Drag Illustrated Issue 175, March / April 2022 | Page 40

Dirt

The Thaw Out 2.0

Palmetto No-Prep series starts Darlington ’ s 2022 season By Rob King

Darlington Dragway kicked off its 2022 season with Palmetto No- Prep ’ s “ The Thaw Out 2.0 ” back-ofthe-track , no-prep race . With the lure of big purses and constant racing action , Palmetto No-Prep brought in 80 of the baddest racers in Small Tire , Outlaw Real Street , and Big Tire to the famed South Carolina “ House of Speed .”

The Thaw Out 2.0 brought a mix of racers ranging from small-tire track racers to the craziest street racers you will see from across 17 different states , each looking to take home the cash paydays . With “ B . J . da Flagman ” from New Orleans on the light , these racers left it all on the most challenging top-end surface in the country .
Small Tire featured a 54-car field of who ’ s who in street racing and no-prep racing with a $ 15,000-to-win payday for the last racer standing . The final four featured a battle of the Midwest versus the South as Florida ’ s Robert Itani in “ Chickenhawk ” took the win over Indiana ’ s
Colt Coffey in “ Johnny Cash ,” while Indiana ’ s Shawn Fensler in his twin-turbo “ Bumper Wilson Tuning ” Mustang took the win over South Carolina ’ s Tyler Rolle . The finals saw Itani take the $ 15,000 win over Fensler after a massive
200-foot power wheelie on the sketchy surface . With this win , Itani became the first-ever twotime winner at Palmetto No Prep in Small Tire after taking home the $ 15,000 at The Cash Out last November .
Outlaw Real Street brought 19 of the fastest street-legal cars from all across the map to Darlington , looking to claim their name as the baddest no-prep street car around . After seeing round after round of close racing , it came down
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JUSTIN STANLEY / SPOOLD MEDIA
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