Finchum, Harvey Jr, and Bunch Win $15K at BTE Labor Day Footbrake Challenge

Lockhart, Finchum, Collier, Harvey Jr, Biddle Jr, and Bunch claim wins at the 7th Annual BTE Labor Day Footbrake Challenge at Bristol Dragway.

Photos provided by Hobbie Lee Pro Photography

BRISTOL, TN- The Coalburg Racing Promotions team returned to the beautiful Bristol Dragway on September 3–6, 2026, for the 7th Annual BTE Labor Day Footbrake Challenge.

The highly anticipated footbrake event featured three $15,000-to-win main events and three $3,000 Gamblers Races, with all purses 100% guaranteed. Racers battled throughout the weekend for big money, with plenty of impressive round prizes and awards handed out along the way!

Next up for the CRP team is a trip to the Penningtons’ home state of Alabama for the BTE Thanksgiving Footbrake Challenge, set for November 27–28, 2026, at Montgomery International Dragway.

Thursday $4K Gamblers Race

Early September in East Tennessee can offer a multitude of seasons, and this week is certainly still summer, with air conditioners working overtime on day one of the festivities. Racers were encouraged to participate in the open test-and-tune sessions to collect valuable data for the enticing weekend before diving into eliminations.

Thursday’s original $3,000 Gamblers Race purse was raised to $4,000, and 205 entries made the first round call in hopes of claiming the cash. The sixth round contained seven drivers: Shawn Pitts, Doug Lephew, David Harvey Jr, Charlie Lockhart, Seth Lancaster, Randall Bolden, and Kyle Feebeck.

Lancaster was the first to illuminate a win light as his .034 reaction time and dead-on with a zero eliminated Harvey who broke out eight thousandths. Feebeck launches with a red light to send Lephew into the semifinal who was .002 on the tree. Pitts is .005 up front but runs .011 under his dial in beside Bolden, who puts together a .026 package for the win. Lockhart coasts into the next round courtesy of the last bye run of the race.

In the semifinal, Lephew turns on the dreaded red bulb beside Lockhart, who takes the free time run in preparation for the final. Lancaster has the starting line advantage and gets to the finish line seven thousandths in front of Bolden to earn the win.

It was a southern Chevrolet showdown with Kentucky’s Lockhart staging his S-10 beside Lancaster’s Nova hailing from Alabama. Lockhart launches with a .013 reaction time advantage and runs dead-on with a two to claim his sixth Coalburg Racing Promotions victory in eight final round appearances. Lancaster breaks out seven thousandths while settling for the runner up honors.

“It’s a pretty good day to cover the tab on the first day,” Lockhart admits in the winner’s circle interview. He continues, “It’s a pretty good start. I lost a tough run second round, but just keep plugging at it, and it’ll work out. So, it’s a good start, other than the bullseye on my back the rest of the weekend.” Co-promoter Jared Pennington quips, “I don’t think the bullseye ever leaves your back, in case you’re wondering.”

Friday $15K Main Event

The BTE Labor Day Footbrake Challenge typically draws a more manageable crowd in comparison to its July counterpart, although there is no shortage of cutthroat competition. Today even included a few uncommon racetrack occurrences, with two car hoods raising mid-track, a transmission line causing an unexpected right turn, one trip to the mountain beach, and even a couple of deer watching from the hillside.

Friday featured the first of three $15,000-to-win main event races as well as the $3,000 Gamblers Race. Each competitor was awarded one test pass down the legendary Thunder Valley prior to suiting up for the first round of eliminations.

274 entries made their way through the staging lanes eager to earn cash and add their name into the Coalburg Racing Promotions record book. By round seven, only seven still had their shot: Brian Cireddu, Adam Davis, Lil Phil Combs, Charlie Lockhart, Rodney Finchum, Jerry Cline, and Brandon Bailey.

Only one thousandth separated the first quarterfinal pairing on the starting line as Davis runs dead on with a four to take the win over Lockhart, who breaks out six thousandths. Cireddu is .000 on the tree and runs two above to earn the .013 margin of victory over Bailey, who runs dead on with a seven. Cline illuminates the red light beside Combs, who is .009 on the tree and holding a couple hundredths. Finchum earns the last bye of the race courtesy of his prior .003 light and follows it up with a .005 on the free pass.

In the semifinal, Davis is .009 and dead on with a six for the win over Cireddu, who is .011 up front and .025 under the dial in. Combs has a .015 reaction time advantage but finds himself five thousandths behind at the finish line as Finchum turns on the win light.

