Joliet, IL: Reigning NHRA Super Comp World Champion Luke Bogacki is making a strong bid for a return trip to the NHRA Lucas Oil Awards banquet in 2014, only this year it appears that his strongest class may be the 9.90 category. Last weekend Bogacki earned his third Super Gas crown of the young season when he drove his RacingRVs.com-backed Charlie Stewart Race Cars Corvette roadster to victory at the Division 3 Lucas Oil Series event held at Route 66 Raceway in Chicago, IL. There, he defeated perennial Super-class standout Troy Coughlin, Jr. by the narrowest of margins, winning a double breakout final round by just .001-of-a-second. The win marked his second consecutive victory at the annual Burn Down at Sun Down event, as he earned the Super Comp title a year ago. With back-to-back Super Gas victories at the NHRA Kansas Nationals and the Chicago event, Bogacki holds a remarkable 13 round unbeaten streak in the highly competitive Super Gas category. His most recent Super Gas loss was a final round defeat to Lauren Freer at the NHRA Division 2 Lucas Oil Series event in Atlanta, marking his only losing effort in his last 19 rounds of competition! In five Super Gas events thus far this season, Bogacki has accumulated a gaudy 28-2 round record.
"It's all pretty surreal right now, to be honest," Bogacki admitted. "Four final rounds in five races is pretty crazy. My friends and competitors act like I've stumbled onto some big secret, but it's not that simple. Obviously I've got a great car right now, and I feel like I've driven well for the most part. But there's more to it than that. Every coin-flip round has gone my way. Every time that I've made a mistake I've gotten away with it, and every time my opponent has made a good run I've been just a little bit better. There's no rhyme or reason to it, and there's certainly no reason to expect a run of these proportions to continue."
Bogacki's hot streak has encompassed more than just the 9.90 category. Though he's yet to make a Super Comp final this season, he's put forth several quality showings in his K&N Filters dragster, highlighted by a semi-final finish in Atlanta. On the bracket racing scene, Bogacki has earned three victories in his familiar ThisIsBracketRacing.com Vega, including a pair of $5,000 scores.
In Joliet, Bogacki's starting line prowess was on full display, as he posted a .009 average reaction time in his six non-bye-run rounds. He was never worse than .014 on the tree, and finished the race with consecutive reaction times of .007, .005 and .006 in the final round. Bogacki also drove his K&N Filters dragster in the Super Comp category, but fell .001-of-a-second short in his third round encounter with Adam Gerber.
"It's been a great season all the way around. I'm not real happy with my performance in Super Comp thus far; I feel like my equipment has been better than my results show. But that's indicative of just how special and how rare this Super Gas streak has been. Our RacingRVs Corvette has been incredible; but the K&N dragster is every bit as good, and I've been doing the same things behind the wheel in both cars. But in Super Comp I've lost those coin-flip rounds where .001 of a second is the deciding factor, and I've run into a couple of great runs in the other lane that I couldn't overcome. I don't mean to trivialize our sport – there is a lot of work and a lot of skill that goes into being competitive at this level – but often times the difference in an event win and packing up early is just a matter of timing and fortune."
He hopes his wave of good fortune continues, as the Bogacki Motorsports team makes its way to Bristol Dragway this weekend for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. Following a weekend off, Bogacki will then return to Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, IL for the NHRA Route 66 Nationals.
In addition to Super Gas major marketing partner, RacingRVs.com, the Bogacki Motorsports team is proud to represent K&N Filters, ThisIsBracketRacing.com, Advanced Product Design, Watts Auto Diesel Service, C.A.R.S. Protection Plus, AirTek, Flo-Fast, PCD Wraps, JEGS, Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels, and Bill Taylor Enterprises.
Bogacki's winning machine is a '63 Corvette bodied roadster from the Azle, TX based chassis shop of Charlie Stewart Race Cars. A 582 cubic inch Huntsville Engine & Performance powerplant pushes Luke to the 9.90 index at speeds approaching 170 mph. The vehicle features products from Auto Meter, K&N Filters, Lucas Oil, APD, Moser Engineering, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Product Development Group, American Race Cars, Ohlins, PCD Wraps, Dixie Racing Products, Dedenbear, Renegade Race Fuels, Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels, ISC Racer's Tape, Nitrous Express, Hedman Hedders, BTE, K&R Performance Engineering, Nitroplate, California Car Cover, CollectorTethers.com, Todd's Extreme Paint, Milodon, J&J Performance, DragRaceResults.com, Wiseco, Jesel, B&M, Earl's, Crane Cams, and JEGS.
"What made this win extra special was that it was the first time I got my son, Gary into a winner's circle picture," Luke Bogacki explained. "He's 13 months old, and I'm kind of embarrassed it took this long. I've won a few races since he was born, but he doesn't get to come every week. And whenever he's been there I've dropped the ball late: I think he's seen me lose in the final 5 times! My wife has enjoyed giving me a hard time about it, so it's good to get him a picture with Mom and Dad and a trophy."
