Hernandez, Harper, Hill, and Thomas win ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags at South Georgia Motorsports Park

by Marvin T. Smith

Photos

The American Drag Racing League, sponsored by Flowmaster and presented by the National Guard, put on the Hardee’s Georgia Drags at South Georgia Motorsports Park May 8-9. This is THE event for pro mods in the Deep South.

Twenty-four Pro Extreme blown pro mods battled for the sixteen car field. Wes Johnson led qualifying with a fine 3.846, but went out in the first round. In the final round, Joshua Hernandez ran low elapsed time and top speed of the meet at 3.824 195.87 to beat a troubled Quain Stott.

In Pro Nitrous, Kentucky’s Billy Harper was the class of the field. Harper ran a string of amazing elapsed times throughout qualifying and eliminations. Some of his times were thrown out when the 60 foot times were simply unbelievable, but Harper was credited with the number one qualifying position at 3.954. On Saturday night, Harper put down a 3.82, but apparently something was hanging below his car and the time was disqualified. In the final, Harper beat Alabama’s Dan Parker with a 3.930 at 186.67 to Parker’s close, but losing 3.994 at 184.47. Harper’s elapsed time became the new ADRL record.

In Extreme 10.5, Georgians Mike Hill and Steve Kirk, Jr. battled throughout the event. Hill set the ADRL record only to have Kirk battle back and retake the record at 4.266. Hill got his revenge in the final round against Kirk, when he ran a 4.285 173.61 to beat Kirk who broke. Hill gets the win, and Kirk is forced to settle for the new ADRL elapsed time record.

In Pro Extreme Motorcycle, Billy Vose led qualifying with a fine 4.305, but was eliminated by eventual winner Georgian Coodee Thomas in the semi-final round with a 4.271 170.19. In the final, Thomas beat Matt Prophit with a 4.31 to the losing 4.409. Thomas exceeded the ADRL speed record, but was unable to back it up.

Even with temperatures in the 90s and adjusted altitude in the 3,500 foot range, drag strip manager Wade Rich groomed the track to record setting performances. It was a great race!

ATLANTA DRAGWAY RACER PAUL SMITH JR WINS PINKS ALL OUT EVENT AT ATLANTA DRAGWAY

by Tim Glover

The increasingly popular Speed TV show, Pinks All Out, came to Atlanta Dragway May 9-10, 2008 to tape another episode of its growing series. Well over 20,000 spectators (a one day attendance figure rivaled only by the NHRA Southern Nationals) packed the grandstands on both sides of the track. They definitely received their money’s worth during the event, which features nearly 500 “little guy” racers vying for a spot in the 16 car field that the show revolves around. David Harris, media relations manager for Speed said, “Never has there been so much excitement over the little guy racer.”

Pinks All Out is a spin-off of the original Pinks, which aired in 2005 with the premise of old style, “lose the race, lose your ride” pink slip racing. “All Out” is a successful effort by host and executive producer, Rich Christensen, to bring grass roots style drag racing to television. Instead of the typical “Christmas Tree” start, Christensen’s classic “arm drop” first ensures both racers are ready, and then starts them off in a style similar to 50s style drag racing. However, Pinks does use the staging portion of the “Christmas Tree” to ensure both racers are positioned correctly at the starting line.

Pinks technical advisors Nate and Adam Pritchett, stars in their own right, are the ones who ultimately choose the 16 car field for the show. Their goal is to choose the ones that are closest together in elapsed time, to ensure an even, heads-up, wide open, side by side, no holds barred competition. Going into an event, no one knows what range will be selected, although mid ten second quarter mile times are prevalent. For the Atlanta event, the selected field ranged from a quickest time of 10.30 seconds to a slowest of 10.38. Similar to street racing, no times are displayed on the scoreboards, and after the competition begins, not even the competitors are allowed to know their elapsed times. It’s simply a case of the first person to the finish line wins each round. The final round is done a little differently. Both finalists are allowed to start when they get ready, but then are not allowed to turn off their engines, and are not even allowed to remove their safety equipment during a best two out of three passes elimination.

A very diverse field made the cut, including a ’49 Hudson, a diesel powered pickup, a Corvette and the usual collection of popular Mustangs and Camaros. Two women (Wendy Moulton and Laura Bulloch from Lee’s Summit, Missouri) qualified. The racer’s ages varied from 22 (Wendy Moulton – Winder, Ga.) to 70 (Jan Ruble – Statham, Ga.).

Six Atlanta Dragway regulars experienced the thrill of a lifetime by being selected. They were: eventual winner Paul Smith, Jr. (’98 Corvette – Alpharetta, Ga.), Wendy Moulton (’80 Camaro – Winder, Ga. – quarter-finalist), Larry Chance (’68 Camaro – Canton, Ga.- eighth-finalist), Roger Kobos (’78 Monte Carlo – Guyton, Ga. - eighth-finalist), Travis Bryant (’68 Camaro – Bowman, Ga. - eighth-finalist) and Jody Blalock (’49 Hudson – Commerce, Ga. - eighth-finalist).

