Back in 2009 when Red Whitmore insisted that he could transform Bristol Dragway’s fledgling bracket series into a viable and successful program, he was reasonably sure he could pull it off, but he certainly didn’t expect to still be doing it 17 seasons later!
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #194, the WSOPM Issue, in May/June of 2025.
Bristol Dragway’s then-president, Jeff Byrd, had already cancelled the bracket program when Whitmore – an employee of the oval track with a distant past in drag racing – persuaded Byrd to allow him one season to try and turn things around. Byrd, along with pretty much everybody else, was shocked when Whitmore did exactly that, and now he’s hoping to keep the good times rolling for 20 seasons, and he’s even made it something of a retirement goal. “I’ll be almost 80 years old at the 20-season mark, so that’s what I’m shooting for,” Whitmore smiles.
Even though the DER Bracket Racing Series that Whitmore founded and manages is seemingly hitting on all cylinders, he never gets complacent or thinks it can’t be improved upon. From day one, Whitmore was a huge believer of allowing racers to vote on matters that directly affect them, and it’s a practice he still embraces. “This is their series, I just manage it for them,” he always insists.
Whitmore is keenly aware of changing trends, and he embraces the transition whenever he sees an opportunity. “I put the points signup sheet online this year for the first time, and it really worked out well.” He even offered a $10 discount to any racer who took the time to complete the signup sheet online. “The response was great, not to mention the information was so much easier to read since it was typed!” he laughs.
As for the kickoff of the “17th Round of the DER Series” as it’s affectionately known, Whitmore was contemplating how he should handle the points on the first weekend of the new season in late March, so naturally he put it to a vote! “It was proposed to make the March event a points race, and then drop one later in the year,” Whitmore explains, “but the verdict came back to just leave it alone and make it a non-points race, so that’s exactly what I did.” The season opener was indeed heavily attended, although unfavorable weather showed up late in the weekend, forcing a cancellation of the last day.
The DER Bracket Racing Series is comprised of nine classes of competition and is mainly contested on the eighth mile, with the exception of Sportsman and Trophy, which compete on the full 1,320. Multiple classes of Jr. Dragster competition are available, along with motorcycles and all the other classes one would expect to see in a well-rounded dial-in series.
In addition to the gathering in March, five more weekends are on tap in 2025. Each weekend, things get started on Friday with parking and test-and-tune, while Saturday and Sunday each have separate eliminators.
Whitmore is forever trying to accommodate his racers, so when they voiced their desires of wanting more prize money this year, he went to work on finding a solution. Raising the gate fee would have been one solution, but instead, the decision was reached to raise the buyback fee in Super Pro and Pro, thus increasing the payouts to third and fourth round winners, along with the runner-up, who gets a couple hundred more dollars.
After the May event is complete, DER will return in June with a pair of points races before taking off the month of July. After a single event in mid-August, the season finale is slated for September.
“I started out wanting to make one of the best bracket racing programs in the region and that continues to be my goal, and after all these years I feel like it’s still a work in progress,” Whitmore concludes.
The post Red Whitmore Keeps The Good Times Rolling in Bristol’s DER Bracket Racing Series first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
