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While Saturday's Inaugural Pro Tree Open was cancelled due to weather, Friday's testing, swap meet and Pro Tree Eliminator Gamblers Race went off without a hitch.  We had a great bunch of racers and Bo Bohanon came out on top.  This race will be scheduled for early next spring as the opener and non points warm-up race.  Details will come soon.

Bo Bohanon and family celebrate a hot win on a chilly day.  Bo ran a dead on 6.845 (6.84) while Coy McLoud dipped under his dial by only .008, 6.782 (6.79) for the runner-up position after fighting through five rounds to make it to the final. 

Pageland Dragway November 1

Nearly 140 racers hit the track at Pageland Dragway for the Meineke Car Care Center PTRA Finals.  Perfect track conditions and beautiful weather made for some of the best racing in PTRA history, not to mention the quickest Top Street field ever.  The Top Street record was set several times, finally falling in Brad Edwards hands with a 4.882.  The True Street ET record was grabbed by Scott Gilman, 5.561, while Chris Ellington reset his MPH record at a 129.71 mph.  Brian McGee, Tim Siler, Greg Herndon, Mac McGarrigle, Ken Buckner, Larry Dowless, Kirk Thompson and Zach Hebert all took home the last PTRA points race victories of 2008.

Brian McGee won a great Top Street final over the 2007 and now 2008 champ Brad Edwards.  McGee clocked a 4.88 to Edwards 4.95 after a red light glowed in Edwards' lane.  Jason Richards and Chris Tuten were the semifinalists.

Brad Edwards was the last driver to reset the Top Street record with a 4.882 after Jason Richards and Brian McGee both went 4.92 and 4.91 respectively during first round qualifying.  Chris Tuten carded 4.97 and 4.96 passes and McGee also went a cool 4.88 in the final.  After qualifying number 1 with a 4.909, Edwards went on to post the final record setting run and will hold it throughout the off season.  Who knows what is in store for 2009.

Tim Siler took the Siler family owned Monte Carlo to the 5.30 winners circle after taking out 2008 Shootout champ Jim Nail in the final.  Bobby McMasters and Christopher Siler were the semifinalists in the quickest PTRA Index class.

Greg Herndon came from the second qualifying position to meet Rob Roberts in a great final round.  This True Street field was possibly the best of all time with the top eight qualifiers ranging from a 5.561 to a 5.759.  Scott Gilman set the ET record with a 5.561 to grab the number one qualifying position.  The semifinalists were Scott Gilman and Jason Mueller.

Scott Gilman qualified in the number one position with a record setting 5.561.  He will surely be tough to beat in 2009.

Mac McGarrigle did everything he could possibly do in 6.00, taking the qualifying pole with a perfect 6.0000 and then winning the final round over Wayne Montgomery.  This win shot him all the way to the third position in points for 2008.  The semifinalist was Mark Stone.

Ken Buckner made the trip from Georgia worth it taking the 7.00 win over the always tough Michael Sanders.  New 2008 champ Scott Smith was the semifinalist.

Larry "Wide Open" Dowless took another PTRA win, this time in Pro Tree Eliminator, taking out Mr. 6.00 and new 2008 6.00 champ, Jeremy McSwain in the final.  Mark Aistrop and Chad Williams were the semifinalists in this 45 car field of killer drivers.

Kirk Thompson picked up his third Performance Street win of the season, this time taking out the small block Ford Mustang of Eddie Young in the final.  With the new restrictor plates, this class is going to get interesting for 2009 as the field fills up.

Foxfire Divisional from Pageland Dragway October 4

Greg Herndon and family took the Meineke Car Care Center True Street Shootout victory when Scott Gilman could not make the call due to transmission failure.  Greg went on to lay down a 5.591 ET for the win.  Semifinalists were Garry Gray and Jim Henderson.

Wayne Montgomery showed up with a divisional championship in mind.  He walked away with the 6.00 win by taking out Jeremy McSwain in an unbelievable final.  Both drivers were .420 at the tree.  Montgomery went 6.017 while McSwain was 5.999.  By McSwain making the final round, he wrapped up the divisional championship by only 6 points (to go with his national championship).  Terry Floyd was the semifinalist.

