By Bill Pratt

The second annual Southern Classic Thunder event took place at Ware Shoals Dragway in Ware Shoals, SC, on September 5 and 6, 2003. Also billed as the 2003 Classic Thunder Nitro Show, the race featured runs by the legendary Rat Trap AA/Fuel Altered and Ernie and Sandra Walker's Jungle Boogie Nitro Funny Car Show. Jim Dickey also raced against Don Roddy and his all-girl crew in a Hemi vs. Chevy Supercharged Altered Match Race. In addition, Southern Classic Thunder II featured qualifying and competition in a four-car Top Eliminator field, an eight-car A/Gas field, an eight-car B/Gas field, and a C/Gas field.

Invitational classes included heads up Classic Comp/Open (altereds, dragsters, roadsters) and Classic Comp/Doorslammer, a Hot Rod field for pre-1960 dragsters, altereds, roadsters, and doorslammers, and an Extreme Street field for 10.5-inch tire cars. Southern Classic Thunder was also a bracket racer's delight with competition in Super Pro, Footbrake, DOT Tire, Motorcycle, Junior Dragster, and Test & Tune. Southern Classic Thunder also featured a free Car & Bike Show, Cruise-In & Swap Meet.

On Friday, fans were treated to several free test & tune runs by the pro cars, including a dusk shot by the Rat Trap AA/Fuel Altered! The race commenced on Saturday at 11 a.m. and the next 14 hours provided lots of classic drag racing magic as a continuous stream of cars assaulted the Ware Shoals eighth mile.

A walk through the staging lines during Saturday’s qualifying produced the following partial list of Classic Thunder racers:

Gassers -

#00 – Jack Moore – Full Throttle 50 Austin

#1 – Steve Scott – Altha, FL – 57 Chevy with a 454 big block

#1941 - Clarence Cloud – Vidalia, GA – 41 Willys with a 434 inch small block Chevy on nitrous

#1950 – Danny Austin – Red Hot Ryder 50 Anglia

#1952 – Justus Daniel – Charlotte, NC – 52 Henry J with a 455 inch Oldsmobile

#1956 – Bailey Hastings – Ware Shoals, SC – 56 Ford

#1964 – Gary Arnett – Mangston, NC - Old Timer II 64 Chevy II with a406 inch small block – no nitrous

#222 – William Wilson – Charlotte, NC – Little Shaky 48 Ford Prefect with a 427 Ford big block

#231 – Rickey Bowie – Greenwood, SC – Nitefire 48 Anglia with a blown small block

#2631 – Heath Daniel – Mike Coger’s Faded Memories 39 Plymouth

#2711 – Bob Busche – Gainesville, FL – Suwanee River Log Homes/Treatzall Septic Cleaner 64 Dodge A100 Van

#2928 – Jack Muenzer – FL/GA – 50 Olds with a big block Olds

#3 – Rob Bates – Savannah, GA – 65 Ford Fairlane with a 351 Ford

#329 – Bailey Hastings – Ware Shoals, SC – 33 Willys

#41 – Jerry Curtis – Asheville, NC – Fat Rat 41 Willys with a 468 big block Chevy

#440 – Tom Medlin – Clinton, SC – 71 Challenger with a 440 no nitrous

#54 - Roger McConnell – Mooresville, NC – Mighty Mouse 41 Anglia with a 400 inch small block on nitrous

#55 – Tony Owen – Easley, SC – 55 Chevy with a 461 inch big block Chevy

#637 – Mac Pressley – Hartsoe Bros. Anglia

#65 – Robert Ashley – Newberry, SC - Comet Cyclone with a 289 Ford small block

#6520 – Bobby Lomax – Fort Mill, SC – 48 Anglia with a 406 inch small block

#8553 – Chris Muenzer – FL/GA – 50 Olds with a big block Olds

#948 – Robbie Draughon – Fayetteville, NC – Draughon Engineering 48 Anglia with a SBC on nitrous

#9707 – Gary Adams – Livonia, GA – 33 Willys with a 454 big block Chevy

#D269 - Keith George- Monroe, GA – 33 Willys Town Delivery with a 406 small block – no nitrous

N/A – Kenneth Altman – Thumper 48 Anglia with a 427 Ford big block

Top Eliminator - #960 – Ed and Tammy Fargo – Somerville, SC – Classic Dragster with big block Chevy

Classic Comp/Doorslammer – Gene Searcy – Lyman, SC - 67 Chevelle

Hot Rod - Bear Bryant – Landrum, SC – Deja-Vu-Doo 32 Bantam with a 355 small block Chevy