The Pinks crew discourages “sandbaggers” (people whose cars run a bit slower than they are actually capable of during qualifying) and disqualifies them immediately if they are caught. This did happen during the first round of Pinks All Out after Madisonville, Tenn. racer David Belcher’s ’84 Mustang went noticeably quicker than its qualifying time. Chad Mayhue’s “Team Ford Thunder” ’85 Mustang was re-instated, and the Waleska, Ga. racer went on to finish his day in the semi-final round.

Prior to the runoffs, each finalist was given $500, which they were allowed to wager against their competition. Every racer bet the whole $500 each time, with the winner of the pairing pocketing the cash.

After hearing he was selected for the 16 car field, event winner Paul Smith Jr. said his first reaction was disbelief. He then got down to business. His reaction times were key to his success. After the event, Nate Pritchett told him his reaction times were the quickest and most consistent they have ever seen. He needed every bit, as he squeaked out his first round win by a mere .0015 seconds against fellow Jody Blalock’s incredibly quick ’49 Hudson. In the final round setup, Smith won the first two runs against competitor “Wild” Bill Jones’ Lake City, Fla. based ’71 Mustang, making a third pass unnecessary.

Smith, who competes in the Pro (no electronics allowed) class at Atlanta Dragway’s Summit ET Series events, was definitely happy with the results. When asked about competing against Mustangs (in the quarter-finals and the final), Smith added with a smile, “My Corvette eats Mustangs every day”. After the event was over, Smith was thrilled to have a long line of fans asking for his autograph. “I have given autographs before, but never to anyone over five years old,” he added. Smith, who has been racing for five years, then mentioned this was also his first real win.

In addition to the round money, Paul Smith, Jr., was awarded $10,000 in cash for his win, and also won a toolbox, filled with $8,000 worth of tools donated by Pinks title sponsor NAPA.

Wendy Moulton’s dad, Todd, spent three months preparing her car (which already has numerous wins, with Todd at the wheel) just for the Pinks event, finishing everything except the paint. He was equally thrilled; both with her making the field and talking about his three month old grand baby (Wendy’s daughter, Mackensie). His other daughter, Brandy, was at her senior prom, but has already expressed interest in driving the Camaro. Like Smith, Moulton won her first round by a very tight .009 second margin against Roger Kobos’ ’78 Monte Carlo.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Travis Bryant after finding out he was selected. His sentiments were echoed by Jody Blalock, who then added, “This is pretty cool!”

Jan Ruble’s deceptively stock appearing ’06 GTO is a daily driver. However, thanks to his Vengeance Racing 427 cubic inch LS-7 engine, low 10 second elapsed times are the norm. Ruble also came in with a slight handicap. His hand required an operation the previous week that involved screws and pins, and it still hurt. He dealt with it, as he didn’t want painkillers affecting his racing. A first round miscue ended his day early, but he was thrilled just to make the field.

In addition to the main event 16 car field, a Nate’s Quick Eight field was also contested, which paired the quickest eight cars on the grounds in what turned out to be a $6000 (cash and prizes) winner take all competition, thanks to help from several sponsors, beginning with Atlanta Dragway, which put up $500. Drama and excitement were the rule of the day, illustrated by a first round carburetor explosion and subsequent fire in Bobby Daniels’ Hurst Olds (he was unable to restart for competition). Mike Ghee’s Loganville, Ga. based ’71 Camaro was actually the second quickest car on the grounds (7.81 second quarter mile time). However, it didn’t matter in the final after opponent Alvin Conner’s ’85 Mustang broke on the starting line, allowing Ghee to take an uncontested $6000 victory.

To keep the crowd entertained while the finalist’s cars were equipped with cameras and microphones for the show, numerous exhibition runs were made. Elaine Larsen wowed the crowd with a smoke and fire show, followed by a blistering 5.588 second pass at 283.37mph in her Embry Riddle Aeronautical University jet car. Larsen’s car was also equipped with a microphone, and she kept the crowd cheering by speaking to them all the way up to the time she staged her car, and immediately after the pass while she was coasting to a stop. Danny O’Day, who recently reset the world record wheelstander elapsed time to 8.67 seconds at Gainesville Raceway, drove his Superwinch ’34 Ford wheelstander to an impressive 8.90 second time, tripping the timers with his rear wheels. The Dixie Pro Mods put on a show, along with some Pro Stock bikes, Outlaw 10.5 cars and nitromethane burning Harley motorcycles. Four of Atlanta Dragway’s Junior Dragster competitors, Cole Wood, Dylan Hutchins, Ashton McCammon and Jackie Lastinger, showed the crowd what the kids could do, running their 80 mph dragsters on an eighth mile course.

Everyone involved is already looking forward to the next Pinks All Out event. The Atlanta Dragway Pinks event is set to air on Speed TV at 9:00pm on August 14, 2008.

Sanctioned by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), Atlanta Dragway is located just off I-85 at Exit 149 in the Banks Crossing area of Commerce, Georgia. Information on all 2008 events, including the Super Chevy Show, may be obtained by calling the track office (706-335-2301) or logging on to www.atlantadragway.com .