First Annual DragStock Festival
Same day coverage of the AMS All-Stars versus Flowmaster Outlaws
by Brian Wood & Bobby Bennett
Photos by Roger Richards, Brian Wood & Bobby Bennett

Click here for complete event photo coverage

SUNDAY - AMS All-Stars Outlast Flowmaster Outlaws for Inaugural Dragstock Victory; Scott Cannon, Jr. Seals the Deal with Last Pair Heroics

Going into the last crucial round of competition for this weekend’s groundbreaking Dragstock extravaganza at Carolina Dragway, the dramatics couldn’t have been scripted any better in Hollywood.

Super-tight racing highlighted Sunday afternoon’s three rounds of heads-up action between the best the world of Pro Modifieds has to offer. 11 teams representing each of the AMS All-Stars and Flowmaster Outlaws factions were culled from 55 hopefuls who went through tech earlier in the weekend, and when it came time to get down and dirty, the 22 drivers who made the cut were indeed the best of the best.

How fitting it was, then, that the day’s hard-fought, side-by-side dueling came down to the very last pair of cars, and how even more fitting was the fact that the son of the winningest Pro Mod driver in the game held the fate of his team in his hands.

With 31 of 33 rounds of racing in the books, Frankie Taylor put the AMS All-Stars in the lead with a win and the low E.T of the round, his 3.994 good enough for an additional bonus point. With Mike Ashley’s earlier 181.93 mph holding up for yet another bonus point, John Lynam had to win his match-up against Cannon, Jr. and set either a new E.T. or speed record to save the win for the Flowmaster Outlaws.

With excitement at a fever pitch, Cannon staged his dad’s trademark red ’53 Studebaker up against the primer grey ’63 Corvette of Lynam. When the tree came down, it was Cannon out of the box first, his .080 reaction time absolutely strapping a dozing Lynam to the tree by .171-seconds. Lynam did his best to reel in the disappearing Studebaker, but it was too little, too late as Cannon took the biggest win of his fledgling career, 4.178, 176.68 to 4.026, 166.00.

When the dust finally settled over what was arguably one of the best Pro Modified events in history, the AMS All-Stars took the win by a margin of 21 to 18, and a new era in fast doorslammer racing was born. Among the firsts witnessed on the weekend, in addition to Cannon Jr.’s first victory, was the match-up between the turbo car of Mike Moran and the blower car of Thomas Patterson. With two other turbos on the property, the Corvette of Annette Summer and the Monte Carlo of Mike Bowman, fans on hand at Carolina Dragway very likely witness the future of organized Pro Modified competition.

Leading up to the climactic showdown, Clyde Scott took the first win for the Flowmaster team, increasing their lead to 15-12, but Mike Ashley, Zach Barklage and Chip King reeled off three straight wins for the AMS side, tying things up at 15. Ashley’s speed of 181.93 was the best in the early going, and good enough for a bonus point if it held up. Moran then dispatched Patterson to push the Outlaws back in front, but it didn’t last for long, as Troy Critchley ripped off a career-best eighth-mile pass of 4.03, 180.59 to knot things up at 16.

Annette Summer then added to the AMS lead on a single when Bill Clanton had trouble keeping the fire lit in his Outlaw car. Perry Herring and Phillip Osborne then made things interesting once again by taking back-to-back wins, putting the Outlaws up by one point with two pair left to run.

Frankie Taylor came up big at this point, cranking out his 3.994 to shove the AMS crew back into the lead, his E.T. record, if it held up, good for an additional point. The scenario came down to Cannon having to win the round, while Lynam’s task was a lot tougher, as mentioned. He had to win and set a record to pull it out for the Flowmaster Outlaws, but unfortunately his untimely nap at the tree sealed his fate and that of his teammates.

It was a great weekend of drag racing, where for the first time in the long history of doorslammer competition the Outlaw and mainstream Pro Mod guys put their money where their collective mouths were and raced head to head instead of trash talking. It was a great weekend in beautiful South Carolina!

