WHEATLAND, Missouri (October 3, 2018) - The next stop on the road to championships in the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series is just 10 days away with anticipation building for Optima Batteries Thunder on the River Presented by GEICO.
The October 13-14 event, at the BlueWater Resort and Casino in Parker, Arizona, is the next-to-last of the season. It will set the stage for champions to be crowned at the Lucas Oil World Finals, Nov. 2-4 in Chandler, Arizona.
"We're looking forward to an exciting finish to the 2018 season with Thunder on the River a big piece to the championship puzzle," said Dan Robinson, Director of Operations for the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series.
The points battles in the professional divisions find things especially tight in the Pro Mod class where Shawn Reed in "Top Secret" is just 28 points in front of Robb Burklin in "The Pearl." Here's a breakdown of the chases entering Thunder on the River:
Top Fuel Hydro
Tyler Speer, driving the Robert Montgomery boat "Shockwave," has a 106-point lead over Mike Robbins in "Nitro Nuts." Robbins closed the gap with a win last month at the Lucas Oil Diamond Drag Boat Nationals in Wheatland, Missouri, running Top Fuel Hydro-record 243.9502 miles per hour at 875-feet. Jarrett Silvey, driving Lou Osman's tradition-rich "Speed Sport" remains within striking distance 196 points out of the lead.
Top Alcohol Hydro
Travis Tutle in "Short Fuse" is having a season for the ages, winning three of four events in 2018 to build a 518-point lead over Rick Allen in "Total Kaos." Tutle saw his three-race winning streak come to an end at Wheatland, when Andy Reynolds pulled the upset in the finals in "Running With Scissors."
Top Alcohol Flat
Three drivers remain in title contention with Bill Miller in "Party to the Max" 90 points in front of multiple-time world champion Tony Scarlata in "Shazam" and Bill Diez in "War Party" who are tied for second. Diez, driving the Nancy Davis-owned vessel, put himself into contention with a final-round win at Wheatland.
Pro Outlaw
Along with leading the Top Fuel Hydro chase, Tyler Speer in his family owned "Georgia Outlaw" has a chance to make it a championship double as he's 112 points in front of Shannon Beal and "Split Decision 2." Continuing with the Wheatland trend, this division found an upset winner at Wheatland as Theresa Ward prevailed in "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot."
Pro Modifieds
Every point is going to be vital between the top two as Reed looks to keep his "Top Secret" in front of Burklin's "The Pearl" with just 28 points separating the duo. While she's 318 points behind Reed, third-place Shelby Ebert will be looking to pilot "Can't Touch This" to a second straight Pro Mod win after capturing the Wheatland finale.
For complete information on BlueWater Resort and Casino, including hotel accommodations, check out
BlueWaterFun.com. Ticket info can be found at
lucasoildragboats.com/tickets/thunderontheriver.
