𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗦 𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗬 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗬 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗔𝗠𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗗𝗢𝗧𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗧𝗘 𝗪𝗙𝗖 𝗫𝗜𝗫

Paige Hamlin

July 13, 2025

Article written by Jessica Spears.

Day number last of the BTE World Footbrake Challenge XIX was also the liveliest, with two $20,000 winners earning the right to celebrate on Sunday. After an early morning church service led by Jeff Gatlin, Friday’s $20,000 main event was on deck first to chip away at the 107 remaining entries.

𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 $𝟮𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁

𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴

Eventually, the eighth round consisted of only seven competitors: Jon Siegel, Zach Combs, Devin Dudley, Andrew Lindamood, Brian Adkins, Stevie Dustin, and Noah Pollard.

Lindamood turns on the first win light of the round, utilizing a .006 reaction time to leave Combs locked out of the race. Adkins has a five-thousandths starting line advantage but finds himself behind at the stripe as Pollard wheels his wagon into the next round. A pair of double-zero reaction times wrap up the last pairing as Dustin puts together a .019 package for the win over the breakout run by Siegel. Dudley earned the last bye run of the race and takes the free time shot down to the final four.

𝘚𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭

In the semifinal, Lindamood is .017 on the tree and runs dead-on with a five, putting together a total package that matches Pollard’s .022 light. Dudley leaves the line seven thousandths too soon beside the green light of Dustin, driving his “cheap heap” Mustang into Friday’s final.

𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭

Two first-time Coalburg Racing Promotions finalists square off in the $20,000 Friday main event as the eager crowd awaits the winner. All the anticipation is over on the starting line as Dustin is .004 red while Lindamood is .016 green and motors his Pontiac GTO two thousandths under the dial for a monumental victory that began with 586 entries.

The multi-talented Lindamood is one of the Coalburg Racing Promotions staff members and Jared Pennington’s nephew. The two share a comfortable chat in the winner’s circle discussing race strategies and confidence.

Pennington shares, “This year you told me at home, ‘I’m going to win this race on Friday.’ You didn’t win on Friday, but you won Friday’s race.” Lindamood elaborates by saying, “The talent that is out there in the pits right now is unbelievable. To be able to get this win with the talent of these guys has been on the top of my list to prove that I can hang with them, maybe not all of the time, but at least this time I did.”

𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 $𝟮𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁

The celebrations and competition were far from over as Sunday’s $20,000 main event was cutthroat from the start with no re-entry round to rely on. The 531 entries eventually dwindled to only five in round number eight: Graeme Rufenacht, Gage Burch, Chris Strange, Michael Beard, and Chad Dotson.

𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴

In the double breakout race, Beard had a one-hundredth reaction time advantage and is .001 under the dial to take the win over Burch. Dotson is in complete control with a .006 reaction time and takes the win over Rufenacht as both drivers slow to three above their respective dial-ins. Strange earns a stress-free ride into the semifinal courtesy of the bye run.

𝘚𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭

This time, it’s Dotson who earned the coveted bye run, while Beard and Strange battle each other for an opportunity to face him. Strange is .023 and runs closer to his dial to illuminate his win light while Beard is forced to return to the trailer.

𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭

Strange competes in his first final round at the beautiful Bristol Dragway while Dotson is looking to avenge his runner-up finish from eight years ago. The dual-Chevrolet combat closes with a four-thousandths margin of victory with Dotson’s .015 light and one-above run prevailing over Strange, who is .027 and dead-on with a four.

In the winner’s circle celebration, Dotson jokingly replies to Pennington’s praise about his hard-fought win by suggesting no more buybacks in the future. He then continues by saying, “Nah, Jared, I’ve been blessed. Thank you Lord, you’ve blessed me way beyond what I deserve. I’ve been able to win some races, but I’ve been knocking on the door here, kicked on the door, beat on the door, the door has hit me in the rear on the way out, but I’m so thankful I can say I have finally won a WFC event.”

𝗠𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗠𝗼 𝗠𝗩𝗣 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱

Gage Burch was unanimously named the Mike Mo MVP following his impressive showing by winning Thursday’s $5,000 gamblers race, reaching the seventh round in both Friday and Saturday’s $20K main events, and bowing out in the quarterfinals of Sunday’s $20K. He earned $500 cash and an entry into the 2026 Sean Serra Memorial Race, coincidentally on the somber anniversary of Serra’s passing.

Burch remarks, “Awards like this and this anniversary are not something we expect, but it lets us know there is something bigger than all of us here. If you come to the racetrack and have a bad weekend, it’s always better than someone else who didn’t. I really appreciate you guys, and rest in peace to these two fellas.”

A tremendous round of applause goes out to the Bristol Dragway staff for working nonstop all weekend without a second thought in the July heat. Pennington then announces his closing remarks by thanking the racers, sponsors, Bristol Dragway, and Coalburg Racing Promotions staff before delivering the perfect soundbite.

He says, “We appreciate you guys so much. We are honored and humbled to serve you, and we look forward to seeing you right back here in seven weeks for the BTE Labor Day Footbrake Challenge. Until then, be smart. Be safe. And footbrake the way God intended.”