Hayes Fan Fest Opening Day Event at Atlanta Dragway in 2005
by Tim Glover
HUNDREDS OF RACERS ENJOY HAYES FAN FEST AT ATLANTA DRAGWAY
(Commerce, GA - February 26) Although it was a bit on the chilly side, the sun was out, and hundreds of racers came to enjoy their first day at the track in 2005 during the Hayes Fan Fest. The gates opened at 10am, and the racing action continued until late in the afternoon. Because of a couple of delays during the day due to cars breaking on the track, the hours were extended to 6:00pm from the originally scheduled 5:00pm to allow racers several shots at the track.
Defending 2004 Super Pro champion Lloyd Kaylor brought a new machine to the track, his first non-Buick race car. Rather than continue with his trusty '87 Regal for 2005, Kaylor bought a 1994 Suncoast dragster chassis from Super Comp racer Nicky Ewing, and added new running gear to it during the winter. The dragster weighs 1850 lb with the driver, 1500 pounds lighter than the Regal. Kaylor made several short "hops" (60 foot passes), which are part of the steps required to earn his NHRA competition license. After his first pass in the dragster, Kaylor said, "That was fun! I could feel it digging."
Many racers brought new cars to the track to test, including 20 year old Jeremy "Hollywood" Hancock. Since moving up to Super Pro from the Jr. Dragster ranks, Hancock has competed in a 1967 Camaro, an older dragster, and now has a brand new 2005 M&M dragster, which he and his father finished preparing a few hours before the event, late Friday evening.
Christian Vidal from Lawrenceville, GA brought his highly modified daily driver 1999 Honda Civic to the track to see what it would do. His turbocharged four cylinder mount ran in the low 12 second range, faster than most of the V-8 equipped cars on the grounds. Although many parts were aftermarket on his car, he did add that it at least had a factory suspension.
Jeremy Hayes brought two of his machines to the track, a D/SA '98 Dakota and a factory equipped 2004 Stage III, SRT-4 Dodge Neon. People not familiar with the Neon were quite surprised with the 12.40 second 100 plus mph passes the machine turned in. The 360 inch V-8 equipped Dakota, with more than twice the cubic inches, turned in a respectable 12.20 second performance. "The track worked well," added Hayes.
Chris Carlile, the defending 2004 Sportsman champion, also brought a new race car to try out. He actually built the 1969 Camaro for a family member six years ago, but ended up trading for it over the winter. He then removed the engine from his championship car and put it into the '69 Camaro. The car immediately responded with a 10.20 pass. Carlile said he has a little more tweaking to do, which will put it into the 10.0 second range.
A large group of Motorcycle racers turned out to prepare for the new season. A Motorcycle points race will be held monthly for the 2005 season at Atlanta Dragway.
In addition to test and tune action, the NHRA certification team was on the grounds, allowing racers with fast car to get their car's chassis inspected. For safety reasons, an NHRA certification is required for cars that run quicker than 9.99 seconds in the quarter mile.
Photos
HUNDREDS OF RACERS ENJOY HAYES FAN FEST AT ATLANTA DRAGWAY
(Commerce, GA - February 26) Although it was a bit on the chilly side, the sun was out, and hundreds of racers came to enjoy their first day at the track in 2005 during the Hayes Fan Fest. The gates opened at 10am, and the racing action continued until late in the afternoon. Because of a couple of delays during the day due to cars breaking on the track, the hours were extended to 6:00pm from the originally scheduled 5:00pm to allow racers several shots at the track.
Defending 2004 Super Pro champion Lloyd Kaylor brought a new machine to the track, his first non-Buick race car. Rather than continue with his trusty '87 Regal for 2005, Kaylor bought a 1994 Suncoast dragster chassis from Super Comp racer Nicky Ewing, and added new running gear to it during the winter. The dragster weighs 1850 lb with the driver, 1500 pounds lighter than the Regal. Kaylor made several short "hops" (60 foot passes), which are part of the steps required to earn his NHRA competition license. After his first pass in the dragster, Kaylor said, "That was fun! I could feel it digging."
Many racers brought new cars to the track to test, including 20 year old Jeremy "Hollywood" Hancock. Since moving up to Super Pro from the Jr. Dragster ranks, Hancock has competed in a 1967 Camaro, an older dragster, and now has a brand new 2005 M&M dragster, which he and his father finished preparing a few hours before the event, late Friday evening.
Christian Vidal from Lawrenceville, GA brought his highly modified daily driver 1999 Honda Civic to the track to see what it would do. His turbocharged four cylinder mount ran in the low 12 second range, faster than most of the V-8 equipped cars on the grounds. Although many parts were aftermarket on his car, he did add that it at least had a factory suspension.
Jeremy Hayes brought two of his machines to the track, a D/SA '98 Dakota and a factory equipped 2004 Stage III, SRT-4 Dodge Neon. People not familiar with the Neon were quite surprised with the 12.40 second 100 plus mph passes the machine turned in. The 360 inch V-8 equipped Dakota, with more than twice the cubic inches, turned in a respectable 12.20 second performance. "The track worked well," added Hayes.
Chris Carlile, the defending 2004 Sportsman champion, also brought a new race car to try out. He actually built the 1969 Camaro for a family member six years ago, but ended up trading for it over the winter. He then removed the engine from his championship car and put it into the '69 Camaro. The car immediately responded with a 10.20 pass. Carlile said he has a little more tweaking to do, which will put it into the 10.0 second range.
A large group of Motorcycle racers turned out to prepare for the new season. A Motorcycle points race will be held monthly for the 2005 season at Atlanta Dragway.
In addition to test and tune action, the NHRA certification team was on the grounds, allowing racers with fast car to get their car's chassis inspected. For safety reasons, an NHRA certification is required for cars that run quicker than 9.99 seconds in the quarter mile.
Photos
posted by David @ 6:25 PM
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