While the professional categories were obviously the headlining attraction of the PRO Superstar Shootout , the sportsman classes also kept fans in the stands , especially for Friday qualifying and Saturday eliminations . The invitation-only fields of 32 cars in FTI Performance Top Sportsman , Super Stock , and Stock Eliminator attracted racers from numerous divisions , including world champions . The sportsman racers got four qualifying sessions before using the same random chip draws as the pros to determine pairings in eliminations . On top of big payouts , winners and No . 1 qualifiers walked away with custom trophies from Cold Hard Art .

TOP SPORTSMAN WINNER DARIAN BOESCH

Kenner , Louisiana-based young gun Darian Boesch made multiple trips to Bradenton in the weeks leading up to the PRO Superstar Shootout to prepare his supercharged ‘ 18 Camaro for battle in the $ 50,000-to-win FTI Performance Top Sportsman class . He estimates he made 40 or so runs down the track before competition began , and after four qualifying sessions and five rounds of eliminations , Boesch secured the largest payout in Top Sportsman history .

“ I ’ ve got to thank everybody who put this on , especially Wes Buck for really pushing them to have our classes there , and Greg [ Samuel ] and Paul [ Lee ] at FTI for putting up the money for us ,” said Boesch , a 2021 DI 30 Under 30 honoree .

Boesch qualified No . 2 before getting a firstround win when Texan Brian Heath went red by . 006 . He recorded a 6.264 on a 6.26 dial-in to beat another Texan , Chris Arnold , in the second round . A third Texas-based driver , Mark Buehring , went red by . 001 while Boesch broke out by three thousandths in round three . Boesch paired up with reigning NHRA Top Sportsman

world champion Brandon Miller in the semis , where Miller cut a . 007 light but broke out by five thou . Finally , Boesch stepped up in the final round with a . 002 reaction time and a 6.285 on a 6.27 dial-in to stop Sandy Wilkins , who ran a 6.49 on a 6.47 dial-in .

“ More than anything , these are people that I race with fairly often ,” Boesch said of the pressure of racing against an all-star field for $ 50,000 . “ I ’ ve been in the lanes with Sandy and Brandon and everybody . These are people that I ’ m fairly familiar with , but really , the money makes a big difference . It ’ s not for points or nothing . It ’ s just purely , ‘ Be here , you ’ re letting go of the button for $ 50,000 .’”

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