Bartender Todd Robinson jumped from ninth to second in points by grabbing the 7.00 win over eventual champion Kevin Robinson.  Todd was .409 on the tree and took the win with a 7.023.  The semifinalists were Mike Treadaway and Wesley "Killer" Ward.

Rockingham Dragway September 27

Over 145 PTRA racers landed at the Rockingham Civil Wars race.  Brad Edwards, Eddie Smith Jr., Scott Gilman, Jeremy McSwain, Larry Dowless and C.J. McDonald all went away with wins in Top Street, 5.30, True Street, 6.00, 7.00 and Pro Tree Eliminator respectively. 

After qualifying number one with a 4.973 to number two qualifier Jason Richards' 4.979, Brad Edwards went on to take the Top Street victory once again.  He took out the quick running small block turbo car of Jeff Tyson after both posted a pair of low 5.00 passes in the final.

Eddie Smith Jr. is giving Michael Martin a run for the points championship after a late year charge.  Smith took the 5.30 win at the Rock over the strong running Pontiac of Christopher Siler.  Smith was also the Computech Systems number one qualifier with a perfect 5.300.

Oldest brother Christopher Siler took the Siler camp to the 5.30 runner-up at the Rock just after brother Tim won the 5.30 GrudgeDome one week prior.

Scott Gilman won his first PTRA True Street cup at the Rockingham event by taking out heavy hitter Rob Roberts in a great final.  Gilman, Roberts and Greg Herndon all qualified less than .05 apart (5.635 to 5.678) in a tough field of DOT tire cars.

Jeremy McSwain locked up the 6.00 championship in good fashion at the Rock by winning the final over Rockingham favorite Keith Jackson. McSwain will still not rest easy with the hometrack Pageland Finals in the forecast.

After a few runner-ups, Camaro driver and wild man Larry Dowless took his first PTRA 7.00 final over one of the best, Jerry Cline.  Now he also has a shot at the championship with only one race left on the schedule.

Rockingham regular C.J. McDonald drove his beautiful Nova to the long, hard earned Pro Tree Eliminator final round victory over Corvette driver Wess Thompson.  C.J. and "crew" enjoy the moment.

One of drag racing's best "up and coming" drivers, Wess Thompson, grabbed the runner-up position in Pro Tree Eliminator, shaving some of Jerry Cline's points lead.  He made it to the final at the spring Civil Wars race as well.

Brian Knotts lasted through seven rounds of some of the toughest bottom bulb action to take the Footbrake win that began Saturday and rolled into Sunday morning.  He drives a show car quality 1967 Ford Fairlane.

 Shuffletown Tribute commercial for television

The second annual Shuffletown Dragway Tribute race was a huge success.  Thanks to all for making it a memorable weekend at Mooresville Dragway.

Tribute Race

Brad Edwards took the Top Street shootout win over the always strong Jason Richards in a wicked final round.  Edwards reset his record with a great 4.942 during first round and went 4.983 in the final, while Richards posted an extremely quick 5.08 for the runner-up position.

Timothy Siler was number one qualifier and took home the win in the wild "throw away the index" 5.30 GrudgeDome.  Siler ran a great 4.798 to take out Big Sexy Tyrone Graham's 4.859 in the highly anticipated final.

"Big Sexy" Tyrone Graham laid it on the line against Tim Siler in the 5.30 all out GrudgeDome and landed in the runner-up spot.  He is already talking about not cutting the field any slack next time.

All eyes were on the new Performance Street division.  Stan Staley grabbed the new record and the victory over two time winner Kirk Thompson.  Staley posted a 6.530 at over 104 mph to Thompson's extremely quick 6.754.

Ernie Humes III hasn't been in this car long, but he looked like a twenty year veteran taking the Modified win when last year's runner-up, Jonathan Surrat experienced starter trouble and could not make the call for the seventh round final.  Humes put the icing on the cake with a killer .002 reaction time on his solo pass.

