Carl’s 4 Wheel Drive and Performance Centers presents the World Wide Technology Raceway Bracket Race 9 and 10

Last Updated on February 27, 2026 by WWTR

By Jeremy Rosenstengel

This is it guys, this is the one we have all been waiting for. This is the weekend to decide the 2025 points champions and championships. The battles have been waged all year, and the points chases are tight. Perhaps as tight as we have seen in years. In Super Pro, Scott Offermann is in the lead, but Brian Spillars seems to be a man of a mission in 2025. In Pro class, Tommy Barbero is leading the field and all three of the Ratulowski’s are in contention and have their sleeves rolled up and are ready to do battle. In Sportsman, four-time champion Craig Powell is looking for another feather for his already impressive championship hat. Craig had better be careful though. Last years champion Luke Beach and perineal top 5 finisher and never before champion (possibly until now) Steve Zeuner are both nipping at his heels. In motorcycle, Darnell Dickerson and Phillip Humphrey are doing battle with Scott Leonard right on their heels. Jr. Thunder sees Braydon Harn and Damon Haberberger doing their usual battle for first place. Jr. Lightning finds Sarah Stewart running away with the championship as Karson Elkins and Cohen Hale fight to stay in the race. Marine Coin Junior Street class has names like Phillips and Thomas, second and third generation racers looking to start their own championship tradition while carrying on the family name and family tradition. High school class finds racing phenom Luke Beach, Bobby “Knight” Meyer, Conner Awalt and Tim Hearn all looking for that coveted Ranken Technical College High School championship. Enough about the championships already, they will take care of themselves, we will have plenty of time to write about the champions all winter and to celebrate all of them with a banquet in their honor. Let’s talk about this weekend’s racing. Let’s talk about the weather, about five inches of rain in an hour to be exact. Let’s talk about great Saturday races and a Sunday race where you needed a boat to get through the staging lanes dramatically changing the fortunes of a few and earning others the coveted title of 2025 World Wide Technology Raceway track champion…. Here are their stories.

Super Pro:

Saturday’s Super Pro race saw former champion Mike “Tuff Paw” Eggleston doing what he does best, winning races. Mike was only able to compete in five of the races at WWT Raceway in 2025 but guess what he did in those five races? He won two of them. Great job Mike. Mike found himself on Saturday in the Super Pro finals against Bradley “B-Rad” White. Mike was able to use his .008 reaction time and two over the dial in on the brakes finish to best White who was .028 and dead on the dial in with a four to make for a very close stripe. Bradley had to defeat Danny Ratulowski in the semifinals and future champion Brian Spillars in the quarterfinals to earn his spot in the finals. Eggleston had to best Clay Tyler in the semifinals and Guy Qusenberry in his beautiful Camaro in the quarterfinals to earn his trip to the finals. Congratulations to Mike “Tuff Paw” Eggleston on your hard earned second Super Pro victory of 2025!!!

Pro Class:

Pro Class saw the return of arguably the greatest racer to ever race in the St. Louis area to WWT Raceway. The son of a Pro Stock racer and legend in the St. Louis racing community Rich Thomas Sr, Ricky Thomas Jr. “Tricky” spent his childhood drag strip to drag strip chasing his father’s Pro Stock dream. Ricky Thomas Jr., in his famous, now retired and restored to new show car condition, red Monte Carlo, has terrorized the drag racing community since the 1970s. Ricky obviously learned a few things back in his youth at all those Pro Stock races.  Ricky was very innovative in his younger race days doing things that guys like Nasty Nick Hastings have become famous for all the way back to the 1980s. Heck, he practically invented it. Holding 10-20 numbers, matching dial ins with his opponents several seconds slower and riding them out to the finish line, laying down trip zip (like he did in the semifinals at Saturdays race), this guy’s talent level is just incredible. The key is not so much what he does, it is his ability to execute. Ricky had it all on display in Saturday’s race. Rickys opponent in the final was former Sportsman Champion, and now Pro Class driver, Brad Kaemmerer. Kaemmerer, who had been tough all day, defeated Janie Palm on her Hayabusa in the semifinals and Brian Garcia in the quarterfinals. Ricky Thomas, who had earned the semifinal bye by defeating Jeremy Rosenstengel in the quarterfinals then turned around and went .000 triple zip in the bye run to the finals against Kaemmerer. In the finals, Kaemmerer was .051 up front to Thomas’ .036. Both drivers were .006 under their dial with Thomas needing to go out to the fourth digit to get the win. It was a great race at the stripe. Tricky Ricky, who normally races Sikeston and Bonne Terre, had a very triumphant return to WWTR and it was great to see him jump out there and get the win. Congratulations to Pro Class winner and St. Louis legend “Tricky” Ricky Thomas. 

