Gary Naughton accomplished a feat Sunday that's known in drag racing as "running the table."
 
It means a driver captures just about every performance achievement possible at a single event by winning, earning the No. 1 qualifying position, and setting low elapsed time and top speed.
 
Naughton did all that in ADRL Extreme 10.5 class driver and business partner Kenny Doak's '67 Camaro, pocketing $5,000 for the victory and $1,000 bonus for the "Clean Sweep Award."
 
That he did so at the World Street Nationals was something that in an emotional moment in the winners circle afterward he called "a dream come true."
 
He came close to the prize last year, but a mechanical glitch doomed his chance.
 
"Kenny qualified first last year. I think I qualified fourth last year," Naughton said. "The transmission popped out of gear in the semis last year. It was a bit of a heartbreaker. So I redeemed myself this year.
 
"It's five rounds of racing, the only 32-car race field in the country. Ah, it's just amazing," he said, trying to soak it all in the gathering darkness at Orlando Speed World Dragway. People asked for his autograph on T-shirts. A lineup of professional photographers and three times as many folks with recreational-grade cameras wanted him to smile and pose with his crew by the car, holding his trophy. A reporter or two probed into his background, asking him the "how it feels" questions.
 
"This is a dream come true. I still can't believe it," he said.
 
Finally things were coming together the way he had dreamed about it when he was building race cars for other drivers who drove them to big-race victories and a measure of fame, at least in the drag-racing world.
 
Naughton has been racing since he was 16 years old, for almost 29 years, he said. Most recently, he said, he competed in local Quick-8 racing at Atco Raceway in South Jersey and Cecil County Dragway in Maryland, neither far from his home in Eastern Pennsylvania.
 
"I've been building and racing cars forever. But I never could do it at the level I am now, if it wasn't for Kenny Doak giving me the ride in his car," he said. "I can't say enough for Kenny Doak and Billy from Oddy's -- the motor is just unbelievable . . . Coan Converters, Bruno Lenco . . .
 
He said he and Doak "just started a race car shop of our own, Advanced Door Car Technology. We're an up-and-going race car shop.
 
"He has a state-of-the-art machine shop, does a lot of medical work. Kenny really set me up, bought me every piece of equipment I need to build race cars," Naughton said.
 
At that point the humble Naughton allowed himself a smile.  But the smile wasn't just for himself and his own team, although they did advance past Omar Obando, reached the quarterfinals on a bye, then beat Lee Saunders and Ronnie Souza to make the final for the first time.
 
As his car was lined up next to those of fellow winners Dave Hance (Drag Radial) and Chuck Ulsch (Outlaw 10.5), he glanced over at Ulsch's '02 Camaro with pride.
 
"I was the shop foreman at Vanishing Point Race Cars until about six months ago. I built Chuckie's car," Naughton said. So in one sense, he was a double winner. The victories just kept mounting for him.
 
For Naughton, Sunday was a day of 3Rs -- no rest, for sure, but certainly running the table, redemption, and rejoicing.

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