Donald Long’s Duck X Productions events always provide some big moments, but No Mercy 15 might have been the most action-packed event yet. This race featured the make-up points race for the Nocturnal Nationals, and was the season finale for the Radial Outlaw Racing Series (RORS). Every run mattered, making No Mercy 15 a small tire spectacle.

No Mercy took on an entirely different look since qualifying was being used to take care of the RORS Nocturnal Nationals event. This completely changed how the teams who were chasing a RORS championship approached qualifying. Instead of just racing the track, now each qualifying round was a real race if you kept winning. It added a big twist and made things more exciting at No Mercy.

The two fastest RORS classes didn’t disappoint during the race-within-a-race at No Mercy. Radial vs The World (RVW) standout Ken Quartuccio took advantage of the stellar conditions to grab the number two qualifying spot and win the Nocturnal Nationals. Jason Collins drove the Scott Tidwell-owned Camaro to the Pro 275 title for the Nocturnal Nationals, and also secured the number two qualifying spot for No Mercy.

Limited Drag Radial (LDR), X275, and Ultra Street each had a lot riding on the Nocturnal Nationals results. The points battles were all very tight coming into No Mercy, so racers in these classes were ready to throw down to get every point possible. In LDR, Kenny Hubbard picked up the Nocturnal Nationals win to set up an epic battle during No Mercy for the RORS title. Eric LaFerriere ripped through eliminations for the Nocturnal Nationals and earned a spot in the winner’s circle. Jessie Coulter won the Ultra Street title and used those points to set up a Saturday night showdown for the overall RORS championship.

Once the Nocturnal Nationals were settled, it was time to focus on No Mercy and how the points battles would shake out. The RORS has used a double points system for the final event each year. This makes the final event more interesting and opens up who can win a championship.

Some don’t like the idea of double points, but Long believes it really makes the series finale a can’t-miss event.

“Well, people either agree with the double points, or they don’t, they don’t like it at all, but it does make it where everybody has a shot at making a run for the championship. We want to do everything we can to make it exciting. If you don’t capture people’s attention, they’re not going to be interested in what you’re doing. The double points just elevate the final event, and it has made the series more competitive.”

Another thing that can be a factor in how a race plays out is the weather. The conditions for No Mercy were outstanding, and that allowed Long’s team to give the racers great opportunities to lay down big numbers each time they got a look at the track.

“The weather was phenomenal once the event started. We tried to set up the schedule to where the fast classes could run in the morning and after the sun went down. This gave us a chance to fill the day with all kinds of racing, while giving the RORS racers prime conditions to run. The fans love to see the big numbers and close racing. South Georgia Motorsports Park’s (SGMP) staff, along with the team at TVC kept the track as tight as possible. They worked really hard and it showed,” Long says.

Jeffrey Barker stepped into Steve Jackson’s RVW ride at No Mercy 15 and took full advantage of the opportunity. Barker ripped to the top of the field behind the wheel of The Shadow 3.0 with a 3.52 pass at 213 mph. During eliminations, Barker laid down a string of 3.50 passes to punch his ticket to the final round. On the other side of the ladder, number three qualifier Christopher Daniel went on his own tear of three-second passes to earn his way to the final round. Daniel had a lot to prove since he was able to secure the RVW RORS championship at No Mercy 15. In the final, Daniel grabbed a slight starting line advantage, but Barker and The Shadow 3.0 thundered passed him with a 3.52 run to Daniel’s 3.56 to pick up the No Mercy 15 win.

Pro 275 was an absolute war at No Mercy 15. Multiple racers threw down runs in the 3.60s and low 3.70s, but Mo Hall went number one with a big 3.66 run. During eliminations, Hall continued his march towards the No Mercy 15 title and the RORS championship with a string of solid passes. In the final round, Hall ultimately fell to Australian racer Grantley Schloss on a hole shot. This was significant because it marked the first time an Australian won a major radial race in the United States.

The most exciting battles at No Mercy 15 took place in LDR. Every round was full of drama as there were five different racers who had a chance to win the RORS title depending on how things went down. Shane Stack jumped to the number one qualifying spot with a 3.86 run, but that didn’t make his path to the No Mercy or RORS championship any easier. Thanks to the double points of the final race, and the ladder, Stack, Jamie Hancock, Chad Henderson, Greg Blevins Jr., and overall points leader Ziff Hudson all had a chance to win the RORS title.

Each round there was a big match up that had major points implications in the LDR class. Stack ran the table from the top of the ladder, and took out Hancock in the semi-final round to take control of his own destiny. The other side of the ladder was even more intense. Blevins Jr. took out Henderson in the second round, and points leader Hudson in the semi-final to stamp his ticket to a final round showdown with Stack. In the final round, with everything on the line, Blevins picked up the win by running a 3.85 to Stack’s 3.87.

In X275, DJ McCain dropped a 4.10 bomb on the field to go number one and set the tone for eliminations at No Mercy behind the wheel of his Corvette. From round one, until the finals, McCain would run consistently in the 4.1X zone. In the final round, McCain would defeat Marques Hatton to win the No Mercy 15 title. During eliminations, X275 Kingpin Ron Rhodes was able to lock up the ROHS championship. This was a big win for Rhodes, and it was definitely earned after he fought through some issues during testing.

The Ultra Street class at No Mercy 15 had a dramatic final round that would determine the RORS championship. Coming into No Mercy 15, Billy Smith was the RORS points leader, and in the driver’s seat to win the title. After Smith fell in the second round, the door was opened for number one qualifier Jessie Coulter to make a run at the title. Coulter pushed his way to the final round where he was matched up against number three qualifier Dave Fiscus. When Coulter’s Mustang experienced a mechanical issue at the hit, Fiscus rocketed down the track to win No Mercy 15, and hand Smith the RORS title.

No Mercy hit on all cylinders and delivered plenty of great racing action all week long. The atmosphere at SGMP is electric when a Duck X Productions event comes to town, and you’ll be hard-pressed to experience anything else like it. Congratulations to all the winners and champions, you earned your black hats and hammers.