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After all the talk, all the planning, and long winter months of preparation, the most anticipated heads-up drag race of the season is finally upon, as small-tire door slammer racers from all across the nation have descended upon the South Georgia Motorsports Park for the fifth edition of the infamous “Night The Light Went Out In Georgia” promoted by the one and only Donald Long ad his Duck X Productions. Bigger and badder than ever, Lights Out V will feature the best of the best in Radial versus The World, X275, Nitrous X, Ultimate Street and many other hotly-contested categories. We’ll be in the house all weekend long bringing you the coverage as only the team at Dragzine can, so stay tuned right here!
A special thanks to our new event coverage presenting sponsor, Comp Cams! To learn more about Comp, as well as their many industry-renowned brands, via their home on the web at compcams.com.
Micky Teesneer is based out of Oklahoma City and own Micky’s Chassis Works in Norman, Oklahoma. The shop has worked on several of the cars on Discovery channels Street Outlaw including Daddy Dave’s Sonoma and Doc’s Monte Carlo. Micky is running Capslock Oil Co./Proformance Racing Transmissions Leaf Spring powered by a 518 big Chevy from Mike Henson, boosted by an F2 Procharger backed with a two speed TH 400 trans from Ace Transmissions in Dallas Texas and M&M converter. This is the first event with the car and made the first runs on it here Sunday. We will have a full feature coming up on Dragzine after the race.
Mike Hupp used to run Heavy Street, OSCA and in OhioValley and now is taking a shot at PTC Radial vs. the World here at Lights Out V. He took a year and a half off to update the car and recently started racing Jr. Dragsters with his son. Andy Smith at Pro Tree Race Cars partnered with Hupp to go racing this year. Steve Schmidt built the engine which is backed by a Rossler trans and converter from M&M transmissions and boosted by a F3R 135 Procharger. The crew from left to right: Joe Linsey, Mike Hupp and Bob Cantrell.
Ricky Fox is sporting a new combo this weekend with a 5.2 bore space 894 cubic inch big Chevy on five guns. He has a prototype converter from Pro Torque and a Rossler transmission in the car and is looking to take back the stock suspension radial record. Crew this week is Lil Pick, Clyde and Ricky Fox.
Robert Baptista is here with a newish 2002 Camaro built in house at Baptista Race Cars and tuned by Patrick Barnhill of PTP. It’s powered by a 406 cubic inch small Chevy built by Mason’s Racing Engines with an F1-X Procharger backed by a Neal Chance converter and ATI transmission. Suspension is from Racecraft. Based out of New Bedford Mass. The crew this weekend is Robert Baptista, his father and Ryan Cordeiro.
J.R. Gibson gets the hardhip trip award for the day after driving through six hours of blizzard conditions in Ohio in four wheel drive to get here on Monday. He is running PTC Radial vs the World here at Lights Out V.
Kyle Huttell has a fresh engine from Taylor Lastor Race Engines and swapped to a Holley fuel injection for 2014. They are still working on the tune at the first race with the new set up.
Mark Kyger is here for some Radial vs. the World action with his NMCA legal Super Street 10.5 W Chevy II. He is looking for some other options to race with limited time to travel and this is the first race of the year for him. The car was originally built by Chassis Engineering with updates by AC Carcraft and a Ty Tech Performance big Chevy boosted by a pair of Precision turbos. The trans is a Bruno/Lenco with a Pro Torque converter.
Jeff Gibbud runs under the Real Speed Racing banner with shop owner Walt Drakeford in Induction Solutions/Ultimate Converter Concepts Ultimate Street. Walt and crew plumbed their own water injection system with parts from Devils Own using their own design in conjunction with Steve Johnson from Induction Solutions. Jeff’s combo is a 434 with 15 degree heads and nitrous with a glide from Trans Are Us and a PTC Converter. Charlie Pixley is helping Jeff tune the car and crew this weekend.
The Micky Thompson crew is already hard at work installing new tires for the racers. They will be working hard most of the weekend.
