The oddest thing happened in the Extreme Pro Stock final round in the ADRL Dragstock event at Rockingham Dragway. Two cars burned out, rolled to a stop. Then as they backed up, both cars swapped lanes as if their actions were choreographed.

And, they were.

Doug Kirk and Brian Gahm understand that drag racing purists might have opinions regarding their actions and that’s fine. They could care less.

On a run where points were as meaningless as who won the race, the veteran Pro Stock racers and longtime friends deemed putting on a show for the capacity crowd to be of greater importance.

The oddest thing happened in the Extreme Pro Stock final round in the ADRL Dragstock event at Rockingham Dragway. Two cars burned out, rolled to a stop. Then as they backed up, both cars swapped lanes as if their actions were choreographed.

And, they were.

Doug Kirk and Brian Gahm understand that drag racing purists might have opinions regarding their actions and that’s fine. They could care less.

On a run where points were as meaningless as who won the race, the veteran Pro Stock racers and longtime friends deemed putting on a show for the capacity crowd to be of greater importance.

“We wanted to do this in Houston, but we were afraid to try it with the series just getting started,” Kirk, the eventual Rockingham champion pointed out. “After I got to the final round, I went over there and told Brian – ‘I aint touching nothing on my car. I told him it is what it is because I feel like I have already won tonight.

“That was the same tonight. He and I are like two brothers. We talk every day. We race together. We travel together. We vacation together. Everything we do, we do together. In front of all of these great people and the National Guard, we wanted to put on a show for them.”

Kirk and Gahm are adamant they wanted to pull off the stunt for a long time. Prior to the final round, they approached ADRL’s Competition Director Bubba Corzine about pulling off a lane swap following their burnouts.

Initially, Corzine didn’t go for the idea but when he took a few minutes to study the proposal he slowly warmed to the idea. The more he studied that the race had no championship implications and it was clear to the racers that winning was meaningless, he went along with the plan.

ADRL rules state that any car that crosses the centerline, during the burnout or on the run, they are disqualified. If both cars cross, the first car committing the infraction is disqualified.

Corzine chose to use a loophole in the rulebook that affords him to have the final decision to grant permission for the drivers to swap lanes following their burnouts.

“I felt that it wouldn’t hurt anything and gave them permission,” Corzine said. “We’re in show-business. I love drag racing and we have rules to be fair. But when it comes down to it, we are challenged to give the fans a show and that’s what we did.”

Gahm, the runner-up on record, said their antics were for the fans.

“It worked out great and I hope the fans enjoyed it,” said Gahm, smiling. “I was laughing while I was backing up and my guy came on the radio and yelled, ‘You’re out of the groove.”

“What did I care, it wasn’t my rubber anyway.”  

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