David Dry is on a roll this season, continuing his good streak with the Top Eliminator final round win.  He had to use a .007 reaction time to get past the heavy hitter, Roger Plyler in the seventh and final round of the day.

Roger Plyler was on fire and in the air every time he left the starting line in his Nova and captured the runner-up in Top Eliminator.

Happy 50th birthday to Mooresville Dragway's Eddie Jackson.  He has worked at the track for well over two decades in various positions.

We caught 6.00 driver Chris "The Dog" Bumgardner modeling the latest PTRA women's tank top.  He can't wait until the women's tube tops and leg warmers arrive.

Meineke Car Care Center PTRA Drag Racing Television Schedule

All shows are on Friday night late night at 1 am, dates below are listed as Saturday morning (except where noted)

July 12 at 1 am......................May 10 Piedmont Dragway Event

August 16 at 1 am...................June 28 Darlington Dragway Event

October 4 at 1 am....................June 28 Darlington Dragway Event (repeat)

October 26, Sunday night midnight.........August 9 Mooresville Event

November 8 at 1 am..................September 21 Shuffletown Tribute

December 20 at 1 am...............October 27 Rockingham Dragway Event

December 27 at 1 am...................November 1 Pageland Dragway Event

DVD's of each show will become available for sale at the tech trailer.

Mooresville Dragway August 9

Over 160 racers hit the surface of Mooresville Dragway on August 9.  Rain ended the day a little after midnight with the finals to go in Top Street, 5.30, 6.00 and 7.00.  Pro Tree Eliminator was split evenly between the five drivers remaining.    The remaining finals were decided at the Rockingham event on September 27.  Record holder Brian McGee took his Mustang into the 4 second zone again (4.983), along with Scott Evert (4.989) and Brad Edwards.  Edwards ran a 4.993, 4.999, and then went on to reset the ET record with an amazing 4.965 in the semis.  Thanks to the Mooresville crew and Jody Leazer for a great event at the "birthplace" of the PTRA.  Thanks to all the racers who made the trip, and the nearly 1100 fans that lived the PTRA experience. 

Reigning Top Street champion Brad Edwards claimed the world ET record at Mooresville with an amazing 4.965 pass after already posting two 4.99 passes in a row.  There are now four members of the Atlantic Racing Top Street 4 Second Club:  Jason Richards, Brian McGee, Scott Evert, and Brad Edwards.  Edwards won the Top Street final over the strong Ford powered Mustang of Brian McGee.

Eddie Smith Jr. made it two in a row by taking the rain delayed 5.30 final round win over Darryl Whitley. 

Greg Herndon took out number one qualifier Scott Gilman in a battle of friends in the True Street final.

Roger Lester made it two in a row by winning the delayed 6.00 final held at Rockingham over the wheelstanding Pinto driver Mac McGarrigle. 

Scott Smith put himself in the 7.00 championship hunt by winning the delayed 7.00 final over Nova driver Charles Wright and later made it to the semis during the Rockingham event.

Pro Tree Eliminator was down to five cars when the rains came at Mooresville on August 9.  The race was considered finished with Rich Adkins, Mark Aistrop, Bobby Houston Jr., David Matthews and Lonnie Plyler all sharing in the winnings. 

Peidmont Dragway July 19

Over 140 racers landed at Piedmont Dragway on July 18 & 19.  Unfortunately, weather delay and the curfew denied the completion of the event.  Special thanks goes out to the McCandless family and the whole staff of Piedmont Dragway for a special event including a racers' party on Friday night after the Meineke Shootouts.  The race was completed at the Mooresville event.  Results are below.

Scott Evert definitely has a feel for Piedmont Dragway.  He wrapped up the big Top Street win at Mooresville on August 9 against Steve Jackson.  The semifinalists were then record holder Brian McGee and former record holder Jason Richards.

Jim Nail finished up the 5.30 final at Mooresville taking out the always tough Michael Martin.  Todd Buckner and Chris Siler made it to the semis.

Chris Ellington has a stronghold on True Street, taking the Piedmont win over the tough Chevrolet Camaro driver Keith Hartis.  Greg Herndon and Rob Roberts rounded out the semifinals.

