June 15, 2025 – Julesburg Dragstrip, CO
Super Pro Finalist | Watanabe Racing
At Julesburg Dragstrip on June 15, Watanabe Racing charged all the way to the final round in the Super Pro class. Sabu Watanabe came up just .018 seconds short of scoring his first Wally – but what a fight it was to get there!
The day was intense. Officials were pushing racers to turn around quickly as storms loomed, and in the quarterfinals, the team discovered a cracked radiator cap. With no time for repairs, they taped rags over it to prevent coolant from spilling over the engine and track and then had to keep a close eye on engine temps for the rest of the day.
Despite the challenges, Sabu stayed sharp round after round. In the final, he dialed a 7.93 and slowed to a 7.98, enough room for the opponent to back into the stripe and grab the win.
Back home, Sabu loaded the run into The Time Slip Simulator and relived the moment. He even tweaked the dial-in to 7.97, and sure enough, the TSS showed it might have been enough to grab the win. Ugh! So close!
Sabu sends out a big thank you to Bob Bradley, Pete Springer, and Steve Kuzava for their help throughout the weekend, and to his family for supporting (and putting up with!) his racing habit. And of course, hats off to Todd Barowsky and the entire Julesburg crew for providing a great place to race.
A huge effort and a well-earned trip to the final round. Great job, Watanabe Racing!
