“ I REALLY DON ’ T THINK WINNING SUPER-CLOSE RACES IS A SKILL . TO PUT YOURSELF IN THAT POSITION AND MAKE A GOOD RUN TO BE IN A CLOSE RACE IS ONE THING , BUT TO CONSTANTLY HAVE THE WIN LIGHT COME ON ? THERE ’ S SOME GOOD FORTUNE INVOLVED THERE .”
would have rather have lost to … he even bought dinner after he whipped me ; can ’ t ask for much more than that !”
A four-hour drive on Monday reunited Bogacki with Jessica and Gary at the airport in Anaheim , California , where they would spend the night before visiting the West Coast home of Mickey Mouse for a fun and relaxing family outing . “ The opportunity to make a living doing something that I ’ ve always loved , and to share it with my family , and have opportunities to do stuff like visit Disneyland along the way is both awesome and unique ,” Bogacki acknowledges . “ I know we ’ ve got it good , and I do cherish this time in our lives .”
Once the Disney experience was over , though , like any good gambler , Bogacki turned his attention back to his true purpose back in Vegas : winning the big money . Unlike most high rollers , however , he wouldn ’ t be betting at the neon-soaked casinos downtown . Instead , like 230 other entrants he would wager a pair of $ 2,000 entry fees for a chance to win the all-eighth-mile K & N Spring Fling Million , the annual Peter Biondo and Kyle Seipel production at The Strip . And with Jessica competing in her Super Comp dragster , too , it promised to be a busy time .
On Wednesday , opening day for the Spring Fling , all three of the Bogacki rides were eliminated in the second round of racing . The next day Luke and his Corvette were again ousted early , but both dragsters fared a little better , with him making it into the last 20 cars and Jessica reaching the final 10 before being eliminated .
“ The first day we didn ’ t do any good at all and I just felt like I was putting a ton of pressure on myself for various stupid reasons . So I was kind of down on myself ,” he admits . “ The second day , my wife and I both did pretty good , so I got up a little bit of momentum . But still — and it ’ s all a matter of how you look at things — The Million is the big day and at that point we ’ ve won a thousand dollars and we ’ ve already got a seven-thousand-dollar tab .”
So with Friday ’ s main event , the race for The Million , remaining on Bogacki ’ s to-do list , he approached it with measured confidence .
“ At any of the big-dollar bracket races , but specifically The Million , you go in thinking you ’ ve got great equipment , feel like you ’ re as talented as anybody , but at the same time you just know that the margins are so razor thin and there are 230 entrants and nobody puts the two-thousand dollars in thinking they ’ re just donating ,” he emphasizes . “ Everybody feels like they ’ ve got an opportunity to win and then the way it plays out throughout the day , there will be a handful of races decided by a thousandth of a second , two-thousandths of a second , and people want to give you credit when you win , like , ‘ Oh , you ’ re the man !’ but in reality that ’ s a lot of coin flips . I really don ’ t think winning super-close races like that is a skill . To put yourself in that position and make a good run to be in a close race is one thing , but to constantly have the win light come on ? There ’ s some good fortune involved there .”
Lady Luck obviously rode shotgun with Bogacki on Million Day , as he drove like a champion while his car performed well enough to reach six entries in the quarter finals , from which Bogacki emerged with a no-pressure , coveted bye run in the semis to compete in the big-money final . Once there , his opponent , Texas racer Michael Pennington , left with a . 012 light , just two-thousandths of a second ahead of Bogacki . However , 660 feet later the win light was shining over Bogacki ’ s K & N-backed machine , thanks to an oh-so-slim . 0003 advantage at the stripe .
Predictably , Bogacki downplayed his own role in the $ 230-grand win — easily the biggest single-day payout in a 23-year career that ’ s seen more than $ 1.5-million in race purses come his way — going so far as to say he wasn ’ t driving at his best .
“ It ’ s funny , and nobody believes me when I say this , but I drove better at that race a year ago . I was double-oh every time I staged , but it just didn ’ t work out . And then this year , it ’ s not like I was awful and my car was fantastic , but on paper I didn ’ t make as many good runs as I did a year earlier . It ’ s just right place , right time ,” he insists . “ It ’ s funny , I just woke up that morning and I wish I could explain to myself how or why so that I could try to duplicate it , but I just woke up with a good feeling . I don ’ t know if you ever feel like you ’ re just going to win and outdrive everybody , but I always kinda ’ feel like I ’ m going to be competitive . And at the end of the day I feel like I ’ ll be happy with my driving for the most part — but that doesn ’ t mean anything in this sport . I even told my wife that morning , I just have a feeling
79 it ’ s going to come together and it ’ s going to work out somehow and by gosh , it did .”
For most bracket racers a win in The Million would be a life-changing event , a step up to another plane , even if only for the boost to their bank account . For Bogacki , the money is admittedly great , but even more so he appreciates what it means on a personal level .
“ There were two things that really made it special for me ,” he wrote in his DragRaceResults . com posting . “ Number one , I got to share the moment with Jessica and Gary . The Spring Fling staff arranged for the winner to get two nights in a plush suite at the Cosmopolitan . At first , I didn ’ t really like the idea of leaving the track ; I wanted to soak it all in . In retrospect , I ’ ll never forget the memories made away from the facility with the people who matter the most . We felt like we owned the town for a night — and we didn ’ t care that people around us must have been wondering what we were doing with a black-kneed three year old in a ritzy steakhouse after midnight — we were just enjoying our moment as a family . It was awesome .
“ The second thing that stood out , and what I think really makes it special , is the realization of just how many people were paying attention and how many people were genuinely happy to see us get that win . There was a time , early in my career where I really fed off of recognition . I was always a pretty insecure kid , so a part of me needed to hear other people recognize me for success . I ’ m happy to say that I ’ m much more at ease these days and that stuff isn ’ t nearly as important to me as it used to be . But it ’ s still really special to be so overwhelmed by friends and acquaintances that are truly happy for you and what you ’ ve accomplished . It ’ s an incredible feeling that I ’ m extremely grateful for .”
Going back a few weeks , Bogacki ’ s Huntsville experience was just the latest of countless lessons he ’ s learned since first strapping into one of the country ’ s earliest Jr . Dragsters back in 1993 , a car built by his bracket-racing father , Gary , and in which he won first time out at Texas Raceway in Kennedale , just five miles away from home at the time . A born natural , by the time his first year as a driver was over Bogacki had scored another dozen race titles , including the inaugural NHRA Division 4 Jr . Dragster championship event for his age group .