Roger Lester is back at it again, winning the 6.00 final over IHRA standout Brian Baker.  Rusty Carpenter and Gordon Langley were the semifinalists out of a large 6.00 field.

Coy McLeod took his '57 Chevy to the 7.00 index winners circle by getting past Mike Hager in a great 7.00 final.  Jerry Cline was the lone semifinalist after a long batch of rounds.

Kirk Thompson won the Performance Street final over Jack Brown in a battle of Camaros.  He also reset the PTRA record on both ends with a great 6.781 @ 103.28.

Pro Tree Eliminator came to a halt at 12 cars and was deemed complete.  Pro Tree Junior Dragster was won by Cooter McSwain with Jamie Farrell taking the runner-up spot.

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Meineke Car Care Center Shootouts from Piedmont Dragway July 18

2007 Pro Tree Eliminator champion Todd Sinclair showed why he was named the champ by taking the shootout win.  In the final, he got past Jerry Cline.  Semifinalists were Mac McGarrigle and Owen Teague.

In the 7.00 shootout, Jerry Cline entered his second final of the evening and won over last season's champion John Idol.  Semifinalists were Michael Sanders and Owen Teague.

Terry Floyd was on fire in the 6.00 shootout posting .00 reactions all night.  He got past Wayne Montgomery in the final.  The semifinalists were 2007 champ Danny Caldwell and Roger Lester.  Floyd dedicated his win to Bobby Houston Sr., who just had major surgery.

Jim Nail returned to action with a new combination and it proved to be a winner in the 5.30 shootout.  He won the final over 2007 champion Eddie Smith Jr.  The semifinalists were "D-man" Dwayne Menius and folk singer Michael Martin.

Racers fight the weather at Darlington on June 28 and WIN.....

Steve Jackson and crew took the "Killin Time" supercharged Mustang to the Top Street win over number one qualifier Jason Richards in the final round of a field where the top five qualifiers posted ET's from 5.021 to a 5.117.

The 2007 champ is back in championship form in 5.30 and looking to go after another championship.  Eddie Smith Jr. scored his first big final round win of 2008 over points leader Michael Martin in a super tough eighteen car field.

Chris Ellington took yet another True Street win at Darlington.  In the final, he met up with Rob Roberts.

Brad Greene returned to the 6.00 winners circle for the first time in 2008.  In a great final, he got past Michael Brady, who scored his second straight runner-up finish.

The father/son team of Scott and Steve Smith picked up the win in 7.00.  Scott faced off with points leader Thad Cook in another exciting final round.

Jerry Cline won his second straight Pro Tree Eliminator final at Darlington.  This time he took out the quiet, soft-spoken 2007 champ Todd Sinclair.  Cline padded his points lead, and the Mafia is back.

The Evans, Georgia based Junior Dragster traveling team of Zach Hebert, Paul Charette, and Alicia Charette took the Win, Runner-up and Semi position respectively in a large Pro Tree Junior Dragster field after spending a few days at the Roy Hill driving school.  These killer Junior drivers obviously sharpened their skills even more and it didn't hurt that Roy was there lending support.  After several oil downs and weather delays, the Darlington event finally smoothed out to produce some great close racing in all classes.

The Shed Depot of NC and owner Tommy Kirk have posted another $200 bonus for all Top Street winners starting with the first race in a retro action.  This is done in memory of Scott Hobson Allen, part of the Jason Mueller and Tommy Kirk team.  This, along with the Meineke Car Care Center $200 bonus, puts the Top Street winner of each event at $1600.  Thanks to all who make the PTRA the best heads-up racing association in the Southeast.

 PTRA Divisional Series

On March 22, June 14, and October 4, Performance Street, 6.00 and 7.00 racers are the star attraction at Pageland Dragway in this three-race points series that is separate from PTRA points.  We will crown a divisional champ in 6.00 and 7.00.  All you have to do to enter the divisional points system is show up and race.  Points will be awarded the same as Heads-Up Super Series points.  Make plans to hit them all!  Thanks go out to title sponsor, Foxfire Coatings in Oakboro, NC.  For all of your coating needs, call (704) 485-4522.

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