SUNDAY - A quick tutorial and how it all works

Sunday's first and second sessions are complete, results following this text
(10-10-2004) - The anticipation has been growing all weekend long, and now finally it’s put-up or shut-up time here at Carolina Dragway in Jackson, South Carolina. So far Dragstock, 3 Days of Speed & Music, has proven to be one of the greatest Pro Modified shootouts in the history of the class, with 55 of the top-rated AMS and Outlaw teams in North America letting it all hang out before grandstands jammed with appreciative hard-core fans.

On Saturday, during qualifying for today’s team competition, the quickest of the AMS All-Stars and Flowmaster Outlaws faced off in the $10,000 Didicom Clash, qualifying an eight-car field for the race-within-a-race which was “all in” with an incredible bump spot of 4.032.

In the exciting final round, which took place at 11:30 PM, local racer John Lynam laid down the quickest pass of the weekend thus far when he paced his supercharged ’63 Corvette to a thundering win over Florida’s Mike Neal, driver of Don Stroud’s blown ’53 Studebaker. Lynam’s track record-breaking 3.982, 175.80 handily covered Neal’s 4.144, 171.14 effort.

So now it’s down to the highlight of the weekend, as 11 teams of AMS All-Stars will face off against 11 Flowmaster Outlaws teams for fame and fortune, not to mention some serious bragging rights. Keeping with the team concept of the weekend, today’s racing will feature a unique format not often seen in drag racing.

In each of three rounds, the AMS All-Stars and Flowmaster Outlaws drivers will be matched up against each other, with the winner of each race earning one point. There will also be one low elapsed time and top speed bonus point handed out following each round, not to mention $1,000 to each driver. In total, there are 39 points available, and $6,000 in bonus money.

FIRST SESSION - The first session is complete; Ashley rocks the house - SCORE - Flowmaster Outlaws 7, AMS All-Stars 6

Mike Ashley fired the big shot of the first session scoring three points for the AMS All-Stars.

(10-10-2004) - The first session in head-to-head Flowmaster Outlaw versus AMS All-Star competition pitted a pair of turbocharged entries. Mike Moran, representing the Flowmaster Outlaw team, scored the first point with a 4.625, 162.02 victory over a late-reacting and tire shaking Annette Summer.

The AMS All-Stars evened the score in a battle of #10 seeded entries as Doug Palmer laid down a 4.190, 174.25 to easily overtake Bryon Rich’s 4.851, 167.32.

With the score even, Eddie Ware nudged the Flowmaster Outlaws ahead with a 4.108, 173.56 thrashing of Chip King, who lifted and coasted to a 7.482, 59.

In a Ford versus Chevrolet battle, the Flowmaster Outlaws added more points as Perry Herring took advantage of Von Smith’s tireshake to give the Flowmaster Outlaws a two-point lead courtesy of a 4.096, 179.85. Overshadowed in the loss was Smith’s .037 reaction time.

Philip Osborne was the quickest of the Flowmaster Outlaws.

Barklage used a quicker reaction time and a better performance package to pull the AMS All-Star team to within one as he won with a 4.158, 176.84 as Clyde Scott lost with a 5.520.

Dale Brinsfield, driving for Roy Hill, grabbed another point for the Flowmaster Outlaw team as he blasted out a 4.070, 180.82 by taking out a tire-shaking Thomas Patterson, who slowed to a 6.500, 81.22.

Philip Osborne extended the lead for the Flowmaster Outlaws as he posted a blazing 4.014, 180.28 to overtake Scott Cannon, Jr., who broke and slowed to a 4.185, 176.11.

With the score 5 to 2 in favor of the Flowmaster Outlaws, Troy Critchley, driving the flagship AMS entry, scored a point for his team with a 5.251, 117.36 as opponent Jason Scruggs inexplicably fouled.

