PHOTOGRAPHS BY VAN ABERNETHY
Making It Happen
Events new and old bring fans and racers to Union Dragway
By Van Abernethy
July / August 2024
For many dragstrips around the country , the first half of 2024 has been a hit-and-miss affair when it comes to having favorable weather conditions to hold events , and South Carolina ’ s Union Dragway has experienced its fair share of hurdles early in the season . Nearly every Friday test-and-tune session was rained out during March , along with the season-opening WDRA bracket points race . While April improved somewhat , the weather was far from consistently great .
“ By early June , we had still just completed three of the five scheduled points races , and it feels like forever since we had one !” says Tony Brown , track manager . “ When the weather did cooperate for us early on , we managed to have a great points race on April 13 , along with the 4.90 Outlaws , who showed up in full force .”
The month of May continued with dicey weather that hampered several of the events on the schedule , while others went off without a hitch . Brown referred to June as the track ’ s “ marquee month ,” and with good reason , considering the number of stellar events on the schedule . As of this writing , the first half of June has been spectacular .
The much-anticipated Outlaw Pro Mod / Mountain Motor Pro Stock event happened on a weekend with near-perfect weather . It featured many other great classes such as Top Sportsman , Top Dragster , 6.00 , and Jr . Dragster . “ We advertised that event heavily and we had probably 2,500 people come out , many of whom didn ’ t even know the track existed , and a number of them returned on Saturday to see more . It was very encouraging and it ’ s why we ’ re here !” says Brown .
John Bartunek has worked tirelessly toward improving the facility since buying the track in 2021 , with a dream of hosting events such as this . Union Dragway has a similar event scheduled in July , with many of the same classes , but Brown says they will likely move that event to the fall to escape the summer heat . “ The fans definitely turned out for the first one and we were pleased with the results , so we definitely have plans to schedule more of these type races .”
The remaining weekends in June were filled with everything from no-prep small-tire racing , featuring a host of index classes , followed by the mega-popular Southeast Gassers Association the following weekend . The Craig Hipp Gambler Series and WDRA points race closes out the very busy month of June . “ After that we need a rest , so we ’ re taking the July 4th weekend off !”
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