Hot Rod – Dave Cox – Tulculah, GA – Hellzapoppin 32 Ford with a 301 inch small block Chevy

QUALIFYING:

Top Eliminator qualifying round one: Racers are building dragsters, funny cars, and altereds to run with Classic Thunder and at other vintage drag racing events, but for the time being, there aren’t enough of each to produce full fields. Classic Thunder solved that problem by bringing back the idea of a Top Eliminator, a category where supercharged or injected dragsters, altereds, and funny cars all could run together to form full fields and to re-ignite old rivalries! Top Eliminator racers had opportunities to run during the two gasser qualifying rounds, if they liked, but they had to make the final Top Eliminator qualifying round, which was held during the first round of the show.

One Top Eliminator car that opted for an early qualifying shot was Bill Brown. Bill had surprised all in attendance when he showed up Friday afternoon with a great looking classic funny car reproduction of Gene Snow’s ‘Snowman’ 1975 Vega. Bill checked with Gene on the name and Gene stipulated that the name couldn’t be exactly the same, so Mr. Brown relettered the car as the “Snowman from Hell.” Bill had only just finished putting the car together and had not begun the tuning process. Many things remained to be done, but he traveled all the way from Daytona Beach, Florida, to support Classic Thunder.

Brown lined up the red Vega and pulled off a terrific burnout. The car sounded great and Bill Brown was ready for his first classic funny car pass. At the green, however, the Snowman signaled its unhappiness at being shoved down a strip so soon in its existence. It stuttered and popped to a 9.719 at only 50.78 mph, but Bill Brown had arrived. Despite the tentative run, he was the early qualifying leader in Top Eliminator. The personable young African American driver scored a home run with the crowd, too. By the time he returned to his pit area, it was swamped with proud onlookers, young and old alike.

Up next was Red Coleman and his freshly repainted Super Cuda classic funny car. Red’s car was straight out of the 70s, not only in stance but also in paint design. Its bright orange and psychedelic, flower power panels had fans waxing nostalgic for bell-bottoms and peasant tops! Red was no youngster even back in the 70s, but the 69-year-old racer was acting like a kid again with a 6.181, 119.26 check out pass that bumped Bill Brown to number two.

Up next was Jimmy Warko and the long-awaited Bootlegger blown alcohol nostalgia dragster. Jimmy has been building this car and keeping Classic Thunder fans abreast of his progress on the Internet message board. The car is a masterpiece of beautiful black paint and great looking gold leaf lettering. It runs great, too, as Warko nailed a 4.863 at 143.03 to take the top spot away from the floppers.

Ed and Tammy Fargo were up next in their Speed Demon dragster. The Somerville, SC, team built the car in four months, and they also kept Classic Thunder fans abreast of their progress via the Classic Thunder message board. It’s unclear whether Jimmy Warko built his car before Classic Thunder or because of it, but Ed and Tammy’s pretty blue dragster was purpose built to race with the Classic Thunder series. That’s a huge vote of confidence and a first, I believe, for this sophomore organization. Ed Fargo was driving today, but Tammy is on tap to be the primary driver eventually. With a safe, mild tune-up, Ed Fargo put the blue car through the Ware Shoals lights at 6.05 seconds at 117 mph, good enough to wrest the second qualifying spot away from Red Coleman.

Classic Comp/Open qualifying was next. The category was created to allow heads up competition between nostalgia dragsters and altereds that did not quite fit into the Top Eliminator rules. However, the Ware Shoals race probably signaled the death knell for this class in Classic Thunder. No nostalgia cars signed up to race heads up. With the advent of the Hot Rod class, which offers such racers a chance to run on a handicap basis, Classic Comp/Open may not return for 2004. Through an oversight, the actual event flyer did not specify front engine dragsters only, so three modern nitrous rear engine dragsters signed up. Classic Thunder organizers welcomed the cars, because they did fit the mold exactly as specified on the flyer. After conferring with the three teams, it was determined that they would all take a qualifying shot to determine pairings. The quick car would get a bye run and the second and third cars would race to determine who would face the low qualifier. After a final round, all collected money would be paid back, winner take all.

Jamie Faine was the low qualifier in CC/O with a 4.661 at 152.45 in his nitrous assisted dragster. Larry Roberts was number two with a 4.777, and Tom Story was third with a 4.90 number. It would be Roberts versus Story in the first round with Faine getting the bye run.

