Despite racing with heavy hearts after losing one of their own to an early-morning accident, American Drag Racing League (ADRL) competitors still managed to turn in thrilling, record-setting performances for the Apr. 23-24, ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI at South Georgia Motorsports Park (SGMP).

Veterans Jason Scruggs and Mike Castellana led the way with wins in Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous and Ashley Owens absolutely dominated the Pro Extreme Motorcycle class from start to finish all weekend long. Extreme 10.5 and Extreme Pro Stock produced first-time winners in Todd Moyer and Steven Boone, respectively, as did the Pro Jr. Dragster class won by Jordan Arnold in near-perfect fashion.

Raceday sadly opened with an accident in the pit area of Pro Nitrous racer Blake Housley that critically injured team co-owner Mike Walker, who was pronounced dead shortly afterward at Memorial Hospital of Adel at nearby Adel, Georgia.

Mike Walker, a co-owner of Blake Housley’s Pro Nitrous team, was critically injured this morning in the pit area of the ADRL Georgia Drags at South Georgia Motorsports Park. Walker was pronounced dead shortly afterward at Memorial Hospital of Adel in nearby Adel, Georgia.

Jason Scruggs characterizes his relationship with the racing surface at South Georgia Motorsports Park as one of love and hate. The facility outside of Valdosta, Ga., has provided the two-time Pro Extreme champion with some of the best memories of his racing career. On the other hand, it’s also hosted some of his least favorites.

“I love the track, but sometimes it can get tricky,” said Scruggs, who often tests at SGMP on off days. “Just the overall place is really good, it’s flat in the pits. But … we have had a few things go wrong over the years.

“At the end of the day, the good memories outweigh the bad ones.”

Pro Modified icon Charles Carpenter describes the paint scheme on his 1955 Chevy as a mix of the U.S. Army, hot rods of the past and a wild guess.

Carpenter’s classic Chevrolet is in primer, albeit an odd style of primer.

“We’re just in-between body shops,” Carpenter said, explaining the odd paint job. “I got home with the car on Monday night before the event. We took all day Tuesday to put the car together in order to leave on Wednesday.”

When Sheikh Khalid Al-Thani of Qatar covered the eighth mile at South Georgia Motorsports Park (SGMP) in just 3.63 seconds at 212.49 miles per hour Apr. 23, he became the quickest and fastest “doorslammer” driver in the world. The record-setting run also secured for him the provisional number-one Pro Extreme starting position for the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI.

Also sitting on top of their respective classes with a fourth and final qualifying session scheduled for Saturday morning are Al-Thani’s Al-Anabi Racing teammate Burton Auxier in Pro Nitrous, Gary White in Extreme 10.5, Pro Extreme Motorcycle star Ashley Owens and Pete Berner in Extreme Pro Stock.

On a day when carnage was king, Extreme Pro Stock frontrunner Pete Berner emerged unscathed. Considering he’s using an engine outside of his comfort zone Berner feels fortunate.

Berner, of Crete, Ill., drove his way to the provisional No. 1 spot at the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags hosted by South Georgia Motorsports Park in Valdosta, Ga.

Nine Goliaths and one David battled for supremacy in the Extreme 10.5 division during first day qualifying at the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags. In the end, the smart money was on kid with a slingshot and a stone.

Gary White, who drives a Toyota Scion powered by an inline-six cylinder, 190 cubic inch engine, killed two birds with one stone as he not only took the top spot in qualifying but also became the fourth driver in the history of the class to dip into the three-second range with a 3.996 at 182.45 mph.

Pro Extreme racer Cody Barklage walked away from a fiery crash during the second qualifying session at the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags on Friday afternoon.

“I’m alright, just starting to get a little bit of a headache,” said Barklage, the younger of two brothers racing this weekend in the Pro Extreme division. “My neck is a bit sore but that’s to be expected.”

Barklage left the starting line in what could be categorized as a typical Pro Extreme run, when the car inexplicable and without warning shot from the left lane and directly into the right lane concrete barrier. The force of the impact ignited a major alcohol fire which engulfed both the car and the track.

Jim Halsey understands what it’s like to be on the cusp of drag racing history. The veteran Pro Nitrous racer from Havre De Grace, Md., was the first to drive a nitrous doorslammer into the five-second zone during the 2008 season.

Halsey is on the verge of another doorslammer milestone and if all goes well this weekend, he could become the first to drive a nitrous car over 200 miles per hour in 660-feet.

His first shot in qualifying, yielded a 196.76 mile per hour blast, which coupled with a 3.895 elapsed time put him atop the provisional field at the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags in Valdosta, Ga.