Smoke rolls out of the wheel wells on Kyle Canion’ s Camaro as he follows Larry Larson and his‘ 66 Chevy II out of the water box as the first pair in the second round of King of the South eliminations at the 9th annual Strange Engineering Ronnie Buff Memorial race. Canion, fresh off a win in the IHRA Small-Tire Bratz class, was looking to prevent Larson from going back-to-back after the Missouri-based chassis builder won here in 2025. Larson kept his King of the South round-win streak alive in this all-Harts Charger battle with a win over Canion, but Mother Nature stepped in after that. Inclement weather forced promoter Corey Stamper and the Buff family to cancel the rest of the event. The prize money was split among the remaining 16 KOTS competitors. Read more about the event later in this issue.

Photograph by Darrel Jackson Jr. Shadyside Dragway | Shelby, North Carolina | Sunday, May 24 th, 2026

July / August 2026 DragIllustrated. com | Drag Illustrated | 17