With $15,000 on the line, both drivers make their way into the waterbox as the crowd of onlookers grows. Davis launches with a .004 but runs two above his dial, while Finchum is .016 and dead on with a one to earn the .012 margin of victory.

All the aforementioned excitement paled in comparison to the one and only Fast & Finchum claiming his first Coalburg Racing Promotions main event victory driving the Ranchero owned by his father, Freddy, who passed earlier this year. As a well-known Ford fanatic, the late Finchum certainly enjoyed a front-row seat watching his son take the win over a Camaro.

In an emotional winner’s circle interview, Finchum begins by saying, “Obviously Dad’s not here, but I’m sure he’s up there pumped even though I’m wearing his converter out. My girlfriend back home, Amy, keeps telling me to keep coming and doing it, so she’s got faith in me. And we done it for Dad! To be able to come out on top against a competitor of his nature [Davis] is big in itself, but today the emotions… hard to put into words.”

Staying true to his character, Finchum ends the interview as can be expected by shouting, “Woo! Hot Rod’s done it, baby!”

Friday $3K Gamblers Race

Officially three days into the BTE Labor Day Footbrake Challenge, a trifecta of races took place on Saturday with the completion of Friday’s $3,000 Gamblers Race, the entirety of Saturday’s $15,000 Main Event, and the start of an added $3,000-to-win Saturday Gamblers Race. That said, there is a lot of information to cover, so pay attention and take notes, as needed.

The first racers to footbrake their way down Bristol Dragway this morning were the ten remaining entrants of the Friday Gamblers Race. After letting the new entry time trials have some on-track time, the original 154-car Gamblers Race field had whittled down to five: Jeff Sowers, Steve Collier, Jake Leigh, Doug Lephew, and Kyle Feebeck.

Lephew is .004 on the tree and runs .001 under his dial for the win beside Leigh, who was .003 red at the hit. Collier takes a .022 starting line advantage and runs dead-on with a four to leave Feebeck mathematically ineligible to turn on the win light. Sowers launches with a .007 light and takes the free time shot into the round seven.

Two Ohio drivers staged up in the semifinal pairing as Collier uses a .013 bulb to take the .015 margin of victory over Sowers. Lephew improves his gamblers race record during this year’s event by coasting into Friday’s final courtesy of the bye run, following a semifinal finish on Thursday.

Lephew in the Malibu stages up next to Collier in the S-10 for the final round of Friday’s $3,000 Gamblers Race on Saturday. Collier’s .020 light and dead on with a one earns the cash over Lephew, who was .035 and one above for the runner up.

Saturday $15K Main Event

First round of Saturday’s $15,000 Main Event ran simultaneously with the completion of the gamblers race, as 274 entries fought to avoid an early serving of frozen dessert. Speaking of which, there are two things you can count on during a Coalburg Racing Promotions event at Bristol: ice cream and a discussion about the weather. The two coexisted today as a swift summer storm rolled through the facility about midway through the re-entry round. However, racing eventually resumed, and the sweet sound of race cars continued throughout the evening.

The main event’s seventh round saw seven drivers: Brandon Bailey, Chris Strange, Travis Snowden, Michael Beard, Jordan Wilhelm, Brian Yerger Jr, and Dave Harvey Jr. Wilhelm leaves four thousandths too soon to advance Snowden, who was .021 on the tree and runs dead on with a zero. Harvey turns a .009 starting line advantage into a .012 margin of victory over Beard. Bailey leaves the red bulb hanging on the tree while Yerger is .000 and .015 under for the win. Strange cruises into the next round courtesy of the bye run and lands dead on with a five just for the fun of it.

In the semifinal, Harvey is .018 and dead on with a zero to leave Strange mathematically ineligible with a .027 reaction time. Snowden is .004 and runs one above to advance into his first Coalburg Racing Promotions final round and eliminate Yerger from participating in a battle of the former $100K champions.

Gold vehicles were probably the only similarity in the final round pairing as New Jersey’s Harvey deep stages his ’68 Valiant beside the ’80 Malibu of Snowden out of Kentucky. One hundredth separated the pair on the starting line, and Snowden gets to the stripe .011 in front to break out three thousandths while Harvey is .028 and runs one above to remain undefeated in his six Coalburg Racing Promotions final round appearances.

