, and videos every week.

Dragzine - Drag Racing Magazine

Dragzine NEWSLETTER - SIGN UP FREE!

We will safeguard your e-mail and only send content you request.

Dragzine - Drag Racing Magazine

Thank you for your subscription.

Subscribe to more FREE Online Magazines!

We think you might like...


Street Muscle Magazine
Hot Rods & Muscle Cars
Diesel Army
Diesel Army
Engine Labs
Engine Tech

Dragzine - Drag Racing Magazine

Thank you for your subscription.

Subscribe to more FREE Online Magazines!

We think you might like...

  • Streetmuscle Hot Rods & Muscle Cars
  • Diesel Army Diesel Army
  • Engine Labs Engine Tech

Dragzine - Drag Racing Magazine

Dragzine

Thank you for your subscription.

Thank you for your subscription.

Dragzine - Drag Racing Magazine

Thank you for your subscription.

Thank you for your subscription.

Loading