Wesley Hull hails from Pascagoula, Mississippi and is running Nitrous Outlet Nitrous X, a new class this year based around small block nitrous cars only. He is running a small Ford topped with Edelbrock Victor heads and a Pro Systems SV1 carb. Sponsors include LGM Racing and Development, SS Motorsports and Induction Solutions. Sam Vincent helped with the engine combo with Joel Vandevener assisting with engine assembly as well as the transmission with chassis done by Kenny Gunn. Wesley ran the car out to the full quarter mile during Wednesday's test session cutting a tire down after only two passes.
Vicksberg Mississippi racer Tommy Kelly had a little scrape with the wall testing last night after the steering wheel locked up during the run. He still uses the stock column and wheel and the lock pin stuck the steering. There was no major damage but the K member required some persuasion to straighten out. He runs a twin turbo 540 big Chevy from Huntsville Racing Engines, Sid Neal transmission with a Pro Torque converter chassis built by Hank Martin with Jimmy Blackmon doing the rear suspension. Crew chief is Victor Hoofman but he was unable to be here this weekend.
Rick Wetherby own this 1996 Impala SS running PTC Radial vs. the World this weekend in it’s debut. They have two runs so far in testing. Built by Chris Terry Racing with paint and body by Scott Brothers in Signal Mountain, Tennessee it’s powered by a 540 big block Chevy with twin 91’s and backed by a PTC Powerglide and converter. This car was originally built for Dragweek competition and will also be a feature coming up on Dragzine.com.
Round One Qualifying Results
Before we get into qualifying results this video from Hans Pierre at Free Life Films has to be posted. “The” Kevin Mullins put the crowd on it’s feet in Radial vs the World qualifying with an astounding 4.16 at 193 MPH, bumping Keith Berry’s 4.19 record by about three hundredths. Hans is working hard this week and got this video loaded from trackside, and when I say trackside I mean his laptop was sitting on the wall all day just in case something like thas happened. Congrats to Kevin and the whole team. They should have no issues backing that up this weekend.
Kevin Mullins took top honors in round one qualifying in RVW with a 4.16 at 193.21. The High Point North Carolina racer runs a 521 cubic inch Hemi fed by a pair of turbos out front.
Dwayne Mills was half the first pair out in PTC Radial vs. the World taking number one spot at the time with a 4.218 at 193.40. The MPH would hold through this round with Mills earning top MPH in class so far.
Jeff Colletta is running Big Stuff X 275 at Lights Out V and was wondering if he was even going to be able to run this morning and waiting on a resolution to the cold nitrous technology some racers are using. Iwill have more on that controversy Friday. He was given the ok this afternoon and landed sixteenth in the forty three car deep field running a 4.85 clicking it off early at just 120. MPH. Thirty two will qualify for the race.
Tony Ridenour is running X275 this weekend with a new car, formerly driven by Amanda Howe aka “Puddin”. The combo is a fuel injected 582 big Chevy from Taylor Lastor (TRE) in Cleveland, Texas. The car had no testing prior to the race so they are creeping up on the tune with Lastor behind the keyboard. It’s backed by a turbo 4oo trans from Dave Klayput at Proformance Racing Transmissions and a PTC Converter. Crew this weekend is Wendel, Skinny Dave, Irwin Rackley and Tony.
Brian McGhee put his Fulton powered 85 Mustang on the Mac Fab Outlaw 275 pole running a 4.38 at 162 MPH with a 1.10 60’. You can see the car was on the power early shooting out those pretty flames.
Joe Garza runs this clean Mustang out of Richmond, Texas in Induction Solutions Ultimate Street. He runs a naturally aspirated 605 cubic inch big block. His 5.87 at 130 puts him and the Stubbs Racing Stang in the field at thirtieth. They will be looking to improve tomorrow.
James Hovarth has been an early participant in the growing OL 632 class with his 68 Camaro. His 4.716 at 148 was good for fourth.
TRZ Outlaw 632 has seventeen cars on the qualifying sheet so far with Troy Blake top qualifier. Alex Shows (pictured) has top MPH at 161.
Mark Carlyle leads the Outlaw Drag Radial field of twenty one cars with a 4.39 at 174 MPH. The 427 cubic inch LS engine is fed by twin turbos and tuned by Patrick Barnhill.
