BY CRAIG COOK PHOTOGRAPHS BY DANNY STOGNER

Promoter Corey Stamper

s someone who has traveled to countless races and tracks for more than 40 years, and watched even more via television, YouTube, and live streaming, it’ s easy to become jaded or lethargic to the sport sometimes. It’ s not that I don’ t love drag racing; it’ s simply that when you spend so much time following one thing, it can begin to blend together over time.

But once in a while, an event comes along that is different … special. I felt that way when I traveled to Bandimere Speedway in 2018 for the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod, and the feeling has only grown stronger since it moved to Bradenton Motorsports Park.

Entering Shadyside Dragway on Saturday morning during Memorial Day weekend, I sensed that same feeling – which I’ m willing to admit I did not expect. Did I believe King of the South would be a good race? Absolutely. But flying into Charlotte Friday night, I couldn’ t have anticipated the absolute chaos to follow.

It began outside the facility, where I sat in traffic nearly half a mile from the entrance waiting to get in. There are two houses on the property, and spectators were already having to park in the front yard of one house and in the field beyond( later, they’ d be parking across the street). My media credentials allowed me to drive beyond that, but not by much, as nearly every available inch of space was full. Race cars were even pitted in the driveway and yard of the other house sitting near the return road.

Shadyside features a unique three-tier pit area, and all along the hills and various levels I could see RVs, tents, canopies, barbeque grills, and lawn chairs covering the landscape. Music drifted through the air as groups tailgated like they were at an NFL game. It was a unique situation, in that while it was incredibly crowded, it didn’ t feel claustrophobic, nor was there the usual tension generated by people forced into such a situation. Everyone I saw seemed genuinely happy and having a good time. It felt more like a family reunion than a drag race – if your family reunion included roughly 5,000 people.

That small-town, family feel is something that has made Shadyside a special track to visit since at least 1982, when the late Ronnie Buff – who the Memorial Day weekend race is named after – bought the track. Nowadays, his grandsons Seth and Zach Buff run the track,

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