Boesch , who was also invited to compete in both Top Sportsman and Top Dragster at the
Drag IllustrateD World Series of Pro Mod presented by JHG and J & A Service , credited his car and the manufacturers he works with for setting him up for success .
“ I ’ ve gotta thank Mark Micke [ of M & M Transmission ], Race Engine Development , Jerry Haas Race Cars , and Doucette Motorsports ,” Boesch said . “ It ’ s a great car . I have zero complaints and it gets the job done , that ’ s for sure . As long as I can do my thing halfway . The car sometimes will pick up the slack for me .” DI
SUPER STOCK WINNER MATT DADAS
Matt Dadas , who appeared on the cover of the 2019 DI 30 Under 30 Issue , went down to Bradenton with the Bo Butner
Racing camp to help service the team ’ s fleet of sportsman entries and give a hand to Butner as he competed in an Elite Motorsports-fielded Pro Stock car . He had no idea that a few days later , he ’ d find himself in the winner ’ s circle after defeating Jeff Adkinson in the Super Stock final round .
“ About 20 minutes before Q1 of Super Stock , Bo comes back from turning in his tech card and he goes , ‘ Well , I made an executive decision while I was up there ,’” Dadas begins . “ He said , ‘ You ’ re driving .’ I was like , ‘ OK , if you say so ,’ and so I got in it . I had never made a run in this thing . I loaded it in the trailer for him , but it ’ s just unbelievable how this stuff happens . I ’ m super , super thankful , super blessed , and it ’ s very special .”
Driving Butner ’ s ‘ 12 Mustang , Dadas qualified No . 5 and drew Jay Storey in the first round . He got a couple lucky breaks , as Storey broke out and Ryan Montford went red by . 007 in the second round . Dadas laid down a 9.53 on a 9.539 dial-in to beat Kevin Helms in the third round . He broke out in the semifinals , but Hayden Trumble ’ s . 002 red light negated the breakout and sent Dadas to the final round . There , a . 014 reaction time and 9.532 on a 9.53 dial-in was enough to hold off Adkinson , who was . 039 up front and ran a 9.29 on a 9.28 dial-in .
“ I can ’ t thank Bo and Randi Lyn enough ,” Dadas said while waiting to take winner ’ s circle photos . “ They treat me like gold . They do so much for me and they ’ re just great people , and good things happen to great people . Gage Green , our crew chief , he ’ s spectacular . I normally don ’ t need too much , but he always checks on me . I also want to thank my girlfriend , Carly , my parents , and Jason Johnson at JHG .”
The Vermilion , Ohio , native raced in front of capacity crowds in the late rounds on Saturday while racing for the $ 30,000 prize . As a successful big-money bracket racer , he ’ s staged up for more money plenty of times , but even he realized it was a unique moment in time .
“ For Drag IllustrateD and the PRO association to put sportsman racers on this pedestal is unreal ,” Dadas said . “ I ’ m a bracket racer at heart , but I ’ m a no-box racer and a bottom-bulb guy at heart too . To have the opportunity to do this is just crazy . It ’ s life-changing for the sport , for Stock and Super Stock . This is really one of the first of its kind and I think it can only go up from here .” DI
March / April 2024 DragIllustrated . com | Drag Illustrated | 151