Salas, Deason and Masiello Claim Victories at Battle in the Bay 7 at Bradenton Motorsports Park
As the racing season starts to ramp up, so does the intensity of the races. Florida No-Time Racing hosts a pair of races at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Bradenton, Florida each year, and after a two-week delay due to weather, Battle in the Bay 7 was completed yesterday at BMP.
Scoring class wins on Saturday evening were Joey Salas, Dick Deason and Anthony Masiello.
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Florida No-Time Racing added a ‘Street Style’ class to their line-up last season, with several ‘stock-appearing’ rules, plus a stock-style suspension, power adder limitations, and a 28-inch diameter slick or 275 drag radial max size tire allowed.
We’ve seen several familiar drag-and-drive names in this class, including Matt Lamphier, Richard Flint, and James Taal. But Joey Salas would be the last one standing on this night, wheeling his single-turbo, modular Ford-powered Mustang known as ‘Big Karma’ to the title.
The No-Time Invitational is a unique class where event promoter Troy Pirez Jr. tries to bring in a good mix of cars, where despite the No-Time format, Pirez manages to keep a fairly even competition level. After five rounds of competition, Dick Deason would get the final win light in his ‘Lawn Dart’ single turbo LS-powered ’63 Dodge Dart.
Although the nature of the event is centered around a no-time format, the quickest class on the property is normally the No-Time 28s class. With a minimum of rules and a 28-inch diameter slick or 275 drag radial max size tire allowed, cars are rumored to get into the low 4-second range with ease.
The man to beat from 2023 in the class was Anthony Masiello in his sinister ‘Capone’ 1969 Camaro, and the supercharged hot rod would get the job done again in 2024 for the $7,000 payout.
For another drag-and-drive regular, Battle in the Bay 7 was a series of ups and downs for Cooper Bogetti. The popular YouTuber and podcaster was competing in the Street Style class with his 2JZ-powered Camaro, and made it to round two with a personal best 4.84 at 144.97 mph eighth-mile time slip in hand.
He looked well on the way to a victory when the head gasket surrendered its chances, dropping water on the track and sending Cooper into the wall. Thankfully, the safety equipment and roll cage did their job, and Cooper came out of the car okay.
The damage appears to be fixable, and Cooper is already planning to see if there’s a way he can make repairs in time for the upcoming Reunion event at Bradenton Motorsports Park on April 19th-20th.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of KC Photography, Joey Salas, Dick Deason and Cooper Bogetti.
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