Drag Illustrated Issue 127, November 2017 | Page 32
Dirt
NEOPM 25 TH ANNIVERSARY RACE
final round against longtime club member Steve
King, who took wins over Hard and Marinis in
the previous rounds. It was also King who got
the bye run in the semis after Dunne hurt the
motor in round 2.
While King was the picture of consistency
throughout the weekend, it was Scriba who had
enough horsepower to cover the entire field, so
King knew that a well-timed hole shot in the
finals would be his best chance to put away
Scriba, and that’s exactly how the race played
out. King’s .033 reaction time instantly made
up for the performance advantage that disap-
peared for Scriba when he left the line with
a .098 light. Scriba’s 5.812 at 245.05 couldn’t
quite catch King, who reached the finish line
first with a 5.847 at 243.55. Both drivers pro-
vided a high-drama finish for the fans who
Steve King
turned out for this celebrated event.
The win, along with brand new sponsorship
from Gene Pilot, energized King and his future
plans. As recently as last year, King contemplat-
ed retirement and even took a little time off to
reevaluate his future. That’s when Pilot stepped
up and purchased the car and provided funds
necessary to continue competing in Pro Mod.
“We wouldn’t even be here right now if it wasn’t
for Gene, and it’s pretty gratifying to win since
we’ve struggled all year and we’ve been under-
funded,” King admitted.
King won the NEOPM championship in 2011,
finished second in 2012, then ran a limited sched-
ule in the years following due to lack of funding.
“It looks like we’re going to hit it hard next
year, and we’re very energized about the future,”
smiled King.
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Dave Norris
32 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
Dean Marinis
Issue 127
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