Qualifying ended with some bad news for two of the newest gassers to join Classic Thunder and two of our veteran Top Eliminator racers. .Bobby Lomax and Clarence Cloud both broke their gassers and could not compete. Neither could recent Indy and Bowling Green Junior Fuel winner Pat Malloy, who dropped a valve. Finally, the March Wind dragster hurt itself after a strong burnout. Tough racing lick.

ROUND ONE:

Classic Thunder Eliminations Round One kicked off with the B/Gassers. Justus Daniel and his Henry J beat Steve Scott’s 57 Chevy on a huge holeshot, 6.659 to 6.372.

Mac Pressley almost pulled off the same thing in a race with Heath Daniel (in Mike Coger’s car), but a huge holeshot was not enough to hold off the wheelstanding one, and Daniel caught and passed his former boss at the top end, 6.201 to 6.441.

Keith George then took his huge and entertaining 33 Willys delivery truck to a win over William Wilson’s Ford Prefect, 6.291 to 6.624.

Next, it was another episode of “The Muenzers,” with dad Jack taking out son Chris, first getting the holeshot and then outpowering him, 6.311 to 6.402.

C/Gas was next, with two cars in that category. Danny Austin took the Red Hot Ryder to a win when Gary Arnett suffered all sorts of problems in his Chevy II, 6.746 to 8.076.

A/Gas kicked off with a battle between new members Gary Adams and Tony Owen. Tony’s big orange 55 Chevy took the measure of Gary’s sharp yellow 33 Willys in this match, 5.644 to 5.989.

Robbie Draughon then took his slammed 48 Anglia panel truck to a win over Jack Moore’s newly lettered Austin pickup, 5.354, 132.20 to 5.572, 124.40.

Jerry Curtis scored a huge upset when favored Roger McConnell fouled out in the Mighty Mouse Anglia. Roger left the big red eye glowing, wasting a 5.417, 134.82, and the purple Fat Rat Willys happily followed him with a winning 5.955, 124.

Rickey Bowie then took the awesome Nitefire Anglia to a win over Bailey Hastings’ slammed 33 Willys, 5.447, 129.14 to 5.994, 112. Bailey was doing double duty tonight, running cars in both A/Gas and B/Gas.

The Bounty Hunter match race was next as Tom Story took his blown 37 Chevy up against David Goodson in the Alabama Outlaw 69 Camaro Roadster. The Bounty Hunter match began as a friendly war of words on the Classic Thunder Internet message board. A racer with a blown 64 Ford Cobra had indicated he would come to Ware Shoals (unfortunately, that didn’t happen... maybe next race…) This offered a perfect opportunity for David Goodson to run somebody. He had run with the A/Gassers in the past, but he did it as a favor to Classic Thunder when A/Gas had some short fields. The Classic Thunder gasser rules state that the car model must be no later than 1965. With a full field of gassers on tap for Ware Shoals, Classic Thunder enforced the year rule and informed David that he needed to run Classic Comp/Doorslammer for this race.

David was OK with that, but he still wanted some match race action. CT Director Bob Gettys then hatched a plan to invite 16 cars to join a Bounty Hunter race. The 16 cars would each put in 75 dollars and face off. The winner of the event then would get the right to face Goodson and his awesome Camaro for the $1000 collected purse. Well, nothing near the 16 required cars showed up, but Tom Story did. Story’s blown 37 Chevy is a killer, and he wanted a piece of Goodson. David, who hadn’t imagined that legal Pro Mod cars might come to take him on, nonetheless sat up straight and faced the big red machine.

“David” Goodson fans were worried that his normally aspirated 500-inch car didn’t have a chance against Story’s blown 526 inch “Goliath,” but David had a little more than a sling this time. For the first time since he’s run with Classic Thunder, the Alabama Outlaw purged a nitrous system when he faced Tom Story on the starting line. So, now it would be at least close and the old nitrous versus blower battle began a new chapter. At the hit, Goodson put a full one-tenth holeshot on Story, .108 to .208, and slammed down the track. Story’s big blower began to sing and he took off in hot pursuit. It was close until 500 feet, when Tom Story’s supercharged power overtook the Outlaw. The final numbers were 4.881, 141.91 to 5.153, 144.75 as the Story Teller shot down the Alabama Outlaw. Goodson, who ran 5.0s before the new nitrous system, later learned that the new system was not kicking in on the run.

