Drag Illustrated Issue 175, March / April 2022 | Page 38

Dirt

NELSITO AND KEVIN ALEMAN
and Kevin is a great driver and he ’ s only 17 .”
In Modified presented by Induction Performance , No . 1 qualifier Derick Santiago raced to victory in his Pimar Acura , recording a 6.55 at 218.94 in the final round . He ended up going off the end of the track into the sand trap because his parachutes didn ’ t deploy . Final-round opponent Aileen Morales rolled the beams before the tree activated .
“ We worked very hard for this ,” said Santiago , a 23-year-old from Haines City , Florida . “ The car is relatively new – this is our third outing with it . I have to thank my sponsors and the group of guys I have behind me . Without them , none of this would be possible . We ’ ve accomplished a lot
so far . We had a little accident in the sand trap , but it was minor damages . Just happy we ’ ve accomplished what we have so far .”
Bradenton ’ s own Cooper Bogetti scored the win in Hot Rod / Extreme 28s presented by Brian Crower when No . 1 qualifier Johnny Lyons rolled the beams in the final round . Bogetti in his turbocharged , Induction Performance 2JZpowered ‘ 99 Camaro lost traction shortly after leaving the starting line and coasted to a 14.75 at 80.97 . His 8.077 at 156.05 in the first round was low E . T . of eliminations and the second-quickest of the weekend .
“ I went up to that final round and I knew my trans was slipping after my first pass ,” said Bogetti , who has a huge following on YouTube and Instagram . “ I was going in knowing I wasn ’ t going to
do great if [ Lyons ] had a good pass . I wanted to take the beams because you never know what the other lane is going to do . Sometimes it ’ s better to have a little bit of luck than a whole lot of skill .”
Alberto Santiago was named the winner in Old School presented by Mickey Thompson Tires .
Sport Compact Evolution also included index racing , with event wins going to Christopher Hartberger in 9.50 Index presented by O & J Performance , Christian Gonzalez in 10.50 Index presented by Stingray Chevrolet Bartow , and Ed Nunez in 11.50 Index presented by Tripp Law Firm .
Many of the drivers in competition at Sport Compact Evolution will return to Bradenton Motorsports Park later this year for the 10th annual FL2K presented by Brian Crower , Oct . 6-9 . DI
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