In Super Pro Eliminator, Mike Richter’s smallblock Vega actually lost in round one but bought back into the 62-car second round and reeled off nonstop 0.025-second or better “packages” to survive the remaining six rounds for the win at his home track. The St. Peters, Missouri, racer lined up with Ricky Thomas (arguably the St. Louis area’s winningest bracket racer ever), who had entered his non-electronics ‘69 Chevelle in Super Pro for the timed runs while making a surprise exit in Pro Eliminator with his well-known ‘70 Monte Carlo.

Thomas made six rounds while running no more than +0.020 with no worse than 0.020 RTs. In the final round, however, Richter’s 0.010 RT allowed him to “close it up” to a mere three thousandths of a second at the finish line against Thomas’ 0.021 RT in a battle of low nine-second Chevys.

Robert Sabatino, a close friend of Thomas and another forty-year St. Louis area veteran, also entered both Super Pro and Pro Eliminators with a no-electronics ride. In Sabatino’s case, his 12-second ‘69 Chevelle went out early in S/Pro action but managed to outlast a 152-car Pro Eliminator field which included 132 cars in Round Two! Sabatino needed no buybacks and his march to the final included an incredible 0.003-second “package” in the sixth round!

Marcus Allen bought back into the Pro field after the first round, but the Coloradan’s massively popular four-speed SS/J ‘71 Camaro hit a 0.025 “package” of its own in the semis. The final round went to Sabatino’s 0.036 package after Allen fouled in the final of the eight-round marathon!

Steve and Tim Zeuner also entered two eliminators but, although the brothers from St. Louis left the Pro Eliminator battle after round four, they waded through the Street Eliminator field without buybacks to face each other for the honors. Tim’s black 2000 Chevy Extreme pickup fouled in the final to Steve’s gun metal grey 2002 Dodge Dakota truck.

TWO-WHEEL TERRORS

Glen Nickelberry’s turbo Kawasaki ZX11 destroyed the
Quick 16 Bike field with 6.76/203 muscle.

For almost a decade, Black Sunday has carried the tradition of being the nation’s largest independent motorcycle drag racing event, as well. In 2004, a total of 240 bikes battling for a $10,000 purse made for an incredible show.

Glen Nickleberry’s Robinson Industries/Majestic Turbo ‘03 Kawasaki ZX11 dominated the Quick 16 motorcycle program. The Oklahoma veteran took time off from his tight points battle with Korry Hogan in AMA/ProStar Funny Bike to brutalize the field with a single 6.85/201 qualifying run which took the pole and then unleashed even quicker and faster efforts during eliminations. A solo blast in round one, (when Scott Leonard’s Illinois turbo Suzuki could not show), resulted in Low ET and Top Speed of the meet at 6.76/203.71. An easy 7.12/180 against Woody Omistone’s ailing Indiana Suzuki GSXR was followed by a 6.85/189 over Johnny Bond’s Illinois Kawasaki.