Top Eliminator final qualifying was next, with Ed Fargo facing Jimmy Warko in a dragster battle. Both drivers put down representative runs, but neither changed position. Warko’s improved 4.791 at 143.50 stayed number one and Fargo’s consistent 6.06 at 116.64 stayed number two. Bill Brown was still chasing new car bugs and one of the other two Top Eliminator cars was stuck back in the pits behind several dozen bracket cars. Organizers went on with a few other runs until the remaining Top Eliminator cars could reach the staging lanes.

First up, it was a match race between two non-qualifying but entertaining B/Gas machines. Bailey Hastings and his neat 56 Ford and Bob Busche’s unique A100 Dodge Van (hey, there’s nothing in the rules that prevented it). Bailey took the black Ford to the match win with a 6.755 at 101 mph to defeat the yellow van’s 7.629 at 88.90 mph.

Don Roddy and Jim Dickey then lined up in a blown top alcohol altered match race. These two teams put on a terrific show. The cars are evenly matched as both have visited the 4.0-second zone at Classic Thunder events over the past year. After, long, smoky, synchronized burnouts, Don Roddy jumped out with his rat motored machine, and led Jim Dickey’s KB-powered 23-T until the last few feet. There, his parachute shook out. The Fiat slowed 25 miles per hour and lost enough elapsed time to let Jim Dickey squeak buy with a win, 4.329 at 163.76 to 4.400 at 145.74. It was a heartbreaking loss for the Roddy team but as an earlier 4.36, 168 test run proved, they came ready to race. The Roddys announced plans to come to the second round loaded for bear!

The next pair of Top Eliminator cars worked their way to the starting line finally. One was Red Coleman in the Super Cuda and the other one was a pleasant surprise – Todd Wilson in Dangerous Don Gatliff’s small block Chevy powered nitro funny car! With Bill Brown broken in the pits and unable to defend his 9.71 second bump spot, Gatliff and Wilson looked to be a shoe-in to make the field. But racing luck is a fickle thing. Wilson took Don’s white Chevy Monza on a torrid burnout, but when he stopped to engage the reverser, the engine RPMs would not come down. He tried blipping the throttle a few times to no avail. Not wanting to shift into reverse with the engine singing, Wilson dejectedly motored down the track. Once the Dangerous Don car was clear of the top end, Red Coleman laid down another awesome burnout followed by a 5.990, 132.52 that claimed the number two spot and that bumped Ed Fargo to number three. By the way, an amazed Bill Brown had survived the bump and would face Jim Warko if he could get his new flopper sorted out!

Up next was the Ernie and Sandra Walker Jungle Boogie fuel funny car show, featuring their Chevy powered 71 Vega and their 392 Chrysler powered Swensen and Lani 72 Mustang recreation. Second generation fuel altered driver Dan Pettinato was at the helm of the S&L car tonight and Ernie himself piloted the team’s venerable Vega. After discussions with Classic Thunder earlier this year, Ernie had determined to repaint the former Jungle Jim tribute car to a theme that projected his own personality. With ten years of running as the JJ car, including an entertaining collection of jungle related gear (like full sized gorilla and tiger suits with which to entertain the kids, Ernie and Sandra wanted to remain with a jungle or animal theme. Ideas have been bouncing back and forth from Washington to South Carolina to Georgia for months, but when Ernie rolled the Vega out of the trailer, it was painted in a cool new copper/gold color, but contained no lettering or logos. Classic Thunder announcer Bill Pratt immediately called the car ”Copperhead” after the dreaded snake and a few fans picked up on that name. Other top contenders for the sides of the Vega are “Georgia Rattler,” “Jungle Boogie,” and a few others. Pratt asked the Ware Shoals fans to start thinking up a name for the Ernie Walker car as they watched it run.

Ernie and Dan put on a terrific pre-race show, including incredible half track burnouts, amazing multiple dry hops and what looked like a simulated burn down. The fans loved the spectacle. But it wasn’t a real burn down, simulated or not. Pettinato, sat in the Mustang for the first time earlier that day, was having some difficulty getting the car into gear and into the beams. Meanwhile, Ernie had the motor loaded on the Vega, ready to run. But after its amazing burnout and dry hop display, the Chevy didn’t have enough fuel left to sit at the starting line for 20 more seconds. Starved of fuel, it died with a sputter. Ernie crawled out of the car and the gracious Ware Shoals fans rewarded him with cheers for his pre-race show. Pettinato finally got staged and took a 5.671, 125.07 pass, earning him first blood in the match and a discussion on staging techniques with big Ernie Walker back in the pits!

