BROWNSBURG, IN (November 7, 2017) The NHRA North Central Division Summit Finals at Lucas Oil Raceway wrapped up on September 17th earlier this fall. From the bracket-racing-filled weekend, 4 Division 3 champions were crowned to advance to the national championship at the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona, California this coming weekend, on November 11-12th.
Of the 4 champions, Lucas Oil Raceway’s own, Boyd Butcher came out on top in his ’73 Nova in pro-class to earn a trip to the fabled, Pomona Raceway for the E.T. Bracket Series nationals. While, Lucas Oil Raceway’s team took 2nd place overall, the shining moment for all the team members came with Butcher’s win that Sunday afternoon.
Boyd is no stranger to The Big Go and being from Beech Grove Ind., has had easy access to Lucas Oil Raceway his whole life. “I’ve been racing here since I was 20 years old, but took a long break to try Figure 8 racing. I’ve been back into drag racing for about 7 years now and this is my 3rd Division 3 finals here at Lucas Oil Raceway,” explains Butcher. So, this year proved to be the lucky #7 for the pro-class racing veteran and he plans to capitalize on it this weekend on the West Coast.
Looking back at the division finals, “The Butcher” said he felt no different than a normal bracket racing weekend at the start, just wanting to enjoy himself with friends and family. However, as any bracket finals racer will tell you, winning that first elimination round of the weekend to stay alive is key, and where it all begins to take shape.
Waking up Sunday morning, Butcher said he started to really concentrate on winning after a 2-year dry spell of making it to the final round of the day. After winning a couple more rounds throughout the afternoon and with every pass possibly being the last for the day, Butcher started to realize he was in the zone and there was no way he could lose with some careful concentration and just getting calmed down enough to know that the pro-class Division 3 champion title was his for the taking.
At the end of the pro-class finals, Butcher’s ’73 Nova defeated Jim Laughlin’s ’78 Malibu by making a 101.21 mph run in 6.773 off a red light from Laughlin. As for what Butcher expects for this weekend, “We are all there to do the same thing and everybody’s in the same boat. I’m sure I will make some new friends, and meet some new competitors that will last a lifetime which is what racing is all about”.
Boyd would like to give a big thank you to the whole 2017 Lucas Oil Raceway bracket racing team as well as the track crew who put in the long hours throughout the season. He also would like to say a special thanks to his wife Vicki, who has been going around to race tracks with him since the very beginning, and the Lancaster, Fields, and Richardson family’s.
