Steve Kirk Jr. scored a monster payday as Champion of Carolina Dragway's [Jackson, SC] Battle of the Big Dawgs 90K presented by Speedtech Nitrous.

The day started off as an outlaw heads up grudge type event with no qualifying, just simply two shakedown runs to feel out the track. The Friday night test session for all racers proved that this was going to be one for the record books. Joe Dunne unleashed a 3.95 at 187 mph pass to become the world’s quickest converter driven nitrous car. Not to be out done, Lee Adkins proved that the name "The House of Hook" fits as he too recorded a career best 3.96 at 188mph.

Steve Kirk Jr. scored a monster payday as Champion of Carolina Dragway's [Jackson, SC] Battle of the Big Dawgs 90K presented by Speedtech Nitrous.

The day started off as an outlaw heads up grudge type event with no qualifying, just simply two shakedown runs to feel out the track. The Friday night test session for all racers proved that this was going to be one for the record books. Joe Dunne unleashed a 3.95 at 187 mph pass to become the world’s quickest converter driven nitrous car. Not to be out done, Lee Adkins proved that the name "The House of Hook" fits as he too recorded a career best 3.96 at 188mph.

Saturday morning brought cloudy weather and some rain drops which put all crew chiefs on alert. How would the track be after the rain and how would the muggy air affect tune ups? It didn't take long to find out as Dwayne Silance on his first pass out with a brand new Jerry Bickel car clicked off a 4.02 185mph pass to set the stage for the remainder of the event. However when Adkins let go of the brake on his second shake down run 3.96 seconds later he was all smiles as a potent .980 sixty foot proved the first run was no fluke. At the end of the shakedown runs Lee Adkins was pacing the field with Chris Rini, Dwayne Silance, Tony Christian and a host of others close on his heels.

A driver’s meeting was called to draw names from a hat for qualifying to keep the outlaw grudge type event feel. The drivers decided also with only 20 cars entered to get all bye runs out of the way first round. However all cars must make side by side runs for the fans. The fans got a treat as each racer laid it all on the line to see just how fast they could go. Lee Adkins again was the quickest of the round with a 3.98 second pass with all other drivers in the 4.0 range.

Second round brought the true "Dawg" fight as two cars go down and only one would come back. Every car down the track was a side by side race to decide the winner. The slowest E.T in second round was from the "Hitman" himself Mike Hill with a 4.09 second pass. Round 3 was a heart breaker as Lee Adkins attempted to fire his car to take on Ronnie Gardner, a loud boom echoed through the entire track as the manifold on his Reher-Morrison powered Camaro popped from back pressure which put his chances on hold till next year.

The drama really started to build as the semi finals rolled to the line. Joe Dunne with a 4.02 would have lane choice over Mike Hill with a 4.04, the other pairing would pit Steve Kirk Jr. giving lane choice to Ronnie Gardner with a stout 4.01 on a 135 degree track. As Kirk rolled to the line, Gardner was having a small problem as his nitrous purge solenoid was stuck. With $60,000 on the line you have to take chances, when the green light dropped it was all Kirk as he took a .033 reaction and a 4.02 E.T. all the way to the finals over Gardner's .062 reaction and 4.05 E.T. Kirk took the win but at what cost, death smoke trailed the car through the shut down area as Kirk and crew would visit the piston goddess in the pits.

The other side of the ladder was a barn burner, Mike Hill knew he would need some luck to get the win light and he created his own luck with a starting line advantage that was unstoppable. The Hitman lived up to his name with a stellar .017 reaction to Dunne's .111. Dunne hit the “here I come button” quick as the blue flames were way out the side but it wasn't enough as Hill took the hole shot win with a 4.02 E.T. over a much quicker 3.97 185mph charge by Dunne.   
 
In the pits, Steve Kirk found 4 burnt pistons in his Rex & Allen Green owned Stroupe Race Cars 1963 Corvette. Mike Hill being the sportsman he is, said the fans came to see a race so he would wait all night if needed to run the final. Kirk's crew went to work in a hurry and 2 hours later the finals rolled to the line.

In front of the largest crowd in Carolina Dragway History, over 10,000 fans were all on their feet to see who would take home the $60,000 winner take all day payday. Long smoky burnouts and lots of nitrous purging brought the all Gene Fulton powered final to the staging beams. Can the "Hitman" drill the tree again or can Kirk take the green tint off the bulb? Just a 1/8 mile away awaits a one of a kind designed Speedtech Nitrous trophy and bragging rights for a year. The tree drops and Hill did it again with a .009 reaction but Kirk wanted it just as bad with a .017 reaction. The scoreboards lit up with Kirk getting the win 4.022 180mph to Hill's 4.047 183mph. The finish line advantage was just .017 of a second. The fans were going crazy as it couldn't have been scripted any better with the closest racing of the day in the final round.

"We couldn't have asked for a better event or a better race track to race on than here today, the track never changed all day from 135 degree track temps to the finals when the track was 95 degrees. I test here all the time and this is why. I have to thank my crew, they worked their tails off all day and Rex and Allen Green for all their help. I couldn't be happier" said Steve Kirk Jr. in the winner’s circle.

This event will be an annual event at Carolina Dragway. 2011 promises to pay even more to the winner as event planning is now underway for the 2nd annual Speedtech Nitrous "Battle of the Big Dawgs".