K&N-Sponsored Luke Bogacki Wins K&N Spring Fling Million
- Apr 25, 2017
Bogacki beat Michael Pennington in the final round by 0.0003 seconds. They both had almost identical reaction times. Pennington was two thousandths of second faster off the line at 0.012 seconds. Bogacki left the starting line at 0.014 seconds. Bogacki and Pennington raced neck and neck down the strip with Bogacki winning by a nose. “That’s kind of typical for the racing that we do,” Bogacki said. “I look at those as coin flips basically. They can go either way.” Bogacki said he is constantly asked how to win those close races. He says luck plays as much as role as anything. “It’s a skill to put yourself in that position where the races are close, but it’s just a coin flip,” Bogacki said. “I was fortunate to come out on the right side of it.” After the race, Bogacki said it took a while for it to sink in that he won. “I knew when we hit the finish line that it was super close and I was fairly confident that I hit the dial in,” Bogacki said. “It’s one of those where you look up at the scoreboard and hold your breath. It could go either way.”
“He’s such an awesome competitor,” Bogacki said. “You kind of expect it. It was no surprise to see him there. Certainly no shock that we had such a close race.” Bogacki advanced to the quarterfinal round with five other drivers. Val Torres Jr., Bobby Dye Jr., Lane Dicken, Pennington, and Randy Biddle were the other quarterfinalists. Bogacki earned a bye in the semifinals and awaited the winner of the race between Biddle and Pennington. He was able to earn the bye by having the quickest reaction time of the three winners in the quarterfinals. It also came with a $60,000 bonus. “I had the best winning reaction time of six cars out of the three winners,” Bogacki said. “The way that shook out, that was the most lucrative single win light by a wide margin.” Bogacki won $230,000, a trophy, and a limo ride to the Cosmopolitan Hotel on the Strip as part of the Spring Fling championship. “The margins are razor thin,” Bogacki said. “You get used to winning or losing by a thousandth of a second. In my career, I have accomplished more than I ever dreamed that I would.” Bogacki said winning the K&N Spring Fling Million was like completing a career grand slam in drag racing. He has won a U.S. Nationals title, an NHRA World Championship, and a Jeg’s All Star event. The Spring Fling Million completes the big four events. “If there was one bucket list item left to achieve, it was actually winning the Million,” Bogacki said. “It’s the last thing that I have to do. The field is so deep and so strong that you never know when it’s going to happen or if it’s going to happen. I feel that my career is complete and super grateful that it fell together.” Dangerously high winds postponed qualifying on the Thursday before the elimination rounds. The drivers had a full day of racing to whittle down the field to the final day of races.
The next K&N Spring Fling event is at Galot Motorsports Park in North Carolina. “I thought it was really special to come out on top of the event in the K&N Filters dragster at the K&N Spring Fling Million,” Bogacki said. “They just do so much. Forget what they do for me and my race team, they do so much for the sport and drag racing. Case in point, sponsoring that event. It’s just an honor on my end just to represent them.” | |||
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