Mike Neal, driving the Studebaker of Don Stroud, pulled the momentum back into the Flowmaster Outlaw team’s court, as he nailed Frankie Taylor to the tree with a .002 light and then coupled it with a 4.097, 172.96 for the victory. Taylor shook and slowed to a 4.742, 132.27.

A battle of veterans ensued as Bil Clanton took out Tommy Mauney on the starting line for another Flowmaster Outlaw bonus. Clanton won despite a slower 4.062, 175.97. Mauney lost with a quicker 4.051, 181.04.

The first session promised to be a Flowmaster Outlaws blowout headed into the final match. That was until the AMS All-Stars clean-up hitter Mike Ashley hot a shot into the upper deck with a 3.979, 183.28 to take out John Lynam, who actually left the racing surface and slowed to a grass-scattering 4.886, 104.33.

Ashley’s run represented the low elapsed time and top speed of the session, adding two additional points to the one the New Yorker earned for the victory. The session ended with the Flowmaster Outlaws leading by a seven to six score.

SECOND SESSION - The Flowmaster Outlaws pull ahead in the second session; Lynam and Cannon produce top numbers

John Lynam was all business en route to grabbing low elapsed time of the session.

(10-10-2004) – The second session was a tight-knit battle between the two teams setting up for a showdown finale. The score was 7 to 6 in the favor of the Flowmaster Outlaws.

Smith erased that deficit as he nailed down a 4.291, 168.53 to more than take care of Scruggs who broke on the starting line.

Just one pair later, the AMS All-Stars pulled one ahead as King was on and off of the throttle with a 5.768, 83.03 as Scott broke on the burnout.

The event soon developed into a high-horsepower tennis match on four wheels as Lynam evened it up with a point for the Flowmaster All-Stars. Lynam laid down the quickest lap of the session with a 4.004, 176.16 to pull away from a tire-shaking Patterson. Patterson slowed to a 5.281.

The clusterbump of the weekend was the second session pairing between Troy Critchley and Bryon Rich.

The next pair produced the most interesting match of the day. Rich had numerous clutch issues and then it was soon discovered that Critchley couldn’t fire. Critchley’s resourceful crew actually push-started the 2,700-pound beast and rolled forward with a small burnout. That was about the same time that Rich got fired and rolled forward to burnout as well. In the meantime, Critchley’s car lost fire. Rich’s ’58 Plymouth Fury was then shut off.

ADRL officials decided the best course of action was to roll both cars back to the base of the tower.

In the meantime, the turbocharged entries of Summer and Moran rolled to the line. It was a big day for Summer as she scored her first-ever turbo win with a 4.37, 169.49 to defeat Moran’s 4.46, 170.92.

With all the necessary repairs made, Critchley extended the AMS All-Stars lead with a 4.486, 172.94 to take out Rich. Rich had clutch problems on the starting line and slowed to a 4.942.

Ware stopped the Flowmaster Outlaws bloodletting as he bulbed Taylor and pulled away with a 4.086, 174.17. Taylor lost with a 4.104, 171.59.

Scott Cannon, Jr., recorded his first career round win and snagged top speed in the same shot.

Neal evened the tallies as he won a close fought battle with Palmer. The Flowmaster Outlaw driver took the win-light with a slower 4.14, 171.71. Palmer lost despite a quicker 4.133, 174.14.

The next pair proved to be monumental for the second-generation Cannon as he scored his first career Pro Modified win with a 4.022, 181.25 that got the best of Herring’s 4.107.

Brinsfield threw the point lead back in the favor of the AMS Outlaws as he was on and off the throttle with a 4.547, 150.82. Barklage shook the tires and lifted with a 6.310.

With the score tied, the Flowmaster Outlaws stretched their lead into their favor with consecutive victories from Clanton and Osborne.

Clanton produced a quicker reaction time and combined that with a 4.110, 175.16 as Mauney shook the tires and lifted.

