Tanner Pulls Off Unthinkable at Huntsville Engine "King of the Coast" Bracket Bash, Fieramusca, Lowery and Palmisano Double-Up.

Close to 200 racers converged on Gulfport Dragway for the 2009 Kick-Off of the
Huntsville Engine "King of the Coast" Bracket Bash. Racers represented the states
of Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Louisanna, Texas and Florida competing for
the $40,000 plus purse. With those valuable KOC Points up for grabs the 2008 KOC
Champions (David Reynolds, Mike Cameron, Timmy Fieramusca, Joseph Hidalgo III and
Jackon Core) set out in defense of their titles.

Gulfport Dragway staff began preparing for the big event on Thursday by providing
a track surface that would return some of the most consistent 60' times ever
at a KOC Event. "We scraped the track on Thursday and then put as much rubber on
the surface by dragging it Thursday, Friday and even Saturday morning, "stated
Jeff August of Gulfport Dragway.

All the racing action kicked off Saturday morning with the Jr. Dragsters taking
the track with two trials before first round of eliminations were to begin. When
all the smoke cleared a familiar face would appear in the Winner's Circle
as the Two Time and Defending KOC 13-17 Jr. Dragster Timmy Fieramusca of Kenner, LA
would once again take home the hardware by defeating veteran KOC Jr. Racer Alex
Tritt of Picayune, MS.

The 10-12 and 8&9 Jr. Classes were also action packed as Dakota Lowery of
Cantontment, FL and Trevor Palmisano would take home hard fought WINS. Lowery
and Palmisano still had some more muscle to flex for the weekend.

"Our Jr. Dragster program is as strong as ever with 25 Jr. attending this weekend. The
KOC Seires takes a lot of pride in the Jr. Program as we recognize that these
youth are the future of our sport we love. Our KOC Jr. Racers take tremendous amounts
of pride with their racing and are out there to have fun and be as competitive as they
can be." commented Gaylon Rolison of the Huntsville Engine "KOC" Series.

Pro Footbrake and Pro Electronics took to the track Saturday afternoon as they
would also receive two time trials before first round of eliminations. Wait and
See Bye for first round were Justin Albritton of West Monroe, LA and Jerry Hyatt
of Covington, LA. The racing action was fierce with as dead-on-the-dial runs were hitting the score boards pass after pass.

The Pro Electronics Class had two veteran and well decorated racers meet in the
finals as Bubba Stephenson of Bastrop, LA would take on NHRA Summtt Super Series
National Champion and Multi-Time NHRA Super Comp National Event Winner Bart
Nelson of Houston, TX. Stephenson a regular on the KOC trial who has sported
numerous WINS in the KOC as well as $10,000 Bracket WINS took the WIN over
Nelson. Willie Winters, recent WINNER of the EC/BracketNews.com Big Bucks Series at Emerald Coast Dragway, of Lucedale, MS took home Semi-Final prize money.

The Pro Foobrake Final pitted Phil Combs Demossville, KY and multi-time bracket winner Mike Barnett of Columbia, MS. Combs would put down a .011 package in route to his WIN. Combs traveled to Gulfport Dragway on a tear claiming Big Dollar victories in the past 4 months in Holt, FL, Jackson, TN, Cincinnati, OH, London, KY, Clarksville, TN and Kinston, NC.

The Quick 8 Footbrake paired Mickey Brown of Covington, AL and Lewis Bryant of
Moss Point, MS. Brown used a reaction time advantage to claim the $150 Winner's
Pot.

Saturday Night the KOC Series had more to feature after the main events as the
Great American Bracket $50,000 Bracket Race Gamblers Event. 16 Drivers forked
out $100 in hopes of advancing to the final round in which each would receive
FREE Weekend Entries to the Great American Bracket Race in addition the WINNER
earning the FREE $300 buyback in the $50,000 Main Event.

In that final, which was finished Saturday Morning due rain that evening, Jonathan Robin took
on Doug Harper in which Robin took home the WIN.

As mentioned Saturday evening brought light rains to Gulfport Dragway and into early
Sunday morning.  Gulfport Dragway Staff scrambled on that windy and cold Sunday morning to dry the track and have it ready to go by race time at 9am. "Jeff did a great job getting the track
into racing condition after the rains and not to mention the temps dropping
about 20 degrees overnight", added Rolison.

Once racing was underway the highly coveted J-Mark Race Cars Ultimate Dragster
Race-Off was contested in which one racer would leave Gulfport Dragway with a
J-Mark Race Cars Stage 1 Slip Joint Dragster courtesy of J-Mark Race Cars of
Saraland, AL. 31 racers were eligible to compete in the event via attending 7 of 8
Huntsville Engine "KOC" Events in 2008. 

The final round pitted two veteran KOC racers as James Page of Slidell, LA and
Scott Taylor of Petal, MS did battle as Taylor would take the BIG WIN in a very
close final round. "Besting an Electronics Car just shows how good the Footbrake
Racers of the KOC are,"said Taylor.

"The KOC Series is very thankful for Jeff Little of J-Mark Race Cars for stepping up and
supporting the bracket racers," Rolison stated. "There are not too many if any places a racer
could participate in a series and be rewarded with a FREE race car for just supporting
the series.

As Sunday's Event rolled along all of Saturday's Jr. WINNERS would return to
the final round in which Fieramusca, Lowery and Palmisano would claim WINS
for the second day in a row.

The Pro Footbrake final featured two of the best Footbrakers around as Jared
Pennington of Fultondale, AL took on Luke Bogacki of Woodville, AL. Pennington
would used a .011 package (.505 and 6.406 on a 6.40 dial) to claim his first
"KOC" Victory.

In Pro Electronics a first was accomplished as Gene Tanner of Lucedale, MS not
only took home the WIN but also took home the R/U money. Tanner took out Mike
Buchwald of Steens, MS and Wayne Henry from Baker, LA in both Semi-Finals
claiming stake to be the first racer ever to WIN and R/U a KOC Race. After the
Race Tanner stated, "That was pretty fun. I don't even remember taking off my
helmet my last eight passes down the track. My Huntsville Engine was as good
as it could be all night. I was yelling and screaming when the last Semi-Final
Win light came on!"

"The Huntsville Engine "King of the Coast" Series had a good weekend as I can
tell," Rolison said. "Racers that came to Gulfport Dragway for the first time
approached myself all weekend amazed that Gulfport Dragway is a hidden jem. The
track was good, the timing system is top notch (Accutime), plenty of shut down
and more than enough of parking.", Rolison continued.

"The KOC Staff worked their tail off all weekend as Jim Griffiths, Jennifer Rolison,
Candace Rolison and Matthew Moore put in long hours to make the KOC Race what it
was. The Gulfport Dragway staff equally put in long hours and without their
hard work the KOC is not possible. I thank each and every one of them for their
efforts.", Rolison Concluded.

The Huntsville Engine "King of the Coast" Bracket Series is never short to
recognize Series Title Sponsor Huntsville Engine & Performance Center.
Associate Sponsors J-Mark Race Cars, BTE, Rolison's Firestone of Saucier, MS,
Wade's Tire Barn, and Nitro-Plate for their support of the grass roots drag racer.

The next Huntsville Engine "King of the Coast" Bracket Series is slated for
March 7 & 8 at Gulfport Dragway with parking and credentials Friday March 6
from 5-11pm. Gates Open Friday morning at 8am with Jr. Dragster Time Trials
at 9am.
 

Click Here for Detailed Final, Semi-Final and Quarter Final Round Results.

Click Here Complete WINNER'S and R/U Pics.