By John Bisci – April 13, 2106, St. Louis Region – Chad Barton of Valles Mines, Missouri, defeated Caleb Cox of Arnold, Missouri, in the final round of eliminations in the Heads-Up class tonight at Gateway Motorsports Park’s Dragplex. Barton scored the first win of the 2016 Wide Open Wednesday Presented By AAA Insurance season.
Final-round results, indicating name, hometown, car, reaction time, elapsed time (ET), top speed:
Winner: Chad Barton (Valles Mines, Missouri) 2006 Corvette .161 8.643 sec. 163.87 mph.
Runner-up: Caleb Cox (Arnold, Missouri) 2011 Ford .064 9.155 sec. 151.14 mph.
Next events:
Saturday’s Race Car Rumble is a pre-Import Face-Off Test ‘n’ Tune and grudge race.
Sunday’s annual M&H Tires Import Face-Off is a lifestyle event that includes a car show, quarter-mile drag racing exclusively for imports and sport compacts, the Usaci stereo crank-it-up contest, DJs, a model expo, open drifting by DriftSTL.com and a burnout contest.
April 15 — Midnight Madness “Muscle Madness”
5 p.m. — Gates open, tech inspection begins.
6 p.m. — Street-legal racing begins.
7:30 p.m. — Midway activities and entertainment.
11:30 p.m. — Tech card sales conclude.
11:45 p.m. — Tech inspection concludes.
12:15 a.m. — Last call to staging lanes.
12:30 a.m. — Back of staging lanes closed; conclude remaining runs.
1 a.m. — Conclude racing.
1:15 a.m. — Pit sweep, facility closed.
Admission and entry fees:
Racer tech card: $25 (car and driver).
Spectator or crew pass: $15.
Kids 12 and under: Free.
Saturday, April 16 — Race Car Rumble Test ‘n’ Tune & Grudge Showdown
1 p.m. — Gates open.
2 p.m. — Tech inspection.
3 p.m. — Test ‘n’ Tune, grudge runs.
6 p.m. — 1/8-mile Bracket Gambler ($20, pay in lanes, 100% payback).
7 p.m. — Test run card sales conclude, tech concludes.
7:30 p.m. — Final call to staging lanes.
7:45 p.m. — Back of staging lanes closed.
8 p.m. — Conclude racing.
9 p.m. — Pit sweep due to Sunday Import Face-Off event. All vehicles must exit.
No overnights in pit area. North stacking area will be open.
Testing or grudge fees:
Gateway Bracket member: $30 (car and driver).
Non-member, grudge, test: $40 (car and driver).
Crew or spectator pass: $15.
Sunday, April 17 — M&H Tires Import Face-Off (www.importfaceoff.net)
8 a.m. — Racer gates open (East/pit side of track).
8 a.m. — Spectator gates open (West side of track).
9 a.m. — Car show and stereo registration (until noon).
9 a.m. — Racer tech inspection.
11 a.m. — Drag racing time trials and drifting.
2 p.m. — Drag racing eliminations.
5 p.m. — Drag racing finals.
5:15 p.m. — Burnout contest.
5:30 p.m. — Awards.
Admission and entry fees:
Spectator (ages 11 and older): $20 ($17 with advance purchase or with flyer at gate).
Children (ages 10 and under): Free.
Car show entry: $35 ($25 if purchased in advance online).
Test ‘n’ Tune drag racer: $35 ($25 if purchased in advance online).
Competition racer: $35 ($25 if purchased in advance online).
Burnout contest: Free with paid event admission.
Competition drag racing is limited to imports and sport compacts only. Test ‘n’ Tune is open.
Free pitside parking for spectators with advance, online ticket purchases. Day-of-show is limited to participants only.
All schedules subject to change.
Listen to the announcers on 92.7 FM.
For more information, please call GMP at (618) 215-8888 or visit www.gatewaymsp.com. Follow GMP on Facebook and Twitter.
The vision for the new Gateway Motorsports Park is to create a racing lifestyle that attracts enthusiasts, professionals, amateurs and car lovers by harnessing the energy and passion of the thousands of racing fans in the heart of the Midwest.
Located just five minutes from downtown St. Louis and covering nearly 200 acres, Gateway is the largest outdoor entertainment facility in the region, encompassing a ¼-mile NHRA-sanctioned drag strip, 1.25-mile superspeedway, 1.6- mile road course, a state-of-the-art Karting facility and a new 14-acre, multi-purpose dirt off-road venue.