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The next to last Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown national event was filled with drama and incredible racing performances. For the second time in three races Scott Libersher raced to the winner’s circle, winning the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals today at Maple Grove Raceway. The veteran driver from Wilmington, Illinois won for the first time in his career at the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota, and today he took the victory from the No. 6 qualifier position.
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“I had full confidence that I would do well this weekend,” said Libersher. “I was kind of the silent guy sneaking up from the back. No one mentioned me much. I was getting a little irritated. I said I'm going to turn it up a little bit, and here we are.”
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The final round was an incredibly close race with Libersher grabbing a nearly psychic .001 reaction time to leave the starting line first and he held off a charging Stephen Bell. Bell was racing in his sixth final round of the season and was denied his fourth win by a mere .055 seconds. Libersher’s winning elapsed time of 7.755 seconds bested Bell’s 7.797 seconds.
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“I've been trying to be very consistent with everything I do, and that (reaction time) was me being a little amped up and just all the adrenaline sure,” said Libersher. “Stephen is a good friend of mine. We've congratulated each other on our wins. He was excited at Brainerd for me. We were coming around the corner, and (crew chief) David Barton was ready with the computer since they didn't prep the track because they're running late. We put our B tune in, and it worked out great. I drove hard and David tuned it up great.”
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In the first round, Libersher defeated Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals winner Ricky Hord in a classic Camaro versus Camaro match-up. In the quarterfinals, he outran the No. 2 driver in the point standings Mark Pawuk beating him on a hole shot using his starting line reaction time advantage to give his Camaro enough power to win at the finish line. The win helped Libersher close the gap on the top three Flexjet teams.
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The semifinal round featured three of the top four drivers in the point standings looking to either hold onto their point leader or make a move up the standings. In one of the closest races of the day Bell and his red COPO Camaro outran point leader David Janac and his Ford Mustang. Bell’s 7.830-second run got to the finish line before Janac’s 7.844 second pass. Janac was first off the starting line with a reaction time of .024 to Bell’s .036 and the margin of victory for Bell who moved into second place in the Flexjet point standings with the win was .0021 seconds.
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In the first round Anthony Troyer turned on his win light and collected the $1,000 Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series bounty on a solo run when his opponent Jason Dietsch did not run. In an unusual turn of events, Toyota U.S. Nationals winner Kevin Skinner and U.S. Nationals runner-up Raymond Nash were unable to compete this weekend so by rule the $1,000 bounty transferred to Indy No. 1 qualifier Dietsch. On Saturday night Troyer ran 11.640 at 94.24 mph to pick up the round win and advance to the quarterfinals against Janac.��
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Leaving Maple Grove Raceway, the top four drivers are separated by only 45 points. Following the Toyota U. S. Nationals, the NHRA technical department issued point penalties against several competitors for violating the rules pertaining to the Factory Stock Showdown supercharger pulley during a routine technical inspection. The results of those penalties tightened up the points race for the final two Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series races.
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“I wouldn't do anything else the world,” said Libersher. “My wife and my family are with me. I've got my grandson with me this weekend. It's a family thing. St Louis will be great and this championship run will be a lot of fun.”
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The Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series season will conclude, and the championship will be decided at World Wide Technology Raceway in St. Louis, Sept. 27-29.