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Owen Birkett, a graduate of Morehouse College, drives the I/SA wagon of this father & son racing team.  Dad, Warren Birkett, is the owner and president of Wybirk & Associates, a business dedicated to helping minority business owners in the Baton Rouge area.  Owen and Warren are both very good drivers and they win more rounds than they loses.  Racing in NHRA National and Divisional Events,  Owen and his father Warren, travel all over the country.  The competition is tough in the Stock Eliminator Class and Owen and his father are two of the best.  We are proud of our Morehouse Man, Owen Birkett and his dad!

5/25/01 - Owen Birkett drove Willie's Wagon to a 2nd place finish in Comp. Street class at State Capitol Dragway.  In the process the wagon made it's quickest trip down the 1/4 mile ever.  They ran an 11.86!  Willie said he is really pleased with the little wagon. Owen did a fine job of driving, given the fact that he had never driven this vehicle before.

Warren, Father of Owen, is an honorary member of Bracket Masters Racing Team.  He assisted team with an application for 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Status, and has worked as a consultant for the Louisiana Drag Classic.

4/11-14/02 - Warren participated in the O'Reilly Spring Nationals at Baytown, TX, where John Force won his historic 100th career race.  Warren was on the starting line when the race took place.  Warren competed in Stock Eliminator after replacing two rocker arms, a pushrod and the ring & pinion gear set.  After all of that it was not enough to get by the first round.  Warren, a veteran of National Events,  helped Skip Holbert who also lost in the first round, in his first National Event during the weekend.  A good time was had by all. 
Warren will do some troubleshooting on his motor, replace the transmission and other needed work to get ready for the next race. 

4/24/03 - Warren had a major fire at his home in Baker, LA and lost almost everything.  His racecar was destroyed along with his wife's car.  The fire started in the garage and the fireman were able to save the majority of the two-story structure.  The garage and the family room were a total loss (one above the other).  Almost all of the furniture and clothing was lost to smoke and water damage.  Warren described the heat of the fire by saying he had several motors in the garage and the pistons melted in the cylinders!  Warren and his wife are in an apartment and it will take approximately 6 months to rebuild the structure.  

10/9/03 - Warren attended the 4th Annual Louisiana Drag Classic with his new car.  Warren ran in both the Fall Footbrake Fantasy, both Sat. and Sunday, and the LADC.  Warren ran into a series of drivers that cut "Double-O" lights in eliminations.  The car ran very well but the lights were hard to overcome.  
                   

Warren has given his support to the Baton Rouge SMART Program, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping students of the Glen Oaks High School Auto Technology Program.  Warren crafted the documents necessary to obtain approval from the IRS to have the program recognized as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.  Warren has volunteered time in the classroom and he has participated in other events, such as Career Day and a car shows put on at Glen Oaks H. S. and other schools in the community.  The B. R. SMART Program awarded one $500 scholarship to a graduating student at the end of the 2003 - 2004 school year.  The program will award two additional scholarships for the 2004-2005 school year. 

Nov. 13, 2004 - Warren attended the Battle On The Bayou at Louisiana Raceway.  He was in the 13.00 class and he had his new M/SA station wagon dialed in with a couple of 13.05 passes.  Warren was still running when the mist came over the track, which caused the race to be stopped.

Warren informed me that Owen Birkett has graduated from Morehouse College and has taken a position at an Atlanta corporation.  Congratulations to Owen!  Owen still drives the L/SA Buick and has that car with him in Atlanta.  This father/son race team is planning to purchase a 48' trailer that will carry both cars and provide living quarters. 

May 3, 2005 - Here are some nice photos of Warren and Owen.

    Warren

  Owen wins class at 2005 Cajun Sports Nationals!

Two of Bracket Masters own win class in Stock Eliminator at the 2005 National Hot Rod Associations SportsNationals held at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, Louisiana. Owen Birkett and his dad Warren both won their heads up drag race class in Stock Eliminator. This is the second NHRA Wally from the SportsNationals for Owen. Last year, while a student at Moorehouse College, Owen driving the same 1979 Buick Regal Sports Coupe won his class in stock also.
The 3,480 pound Buick is powered by a stock 155 h.p., 350 c.i. Buick motor which places it in M/Stock Automatic. Racers came from all over the country and of the one hundred twenty three cars that qualified in stock, Owen qualified 40th at more than one second under the M/SA class index at 109 m.p.h. Owen said the car has run an elapsed time of 11.80 in L/SA with the national record at 11.78 seconds. He currently is employed, as an accountant, by an automobile dealership in Atlanta, Georgia.

In 2003, competing in NHRA s Division Two, Owen finished 13th in Stock Eliminator only a six points out of the top ten. This was an accomplishment considering they lost their race car in a house fire and he still had four more divisional races to earn points at 10 per round win.

Warren drove their 1980 Chevy Malibu Wagon, powered by a 180 h.p., 305 c.i. motor, to an uncontested class win in N/SA at a weight of 3,520 lbs. He has problems and was only able to qualify 3 tenths under his class index at 100 mph, placing him next to last.
Warren is the President of WYBIRK & Associates, Inc. a management consulting/business development firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

NHRA Stock Eliminator is a highly competitive class, with all kinds of restrictions. Not much came be changed from factory specifications. However, there is a class for almost any American hot rod , from nine second big block A/Stock Camaro s/Ford s to 15 second W/Stock four cylinder Pinto s.

May 15, 2005 - At the Summit Southern Nationals held at the Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Georgia, Owen Birkett wins the M/Stock Automatic (M/SA) class again in the Birkett's 1979 Buick Regal. This is the third NHRA Wally he has won with the car, and his second national event class win within a month. The car is powered by a 155H.P., 350c.i. Buick motor assembled by Herche Performance in Indiana to meet NHRA stock class specifications. Owen again qualified in the top half of the field running .95 seconds under the M/SA class index. Also, at this race Mr. Freeman McNeal, the representative of Mr. Moto Products and VP Racing Fuel, awarded them an additional $100 to go along with VP's normal cash contingency award. The Birkett's are the first to receive this contingency prize for running Mr. Moto's Products.

June 3, 2005 - Visit To Summer School
Get them while they are young! Bracket Masters Racing Team took 4 cars, including the Jr. Dragster, to visit the Summer Program at God's Way Christian Academy and make a presentation to the kids using the SMART Program materials. During our visit, Mr. Willie Beathley introduced the film and gave a brief history of our organization. The children were happy to look at the race cars, but the thrill of the day was getting to sit in the Jr. Dragster and act like they were driving. Many of the kids asked some very good questions. 

The cars that were present were, Mr. Warren Birkett with his M/SA station wagon, recent winner of class at a national event, Mr. Willie Beathley with his 9 second small block Chevy wagon, Mr. Glend McDonald with his 9 second big block Chevy Camaro, and I handled the teams Jr. Dragster. Also supporting the event were Mr. James Richardson and Mr. Reggie Jackson, Director of Baton Rouge SMART Program.