Loeffelholz is double winner at Brainerd Int’l Raceway

Loeffelholz scores double win while Superbiker Hebeisen wins 4 at BIR’s Wet & Wild Weekend

Gary Loeffelholz had a weekend of drag racing that he’ll remember for a long time. Unfortunately for him, the 90 drivers he beat will probably remember it as well.

Loeffelholz and his 2004 Mustang made 18 runs down the drag strip during elimination rounds Saturday and Sunday, winning 17 of them and losing only once. Along the way, he won the Super Pro class both days as well as the Super Pro/Pro ET Shootout, which pits the winners of the Super Pro and Pro ET classes against each other. The only race he lost was in the Quick 16 class. He won two rounds before losing to Michael Freischel in the semifinals.

Defending Super Pro champ Brian Johnson will also remember Loeffelholz’s winning ways last weekend because he lost to Loeffelholz in both finals. Loeffelholz’s winning time in Saturday’s finals was 7.444 seconds and 184.67 mph. His winning time Sunday was 7.412 seconds and 178.87 mph, which included a near-perfect reaction time of .005 seconds on the starting line. The Super Pro class had 84 cars last weekend.

Loeffelholz went on to beat Joe Schmall in Saturday’s Shootout and Grant Pesola in Sunday’s Shootout. After the dust settled Sunday, he vaulted from 24th place in the points standings to second, just behind Johnson.

Jimmy Paulson also had a memorable weekend, running the table both days in the Pro Bike/Sled class. Riding a 2012 Clampitt, Paulson beat Brad Harder in Saturday’s final with a 9.057-second pass at 136.87 mph. On Sunday, he won his way to the finals again and a chance to take on Kyle Lundberg. He was quicker off the starting line and held on to win with a time of 9.057 seconds and 143.34 mph. With that effort, Paulson sits atop the points standings.

Last weekend’s drag racing program was just one part of an action-packed schedule, with Superbike racing on the Competition Road Course and watercross on Lake BIR, where snowmobiles drag raced and raced laps on open water. Fans got all three races for a single ticket.

The Superbike racing was courtesy of a dual race between the Central Roadracing Association (CRA), which has five weekend races at BIR each season, and the Championship Cup Series (CCS) Midwest Region. The CRA’s riders are from the Upper Midwest while the CCS draws riders from as far away as Canada, California and Colorado.

The rider to beat all weekend was Brian Hebeisen on his Fisk Brothers Racing/Dryject/Team Hoff Yamaha R6. Hebeisen has been a fixture in the top-5 Middleweight and Heavyweight Expert races for many years, and that experience was on display as he took home four wins across the Middleweight and Heavyweight Expert races. Hebeisen’s win tally would have been five if it wasn’t for a mystery problem with his throttle application mechanism allowing for CCS hotshot Dave Collins to steal a win by .020 seconds.

The next Bracket Drag Racing Series weekend is July 7-9. The watercross snowmobiles will be back at BIR Sept. 22-24 for Wet & Wild Weekend 2.0. And the Central Roadracing Association returns for more Superbike racing during its third of five weekend races July 21-23.

Below are the two-day results from the Bracket Drag Racing Series last weekend.

SATURDAY, JUNE 10

Super Pro
Finals: Gary Loeffelholz of Shafer def. Brian Johnson of Nowthen

Pro ET
Finals: Joe Schmall of Lino Lakes def. Steve Roehrs of Frederic, Wis.

Super Pro/Pro ET Shootout
Gary Loeffelholz of Shafer def. Joe Schmall of Lino Lakes

Sportsman
Finals: Joe Moriarty Sr. of Ham Lake def. David Lacasse of Forest Lake

Stock/Super Stock
Finals: Glen Demenge of McGregor def. Lance Line of Cromwell

Pro Bike/Sled
Finals: Jimmy Paulson of Stacy def. Brad Harder of Waconia

Comp Trophy
Finals: Taylor Arneson of Pillager def. Eric Blumke of Pillager

Street Trophy
Finals: Todd Anderson of Brainerd def. Joe Moriarty of Ham Lake

Quick 16
Finals: Dan Narusiewcz of St. Paul Park def. Michael Freischel of Cottage Grove

Junior Dragster Advanced
Finals: Sydney Thompson of Nowthen def. Meagen Neil of West Fargo, N.D.

Junior Dragster Intermediate
Finals: Riley Luberda of Foley def. Dylan Dancer of Foley

Junior Dragster Novice
Finals: Danial Dancer of Foley def. Carlee Reber of St. Joseph

SUNDAY, JUNE 11

Super Pro
Finals: Gary Loeffelholz of Shafer def. Brian Johnson of Nowthen

Pro ET
Finals: Grant Pesola of Nashwauk def. Brandon Schmall of Palo, Iowa

Super Pro/Pro ET Shootout
Finals: Gary Loeffelholz of Shafter def. Grant Pesola of Nashwauk

Sportsman
Finals: Mark Pease of Rogers def. Chris Henry of Sauk Rapids

Stock/Super Stock
Finals: Mike Patnaude of Sawyer def. Lawrence Line of Wright

Pro Bike/Sled
Finals: Jimmy Paulson of Stacy def. Kyle Lundberg of Isanti

Comp Trophy
Finals: Devin Walcheski def. Mike Larson of Brainerd

Street Trophy
Finals: Joe Moriarty of Ham Lake def. Luke Schneider of St. Joseph

Junior Dragster Advanced
Finals: Sydney Thompson of Nowthen def. Samantha Cielinski of Gilman

Junior Dragster Intermediate
Finals: Megan Cielinski of Gilman def. Dylan Dancer of Foley

Junior Dragster Novice
Finals: Carter Luberda of Foley def. Brody Thompson of Nowthen