So far this season, Bo Butner has been a powerful force in the new Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Mountain Motor Pro Stock series. With two wins on his scorecard in the first two events, Bo is leading the points. Wife Randi Lyn (RL) has had a strong start as she transitioned into the monstrous, 800-plus cubic inch class, learning to max potential with every run down the racetrack. This weekend at Virginia Motorsports Park, RL powered her way to nearly the top spot in qualifying – No. 2 – and Bo wasn’t far behind in fourth.
The heat was the story coming into the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals, as projected temperatures were the hottest the tour has seen so far this year. As anticipated, track temperatures soared, but RL got a hold of everything she needed in her first pass of the weekend.
Her JHG Chevrolet Camaro was bucking to get out of the gate, and she tamed it with finesse to sail down the quarter-mile to a 6.311-second pass at 222.91 mph that settled her right into the No. 2 position. The next two passes did not prove favorable, but on the strength of her brilliant opener in her Frank Gugliotta-tuned machine, RL held to the No. 2 position and earned a first-round meeting with Elijah Morton.
“We didn’t get to test before this race, and it’s a hot track again – you really don’t know what’s going to happen,” said RL, who missed the field in Bristol after an excellent debut in Charlotte. “It was very relieving to make that run this morning. There is a whole lot of weight on your shoulders prior to that, but after Q1, I was on cloud nine.
“When I take off, I’m counting the gears as I go – one, two, three, four, five. After five, I move my hand to the steering wheel to get ready for the ‘chutes. When I hit five, I was like, whew, we made it. That was a good feeling, because in Bristol, we never got out of third gear. When I got to that five here, it was a moment.”
Qualified in the No. 2 position, RL will line up next to Mountain Motor veteran Elijah Morton, who’s fresh off of a PDRA Extreme Pro Stock win.
“Elijah Morton is a name we’ve heard for a long time,” said RL. “He’s a Ford guy, and typically somebody I would be rooting for watching Mountain Motor class. He’s been great to me, like a lot of the class has been. Everyone has been so supportive. I look forward to a good race – I hope it’s a great race, and I hope it goes our way. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure I do my part.”
As for points leader Bo Butner, he didn’t have much luck in his first two qualifying passes in his JHG Chevrolet Camaro. He came into the last qualifying session on the outside of the eight-car field looking in, but Gugliotta and the JHG crew dialed into exactly what their racecar and the track wanted, and Bo powered swiftly down to a 6.321, 222.73.
“The way it got so hot today, it really messes up going A to B,” said Bo. “But we talked about it, and Frank said, ‘If it goes, it’s going to be really good.’ We missed it, and it’s not a lack of traction – it’s that the car is trying to flip over. We made an adjustment second run, and it did the same thing. Then you’re, ‘Okay, now what do we do?’ But Frank has as many runs with this Mountain Motor stuff as I do in all my racing stuff. He knows it, and I have all the faith. The big thing for tomorrow is that lane choice is so huge here. It will be very important to keep it through eliminations. But I’m really enjoying this class. I see it growing in the future, which is great, and it’s awesome to have Randi Lyn here and qualified well. That’s a big improvement from last week.”
On the opposite side of the ladder from RL, Bo will race Johnny Pluchino in the first round.
In addition to racing in the wily Mountain Motor Pro Stock class this weekend in Virginia, Bo is also competing in the traditional 500-cid Pro Stock category in the car typically driven by Fernando Cuadra Jr., who is away this weekend on business. Bo is the defending Virginia Nationals champion in the Pro Stock class – he won the event in 2019, the last time the class was contested here – and he came one round shy of doubling up as he was also a finalist in the Factory Stock Showdown category. Drew Skillman won that title.
Qualified in the No. 10 position, Bo will race Jerry Don Tucker in round one.
“This is a great car,” said Bo. “This track being so smooth, you almost feel like you’re in a Cadillac in that Pro Stock car compared to the Mountain Motor car, which is like driving a 2002 Dodge 1500 truck in comparison. It’s a very smooth car, very good and capable of winning, but I’m really just getting data for them. When Fernando Jr. comes back, I think he’ll be happy.”
Eliminations at the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park are scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Mountain Motor Pro Stock Standings
(unofficial) after race 2 of 6, Bristol
1. Bo Butner, 191
2. John DeFlorian Jr., 126
3. Johnny Pluchino, 125
4. John Montecalvo, 88
5. Brad Waddle, 86
6. Elijah Morton, 62
7. Randi Lyn Butner, 42
8. Tony Gillig, 41
9. Alan Drinkwater, 41
10. Daryl Stewart, 31
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