Osborne gained the big win of the day as Ashley shook hard enough to loose every filling in his teeth. The winning lap for the Corvette driver was a 4.094, 180.71.

The low elapsed time for the round belonged to Lynam and Cannon nailed top speed. Both teams split a performance bonus point and the session concluded with a two point lead for the Flowmaster Outlaws. The score headed into the final session was Flowmaster Outlaws 14, AMS All-Stars 12.

a d v e r t i s e m e n t

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SATURDAY - Ten Grand in "Didicom Clash" Cash Goes To Local Favorite Lynam

(10-9-2004) - Eight of the fastest of the fast Pro Modifieds gathered for this weekend's DragStock event slugged it out Saturday for a shot at the $10,000 prize up for grabs courtesy of Didicom Towers. When the smoke cleared, the “Little Red Corvette” of Beaufort, South Carolina’s John Lynam paced the eight-car field with a 3.993, 175.66, which came during his final qualifying attempt.

Slipping into second was Rome, Georgia’s Bil Clanton. Clanton’s best run came during the second session as he laid down a 4.003, 179.40.

Mike Neal produced a 4.014, 176.44 to continue the Outlaw stranglehold on qualifying. His run put him ahead of Jason Scruggs, whose small-block entry netted a 4.024.

Mike Ashley was the leader of the AMS All-Stars with his 4.027, 182.40. Ashley’s entry is running at 20% overdrive.

Tommy Mauney, who is classified this weekend as an AMS All-Star by virtue of his 2002 tour, claimed the sixth spot with a 4.028, 179.94.

Philip Osborne was the seventh with a 4.033, which was .002 quicker than Dale Brinsfield. Brinsfield anchored the show with a 4.035, 182.09.

Eliminations opened with a pivotal match between Scruggs and Ashley. Scruggs nailed Ashley to the tree by nearly .06 and led him all the way to the finish with the low elapsed time of the first round, a 3.99, 182.01. Ashley lost with a respectable 4.022, 182.01.

Neal snagged one from Mauney on the starting line and won with a slower 4.041, 174.93. Mauney lost despite running a quicker 4.036, 181.26.

Clanton was not deterred in the least as Osborne was the quicker out of the gate. The deficit was quickly erased as Clanton took the stripe with a 4.021, 178.34. Osborne fell considerably off of his pace as he slowed to a 4.446, 155.77.

Lynam closed the round with a 4.034, 174.48 and that was more than Brinsfield could overcome. Brinsfield shook the tires and coasted to a 10.676.

The semi-finals produced an interesting round of competition with only Flowmaster Outlaws remaining in the battle. Lynam may have been the favorite by virtue of qualifying, but the general consensus was that Scruggs was going to take it all. Someone forgot to inform Lynam as he drove around a quicker reacting Lynam with a 4.045, 181.65. Scruggs slowed dramatically from his earlier torrid pace with a 4.213, 178.20.

That battle set the stage for one of epic proportions. The margin of victory was .000 as Neal got the best of Clanton. Neal was .004 quicker off of the line and that was the deciding factor as he won with a 4.096,173.86. Clanton lost with a slightly quicker in a losing effort with a 4.093, 176.32.

The drama continued to build as a band concert and “hard body” contest took place over the course of the next hour or so before the big final round finally took center stage at 11:30. With the crowd pressing against the fences all up and down the eighth-mile Carolina Dragway track, Lynam grabbed the advantage off the line, .046 to .060, and went on to pocket the $10,000 Didicom Clash prize on the strength of a track record-breaking 3.982, 175.80 to Neal’s game 4.144, 171.14. It was an outstanding finish to a great day of Pro Modified competition in South Carolina.

The real battle for cash, glory and bragging rights will take place tomorrow, as the 11 teams of both the AMS All Stars and the Flowmaster Outlaws will face off, starting with opening ceremonies at 11 AM.