Ending the round was the legendary Rat Trap AA/Fuel Altered of Don Green and Ron Hope. When Dominic Paris unfortunately hurt his motors at the 50th Annual World Series of Drag Racing at Cordova, it sidelined him for the immediate future. He no longer would be able to headline the Ware Shoals event. With all of South Carolina talking about this amazing twin engine dragster, Classic Thunder organizers needed to move fast to find a new headliner that could try to match Dom Paris in the thrill department!

Classic Thunder and their generous sponsors, Bob and Debra Walker of Hot Heads Research and Racing, began a nationwide dragnet to find the best possible nitro car to replace Dom Paris. Several top cars were considered, but in the end, Hot Heads dug deep into their pockets to bring Classic Thunder the very best in nitro action from one of history's all time baddest teams!

Ron Hope did a great burnout as the fans went into sensory overload with the ‘Trap’s amazing nitro cackle and its header flames glowing in the rapidly fading light. The run was less spectacular, however, as the smallish, period correct slicks would not hook up to the Ware Shoals starting line. Ron Hope stabbed the throttle several times in an attempt to hook up, but to no avail. The Rat Trap slalomed through the lights to the tune of a 6.493 at 110.88 mph.

The new Hot Rod class was next. This class was created at the request of David Cox, who noted that his chassis would not certify to run quick enough for either Top Eliminator or Classic Comp/Open. A dial your own eliminator – like the Goodguys Hot Rod 1 class – would be the only way to go for him. Classic Thunder agreed and introduced the Hot Rod class at Ware Shoals. Hot Rod is a handicap category open to pre-1960 dragsters, altereds, roadsters, and doorslammers. However, there are no electronics allowed and the cars leave the line on a staggered four tenths pro tree. Only four cars signed up for the inaugural event, so instead of having an all-run race, the four racers agreed to run several round-robin races, with the prize money awarded to the two racers with the winningest records.

Steve Scott earned the first win in Classic Thunder Hot Rod in his pretty turquoise 57 Chevy. Scott, who also raced as a Gasser, ran 6.49 on a 6.40 handicap to defeat “Bear” Bryant and his neat 32 Bantam, who broke out with a 6.38 on an identical 6.40 handicap. David Cox then realized his dream of a Classic Thunder Hot Rod class by taking the next win in his great looking red and white Hellzapoppin 32 Ford, 6.09 on a 5.98 handicap to Heath Daniels’ 6.42 on a 6.44 breakout. Daniels also did double duty, racing Mike Coger’s wheelstanding Faded Memories Plymouth in B/Gas and Hot Rod.

The Classic Comp/Open first round then kicked off with Larry Roberts meeting Joe Story for the right to face Jamie Faine in the final. Despite a big nitrous pop halfway down the track, Roberts easily defeated Story, 4.819, 149.02 to Joe’s off-pace 5.701, 125.73. Faine then staged and motored through the lights in his “Katch One” nitrous injected dragster.

Classic Comp/Doorslammer is another category, like Classic Comp/Open, that may not survive the winter of 2003 (at least in its current format). The category drew very few cars, but the ones who came were interesting. South Carolina racing legend Alan Pittman, for instance, brought THREE cars to Ware Shoals, hoping to run in the Classic Comp, Bounty Hunter, and Extreme Street categories. But the Bounty Hunter and Extreme Street fields fell far short of expectations as well. CT Director Bob Gettys met with all the fast door car racers in an attempt to hammer out a workable class in which the attending cars could race each other. Like many UN negotiations, those broke down and the door cars on hand decided to run one another in a loosely based match race format. Gettys cobbled together some prize money, but the doorslammer racers didn’t even run at the same time as the other Classic Thunder show cars.

The plans for 2004 are to create a Factory Experimental class, similar in format and rules to the Gasser classes, but for race cars from the 1960s and 1970s. The Gasser classes then would be limited to race cars from the 1950s and earlier. Check out the Classic Thunder message board to weigh in on this conversation from now through the off season. Anyway, the result of the above mentioned doorslammer situation was that there was only one Classic Comp/Doorslammer race in round one: a terrific match between David Goodson and Alan Pittman. Goodson’s bright red ’69 Camaro roadster and Pittman’s unlettered black ’67 Camaro left the line as one and remained glued together all the way down the strip, where Pittman pulled off a narrow victory, 5.177, 139 to 5.194, 143.