VP Racing Lubricants Sportsman Class:

Sportsman class seems to be a class where guys can get on a streak and carry that streak for years. Craig Powell and Aaron Hagen most recently come to mind. It is a tough place to race with names like Powell, Beach (any of the three), Kaemmerer, Davis and Zeuner, just a few that come to mind. The dream is to win the championship, but it just seems to be a tough place to break through. Every year Steve Zeuner seems to be a top 5 finisher, always one of the best, but getting that win you need to complete the championship escaped him. That all changed Saturday night. Steve Zeuner started the day in a three-way battle between Craig Powell, Steve Zeuner and last year’s champion Luke Beach. When it was time for the Saturday night final, it all came down to Luke Beach vs Steve Zeuner. Zeuner was not to be denied. Zeuner approached the final round with an all-in, do or die attitude. Zeuner, with nerves of steel, went for the tree and it all paid off. Zeuner in the final round of Sportsman Class laid down a .001 reaction time and ran a 12.27 on a 12.25 dial in to Luke Beach’s respectable .034 and 11.78 on a 11.75 dial in. Did this really happen? Did Steve Zeuner finally get the race win that will propel him to the championship? Well, it was sure looking that way. Steve had the points lead going into Sunday’s race, Steve had the advantage. What Steve did not expect was in his Pro Class round 1 a broken push rod that got into the motor and hurt the piston. Steve did not expect to work that hard to see it all end in a crushing engine failure. In the end, Mother Nature intervened and five inches of rain in an hour helped seal the victory that Steve had worked so hard for so many years. It was a great championship and congratulations to your 2025 VP Racing Lubricants Sportsman Class Champion Steve Zeuner. Steve’s rain dance on Sunday is legendary. 

Commercial Safe and Lock Super Pro Bike: 

B.J. Evans from Maplewood, MO was on top of his game Saturday as he defeated Phil Humphry in the final round of Super Pro Motorcycle. Evans took advantage of a .018 light and went dead on his 8.63 dial in for a 25 package. Humphry put up a.048 light and broke out by .001. Evans defeated DeAndre Lewis in the semifinal round and Humphry defeated Brandon Childress in the quarterfinals to earn the bye into the finals. Great job B.J. Evans on your victory. 

Jr. Thunder:

Brandon Hearn found himself in the final round of the Jr. Thunder class facing Callie Sutton. Callie was .055 light and went 8.973 on an 8.90 dial in a tough, but losing effort. Hearn was .039 on the tree and ran a 12.565 on a 12.50 dial in to secure the victory in the final round. Hearn defeated Savannah Middleton in the semifinal round. Sutton earned the bye to the finals by defeating Ryre Masek in the quarterfinals. Congratulations to Brandon Hearn and the whole Hearn racing family on your victory.

Jr. Lightning:

Grant Reichardt from Festus, MO found his way into the victory circle with finals win over Isabella Hammock from Wentzville, MO. Reichardt was .065 up front and ran 7.944 on a 7.93 dial in to defeat the losing 7.916 on a 7.90 dial in from Hammock. Hammock defeated Evan Richards in the semifinals to earn her way to the finals. Reichardt defeated Brayden Hearns in the semifinals to punch his ticket to the final round of the race. Congratulations to all the racers and particularly Grant Reichardt on your hard-fought victory.

Marine Coin Company Jr. Street: 

In a field that was double its normal size, young Jacob Phillips took advantage of a red light by Tyler Kuehnel to secure his final round win. Phillip ran a 9.637 on a 9.58 dial in compared to Kuehnel’s 10.36 break out on his 10.39 dial in. Phillips defeated Lilly Busken in the semifinals and Kuehnel defeated Leila Thomas (Granddaughter to Tricky Ricky Thomas) in the semifinals of Jr. Street. Congratulations to all the kids as you get better and better.

Ranken Technical College High School Class: 

In his final regular season of high school class, Luke Beach won his final round match up against Conner Awalt. Beach was behind Awalt off the starting line .045 for Beach and .029 for Awalt. In the double break out stripe, Beach jammed on his brakes to go 11.798 on his 11.80 dial in to defeat Awalt who was 15.455 on his 15.46 dial in. That is some great driving for sure high school kids!!!

A Message from Brad and Nettie: 

The King of the Arch Shootout was added to the NAPA NHRA National Event Friday schedule to fill a time gap created when the number of pro qualifying sessions were reduced to three sessions. The last two years P.R.O. has been advocating to return to the original format running two qualifiers on Friday and two on Saturday. Adding the second PRO session on Friday, now fills the time frame used to run our King of the Arch Shootout.

In addition to the schedule, significant changes were made to the parking layout in the oval which reduced the number of parking spots by at least 60 pit spots, not counting the number of sites needed for our King of the Arch program.

Like pre-covid times, the Jr. Dragster, High School Shootout and Jr. Street time runs will continue as NHRA uses the local youth racers to help recruit the next generation of racers. 

We realize the decision to eliminate the King of the Arch is going to be very unpopular.  Therefore, we will be giving the top 8 racers in Super Pro, Pro, VP Racing Lubricants Sportsman and Commercial Safe & Lock Super Pro Bike – two tickets to the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals Sunday, Sept. 28 “Championship Sunday.” Racers eligible do not need to anything. A follow up email will be sent to you shortly. 

We still plan on running the King of the Arch Shootout on Saturday, Oct. 18 as part of the Mopar Blast event.  More details about the event will be coming out at a future date.  Also, a new trophy for the King of the Arch Shootout will also be unveiled.