SATURDAY NOTES - An uplifting phone call, the field tightens and interesting happenings in the Carolinas

Jason Scruggs fired his best shot during a Saturday afternoon shakedown run. It also served as the new track record.

Thank you – Brian Dyar, injured in a Friday incident, made it a point to call American Drag Racing League President Kenny Nowling from his hospital bed to offer thanks.

“I want to thank Jeff and Angel Miles,” Dyar said. “I want to thank Wayne Dyal for getting me out of the car. The ADRL promised a safe track and race, and they delivered.”

Dyar was still in the Medical Center of Georgia recuperating from injuries sustained in the mishap.

Welcome to the South – Pro Modified Mike Ashley had an interesting introduction as he walked out of his hotel room to leave for the track. Just down the highway was a gathering of the NAACP and directly in front of his hotel was a gathering of confederate flags and people chanting, “Down with the NAACP.”

Ashley, who was traveling with his father and his trusty team cook Jean Bernard, quickly assessed the situation as he said, “Boys this ought to be fun, two Jews and a black man in the South driving through the middle of a swarm of confederate flags.”

Ashley successfully navigated his car through the protesters with no incident.

Team owner Roy Hill checks out Saturday's qualifying effort.

Don’t Impeach Him – The name is Bil Clanton, with an “a” and not an “i” like the former President of the United States. “Big Money” Clanton was the class of the second session qualifying session as he jumped to the top with a 4.003, 179.40.

Pittman returns – After an absence from the Pro Modified scene, veteran journeyman Alan Pittman and car owners Ken & Sylvia Westbrook were on hand for this weekend’s festivities with their trusty 1941 Willys. Pittman admitted that he was a little bit rusty when he climbed behind the wheel of the car for the first time in two years just a couple of weeks ago. The former “Grave Digger” driver was no slouch as he carded a 4.17 at 176 miles per hour.

Pittman admitted the launch didn’t throw him back in the bucket as many would think. For the Pelzer, SC-based driver, he’s been keeping himself busy running a 10.5-inch tire car that likes to cover a lot of real estate within its lane. He says Pro Modifieds have little sensation of speed when compared to them.

“Driving one of those cars makes a Pro Modified look like a Pro Stocker,” Pittman added.”

John Lynam may not have a lot of red on his "Little Red Corvette," but he had the competition seeing that color at the conclusion of qualifying.

It doesn’t have to be red – When you run as quick as Outlaw Pro Modified racer John Lynam does, it doesn’t matter if the name of your car jibes up. Lynam, of Beaufort, SC., carries the moniker of “Little Red Corvette,” yet the only red on the car is in the lettering. The car is in primer and according to Lynam, very lucky to be racing this weekend.

Lynam and his crew mounted a new Corvette body on the chassis just prior to the event. As Lynam admitted, “We only had one day of margin as to whether we made it. Luckily we made it.”

Headed into the event, Lynam was the track record holder with a 3.99, but that number was eclipsed by Jason Scruggs’ 3.96 in a shakedown run. In the first session, Lynam produced a 4.023, 176.44. He returned in the final session to lay down a 3.99 and ascend to the top spot.

Alive with Fifty-five – The first round of qualifying produced fifty entries. The
quickest supercharged run after the first session was Mike Neal’s (4.014), Dan Parker was ahead of the nitrous group with a (4.085) and Mike Moran was ahead of the turbocharged cars with a (4.263). The bump spot after one session belonged to Perry Herring, who carded a 4.076.

Sloshing Around – In some of the pictures of the Pro Modifieds leaving the starting line, there was evidence of a liquid coming out underneath the car. The most noticeable of those came from the AMS Staff Leasing entry driven by Troy Critchley. According to the team’s crewchief, it is essentially unused fuel hitting the overflow tank. This has been the result over a problem associated with the fuel tank. As Mayer puts it, this is on this winter’s “to-do” list. However, this is not the only instance of it happening. We counted at least five different cars that had the same problem.

