Lights Out 14 – All About the Radial Tires at South Georgia Motorsports Park
Just over fifteen years ago, Donald “Duck” Long decided that the “up-and-coming” radial tire classes needed a little more spotlight. The Outlaw Radial Tire events got their start at Bradenton Motorsports Park and South Georgia Motorsports Park, and the Lights Out event was born in 2010.
Fast forward thirteen years, and Lights Out now marks the second stop on the Radial Outlaws Racing Series. Being in February can bring optimal weather conditions, so Lights Out can commonly see record-setting performances put down, plus a ton of spectators to witness the action over a four-day period.
By Sunday afternoon, champions were crowned in twelve different classes.
The quickest class of them all is Radial Versus The World, where the tire truly becomes the factor. The top qualifier was Luis De Leon courtesy of a 3.56 at 206 mph pass.
Luis rode the top spot all the way to the final round to stage opposite the Mustang of Timmy Meissner. Timmy had Stevie “Fast” Jackson making the tune-up calls, and the previous Lights Out winner would pick up his second victory in three years when the ’69 Camaro of Luis spun off the starting line.
Radial Versus The World winner Timmy Meissner.
The Pro 275 class saw multi-time heads-up winner Manny Buginga qualify atop the class with a 3.717 at 203 mph. But by the final round, it would be class newcomer Jason Collins in the Tidwell Racing ’69 Camaro against Brylon Holder, and Collins got the nod.
The X275 category was all Kenny Hubbard, and the ProCharger-fed Nova qualified number one with a 4.165. Hubbard and his retina-scorching orange Nova rode that momentum all the way to the final round for the win. Hubbard had a couple close battles along the way, including a semifinal round decided by a mere .004 of-a-second, but persevered for his fourth-straight victory in X275.
X275 winner Kenny Hubbard.
Limited Drag Radial found DJ McCain qualifying the Mustang known as “Black Plague” at the top of the sheet with a 3.91 pass. With DJ at the wheel and his brother Ryan making the tuning calls, they rolled the Mustang to a final round victory over JR Pines.
The Ultra Street class was captured by Shawn Pevlor and his ’90 Mustang, while Limited 235 found Brad Schehr riding his ’89 Mustang to the winner’s circle.
There are three classes that turn the clocks off at Lights Out, the quickest being the N/T 275 class where Taylor Lastor and Steve Kirk Jr. earned the last win light. The All Steel All Glass class had the Camaro of Logan Loesch earning the winner’s circle spot, while No-Time Pro Truck had Roy Morton dispatching all others to take home the victory.
A new class added to Lights Out this year was Gear Bangers, highlighting H-pattern stick shift rides. Ten rides qualified for the ten-thousand in purse money, with the Supra of Joel Grannas at the top of the qualifying sheet. But it would be current H-pattern record holder Jonathan Atkins getting the job done for the win.
Jonathan Atkins, Gear Bangerz / Stick Shift Winner.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Donald Long, Racing Outlawz, Motion Raceworks and Kyle Hubbard.