Saturday $3K Gamblers Race

Saturday’s triathlon of the finest footbrake action continued with the addition of a $3,000-to-win Gamblers Race. Drivers could double enter, but there were no buybacks, and 142 entries rolled into the stage beams during the first round. Eventually, five drivers found their way into the ladder round: Jason England, Randy Biddle Jr, Andrew Lindamood, Jake Magee, and Edmond Ellison.

Biddle is the first to advance as his .025 total package is one hundredth better than Magee’s reaction time as both drivers run dead on their respective dial ins. Ellison has a five-thousandths advantage on the starting line and runs one above to collect the winning time slip over England. Lindamood is .007 red, but it doesn’t matter because he was taking a bye run.

In the semifinal, Biddle uses his .005 light to construct a .018 total package which leaves Lindamood .016 behind at the finish line. Ellison is .023 on his bye run and eases across the finish line prior to one last run.

Two multi-time Coalburg Racing Promotions winners stage up in Saturday’s $3,000 Gamblers Race all-Chevy final as Ellison in his Camaro takes on Biddle in his Malibu. Ellison gets to the finish line by .017, but it’s in vain as Biddle lays down a .008 total package to take his third CRP victory back to Virginia.

Sunday $15K Main Event

An overcast of grey skies and cloud cover brought cooler temperatures to start Sunday’s portion of the BTE Labor Day Footbrake Challenge as racers prepared for one last opportunity to celebrate on the mountain. After the morning chapel service, a handful of new entries made a time trial while the remainder of the field warmed their engines and began filling the staging lanes.

Bristol Dragway tallied 252 entries during the first round of the final $15,000 Main Event and, in a repeat of yesterday’s events, battled a rainstorm during the re-entry round that delayed the on-track action. Once the racing surface was dry, racers eagerly laid down additional rubber as pair after pair ventured down the eighth mile.

Around 7 pm, the ladder round of six racers was in the staging lanes when Mother Nature decided to literally rain on the parade once more. One year prior, Sunday’s event was completed with a practice tree race as agreed upon by the remaining competitors due to another washout storm. This time, a racer spoke up about trying to decide his next dial in as discussions began, so the decision was made to prepare the track and attempt to crown a winner. The resilient Bristol Dragway staff conquered another lengthy cleanup and delivered a race-ready surface under the lights.

Seventh round began with six competitors: Darin Sowers, Chris Strange, Dan Salyers, Mark Righetti, Nick Craker, and Kris Bunch. Strange is the first to advance as the puts together a .022 total package to leave Craker locked out at the launch with his .037 light. Righetti turns a .007 starting line advantage into a .013 margin of victory of Sowers and wheels his Barracuda into the semifinal. Bunch is in control on the tree and runs four above to earn the win over Salyers, who will cruise back down to Florida.

Bunch’s previous wait-and-see bye run carried him into the final round where he awaited his opponent. Once again, Strange has the better light and this time leaves Righetti mathematically ineligible to return to his second Coalburg Racing Promotions final in just over one year.

Sunday’s $15,000 final round was officially set: Virginia versus Mississippi, Ford Mustang versus Chevrolet Camaro, Kris versus Chris. After the tree illuminated, Bunch chased Strange toward the finish line, where both drivers ran dead on their respective dial ins, but Bunch’s better reaction time created the .014 margin of victory.

Adding to a healthy resume of racing accomplishments, Bunch has now earned a spot on the prestigious list of Coalburg Racing Promotions champions during his first trip to the final round. He says, “I just want to say that this is a very, very hard race to win. I struggled for the first two days and was kind of all over the place, but we figured it out. I appreciate my wife and John Madison. This is his car, and he puts me in this thing and thinks I can win, so we finally got a nice big one. So, thanks, John!”

Bunch answers about his mindset with the rain delay by explaining, “My heart was pounding, and I don’t even get like that, but this is a big race. My man Steve [Stites] came over and gave me a little pep talk at six [cars] and calmed me down a little bit. And here we are man, appreciate it.”

And with that, the seventh annual BTE Labor Day Footbrake Challenge is in the books. Winners were celebrated, ice cream was enjoyed, rain was wet, but most importantly, memories were made and hopefully fun was had by all in attendance.

Thanks to Motormaniatv for providing live coverage and to the multitude of event and round sponsors for rewarding the racers.

For more information on Coalburg Racing Promotions, visit www.worldfootbrakechallenge.com.

For more bracket racing news from DragChamp, click here.