Ticket to get into Dragstock $25...New Scooter $850...Getting photographed by a CompetitionPlus.com photographer - PRICELESS.

Second-generation substitution – Scotty Cannon is sitting out the second day of Dragstock due to pain from a nagging back injury. His son, Scott, Jr., suited up and produced a 4.074, 178.88 to get into the show in the first session.

“I’d rather get behind the wheel under better conditions, but I’m very happy we did well,” added Cannon.

For the first time in a long while this season, the elder Cannon had a broad smile.

Dale is in the house – Richie Stevens is feeling under the weather this weekend and because of that, Roy Hill has inserted veteran runner and his newly appointed drag racing school instructor Dale Brinsfield behind the wheel. Brinsfield immediately made his presence known as he blasted his way to the fourth spot with a 4.035, 182.09.

Birds of a Feather – Upon watching team owner Roy Hill’s expression following Brinsfield’s qualifying effort, announcer Al Tucci uttered, “Roy Hill looks like a pigeon who just came from a cockfight.”

More Tucci “isms” – Following the 4.06, 172 from Clyde Scott, Tucci commented on the team’s youthfulness. Tucci proclaimed, “Those guys are young. They really had to save their pop bottles for that one.”

The get the most out a weekend award – This award handily goes to Texas Pro Modified racer Frankie Taylor, who won a Quick Eight in Kennedale, Texas, last evening.

Ben Ledford hikes up the front-end at the finish line during qualifying.

Get them brakes at Pep Boys? Well maybe they don’t need to call one for human use. But for Von Smith, after his second qualifying run the Mustang broke a rearend necessitating some lengthy repairs.

The parts attrition didn’t draw nearly the attention that the tail end of Smith’s run did. It appeared as if Smith’s parachute didn’t deploy and a flurry of smoke ensued. However, Smith admitted that he didn’t plan on pulling the chute following his 4.132, 176.64,

“I never planned on pulling them,” Smith said. “What happened is the brake hit a bald spot and it made things get ugly from there. It wasn’t as scary inside the car as I’m sure it looked on the outside.”

Call a priest – Following two consecutive tire-shaking efforts, a flustered Ed Hoover proclaimed, “I’ve changed this and that and everything on this darned car…I guess the only thing I haven’t done is call in an exorcist and I’m calling one of those now.”

The Shakedown Blues – Jason Scruggs brought both his Hemi-powered and small-block equipped Corvettes with him this weekend. He entered today’s Quick Eight with the small-block entry and shook the tires with a 4.710. At the end of the session, Scruggs brought out the Hemi car and produced the quickest run of the weekend with a 3.989, 188.67. The pass gave Scruggs both ends of the track record. Earlier in the session, Mike Moran laid down the top speed with a 185.61 blast in his turbo entry.

Tommy Mauney is in a new world with the Hemi combination. That didn't stop him from laying down a 4.02.

Mauney back to school – Tommy Mauney has been around drag racing for a long time and his chassis building prowess is noted highly in the drag racing world. However, as highly capable as he may be at building a top-notch Pro Modified, he admits his kryptonite has been a switch over to a Hemi combination from an Oldsmobile behind the wheel of the Andrew Williams-owned 1941 Willys.

“We’re still chasing our combination,” Mauney said. “We just found it easier to get the parts for the Hemi. Sometimes I feel like a duck out of water with this combination.”

Mauney was smooth sailing in the first session as he launched the beautiful classic hot rod and stormed to a 4.028, 179.94.

Mauney tidbit – Did you know that 60% of the entries competing in this weekend’s event were built by Mauney’s TM Race Cars?

Bryan Rich pulled the wheels in the air during Saturday qualifying.

God Bless Texas – Thomas and Richard Patterson made the long tow from Houston, Texas to compete in this weekend’s competition. The Patterson’s are well known for their prowess in Texas outlaw Pro Modified racing.

