MIKE BOWMAN REACHES SEMIS IN BID TO BECOME FIRST REPEAT WSOPM CHAMPION
Mike Bowman, the 2017 World Series of Pro Mod champion, has always embraced the intensity of racing at its highest levels. Returning to his turbocharged roots after years of running a ProCharger setup, Bowman shared early on that he was focused on qualifying, winning rounds, and ultimately becoming the first racer to win the WSOPM twice.
Knowing he had one of the fastest cars on the property, Bowman began trying to get in his competitors’ heads by posting his timeslip from testing earlier in the week when the scoreboards were off. Then, when qualifying began, the California native put his’ 69 Chevelle securely in the No. 3 spot with a 3.589 at 209.04 and drew Lyle Barnett, who Bowman admits is“ one of the best racers out there,” to battle in the first round.
Bowman, who was admittedly nervous before lining up against Barnett, crossed the finish line, recording a 3.622 at 219.12 mph, but wasn’ t sure who won the match.
“ I looked up for the light and didn’ t see it,” Bowman says, explaining how fast he races past the scoreboards.“ I was just totally bummed.”
Thinking he had lost, Bowman exited his car at the top end and had already begun congratulating Lyle before being notified of Barnett’ s unexpected red-light start.
Bowman’ s second-round race against Pro Mod rookie and two-time PDRA Pro 632 world champion Amber Denton tested him under challenging midday conditions. After securing another victory, Bowman’ s confidence leveled up.
He then faced Amber’ s father, three-time PDRA Pro Nitrous world champion Tommy Franklin, in a psychological duel that unfolded both online and at the starting line.
“ Amber had posted a video of our race, and I knew Tommy would see it and start overthinking,” Bowman explains.“ Drag racing isn’ t just about speed – it’ s mental, too, and I knew I was already up in Tommy’ s head.”
Bowman prevailed over Franklin following a tense starting-line standoff, where both drivers dueled, waiting for the other one to take the beams first.
“ I’ m thinking,‘ I am just not going in. You will go in first. I don’ t care how long we sit here,’” Bowman shares.
He then found himself standing as one of the final four drivers, confident that he could pull off his second WSOPM win. However, the semifinal against Stevie“ Fast” Jackson presented a new set of starting line games that kept Bowman waiting for over two intense minutes.
“ We do our burnouts, and I look over, and Stevie’ s not driving up to the starting line,” Bowman recounts.“ I see he’ s over there playing with his gloves, and he’ s taking his sweet ass time, and I’ m like,‘ Really?’
“ What they don’ t understand is I’ ve been doing this a long time, and those head games don’ t
bother me a lick. I can sit here all day and take my time,” Bowman adds.
He pulls into pre-stage and begins to hold the trans brake button, but Jackson doesn’ t immediately follow.
“ I’ m just sitting there, and I’ m waiting for him, and he finally pulls in to pre-stage, and then we just sit there. The first thing I think is,‘ Not again,’” Bowman says, referring to his staging duel with Franklin.“ I was getting mad, and all I could think to myself was,‘ I am going to drill you on the tree.’”
Bowman was determined to sit on the starting line all day if that’ s what it took to get Jackson to stage first. However, the starter stepped in, motioning for both drivers to take the Christmas tree, and they did as the crowd was cheering them on.
Unfortunately, the prolonged wait led to complications for Bowman. His torque converter drained, and a failing rear-end gear hampered performance. Even though Bowman left with a. 029 reaction time to Jackson’ s. 065, he narrowly lost by a mere seven ten-thousandths of a second, recording a 3.675, while Jackson’ s E. T. was a 3.632.
Though a repeat WSOPM champion will have to wait until 2026, Bowman recognizes the extraordinary feat he accomplished at Bradenton with the support of his wife, Kristy, and their twin daughters, Kassidy and Kayla, who passionately cheer from the starting line.
“ Family is everything when we’ re racing,” Bowman says.“ I cannot wait to do it again, and next time, we’ re going to bring more to the table.”
— KAYLA ZADEL DI DI DI
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120 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated. com Issue 194