By Greg Burrow

Jim and the whole Turner family worked tirelessly to make the event grow and become the event that all of us in the sport of drag racing wanted to attend . Sons Bubba and Jay took up the mantle , and along with their respective families and other members of the Turner family , made this Hall of Fame one to remember .

The ceremony is part of the Hot Rod & Drag Expo and raises money for the Shriner ’ s Hospital in Greenville , South Carolina . A huge milestone was reached during the event by raising an amount that put the total given to the hospital an amount over $ 200,000 in the 20-plus years of this event . An amount not easily achieved .

With this said , the Turner family and the Shriner ’ s group would like to thank each and every person who have faithfully attended the February event , the only event strictly for charity that takes place at this historic venue , the Greensboro Coliseum .

This year , the group of inductees crossed the broad spectrum of our sport and included competitors and champions from the four-wheel discipline , as well as the two-wheel competitors . Making his debut at the event was Larry “ Spiderman ” McBride . McBride is known for his recent record on two wheels , a 5.50-second E . T . at an astounding 268 MPH . Also , a 3.56 E . T . at 215 MPH in the eighth mile . Simply incredible . McBride also was first in the fives , first to the 5.60s , and first to 5.50s . Truly a remarkable career with no signs of slowing up .

Wally Stroupe , a successful chassis builder and competitor in the fast door car categories , has been a huge part of the beginnings of IHRA Pro Mod and is today readying a 632 combination to compete in the highly competitive Pro 632 class in PDRA . Stroupe initially was competitive with door cars owned by Micky Lawson and now has backing from Larry Grainger and his family . Stroupe ’ s trusty Camaro is ready for the new challenge and will surely carry him to more wins with many more cars to build , adding to the more than 500 cars constructed by the man from Gastonia , North Carolina .

Another inductee was Rob Vandergriff , widely known for his world-famous Thunder Craft ‘ 57 Chevy that competed along with Charles Carpenter throughout the U . S . during the ‘ 90s during the height of Super Chevy Sunday and established himself as one of the most competitive drivers during the beginnings of what we know now at Pro Mod . After being introduced by Bobby Bennett , founder and editor of CompetitionPlus . com and a longtime friend , Vandergriff very graciously accepted his induction from Bennett , the recipient of the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award . Vandergriff is currently constructing new rides in his shop in Tennessee . The reunion between Vandergriff and Carpenter was worth the price of admission and one I was truly honored to be a part of .

With the introduction of the Wisecarver brothers as inductees , one of my longtime photographic

PHOTOGRAPHS BY GREG BURROW

42 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 187