“We love this kind of racing back home,” Thomas, the second-generation drag racer admitted. “When we found out about this event, we wanted to be here to show our support.”

Patterson fell short of making the field in the first two sessions, producing a 4.16, 172 best.

FRIDAY NOTES - Exciting kick-off, Scary moment on Friday Night and the "Little Red Corvette" is the baddest ride of them all...

There’s a Packed House – If Friday’s car count is any indication of things to come for Saturday, then there will be a huge party on the second day of the first annual Dragstock, the battle between the AMS All-Stars and the Flowmaster Outlaws. There were 51 cars that teched in as of 9 PM. The breakdown is as follows. There are 41 supercharged entries, 7 nitrous and 3 turbocharged cars making this one of the largest non-NHRA or IHRA events featuring this type of racing vehicle.

Frightening moment – On a Friday evening pass, outlaw racer Brian Dyar’s ’53 Studebaker burst into flames at half-track and remained fully engulfed as it came to a stop in the shutdown area. Speculation is the car kicked out the burst panel. The safety crew of Carolina Dragway was on hand by the time the car came to a stop and successfully extracted Dyar from the vehicle.

Dyar was transported to the Medical College of Georgia in nearby Augusta, Ga., for further examination.

Track employee and certified firefighter Wayne Dyal was the hero of the day as he rescued Dyar, who had become entangled in his belts.

The Quickest of the Evening – John Lynam produced the quickest run of the day in the “Little Red Corvette” with a 4.02, 174.07. Lynam pocketed $500 for his efforts.

First shot – Troy Critchley was the first of the group to take a shot at the Carolina Dragway eighth mile. The car didn’t make it to the finish line under power, but that didn’t matter to the fans on hand as Critchley had successfully navigated a full eighth-mile burnout.

Mike Moran fought the law and this time he won.

When good Outlaws go bad – Veteran turbocharged Pro Modified runner Mike Moran wouldn’t mind it in the least if he never had to go through North Carolina to get to a drag race. What Moran encountered was a female police office that was determined to park his rig or give him a trailer full of fines to carry to Carolina Dragway. It all started with a restroom break at a rest area off of I-77 in North Carolina. Of course there are two sides to every story, but Moran spins a good yarn about his run-in with the female equivalent to Buford T. Justice, the crazed cop portrayed by Jackie Gleason in Smokey and the Bandit.

“The whole thing was crazy,” Moran said. “We had just gotten out the restroom and they come pulling up and got out of their cars.”

The unsuspecting Moran assumed the officers were going to ask questions about his racecar inside. Instead, they asked, “Can we see your license and registration?”

A stunned Moran replied, “Sure.”

Moran and crew was then asked to follow the police to a nearby weigh station where his rig was searched. The entire scenario lasted every bit of three hours, Moran admitted.

“They informed us that we were commercial and hauling a commodity,” Moran said. “I looked at them like they were crazy…because they were.”

When Moran pleaded his case the lead officer responded that she was going to call his home state to investigate the laws for Michigan. She also began writing tickets that would have extended into the thousands of dollars in fines.

“She even called Colorado and evidently the officer on the phone was telling her what she didn’t want to hear,” Moran said. “She kept pleading her case, and you could tell she was getting frustrated. They wanted us bad because you could see where they went down the wrong side of the off-ramp to get to us.”

Bad towing experience, Pt. 2 – The tough luck award had to go to outlaw Pro Modified racer David Griffith. En route to the event, his trailer reportedly bottomed out on an active railroad line. As frantically as the team tried to get the trailer off of the tracks, there wasn’t enough time to keep a freight train from driving through the middle of trailer. Fortunately, no one was injured. However, the trailer and supercharged Dodge Viper inside were both destroyed.

What the heck is that? It’s Hugh Scott’s whipplecharger.

