PHOTOGRAPHS BY VAN ABERNETHY , CHIP BRALLEY , AND JAY WARREN |
With a construction date of 1957 , North Carolina ’ s Piedmont Dragway is among the oldest , stillactive dragstrips within the Tar Heel State . Located just outside Greensboro in the town of Julian , this IHRAsanctioned eighth-miler kicked off its 67th season with a test-and-tune session in late February . On March 25-26 , Drag IllustrateD was on hand as Piedmont hosted the IHRA Sportsman Spectacular , although the event was rain-shortened due to lingering rain showers that moved in during the weekend , causing Sunday ’ s finale to be cancelled .
Winners from Saturday include Michael Paschal in Top E . T ., driving his classy Ford Falcon . Paschal captured the win early when his opponent , Scott Macy , turned on the red light by the slightest of margins behind the wheel of his Dodge Coronet . A pair of Mustangs faced off in the Footbrake finals , with William Roberts getting past Carson Robbins . Forrest Radford emerged victorious in Jr . Dragster , defeating Landon Burnette in the thrilling finals .
The following week , Piedmont was scheduled to kick off their legendary Thursday night Big Dog Shootout , a popular heads-up series that dates back to the early 1990s . Once again , rainy weather affected the racing action , as an unfavorable
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forecast forced the track to postpone the Big Dog season opener until the following week . On Thursday , April 13 , the conditions were perfect for the Big Dog season opener , and veteran wheelman Travis Harvey scored the victory over Jamie Chappell .
Other events in April include various test-andtune sessions , as well as the Wednesday night Triad Street Scene . Piedmont always presents plenty of Sunday Funday gatherings throughout
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the year , which features grudge racing , test-andtune , motorcycles , and shootout racing . The track continues to be a multi-purpose facility , which offers a drifting pad and hosts events throughout the year , sometimes holding two-day gatherings for the drifting enthusiasts .
The month of May began with another Big Dog shootout , test-and-tune , as well a two-day IHRA-sanctioned bracket points race . Tony Nutso also brought his No Mo Talking grudge event to
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May / June 2023 |
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