While all of the fame and notoriety in the sport of drag racing is almost exclusively centered within the NHRA’s professional categories, the mot lavish payday’s in the sport all exist a far cry from the ESPN2 cameras and the reality television shows. If you want to make big bucks, bracket racing is where it’s at. The Million Dollar Drag Race, now in it’s 14th running, was previously promoted by George Howard and is now headed up by noted sportsman racer Randy Folk, whose family campaigns a slew of race cars in high stakes bracket races. The million dollar main event, which has a hefty $2,000 entry fee, typically pays out in the neighborhood of $200,000 to the winner. Quite a gain for the lucky winner.
This years’ “Million” was slated to take place at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, but upon learning just days prior to the event that the NHRA intended to tech in every one of the race cars, it was swiftly moved to the unsanctioned Muncie
Dragway in Muncie, Indiana, about an hour north of Indianapolis. When the dust cleared on Saturday afternoon, it was a pair of dragsters racing for all the marbles. Larry Strickland was .003 on the tree and never looked back, defeating Richard Arnold. Jonathan Clay and the always tough Troy Williams Jr. both bowed out in the semifinals.