Is it the Phoenix? – Remember in school when the legendary tale of the Phoenix, the myth of a great bird that rose from the ashes? One couldn’t help but notice the similarities between that tale and the turbocharged Monte Carlo of Mike Bowman. Bowman, as you will recall, was the driver that had his Chevrolet nearly reduced to ashes during an exhibition run at an IHRA event in Milan, Mich.

This weekend marks the first time that Bowman has had his car out since the mishap. Bowman was excited to have the car out and was extremely optimistic.

“Some of the stuff we have on the car is nicer than what we had on it before.”

The fire was caused by a fuel line that came off of the car and shot flames as high as 30-feet in the air.

That’s weird man – That’s way a casual Pro Modified fan would view the injector hat on outlaw racer Hugh Scott’s 1941 Willys. Scott is running a whipplecharger blower that was manufactured in Sweden. This style of supercharger is most common in Australian’s version of Pro Modified known as Top Doorslammer.

Scott encountered some problems of his own in his initial burnout. With the engine combination on his car, he has the horsepower backed down to enable him to do the burnout at half-throttle. A timer malfunction caused some problems for Scott on the burnout and by his own admission, “It almost got away from me.”

Scott missed the wall by less than an inch. That prompted Scott to ask officials, “Ya’ll give any money for the ugliest burnout?”

Annette Summer had to show the men how to do a burnout on Friday night.

Just like a woman – Following Scott’s burnout snafu, Annette Summer brought her turbocharged ’63 Corvette to the water box and proceeded to lay down a tire-smoker to the 200-foot mark. That prompted the announcers to suggest, “It takes a woman to show ‘em how to do it.”

Following his proclamation the announcer was reportedly kicked out of “The He-Men Women Haters Club.”

Summer is in her first competitive outing with the car outside of a match race two weeks ago with Tommy Mauney here. She has been fighting brake problems that has made staging the beastly turbo car a chore. Summer would stage, bring up the rpms and the brake pressure would go to zero – effectively rolling the car through the lights. Her point was made clear when the master cylinder blew out of the car.

Summer’s first run today resulted in her rolling the beams. Her best run netted a three-second shut-off and coasted to a 167 mile per hour lap.

Smith returns – Von Smith is making his first driving appearance since undergoing quintuple bypass surgery in August. Smith is using this weekend’s outing as a gauge that will determine whether or not he participates in the IHRA event in Rockingham two weeks from now and at the NHRA racer in Las Vegas the week after.

“I’m a little apprehensive,” Smith said. “This will have to be a pain free thing for me. The least little pain could inflict more harm. I’m more afraid of tireshake than I am pulling the parachutes.”

The doctor released Smith to drive on Thursday.

Barney is still alive and well on the Quick Eight scene.

Barney lives –Voted as the CompetitionPlus #1 Pro Modified car of all time, “Barney” made its way to Dragstock with owners Ben & Milton Ledford. The Ledfords, of Marietta, Ga., purchased the car in 2000 from Doug and Kevin Parsons. The car was made famous as Tommy Mauney drove it to the 1995 title and Shannon Jenkins won in 1997 and 1999 with the purple 1941 Willys.

The urban legend making its way around the Pro Modified community is that Mauney won over $186,000 with it and went to the finals of 35 – 40 Quick Eights in the Carolinas.

Ledford hasn’t relented on the competition any as the car has made it to nearly 20 Quick Eight finals since 2000. Word has it the Ledfords may be headed to the IHRA in 2005.

Who said you can’t do-over? – Mike Ashley tested Friday’s liberal practice run format. When the Unique Performance/InfiNet Insurance/Torco Race Fuels-sponsored driver launched on his first pass of the day, he stopped the sixty-foot timers with the quickest of the day – a .956. Just past the sixty-foot mark, Ashley’s ’67 Shelby shook the tires and he lifted. The resourceful Ashley put it in reverse and tried to launch the car again. Unfortunately for Ashley, he shook the tires again, but not before recording another .956.