Kye Kelley, Shawn“ Murder Nova” Ellington, Scott Taylor, Robin Roberts, Larry Larson, Jimmy Taylor, Cole Pesz, Jim Howe, and Clay Cole all made their series debut, while 2017 WSOPM champion Mike Bowman and Alex Laughlin have become regulars.

While there was a lot of debate heading into the DIWS concerning whether or not the television stars could hang with the“ professional” racers, Kelley— the NPK season 6 individual points champion— quickly dispelled any doubts when he stunned everyone by winning the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals, the first of three races in the DIWS. Kelley used that victory, along with strong performances at all three events, to finish fourth in points.

Kelley defeated Mike Decker Jr., Mike Decker III, 2023 WSOPM champion Spencer Hyde, and Kurt Steding on his way to a final-round matchup with eventual DIWS points champion Ken Quartuccio. Piloting his NPK-legal, screw-blown’ 85 Camaro named“ Can’ t Get Right,” Kelley used a 3.594-second pass at 207.78 mph to outrun Quartuccio, who drifted toward the centerline, slowing to a 3.688 at 194.66.

“ It was all I could do to not wreck the car down there,” Kelley said.“ I was in there celebrating, cheering, punching shit. It’ s just an unbelievable feeling to even race at this stage. But to win at this stage? It’ s something I know will probably never happen again under these circumstances, so I’ m just going to live it up. I’ m gonna own it, because it happened tonight.”

However, he wasn’ t the only standout performer. Bowman switched from ProCharger to a twin-turbo combination after the Snowbirds, and the results paid off at the WSOPM, where Bowman made it down to the final four cars out of 80 on the property. After qualifying third with a 3.589 at 220.37, Bowman defeated Lyle Barnett, Amber Denton, and Tommy Franklin before losing in the semifinals to Stevie“ Fast” Jackson.

Scott Taylor also made his presence known, persevering through a rough qualifying effort en route to a quarterfinal-round finish. During qualifying, Taylor’ s parachute went under his ProCharger-powered Keith’ s Superstores“ Chee Doe”‘ 69 Camaro in the shutdown area, ripping the brakes lines and sending him into the sand trap.

After thrashing to get the car cleaned and fixed, Taylor defeated Raymond Matos in round one, setting up a titanic matchup against No. 1 qualifier Mark Micke in round two. In what can only be considered an upset, Taylor took the win, with his car drifting and using up far more than the required 660 feet.

“ I’ ve watched Mark Micke my whole life, and he’ s always been the car to beat,” said Taylor.“ This thing rattled the tires and shook so hard, but I was not lifting until we got to the finish line. It was the most eventful 3.71 pass I’ ve ever been on in my life.”

Taylor would suffer the same fate as Bowman, losing to Jackson in the quarterfinals after suffering a mechanical failure. Yet as a whole, the group of NPK drivers showed even the most serious doubters that they are, and will continue to be, contenders at the DIWS.

“ I am super excited to make it where we made it,” Taylor said.“ We made it to eight cars out of the baddest 80 cars on the planet. We exceeded all expectations at this race, and we’ ll set the bar a little higher next time and try to inch up on it.”— CRAIG COOK DI

> LARRY LARSON

144 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated. com Issue 194