Drag radial racing superstar Steve Jackson stormed to a new Radial versus The World elapsed time record during qualifying at the season-opening U.S. Street Nationals at the Bradenton Motorsports Park on Saturday afternoon.
The Evans, Georgia native, driving his familiar Shadow 2.0 screw-supercharged Camaro, powered to a stunning 3.546-second, 213.33 mph lap in Saturday’s fourth session of qualifying, positioning himself atop the 22-car field, just ahead of teammate Marcus Birt’s 3.568 for his nitrous-assisted, Jackson-tuned Corvette.
After dialing back to a 3.60 to open eliminations and slowing to a 3.94 on a round-two single, Jackson and tuners Billy Stocklin and Phil Shuler pounced yet again, charging to a 3.548 at 213.91 mph to oust a strong-running Melanie Salemi, who clocked a career-best 3.574 in the other lane. A 3.587 in the semifinals was enough to move Jackson past Kevin Rivenbark and into the finale with Birt — there, a 3.561 at 213.10 mph, paired with a .005 reaction time, was more than enough to earn a lucrative victory to begin the 2020 campaign.
Jackson’s record-breaking 3.546 came compliments of a .917 short time and a 2.389 to 330-feet. And, impressively, the feat came not in the prime, below sea-level condition sessions that were presented to racers throughout the weekend, but in the mid-day hours with a nevertheless stellar 750-feet of density altitude.