DIALED IN
ELK CREEK DRAGWAY
was none other than many-time IHRA world champion Mike Boyles with his famous“ Good Ol’ Charlie Brown” 1957 Chevy wagon in tow.
And behind Boyles was a caravan of fellow stick-shift racers, all coming to participate in Elk Creek’ s clutch car gathering.“ It was a situation where weather changed the course of history!” says Walters, as he explained how Bristol’ s national event was rained out, and many of those racers in attendance found their way to Elk Creek instead of driving straight home.
Amazingly, all it took was that one successful weekend at Elk Creek and the vibe began to spread. Suddenly, cars around the area that hadn’ t been raced in years were being pulled out of barns and sheds and brought to Elk Creek to compete in this stick-shift revival.“ It just started to catch on and a few more cars would show up each week,” recalls Walters, who still drives his 1967 Mercury Comet that he’ s owned for over 50 years.
At a particular race at Elk Creek recently, Drag Illustrated stopped by to check out the Original Gear Jammers, with 38 cars in attendance, including six entries that had never previously raced at Elk Creek. The series seems to continue growing after all these years, with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
And while Elk Creek is largely credited with the revival of stick-shift racing in the Southeast, their bracket points program provides the largest roster of events many racers have ever encountered, often with 24 points races in a single season. There’ s even a popular points program for index racers.
If the weather cooperates, Elk Creek usually begins test-and-tune sessions in March, with a huge schedule of diverse events from April through late October, including seven points races for the Original Gear Jammers, along with many other events for a variety of cars and classes. DI
84 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated. com Issue 196