RIC MORRIS
RICHARD DISHER
THE FIRST THING I noticed upon entering the premises of Carolina Dragway for Street Car Braggin Rights was the amount of detail Nate Prater and the Braggin Rights crew put into holding this event . Braggin Rights is just starting , with 2023 being its second year , but Ron Mowen , owner of Vengeance Racing , saw potential in the event and came on board as a partner .
The most impressive thing was the trophies given to the winners ; essentially , they were Wallys , just like in a sanctioned NHRA event . Aside from that , all-access VIP passes were available for purchase ; these gave guests access to the trackside hospitality tent , which had free refreshments and two excellent food truck meals with various menu options .
Braggin Rights offered many classes plus testand-tune . The classes included the Drag Illustrated Small-Tire Shootout , a Street Car Shootout , Sophie Fox ’ s class of Women & Wheels , Front-Wheel Drive Shootout , All Motor , Stick Shift , Wild Street , Battle of The Heavy Weights , and Run What You Brung . On top of all that , there was some golf cart racing and a full car show display .
The Drag IllustrateD Small-Tire Shootout went off without a hitch Thursday night and had some time allowed for test-and-tune in between rounds . Fourteen of the baddest small-tire no-time cars came out to support the event to battle it out for the $ 10,000 and Wally . Carolina Dragway is known as “ The House Of Hook ” for good reason ; track prep guru Jerry Hall had the track on kill for these guys all night . Of course , the locals have their favorites , such as Jamie “ Triggaman ” Hawes . Still , ultimately the man of the night was Marques Hatton piloting the nitrous-fed first-gen Camaro owned by Frankie Gurano , taking the victory over Phillip Usry by red light .
Friday brought more test-and-tune as well as round one of qualifying . The schedule had planned for two rounds and to have the Street Car Shootout almost completed , but Mother Nature had other plans , putting us on a rain delay for the evening .
Saturday ’ s plan cut out test-and-tune so that we could get the Street Car Shootout finished . Ric Morris ’ s stick-shifted 2014 Mustang proved victorious over Chris Parisi in his ‘ 20 Mustang . Doing so allowed the remaining class racers time to get two more qualifying rounds before eliminations Saturday evening . Even with a few oildowns , the crew got the show back on schedule with the help of Carolina Dragway ’ s staff .
Women and Wheels came out strong with a class count of 21 ladies . Morgan Miles was the woman to watch , though , wheel-standing her ‘ 78 Malibu Wagon every round and straight into the finals for the $ 2,000 plus the $ 500 No . 1 qualifier bonus and a Wally . Sasha Holley did put up a hard fight in her 2014 Chevy SS . Miles bested Holley with her 9.629 at 130.86 over an 11.855 at 112.68 .
A street car event wouldn ’ t be the same without a front-wheel drive class . The battle came down to a duel between
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