The Fourth Edition of Southeast Street-N-Yeet Crowns All New Class Winners in North Carolina
The product of drag-and-drive enthusiasts Devin and Laura Vanderhoof, the Southeast Street-N-Yeet is normally the final major event on the calendar each year.
For the third year, the event would start with Devin and Laura welcoming competitors to Shadyside Dragway in Shelby, North Carolina less than 24 hours from their honeymoon completion.
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Starting at Shadyside on November 6th with day zero parking and testing, the 7th brought tech inspection and the official start to keeping track of performances. Friday November 8th brought the unique ‘double-up’ of Southeast Street-N-Yeet by visiting South Carolina Motorplex in Neeses, South Carolina for morning / early afternoon action. That would be followed by the drive to the ‘House of Hook’, Carolina Dragway in Aiken, South Carolina for the second-half of racing into the evening.
Saturday would steer the tour back into North Carolina and Mooresville Dragway on November 9th, before returning to Shadyside Dragway to close out the event on Sunday with class winners, as well as a Heads-Up and Dial-Your-Own (DYO) Shootout.
The quickest class on the property, Unlimited Yeet, had several solid competitors in the mix, including past event winner Mark Mannor, Sick Week class winner Michael Ward, and multi-time drag-and-drive winner Dustin Trance. Day one saw Chris Benoure and Nick Rinehart clock 4-second passes, with Nick’s 4.62 pass leading the way.
But the end of day two, Benoure was on the sidelines, and Rinehart had dropped out of the lead. The turbocharged Mustang of Carl ‘CJ’ Cave produced a trio of low 5-second passes on the eighth-mile standard, then dipped into the fours with a 4.95 on day three, before weather would lock down the field after three of four days.
Cave’s 5.157 average would get the class win, belt and check, Clint Dillard scored second with a 5.396 average, and Rinehart’s fresh Chevy II rounded out the top three with a 5.558 average.
After failing to complete Southeast Street-N-Yeet in 2023, Dustin Safford came into this year’s event with his 1987 Ford Mustang that was a rolling chassis less than a week previous. Although he arrived and rolled through tech on day one, hopes might not have been high. “As usual we were taking a ride on the struggle bus,” said Safford.
A twelve-inch crack in the oil pan, a snapped front section on his trailer, and the transmission’s pump bushing becoming a quitter meant Safford had to work extra hard to get through the week. He rolled into day two not in the lead, but when leader Jeffrey Hilliard slowed to a 6.14, that gave Safford the opening he needed. His 5.241 average, bolstered by a 5.03 best on day two, got him the class win, with Hilliard’s 5.412 average good enough for second, and event veteran Ed Schwarz in third.
Showcasing the small 235 / 26-inch tall x 8.5-inch wide tire, the Tiny Tire class is a balance of power and traction. Several 5-second capable cars were at the ready on day one, including former participants Alex Corella, Anthony Harville and Walter Doyle.
But it would be former Unlimited class runner Tracey Holtzclaw showing the way on day one, clocking a 5.26 with his wheelstanding Ford station wagon. Holtzclaw improved on that run by the third day to a 5.19, earning a 5.266 average for the class victory. Doyle slid into the second spot with a 5.56 average, and Harville’s 5.725 average would prove good enough for third.
Yeet Stick is always a fan favorite, and a healthy number of competitors come out to bang the gears and see who the best with a manual is. With defending champ Taylor Hedrick not on property, we would see a new champion receive the belt.
Kyle Buntley, Adam Buntley and former top three runner Robert Warrick came in the favorites based on 5-second performances, and Warrick got the early lead with a 5.62 pass.
But that lead would be short-lived, as Kyle Buntley would rocket to a 5.48, his best of the event, in route to a 5.638 average and the class win. Warrick’s 5.763 average got the second spot, and Adam Buntley landed third with a 5.94 average.
A new class to Southeast Street-N-Yeet in 2024 was Tailgates and 28s, a truck-specific class limited to a non-W 28-inch tall x 10.5-inch wide 15-inch diameter tire, or any size 17-inch diameter tire.
Scott Thompson put his Chevrolet C-10 at the front of the pack on day one with a 5.28 pass, but Brandon Macklunis was close behind with a 5.37. Those two battled hard throughout the event, and on day three, Thompson produced his best pass, a 5.18, to compile a 5.301 average and earn the win.
Macklunis was close behind with a 5.34 average for second, and Brandon Culliton wrapped up the top three with a 5.717 average.
Joining the class line-up at the fall 2023 event, Daily Driver brings some of the quicker rides with more restrictions, including a factory-type overdrive transmission, functioning wipers, full exhaust to within eighteen inches of the rear end, a radio, and no methanol for a fuel choice.
Defending champ Steve Miller would not be in attendance, meaning a new champion would be crowned. Zach Hicks was the lone ride to clock a 5-second time slip on days one and two, and although Justin Arnold joined him in the fives with a 5.91 on day three, it wasn’t enough.
Hicks locked up the victory with a 6.054 average, while 2023 competitors Arnold and Richard Christensen improved on their previous averages, with Arnold’s 6.187 average and Christensen’s 6.72 average earning second and third, respectively.
The largest class of Southeast Street-N-Yeet was once again Dial-Your-Own Yeet, and although Fall 2023 champ Joe Plocher wasn’t in attendance, two-time winner Bobby Admire was.
Over 50 competitors would battle it out, with a mind-bending total variance of .004 of-a-second on a competitor’s average needed for a top ten spot!
Doug Kistler would rise to the top spot, with a new record average of just .0002 of-a-second off his initial 6.570 time slip. Nick Di Ienno and Larry Dockins were both less than two thousandths of-a-second off their initial time slip, with Di Ienno’s .0010 of-a-second just nudging out the .0015 of-a-second mark from Dockins.
At the end of the event, a pair of shootouts are normally conducted, with a Heads-Up Shootout for the top eight averages in all classes (aside from Dial Your Own Yeet), and the top eight in Dial-Your-Own Yeet also getting a chance for additional payout.
Mother Nature would rule the final day, as neither shootout would be completed. The purse would be split amongst round one survivors in the Heads-Up Shootout, while the final two in Dial-Your-Own Yeet split the loot.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of 3G Video, Dustin Safford, Scott Thompson.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com