Short Circuit 2026: Drag-And-Drive Mayhem At George Ray’s Wildcat Dragstrip

Drag Drive Repeat hosted the Short Circuit 2026 presented by DeatschWerks, at George Ray’s Wildcat Dragstrip over the weekend of Nov. 6-7. This drag-and-drive style event in Paragould, Arkansas, brought 220-plus participants (116 race cars) to one of the most infamous tracks in the country. The collection of cars at this event came from as far as Virginia, Georgia, Texas, Illinois, Ohio, and more. Everything from gassers to Adam Hodson’s GapTrain made passes on this historic strip of concrete poured a paycheck at a time back in the early 1960s.

Regional events are meant to provide a welcoming atmosphere for newcomers and a laid-back experience for veteran racers. Weekend events allow racers to add even more opportunities to their calendar. Short Circuit was no different, with the field being a great mix of newbies and veterans alike. The variety of cars that attended was as eclectic as the track itself. Cars like Mark Richardson’s Camaro in Power Adder all the way to Patrick Sixt’s lifted 4WD El Camino in You vs. You truly made the grass pits a car show.

George Ray’s Wildcat Dragstrip is like Brown County’s big brother — it has some hair on its chest and knows how to party. The atmosphere is like no other track in the country. From a surface that was poured with every weekly paycheck more than 60 years ago, to the Christmas lights that run the length of the chain-link fence and railroad ties that line the track, to the No Pissy Attitudes sign that is under the tower, this place has a whole vibe.

Tyler Russom manages the track, and he is also George Ray’s grandson. He grew up here. He knows every inch of this place and has done, and continues to do, every job at the track. He greets and talks to everyone at the track. He is seemingly everywhere, all the time. It was incredible.

The racing lived up to the hype, with many of the racers crossing the line, or spinning the tires on the hit or at 300 feet, in races so close you couldn’t call them from the starting line. With no win light, announcer Cliff Parvin may have been the most important person on the property in the heads-up races.

Drag Drive Repeat followed the traditional drag-and-drive formula, with racers making passes on Friday, driving 100-plus miles on Saturday morning, and racing again on Saturday night. The Mississippi River Delta in fall lends itself to great photo opportunities, like cotton bales, huge expanses of flat fields, and of course, historic landmarks. The route stops for this trip included Love’s Travel Stop, the historic Greyhound Bus Depot in Blytheville, and one of the last remaining state line arches in the country as the racers entered Missouri.

The Short Circuit was broken into eight classes: five traditional drag-and-drive class formats based on the average of two passes (one from Friday and one from Saturday), and three classes inspired by the Back to the Streets event. BTTS is the only way in drag-and-drive to go heads-up racing each day of the event. Racers are then split into a winners and losers bracket.

The quickest of the traditional classes was Power Adder by Missouri Transmission & Gear, with many racers running low 6s and high 5s. On Day One, Michael Hailey and Jarrod Aspegren held the top two spots with 6.0-second passes, followed by Anthony Foster at 6.12 and Logan McIntosh at 6.26. But after the 100-mile street drive, Mark Richardson and his 1967 Camaro was much quicker than the seventh-place 6.455 he left Friday with.

The Camaro made huge strides on Saturday and netted Mark the class win with a 5.875, the quickest pass of the traditional classes. His average finished at 6.165, just 0.027 ahead of second-place Anthony Foster’s 6.192. Both racers have played this game before and know that thousandths matter. Places three through six were separated by just 0.09, with Logan McIntosh in third at 6.204, Kobe Smith in fourth at 6.264, Michael Hailey in fifth at 6.283, and Payton Futrell rounding out the list at 6.296. Power Adder hosted 17 racers.

Tailgate presented by Cornerstone Performance Transmissions had a bunch of S10s duking it out behind Robert Lamparek’s twin-turbo, Coyote-powered 2024 F-150. Robert finished Southeast Street-N-Yeet just 10 days earlier and drove the truck home in 4WD, with only the front wheels powering the truck after a run that deleted the driveshaft.

With overnighted parts and a strong work ethic, he made the trip from Ohio to Arkansas, and it paid off with the class win at a 6.338 average. He also ran the quickest pass of the class by nearly four-tenths. Matthew Sist took second with a 6.63 average, followed by Dustyn Caudle at 6.754. Dustyn was in the first race of the event and had a wild ride that resulted in a grudge match loss to Cody Ham in the Mailman Jeep.

