Peeps leads DragChamp Top Ten 4/23/19

With the 2019 drag racing season in high gear, we are bringing back the popular DragChamp sportsman drag racing Top Ten list. Last season the weekly review of the top performers and top stories within our sport proved highly popular.

With rain affecting and/or postponing what seemed like every race this spring, the Top Ten list was put on hold temporarily. As the weather heats up, and the north thaws out, there will be a large number of racing events across the country on a weekly basis.

As a result, the DragChamp Top Ten list is back! Each week we will highlight the best performances, hottest racers (based on performance, not looks), and hot topics surrounding sportsman drag racing.

In order to make the best list, I’ll need your help each week. Make sure you tag #dragchamp on your Facebook winners circle pictures. In addition, message us on Facebook at @dragchampmagazine or email at garydon@dragchamp.com with your thoughts on who or what should be on the list.

This week’s list heavily favors racers from the Spring Fling, because it’s the Spring freaking Fling! There’s also a number of NHRA sportsman players on the list as numerous racers have lit up the scoreboards during the first few months of the season.

DragChamp Top Ten List

1. The Peep Show. Peeps Pennington drove his 4.8-second buggy to the win in the Spring Fling Million to collect the $375,000 payday. Peeps was deadly all day consistently drilling the tree and driving the finish line like a boss. In addition, the buggy was making it’s second Spring Fling Million dollar final round appearance.

Just two years ago it was Peeps’ brother Michael who finished as the runner up to Luke Bogacki at the Million. Peeps finished what his brother started by collecting the massive paycheck. Read more about Peeps’ big win here.

2. John Labbous. Outside of winning the event, Labbous couldn’t have asked for a better week at the Las Vegas Spring Fling. Labbous started the week on a positive note with a runner up to Kevin Thorp in Wednesday’s $30,000 to win race.

Labbous followed that up with a semifinal appearance on Thursday, a quarterfinal finish in the Million, and another runner up on Saturday. An impressive week against the best bracket racers in the country. Read more about John’s results here and here.

3. Andy Schmall. Schmall was super impressive leaving off the bottom bulb in his Beretta at the Spring Fling. On the biggest stage, Schmall won the Pro 38 class on Friday. The win placed him on the Super Pro ladder with 14 cars remaining in the Spring Fling Million.

With $375,000 up for grabs, Schmall made his way to the semifinal round before bowing out. Schmall followed up his impressive performance by winning the Pro 38 class the following night. To make the event even more special, Andy defeated his brother Brandon in the Pro 38 final on Saturday.

4. Sugar. Sugar Shane Carr may not have won the Million but his runner up performance was impressive. This was not Shane’s first big money final as most recently he won $100,000 at an SFG event and is a previous winner of the original Million Dollar race. Shane was driving a borrowed car (from car owner Shane Thompson) that was pulling the wheels every pass while posting 4.4-second elapsed times. Shane also wasn’t going to race the Spring Fling if he had to use a borrowed ride but according to his wife, she set up the ride in Thompson’s car that ended up being a great decision.

5. Johnny Bracket Racer. Johnny Ezell continues to shine at the biggest bracket races across the county. In what was one of the most talented bracket racing fields you’ll find, Ezell once again found the winners circle. Johnny defeated talented NHRA super class racer Trevor Larson to collect the $30,000 payday. Read more about Johnny’s win here.

6. Laris Motorsports Insurance Team. With two national event wins, two Lucas Oil divisional wins, and 1 Lucas Oil runner up the Laris Motorsports team has been on fire. Ross kicked off the season with a Top Dragster win at the Baby Gators. His son Holden followed with a Super Comp win at the 50th Gatornationals.

At the Division 4 divisional at Houston, teammate Trene Cressonie took home the Super Comp Wally. After a runner up at the double divisional in Dallas, Ross won Top Dragster at the Spring Nationals. With his latest victory, Ross leads the national Top Dragster standings while Holden is second in Super Comp.

Click here to see our interview with Ross and Holden just hours before Ross won the Spring Nationals.

7. Ray Miller. With a perfect 3 – 0 start to his Division 2 Super Comp season, Ray Miller III is in the driver’s seat for both the division championship as well as the world championship. Ray has won all three of the 2019 Division 2 Lucas Oil events. His only blemish is a round two exit at the Gatornationals. With such a talented driver getting hot early in the season, the rest of the Super Comp field could be in trouble.

8. Rambo. David Rampy joined this week’s Top Ten list by making four final rounds in just over a week. Rambo started his run by picking up a win in Super Stock and a runner up in Comp at the Division 4 double header in Dallas. Just a week later, Rampy made the final in both Super Stock and Comp at the Atlanta Division 2 divisional. Although he lost both finals, four final rounds in 10 days is impressive.

9. Jeff Strickland. Like Rampy, Strickland made two final round appearances at the Division 2 divisional at Atlanta. Strickland made the most of his opportunity by winning both Top Dragster and Stock Eliminator.

10. Peter and Kyle. Peter Biondo and Kyle Seipel deserve all the credit we can bestow upon them. They have set the bar for race promoters everywhere. Their level of professionalism, quality of events, organization, creativity, promotion, and customer experience is unmatched in our sport.

The Spring Fling dominated the drag racing world last week. Racers traveled across the country to attend one of the biggest bracket racing events of the season. And no one seemed to leave disappointed. Congrats on another tremendous event and thank you for setting the bar that all of strive to achieve.