Carolina Classic Modified Production

[Tabitha Draughon]

Coming up this Saturday, October 14th will be our 3rd event of the 2023 season at Darlington Dragway. If you want to see small cubic inch engines with high RPM's as well as gear jamming, you want to be there on Saturday. We are hoping this is our biggest turnout so far for the year.
Gates will open on Friday evening for a track hosted test-n-tune from 7 p.m.-10:30 p.m. On Saturday, gates open at 8 a.m. with time runs beginning at 10 a.m. On Saturday, there will only be 3 classes racing until a track rental begins at 4 p.m. There will be Carolina Classic Modified Production, CCRA-Carolina Class Racers Association, & Super Gas Association Southeast, Inc. so you will have a variety of cars to see competing.

* $200.00 entry fee; 100% payout
* 2 qualifying runs
* $100.00 Low Qualifier
* Cars will be laddered
* ALL cars will be weighed upon teching in & then winner & runner-up will be weighed

*** All Carolina Classic Modified Production cars will need to be brought to the CCRA-Carolina Class Racers Association pink tent/registration area to be teched for the race. It is your responsibility to handle this before the 1st qualifying run.

SPECIAL THANKS to our sponsors for this mini series in 2023:
Strawberry Motor Company (Strawberry Dixon), GBM Land & Construction (Brodie & Gary McKee), Wayside Landscapes & Supply (Brad Butler), G-Force South (Roby Myrick), & Renegade Race Fuels & Lubricants/ Ford's Fuel and Propane.

We look forward to seeing everyone this weekend at Darlington Dragway.

[Tabitha Draughon]

We are racing this weekend at Darlington Dragway. If we are unable to start on Saturday at our scheduled time, we will get on the track as soon as possible. We are allowed to run within the track rental on Saturday evening/night, & we also have Sunday to complete everything.

Get 'em loaded up & head south! Let's put on one heck of a show for Jeff miles & his crew at Darlington Dragway.

See y'all soon!!!

[Tabitha Draughon]

Racers you will pay your entry fees at the CCRA pink registration tent. You will only pay for your crew members at the gate.

[Tabitha Draughon]

Darlington Dragway Race Report:

We rolled into Darlington Dragway on Friday afternoon for our 3rd Carolina Classic Modified Production Series race of the season. Only 1 of our racers decided to participate in the track hosted test-n-tune & the results was the track was "too good". Due to Mother Nature, we didn't get to see the track until later Saturday afternoon /evening. We had 4 cars in attendance on Saturday (Steve Johnson, Strawberry Dixon, Darrell Lail, & Robbie Draughon). During Q1, once again the track proved to be almost too good & a couple of our drivers had difficult times getting down the track. First pairing was Strawberry Dixon (after only having a few hours of sleep over the last few days because racecar) & Robbie Draughon. Robbie decided he wanted to see what both lanes of the track felt like during the same pass & visited Strawberry's lane whereas both drivers had to abort their runs to save both cars. Robbie didn't receive an ET & Strawberry ran a 7.7170 at 57.41 mph (1.707 above his 6.01 index). Darrell Lail & Steve Johnson were next in the waterbox & both had a front row seat to the action 🫣. Steve also had issues at the hit & ran a 7.1318 a 68.37 mph (0.9318 above) while Darrell decided to show out & run a 5.4169 at 127.62 mph on his 6.01 index (0.5931 under). While we were in the lanes for Q2, the dew starting falling quicker than expected on the top end so racers & Carolina Classic Modified Production officials made the call to cancel for the evening due to safety concerns & complete everything on Sunday where weather was expected to be much better. Sunday morning rolls again & conditions are much better so we prepare for Q2. Unfortunately Strawberry wasn't able to stay until Sunday due to other obligations but we did gain a new racer for Sunday, Josh Barczy in his grandpa Jimmie's Flinstone Chevy II Nova. 3 of our 4 drivers get down the track with respectable #'s for Q2. Draughon lines up again Lail & we saw a good side-by-side run. Robbie went a 5.3135 at 131.04 mph (0.5865 under his 5.90 index) & Lail goes 5.4352 at 127.95 mph (0.5748 under his 6.01 index. Johnson still has trouble getting down the track & doesn't better his run from Q1. He goes a 7.6075 at 61.56 mph (1.4075 above) while Josh goes right down broadway to clock his time at 5.9096 at 115.65 mph (0.4404 under his 6.35 index). Final qualifying order is now set & #1 & #2 are only 0.0066 apart. First round pairings are Lail (lane choice) versus Johnson & Draughon (lane choice) versus Barczy. Darrell also collects the $100.00 for #1 Qualifier. Unfortunately E1 was ran & then had to be re-ran due to a minor timing system error but all drivers understood & wanted the race to be fair. 1st pair out was Robbie vs. Josh. Josh turned on the dreaded red bulb at the hit handing the easy win over to Robbie. Josh did better his ET in R1 running a 5.9027 at 115.74 mph as well as Robbie running a 5.2800 at 132.00 mph. Steve was late at the tree but finally made a somewhat decent pass down the track, 5.5892 at 123.66 mph on his 6.20 index (0.6108 under) & Darrell took the win running 5.4082 at 127.51 mph (0.6018 under). In the finals we find Lail & Draughon, both in their 2nd finals of the season & both have been bridesmaids so one of them are going to get their 1st Carolina Classic Modified Production Win of the season. Both had a pretty good run but Draughon sat on the tree due to car trying to push through the beams & Lail came out with the biggest Carolina Classic Modified Production payday of the year. Darrell had a .0474 RT & ran a 5.4136 at 128.53 mph (0.5964 under). Robbie was .2896 at the hit 😴😴😴 but ran his best ET with this engine combination clocking a 5.2334 at 131.66 mph (0.6666 under). If you read the CCRA-Carolina Class Racers Association write up about Korey Alexander's angel riding with him, you might say Chris showed his presence at Darlington with Robbie as well. RIP Brother, you are missed!! Darrell picked up his 1st Carolina Classic Modified Production handmade trophy built by Robbie & Tabitha & his trailer check sponsored by Mj Custom Printing & Graphics.

Our final race for the year is Saturday, November 18th at Coastal Plains Raceway Park Dragway. We will be having our Thanksgiving feast at this event as well. Let's go out with a bang & have the biggest turnout of the season & gain headway going into 2024! An 8 car field sure would be nice & the weather should be cool so the #'s should reflect.

[Tabitha Draughon]

Coming up this weekend is the final 2 races of our 2023 CCRA-Carolina Class Racers Association season which also means "Championship Weekend"! We will be making our 3rd trip of the year to Coastal Plains Raceway Park Dragway & the weather is looking good. Gates will open on Friday from 3 p.m.-8 p.m. for parking.

Saturday, November 18th: Gates open at 10 a.m. with time trails beginning at 11 a.m. The classes competing on Saturday is Carolina Classic Modified Production, CCRA-Carolina Class Racers Association, TOP, & MOD. Our Friendsgiving is also on Saturday. We will play it by ear as to what time to plan to eat based on how racing action is going. Doyle Evans Realty, owned & operated by our own Mr. Doyle Evans is the Saturday title race sponsor. If you are needing any help in the real estate market, be sure to get in touch with him. Brister Racing; another one of our racers Mr. Al Brister, is the Saturday associate sponsor. If y'all remember from Darlington Dragway, I mentioned that his wife Mrs. Teresa had had some medical issues. We hope & pray that both of them are able to be in attendance this weekend as drag racing is the best medicine needed right now for Mr. Teresa.