The weather was perfect for the guys and girls who like their power naturally aspirated. With a low DA and cool weather, the All Motor class presented by US Motorworks was ripe for quick ETs. Chad Maggard showed that light weight and a big motor are how to win the class. He left Friday in fourth after submitting a 6.712 in the Ford Courier. But Saturday proved to be his day, with the 408-cubic-inch Windsor and Powerglide pushing the 2,200-pound truck down the track in 6.174 seconds for a 6.443 average. Corey Pant in his Duster finished second at a 6.486 average after submitting a 6.44 and 6.533. John Daugherty landed in third with a 6.533 average in the Nova, repping the Gearhead Perspective Podcast banner.

The 6.50 Index class presented by LS Customz was an incredible class to watch. With no timing boards, it was a blast to see the results come together. The top four racers finished within 0.0245 of each other. Joshua Peterson took home the trophy with his 6.539 average after submitting a 6.530 on Day One and 6.548 on Day Two. Joshua’s 6.53 was the quickest pass of the class. Second place, behind by just 0.018 seconds, goes to Paul Polizzo with a 6.557 average from 6.554 and 6.56 timeslips. Third place is held by Hunter McQueen at 6.5575. Yes, just 0.0005 behind second. And Michael Hollis rounds out the top four of the class with his 6.5635 average.

The Stick Shift class had the third-largest car count at 13. BJ Bax took the win in his 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass at a 7.207 average, with the quickest pass of the class at 7.04 on Day One and a 7.374 on Day Two. Rich Van Allen took home second in his Corvette at 7.822. Third and fourth were separated by just 0.001, with Wade Sunderland finishing with a 7.876 to Sean Fling’s 7.877 average. Sean should have been quicker, but a head gasket explosion at the starting line put the team into overdrive to get it fixed before the racing ended on Day One.

The traditional classes saw some very tight standings, the closest of all being You vs. You, which is centered around being the most consistent racer on the property. The spread between each racer’s quickest and slowest pass determines the standings. With just one pass to submit from each day, this class was destined to put racers on edge because every thousandth would matter. The top 20 in the class finished with a spread tighter than 0.10 of a second, and 39 of the 45 racers finished with less than a half-second spread. Bobby Bell put the Under Funded 1964 Chevy Nova Gasser in the top spot with a 0.002 spread from his 8.637 pass on Day One and 8.635 from Day Two. Mike Turner took second at 0.007 with his 7.410 and 7.417 passes in his 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger. Chris Taylor took third at 0.01 in his 500-plus-horsepower 2019 Ford Explorer. Chris Wozniak and April Barker battled for fourth, with Chris coming out on top with his 0.016 to her 0.017 spread.

You can’t bring a bunch of gearheads to George Ray’s Wildcat Dragstrip and not run some kind of heads-up racing. Two classes inspired by the Back to the Streets drag-and-drive event were run during the event. Racers drew chips to pair up across three rounds of racing on Friday night, with the racers who won two or more races headed for a four-car shootout on Saturday to determine the class winner.

These racers still had to complete the street-driven portion of the event to race on Saturday. These classes were invite-only and were full of heavy hitters in their respective fields. The OG Small Tire class had Adam Hodson, Travis Martin, Shawn Fensler, Peter Cisler, Jacoby Betts, Bradley Hodson, Gary Vardaman, and Kody Kutz. The 6.50 Index was equally stacked with Redhat Scotty, Scott Barker, Chucky Skinner, Casey Banner, Chris Fecher, Steve Rzewnicki, Joey Tjarks, and Casey Matthews.

The 6.50 Index class had some really tight racing, especially since there were no timing boards. Many races were settled by thousandths of a second. The winner class consisted of Joey Tjarks (three wins), Steve Rzewnicki (three wins), Redhat Scotty (two wins), and Casey Matthews (two wins). The remaining racers paired up in the second chance race. In the winner class, Redhat Scotty beat Steve Rzewnicki, and Joey Tjarks got a competition bye because Casey Matthews was home with family obligations. The final of the winner class went to Redhat Scotty. Chucky Skinner took home the title of losers’ winner.

The OG Small Tire class was full of side-by-side mayhem. With no ET index to worry about and the track the best it had been all weekend, the guys had as much power as possible in the cars. The winner’s class consisted of Shawn Fensler (three wins) and Travis Martin, Gary Vardaman, and Adam Hodson (two wins each). Gary Vardaman got a competition bye for round one. Shawn Fensler outran Adam Hodson. The second chance race came down to Jacoby Betts and Bradley Hodson for the final, with Jacoby taking the win. Shawn Fensler took home the winner’s class trophy and bragging rights.

The event was an incredible success and had the second-largest car count for the track during the 2026 season. Everything ran smoothly, and all the racers were focused on having a good time. Tyler and the Drag Drive Repeat team are already working on the 2027 return of the Short Circuit drag-and-drive to George Ray’s Wildcat Dragstrip. You can expect a fall timeline and more information coming very soon.