Stevie ‘Fast’ Jackson’s 3.48 Lap Headlines Record-Breaking Weekend on Third Stop of Radial Outlaw Racing Series at Bama Outlaws Event
After an overtime finish to the third stop of the Radial Outlaw Racing Series at Alabama International Dragway was completed on Sunday afternoon, the series is now at the halfway point.
And although he exited before the final round was contested, the big news out of Alabama is Stevie ‘Fast’ Jackson’s run of 3.48 at 213.82 mph, setting a new record for the quickest radial-tire car.
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Jackson led qualifying in Radial Versus The World with a 3.50 at 211.61 mph blast, including an impressive .878 60 foot time, during round three qualifying on Friday, March 22nd. That gave Jackson a first round single, and the Motion Raceworks-backed ‘Shadow 3.0’ '1968 Camaro delivered the new record run, with an eye-opening .875 60 foot time.
Jackson would face the drag-and-drive proven Viper of Ned Dunphy in round two, and a tricky surface caused Jackson’s Camaro to make a move to the wall. He lifted, and Dunphy came by to win the 3.83 to 3.89 result and advance to the semifinals.
That moved Dunphy to the semifinal round against 2023 defending champ Bryan Markiewicz, and a 3.80 pass from the Viper was outmatched by the 3.57 at 196 mph from Markiewicz.
But the win came with bad news, as a lot of smoke at the top end meant damage for Markiewicz, giving number three qualifier Chris Daniel a 3.58 at 209 mph solo victory lap for the title.
Limited Drag Radial is another class where the record book got a new entry, when Ziff Hudson in Doug Ghant’s ‘ZZ Top’ Mustang blasted to a 3.818 at 198 mph on a round one victory.
The small block single turbo entry looked to keep the party rocking in round two, but Hudson suffered tire spin and a loss to number fifteen qualifier Luke Smith’s Mustang.
Smith would bow out in the semifinals in an all-Mustang battle with Huston Dial, moving Dial to the finals against number one qualifier Paul Gargus.
The Camaro versus Mustang final found Dial moving off the starting line first by a huge eight hundredths better reaction time, but Gargus would sneak by at the finish line via a 3.87 to 3.97 result to claim the win by .025 of-a-second.
The Pro 275 class would be a stacked field of entries, and Jason Collins outdid them all for the top spot in qualifying with his ’69 Camaro. He advanced through the first three rounds of competition, with a best run of 3.617 at 208 mph, to earn a spot in the finals against number two qualifier and class record holder Marcus Birt.
The Mustang of Birt produced a best pass of 3.62 at 206 mph in route to the final round, and at the start Birt got off the line first with the holeshot. Although Collins clicked off a quicker 3.651 pass, Birt’s holeshot-aided 3.662 would get the win light by .019 of-a-second.
The X275 class became the class of ‘4.teens’ in eliminations, and even though top qualifier Daniel Ray was one of five cars in the 4.1-second range in the second round, Marty Pearcy sent him packing in a close 4.139 to 4.154 battle.
Pearcy got himself a final round berth against DJ McCain, who got the better of class veteran Ron Rhodes in an all-4.15 semifinal round that was decided by just one thousandth of-a-second!
The finals would be an anticlimactic event, as McCain was a no-show, giving Pearcy an easy run to collect the final win light and the big check.
Ultra Street also took advantage of the stellar track prep and good air, as Brian Keep put his ProCharger-boosted Camaro in the top spot in qualifying. Keep was dismissed in round two by fellow Floridian Mike Freeman, who then fell to Billy Smith in an all-Mustang semifinal round tussle.
The number four qualifier Smith would be met in the final round by Shawn Pevlor, and with both Mustangs collecting nothing but 4.4-second time slips to reach the last round of competition, it had all the makings of a solid final round.
But Pevlor ran into trouble just off the starting line and slowed, while Smith rode out to a 4.448 at 159 mph lap to claim the win.
Limited Street would be the final heads-up class conducted at Alabama International Dragway, and Bill Kubiac qualified at the top of the sheet. The Georgia-based 1990 Mustang would go on a tear throughout eliminations, including a class record 4.798 at 144 mph blast in round two.
Another all-Mustang final round would occur when Brad Schehr, the number three qualifier, would occupy the opposite lane with just two cars remaining, and at the green light flash Schehr was off first by over five hundredths of-a-second.
But Kubiac would not be denied this weekend, producing a 4.849 pass that just denied the holeshot-aided 4.919 pass of Schehr by a scant seven thousandths of-a-second!
The next event on the Radial Outlaw Racing Series takes place at Rockingham Dragway on April 25-28th at Battle of the Thrones.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Chris Simmons Photography and Steve Jackson Racing; video courtesy of Straight Line Media.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com