ROUND TWO:

The entertaining B/Gassers kicked off the second round with Keith George’s big yellow 33 Willys truck facing Jack Muenzer’s wild, flamed Mondello Performance Products 1950 Olds. George’s car is full sized and it towers over most of its competitors, but Muenzer’s big black lead sled held its own in the size department. In a great race, George held off the colorful Florida driver, 6.292, 108 to 6.361, 103.05.

Up next was a father vs. son battle as Heath Daniel took Mike Coger’s Faded Memories 39 Plymouth up against dad Justus Daniel and his 1952 Kaiser Henry J. In another great match, the youngster beat dad, 6.56, 104.52 to 6.644, 103.05.

A/Gas was next. Jerry Curtis was looking for another giant killing, this time over Robbie Draughon’s low riding Anglia panel truck. It wasn’t to be, as Curtis himself lit the red light in an attempt to make up half a second on the yellow truck. His 5.894, 115.42 was good, but would have had no chance against Draughon’s 5.334, 131.20.

Rickey Bowie then brought the header flame belching Nitefire Anglia up against Tony Owen’s bright orange 55 Chevy. Owen’s car just looks right. It’s not raked at all, but sits high and level, just like the gassers of old. Looks don’t win drag races, however, and Rickey made short work of the big Chevy, 5.334, 133.12 to 5.641, 126.13. Interestingly, Bowie and Draughon ran identical ETs, to the thousandth. Bowie would take final round lane choice on a slightly higher top end speed.

The blown top alcohol altereds of Jim Dickey and Don Roddy were next. Roddy was .looking for revenge after the loss caused by the early chute in Round On. Dickey, a ruthless competitor in the mold of Don Prudhomme, wasn’t going to give an inch. On their normally synchronized burnouts, Roddy’s yellow Untouchables Fiat generated almost no tire smoke. That wasn’t a good sign. Sure enough, at the hit, Roddy’s car slalomed wildly, going OVER the centerline and following Dickey through down the left lane! Luckily, Jim Dickey was on his way to one of the quickest and fastest passes ever seen at Ware Shoals, a 4.137 at 172.58 mph!

Round one of Top Eliminator was up, with number two qualifier Red Coleman facing number three man Ed Fargo. It was blown and injected classic funny car versus blown and carbureted classic dragster. With respective qualifying times of 5.99 and 6.05, it looked to be a close race, but ol’ Red stepped it up for this round and the bright orange Super Cuda put the royal blue Speed Demon dragster away, 5.518, 125.38 to 6.028, 117.34.

It was learned later that the Fargo Racing digger was racing under a little bit of a handicap. On the first of the qualifying passes, Ed jammed the front tires all the way to the left while backing up from his burnout. This bent the steering rod. The team was unaware of this although Ed had an idea that something was amiss. When he launched the car, he noticed the steering wheel was 45 degrees off. By the end of the pass, it was a full 90 degrees out of place, making the stop very exciting to say the least. Ed nurtured the car back and found a bend in the 8-foot steering rod.

Not wanting to miss any of the event, he bent the rod back, got the chassis builder to bless it, and continued. Ed made one more qualifying pass, but needed every bit of the steering rod’s strength as the car danced all over the track on the final pass against Red Coleman. After the event, the team replaced the rod with a double walled unit (and put a bug catcher injection system on order). Ed and Tammy Fargo are a welcome addition to Classic Thunder and will no doubt get quicker as they continue to sort out their new car (and put lighter Tammy in the seat!)

Bill Brown couldn’t make the call, so Jimmy Warko brought the Bootlegger up to the line, broke the beams, and then motored through to a 6.55, saving the parts for his final round match with Red.

The final round in Classic Comp/Open was next with Larry Roberts facing Jamie Faine. Faine was the favorite, based on his 4.6 second pace in qualifying. Roberts had slipped from a 4.7 qualifying pace to a 4.81 in his first round win over Tom Story. But Roberts, who actually filled in for the Classic Thunder pro show last year (and took out a few of our stars), had a little something for young Mr. Faine in the final. Roberts improved to a great 4.596 at 154.60 to defeat Faine, who slipped to an off-pace 4.977, 148.90.

Hot Rod finished out the round, with the four contestants mixing and matching and lining up again. This time, David Cox’s 32 Ford faced Steve Scott’s 57 Chevy, and Heath Daniels 39 Plymouth faced Bear Bryant’s 32 Bantam altered. Cox took the first match, running 6.07 on a 6.03 handicap to beat Steve Scott’s 6.50 on a 6.38. Then Heath Daniels beat Bear Bryant, 6.45 on a 6.40 to Bear’s out of shape 7.18 on a 6.40.

