While a pair of brothers from Missouri continued their recent stranglehold on the Aeromotive Nitro Coupe tour, several local drivers held on to capture top honors in the other racing classes.
Cody Barklage from Eldon, Mo. extended the Barklage family's grip on the Aeromotive Nitro Coupe tour, when his 2006 GTO left the line with a .057 reaction time and completed the run with a 6.343 elapsed time at 213.56. His opponent, Doug Winters from Kernersville, N.C., lost traction as he left the line and finished his run in 14.851 seconds at 57.12 mph.
Barklage and his brother, Zach, have dominated the Nitro Coupes of late and their performance at Bristol Dragway was no exception. Zach's 1957 Bel-Air was the fastest qualifier of the weekend when he ran the strip with a 6.155 E.T. at 225.67 mph in Saturday's qualifying session.
In Bracket I, Kingsport's Tommy Hall used a .003 reaction time to best Bakersville, N.C.'s Jeremy Honeycutt. Hall's 1968 Camaro ran a little closer to the dial-in, finishing the run in 6.038 seconds at 113.78 mph. Honeycutt's dragster left the line with a .035 R.T. and finished the run in 4.837 seconds at 140.83 mph.
Bracket II action saw Church Hill's Cody Spears defeat Martin Adkinson of Trenton, S.C. The 1965 Chevy II of Spears combined a .071 R.T. with an 8.882 E.T. at 77.61 mph to best Adkinson's 1971 Nova. Adkinson left the line with a .009 R.T. and passed through the finish line in 10.969 seconds at 61.29 mph.
Huston Kneece of Vancluse, S.C. claimed DOT Street Tire action. His 1978 Chevy ran the final round in 18.088 seconds at 74.37 mph. Matt Hinkle from Cola, S.C. tried to run down Kneece but came up just a little short. Hinkle left the line with a .063 R.T. and completed the quarter-mile in 14.099 seconds at 97.57 mph.
In Junior Dragster Division I, Coty Blankenship from Hurley, Va. collected the win after Taylor Wallace of Travelers Rest, S.C. received a red light disqualification. Blankenship's .119 R.T., coupled with an 8.681 E.T. at 72.96 mph, was good enough to lift him into victory lane.
Before 2008 begins, Bristol Dragway has a few more big events on tap for 2007. Thunder Valley will remain busy, as fans of Mopar-badged vehicles will have their weekend Sept. 28-30 when the Eighth Annual Hensley Performance Mopar Thunder rolls into town. Thunder Valley will be filled with everything Mopar, including the popular Mopar vs. The World, which is open to all manufacturers.
The final Sunoco Thunder Valley Shootouts race will occur on Saturday, Oct. 6, with the last two Street Fights of the season scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 2 and Thursday, Oct. 4.
For more information about Mopar Thunder, please call 423.764.DRAG or visit the Mopar Thunder Event Page.
O'REILLY'S SUPER CHEVY SHOW presented by JEG'S RESULTS, September 22-23 | |||||
| Driver, Hometown | Car | RE | DI | ET | MPH |
| AEROMOTIVE NITRO COUPES | |||||
| W- Cody Barklage, Eldon, MO | 2006 GTO | 0.06 | N/A | 6.343 | 213.16 |
| R- Doug Winters, Kernersville, NC | 1957 Chevy | 0.12 | N/A | 14.851 | 57.12 |
| BRACKET 1 | |||||
| W- Tommy Hall, Kingsport, TN | 1968 Camaro | .003 | 6.00 | 6.038 | 113.78 |
| R- Jeremy Honeycutt, Bakersville, NC | Innovative Dragster | .035 | 4.82 | 4.837 | 140.83 |
| BRACKET 2 | |||||
| W- Cody Spears, Church Hill, TN | 1965 Chevy II | .071 | 8.88 | 8.882 | 77.61 |
| R- Martin Adkinson, Trenton, SC | 1971 Nova | .009 | 10.97 | 10.969 | 61.29 |
| DOT STREET TIRE | |||||
| W- Huston Kneece, Vancluse, SC | 1978 Chevy | .070 | 17.99 | 18.088 | 74.37 |
| R- Mike Hinkle, Cola, SC | 1986 Corvette | .063 | 13.98 | 14.099 | 97.57 |
| JUNIOR DRAGSTER DIVISION 1 | |||||
| W- Coty Blankenship, Hurley, VA | 2006 Mike Bos | .119 | 8.66 | 8.681 | 72.96 |
| R- Taylor Wallace, Travelers Rest, SC | N/A | -.002 | 8.10 | 8.115 | 79.79 |