The last day of the 2014 installment of the Holley National Hot Rod Reunion presented by AAA Insurance took place at Beech Bend Raceway Park on Saturday and provided one final day of classic cars and nostalgic quarter mile drag racing.
 
Eliminations in each of the racing categories took place during the day as well the honoring the winners that took part in the car show portion of the event.
 
In Nostalgia Top Fuel, Tony Bartone was aiming to continue his dominance of the field which has dated back to almost two seasons as he faced Bill Dunlap in the final. Both cars launched at the hit of the throttle but Bartone had to pedal his car downtrack, which allowed Dunlap to speed away for the victory. Dunlap posted a winning time of 5.733 seconds at 251.95 mph to the trailing run of 6.152 at 203.61 by Bartone.
 
In the other categories raced during the weekend, Odie Coker won in Jr. Fuel, Jeff Sanborn won 7.0 Pro, Wayne Sears took home the top spot in 7.5 Pro. In Competition Eliminator Don Loechel was the winner, Nick Dishon took the title in Gas Eliminator and Sam Yeater was the Modified Eliminator champion. Nostalgia Super Stock was secured by Bruce Sammet, Tom Mattingly won Top Stock Eliminator with Kenny Pease winning the Hot Rod Eliminator category. Gary Raber took home the title in the Geezer Gasser category. Mickey Hale won the Classic AA/Gas category and Junior Ward took home the top spot in Nostalgia AA/Gas. 
 
The deserving winners of the car show were presented their awards following the conclusion on racing on Saturday. The winners were:
Grand Marshall’s Pick – Pent Guidry, Madisonville, La., 1941 Willys Crusier 
Honorees Pick – Stan Young, Springfield, Tenn., 1934 Ford Two Door Sedan
Holley Pick – David Riley, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 1969 Camaro SS
Axalta Pick – Mark Fulks, Mt. Juliet, Tenn., 1970 Chevy Custom Truck
Early Iron – Shane Lile, Shepherdsville, Ky., 1927 Ford
Thrilling 30’s – Jason Graham, Portland, Tenn., 1931 Ford
Fabulous 40’s – Mike and Diane McLemore, 1940 Chevy Coupe
Finest 50’s – Tasha Graham, Portland, Tenn., 1950 Mercury
Sensational 60’s – Lloyd and Janice Brekke, Lakeland, Fla., 1965 Corvair
Super 70’s – Rick McGee, Murray, Ky., 1971 442 Oldsmobile
One of a kind – Justin Beem, Loganville, Ga., 1944 Chevy Cab Over
Period Correct – Steve Nanney, Paducah, Ky., 1953 Anglia
Most Uninsurable but street legal – Brent Greer, Louisville, Ky., 1963 Comet St. Gasser
Killer Kustom – Eric Brown, Lynchburg, Tenn., 1951 Ford F1 Black Custom Truck
Memory Lane – Bill Akin, Bardhall Special Kortes
Timeless Tradition – Bob Lathery, Jeff, Ind., 1932 Ford Roadster
Director’s Award – Scott Roberst, McDonald Tenn., 1959 VW Beetle Turbo Charged
Dazzling Deuce – Ron Thorpe, Glenndale, Md., 1932 Ford 5 Window Coupe
 
The evening came to a thunderous close as the sounds of nitro powered machines filled Beech Bend during the annual Cacklefest which closes the event. A capacity grandstand was filled with fans as the classic hot rods from days past came to life to close the event for 2015.
 
“We enjoy our time each year in Bowling Green and once again this was a tremendously successful event,” said Steve Gibbs, event director. “The tradition and rich history of the NHRA is always presented at this event and those in attendance were able to enjoy in a world class facility.”