Sunday, November 19th: Gates open at 10 a.m., church service is at 11 a.m., & new entries for brackets/@ CCRA-Carolina Class Racers Association Dash for Cash at 12 noon. The Sunday title event sponsor is H&f performance, Doug & Katie Hobgood. This should be there first race following their retirement so we definitely look forward to having them with us. The associate sponsor for Sunday is B & D Automotive. I apologize for not having a logo for them to upload. This business is owned by Danny Perry & is an automotive repair shop in Sims, NC.
As always, please review the list of CCRA-Carolina Class Racers Association sponsors when you are in need of services as this businesses need us just as much as the CCRA-Carolina Class Racers Association needs them!

We look forward to seeing everyone this weekend at Coastal Plains Raceway Park Dragway.

[Tabitha Draughon]

Coastal Plains Raceway Park Dragway Race Report:

This past Saturday we finished our first season for the Carolina Classic Modified Production at Coastal Plains Raceway Park Dragway. This was our 2nd trip to Coastal this year. We had 5 cars show up for this final race. (Steve Johnson CM, Robbie Draughon AM, Mark Moreland DM, Strawberry Dixon BM, & Darrel Lail BM) The weather was perfect & the action on the track was even better! During Q1, Steve went a 5.574 (0.626), Robbie tried to give me a heart attack yet again by taking the "scenic route", Mark went 5.888 (0.462), Strawberry went 5.577 (0.433), & Darrel had some issues but still had a pass going 6.293. Four of the five racers improved on their runs from Q1 during Q2. Final qualifying was set after Q2. Getting the #1 Qualifier Award for the 2nd time this season was Robbie Draughon, going a 5.21618 on his 5.90 index (-0.68382), #2 went to Steve Johnson 5.54420 on his 6.20 index (-0.65580), #3 was Darrel Lail 5.44438 on his 6.01 index (-0.56562), #4 Mark Moreland 5.85266 on his 6.35 index (-0.49734) & finishing out was #5 Strawberry Dixon 5.57778 on his 6.01 index (-0.43222). Ladder was established & it put a "heads up" matchup between #3 Lail & #5 Dixon (BM), #2 Johnson CM & #4 Moreland DM, with Draughon on the Bye. First pair out was Steve & Mark with Steve taking the win although he took a nap on the starting line. Steve improved his Q2 run during Round 1 where he went a 5.465 at 123.24 mph (-0.735) & Mark went a 5.847 at 116.70 mph (-0.503). Draughon then attempted to take his bye run but had to abort his run & coast to the finish line. Strawberry & Darrell were next up but unfortunately Strawberry's car failed to crank in the staging lanes giving the automatic win to Lail. Darrell went a 5.434 at 126.58 mph (-0.576). Round #2 will be Lail with lane choice over Draughon & Johnson on the bye to the finals. Darrell gave this one away at the hit when he turned on the red light by -0.048 & Robbie once again had a few issues getting down the track. Steve went right down broadway on his bye run & once again improved his performance. He went a 5.458 at 124.73 mph (-0.742). The last finals of the 2023 season is set between Steve Johnson & Robbie Draughon with Johnson of course having lane choice. I have to say this was probably one of the best races of this season! Both drivers went their fastest ET with their current engine combinations & gave the fans a great finals to watch. Steve came out on top for the 3rd time this year out of 4 races & Robbie got the bridesmaid position, also for the 3rd time out of 4 races.

Darrel made the homemade trophy for the final race of the season & I want to say a special THANK YOU to him for that awesome trophy that Steve can add to his collection as well as the trailer check sponsored by Mj Custom Printing & Graphics.

This series was quickly put together by Robbie & Tabitha Draughon, Leigh Anne Flynt, Mark Jones, & Dave Ley & only had 4 races this year. We had had tremendous response from the racers that have attended this year & are wanting this series to continue in 2024. There will be a schedule released very soon with a total of 6 races in 24. There will be a rules meeting in January. We would like to have several more sponsors come on board for the 2024 season. If you know of a business that would like to get some exposure, please have them to reach out to me!
Thank you to Steve Johnson, Robbie Draughon, Strawberry Dixon, Darrell Lail, Mark Moreland, Josh Barczy, & Gary McKee for your support this year!!!