ROUND THREE:

The B/Gassers kicked off the final round of Classic Thunder eliminations. Keith George and Heath Daniel had been marching through their respective sides of the ladder with bracket-like consistency. George had taken the big yellow Willys to two 6.29s and Daniel had taken Mike Coger’s wheelstanding Plymouth to two 6.56s. Unfortunately for Daniel & Coger, that trend continued in the final round. Keith George claimed the B/Gas title at the second Annual Southern Classic Thunder in a 6.278, 108.24 to 6.560, 102 battle. This was Keith George’s first race with Classic Thunder, but not his last!

A/Gas was up next, with the two class heavies going at it. Rickey Bowie and Robbie Draughon both use small block combinations to their full advantage. Bowie’s Nitefire Anglia has a screaming blown small block Chevy and Draughon’s yellow Anglia wagon uses nitrous oxide as a power adder. With both racers recording identical 5.334 numbers in the semifinals, it was a contest to see who made the correct tuning decisions. Well, you had to get down the lane, too. Rickey Bowie’s ride tried to get away from him, but he wrestled it under control and got it down the track between the lines. It was too late, however, as Robbie Draughon definitely made the right tuning decision and cranked out a great 5.097, 137.28. Rickey went a respectable 5.419, 134.00, but admitted later that he wouldn’t have beat Draughon’s 5.0 even if he had gone straight. It was a costly win for Draughon Engineering; the team went through three different motors to win this event!

Dave Cox and Bear Bryant faced off in the final Hot Rod match of the day. Steve Scott couldn’t show with his 57 Chevy, so Heath Daniel and Mike Coger were awarded the runner up spot. In the battle of altereds, Dave Cox won the inaugural Hot Rod competition with a 6.207, 103.69 after Bear Bryant fouled. It was a great beginning to a class with a lot of potential.

The Top Eliminator final had Jimmy Warko in the blown alcohol Bootlegger front engine dragster against Red Coleman in the blown Super Cuda 1971 Plymouth classic flopper. Both racers lost a step from their earlier efforts, but Warko held on to record a 5.368, 118.34 to 5.863, 131.41 win. Both these cars did a great job, as did all the Top Eliminator racers. This class has a ton of potential. Now it just needs more cars.

Jim Dickey and Don Roddy faced off for the third time with Don Roddy and the all girl crew looking for a consolation win over Dickey’s screaming Keith Black powered machine. It was just wasn’t to be on this night, as again, Roddy’s Fiat did not get a good burnout. Again, the car was all over the track on the run, with Dickey getting a 4.451, 159.12 win over Roddy’s errant 6.294, 73.55. Despite the problems this evening, these two cars are the best bang for the buck today in supercharged match race action. Classic Thunder will work hard in 2004 to ensure they are a part of EVERY race.

The Jungle Boogie Classic Funny Car show was next with Ernie Walker and Dan Pettinato again doing screaming burnouts and awesome dry hops. In fact, Walker’s burnout in the copper Vega got so intense that he crossed over the centerline! Luckily, Pettinato hadn’t begun his yet and a crisis was averted. The crowed absolutely went nuts, however. In the race, Walker was denied revenge as young Dan legged the Swensen & Lani car through to a 5.784, 121.39 to 5.959, 119.51 win. Now, what are we going to call Ernie’s car?

The legendary Rat Trap was up next to finish out the show. There had been a big powwow back in the Rat Trap pits shortly after their first round performance. What if they were simply unable to get the Rat Trap to hook to the Ware Shoals surface? Which way should they go with the tune up? Should they back it down, loosen the clutch some more and attempt to hook for a full pass? Or should they set it up more aggressively so that if the tires broke loose again, Ron Hope would just keep his foot in it, eventuating in a full eighth mile smoking pass with the header flames over the wing? Well, it didn’t take two seconds to answer that question. The decision was made to try to hook in the final, but if it broke loose, to just “mash down the pedal” and smoke ‘em off.

At 1:07 am Sunday morning, Ron Hope lined up the Rat Trap. The burnout was great, the header flames were better. Hope lined up and stabbed it at the green, but again the tires broke loose. He nailed the throttle several more times, but the Rat Trap responded with neither a full pass nor a full eighth mile burnout. It did about what you’d expect an AA/Fuel Altered to do – whatever it wanted! Hope fought to control the machine as it bucked all the way down the track, finally getting a 6.499 at 95.19, the same number it turned in the first round. While the runs didn’t turn out the way the Green and Hope team wanted, having the Rat Trap at Ware Shoals was an absolute thrill and an honor. Thanks a million to Bob Walker of Hot Heads Research and Racing for making this happen.

