The Circuit Drag-And-Drive Event Completed; Results Are In!
The Circuit, an event combining two days of racing action, plus just shy of 200 miles of street driving and a car show, was completed on Sunday evening. The brainchild of Drag-and-Drive.com’s own Michael Narx, this event marked the third event in the young 2023 drag-and-drive season.
The sold-out event brought 100 drivers and 84 co-pilots to Mo-Kan Dragway to start the 3-day event on Friday April 14th. All participants were required to make a minimum of two runs, with both eighth-mile and quarter-mile classes contested, before they could call it a day and prepare for Saturday activities.
Saturday April 15th would address the “street” part of the drag-and-drive, with participants logging some miles, along with required checkpoints, in route to the Circuit-hosted Davis Plumbing Cruise Night, with over 250 local cars showing up to see the dozens of drag-n-drive cars.
Sunday would return back to Mo-Kan Dragway for at least two more passes per participant, averages were tabulated, and awards presented late Sunday afternoon to winner and runner-up in each class.
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In the eighth-mile Unlimited class, Garrett Gilstrap tabulated a 6.48 average in his 1986 Chevrolet C10 pick-up for the win, with Justin Holland’s Corvette finishing about a tenth of-a-second behind in average.
The 275/60-15 drag radial class (also allowed up to a 29-inch height x 10.5-inch width slick, or any size 17-inch or larger rim) was a competitive one, and on the eighth-mile standard, Kyle Bemount denied all challengers with a stout 5.07 average from his Pontiac Trans Am. Kris White’s Chevy Blazer pounded out a 5.76 average for runner-up honors.
Kyle Bemount was the best of the best in 275, getting the class win with a 5.07 average.
The final eighth-mile class, the 235 class (limited to a 235/60-15 or 26-inch height x 8.5-inch width slick or smaller tire), only had one participant.
But Randy Cain still put down a very respectable 5.56 average from his Jeep to claim the win.
The quickest class on the full-pull quarter-mile distance would be the Street Race Power Adder class. Allowing up to an 11.5-inch measured tire tread width maximum with an 8.50 elapsed time cap, a trio of cars averaged out quicker than 9-second flat.
Brian Acton’s turbocharged Chevy Nova rose to the top thanks to a stout 8.53 average, with Mike Kimmis in second with an 8.65 average from his Ford Mustang.
Brian Acton would put his recent upgrades in the turbocharged Chevrolet Nova to good use, picking up the win in Street Race Power Adder.
A pair of naturally-aspirated classes based on cubic inches / engine design were available, and the All Motor Small Block showed up the big brother class, with Matt Koetting averaging 9.54 for the win, and the 10.33 of Lewis Martin taking second in an all-Chevrolet top two.
In the All Motor Big Block group, Sharma Hardee denied the rest with a 10.39 from the ’71 Dodge Dart getting the top spot, while Dominck Zvacok slid into second thanks to a 10.73 average with his Camaro.
A pair of cars earned a 9-second average in the Gasser/Hot Rod Power-Adder class, with Patrick Melson putting his ’55 Chevy in the top spot thanks to a 9.27 average. A 9.76 tabulation from Chris Padgett’s ’55 Chevy wagon would be good enough for the second-place spot.
Garrett Gilstrap walked away with the best average in the Unlimited class for the win.
Suzuki, Kawasaki and Honda were all represented in the Motorcycle class, but Chris Baker’s Hayabusa got the job done the quickest, with a 9.27 average edging out Dustin Moody’s 9.36 average on his Kawasaki ZRX.
Brandon McElroy and his ’69 Mustang would rise to the top of the Stick Shift class with a 12.60 average, while a 12.82 average from John Perks would garner the runner-up spot.
The True Radial class, designed for those willing to ride on a 250+ treadwear rating tire, witnessed some 10-second and 11-second passes on the hard tires. In the end, Dustyn Caudle’s Chevy Luv truck got the win with a 10.43 average, while Mark Richardson’s Chevy Nova used an 11.71 average for the second spot.
In the end, memories were made, and The Circuit raised $6345 for the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter (which was also a stop on the street drive).
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Kyle Bemount, Brian Acton, and Garrett Gilstrap.