EVENT NOTES:

A number of interesting guests made Southern Classic Thunder even more special. While their contributions will not be felt for weeks or maybe even months, all are going to help this race and Classic Thunder immeasurably. First, Jim Amos from Bee on Video was on hand both Friday and Saturday, getting tons of video footage and driver interviews for an upcoming full length feature video on Classic Thunder and the second Annual Southern Classic Thunder event. Jim was very excited about the Classic Thunder style of classic drag racing and we cannot wait to see the video

Also on hand was photographer David Goodman. David, who carries an American Image Press certification, has made a name for himself in areas as diverse as military aerial photography and country music concert photography. He brought an artist’s eye to Ware Shoals and took 40 rolls of film. David loved what he saw and he promises that some good stuff will arrive via CD tomorrow.

Finally, venerable drag racing newspaperwoman Becky White of Quick Times Racing News was on hand to cover the event. Becky’s support with a full page ad in Quick Times no doubt helped to contribute to the large numbers of bracket cars on hand for the event. Classic Thunder looks forward to working with Becky and Quick Times Racing News to promote classic drag racing in the South and beyond.

Classic Thunder also whishes to thank the following sponsors for helping to make Southern Classic Thunder II such a success: Bob and Debra Walker of Hot Heads Research and Racing. Bob and Debra are the perfect sponsors. They are completely thrilled to be involved and will go to seemingly any length to support Classic Thunder and classic drag racing in general.

Jody’s RV Sales provided a brand new camping trailer to function as the on-track command center for Classic Thunder. Having this home away from home helped CT promoters to organize the event and provided a perfect focal point for event registration, etc. Our deepest thanks to Jody’s RV Sales. We look forward to helping to promote Jody’s RV Sales in the future.

The Greenwood Index-Journal newspaper provided Classic Thunder organizers a nice surprise in its Friday weekend edition, front-page coverage including a huge photo of a flamed purple altered (Brian Wood photo from Darlington last year). No doubt, the coverage in the Index-Journal brought out some fans.

Thanks to Brian and Kelley Butler and the staff at Ware Shoals. Almost to a racer, all the visiting racers who attended the Southern Classic Thunder event mentioned how kind and helpful the Ware Shoals staff had been. We agree – they’re great! Special thanks to “Buck,” whose help with the racer payouts was priceless.

Thanks also to Mike Coger, who, despite entering his blue Plymouth Gasser in what seemed to be 17 classes () took the time to jump in and help organize the Gasser and Hot Rod racers, plus whatever else we needed him to do.

Thanks also to Richard Coker, who ran the Classic Thunder Car Show and Swap Meet all weekend on the other side of the spectator parking. I was busy on the racer side, but from a distance, things appeared to be jumping all weekend. No doubt, the car show portion of Classic Thunder will continue to get better and better.

Bob Gettys came out with a line of Classic Thunder T-shirts, hats, tank tops, decals, and other products. They debuted at Ware Shoals to good reviews. Here’s Michelle Ricketts of Pendleton, SC, modeling one of the new tank tops. The lovely 24-year-old agreed to wear one around the Ware Shoals pits to let folks know they were available. Lots of guys noticed, resulting in a run on Classic Thunder products. Don’t worry, there’s more where those came from, and all the products will be available at www.classicthunder.net!

The second annual Southern Classic Thunder was a success. The fans were happy and were left screaming for more. The racers all were paid as agreed and the promoter and track owners even made a profit! Despite the inevitable challenges of race day events, the Classic Thunder promoters and racers pulled together to get the race off and to keep it more or less on track. Just as every past event has and every future event will, the Ware Shoals event showed what definitely worked and what probably won’t work. Classic Thunder will continue to work with the racers to hone the class structures and competition rules to provide the fairest coverage and to offer the participation to the widest number of racers possible. Rules changes will be discussed from now through the end of the year on the Classic Thunder message board at www.classicthunder.net. Log on to get the latest news and to state your opinions.

The next Classic Thunder event features the gassers only. They’ll be at Wilkesboro Raceway Park on September 27. If you’re in the mood for some rompin'; stompin'; heads up, wheelstanding action, come out and see the Classic Thunder gassers in action!

Bill Pratt