The Second Annual Redwood Rally Kicks Off on the West Coast – Defending Class Champs Shayne Propst and Donavan Linwood Among the Leaders
As the drag-and-drive event calendar has continued to grow with more listings over the last few years, the west coast of the US got a major event in 2023 when the Redwood Rally held its first event.
Winners gathered to celebrate the first Redwood Rally in 2023. Who will hold class trophies in 2024?
Twelve different classes winners were crowned, and the event success necessitated a return for 2024.
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Covering hundreds of miles of Pacific Northwest area, Redwood Rally would start and end the 2024 campaign at Medford Dragstrip in Medford, Oregon. Day two would move the tour to Samoa Dragstrip in Samoa, California, then day three goes back to Oregon and Coos Bay Speedway in Coos Bay.
Day four will keep the competitors in Oregon to visit a new track to the event, Woodburn Dragway in Woodburn, Orgon, then the tour returns back to Medford Dragstrip for day five action, followed by additional racing action on September 22nd, including a small tire shootout.
Thirteen classes, including five new classes and a couple revised classes, will be contested during Redwood Rally. The quickest class, Unlimited, has no restrictions (as the name would imply). Run on the eighth-mile standard, last year’s class champion, Shayne Propst in his 1967 Chevy Nova, is already showing the muscle to defend his title with a 4.56 at 164 mph run to hold the lead.
Another former champion is aiming to pick up where he left off in 2023 with the Redwood Radials class. Based around the tiny 235 radials (a 26-inch-tall x 8.5-inch-wide tire) on the eighth-mile distance, and a few other rules (including a non-removable front end, no one-piece removable front ends), defending class winner Donavan Linwood put his 1989 Ford Mustang through its paces for a 5.225 at 119.81 mph opening run for the class lead.
The Slightly Unlimited class, only has one rule, a maximum tire size. Competitors can choose between three maximum sizes for a tire: a 28-inch-tall x 10.5-inch-wide non-W bias-ply slick, 30-inch-tall x 9-inch-wide bias-ply slick, or a 275 drag radial. Two participants ran a 5.494 pass on the eighth-mile, with the ’67 Mustang of Devin Stephens holding the early lead over AJ Jennen and his ‘72 Chevrolet Vega wagon.
The American Graffiti classes got some updates, and a new class brings the total under that name to four. The quickest of the four is the American Graffiti Magnum class, which allows any tire, but requires a factory body with steel roof and quarter panels, no one-piece front clips unless steel, tilt style, and a full interior and carpet in the front half of the vehicle.
Tyler Koranda, who snagged the second-place spot in the American Graffiti Double Power-Adder class last year, wheeled his 1969 Chevrolet Camaro to a 5.377 at 135.99 mph for the early lead.
American Graffiti Power-Adder got narrowed from two classes (Single Power-Adder and Double Power-Adder), and brings the same tire rules as Slightly Unlimited (maximum sizes allowed: 28-inch-tall x 10.5-inch-wide non-W bias-ply slick, 30-inch-tall x 9-inch-wide bias-ply slick, or a 275 drag radial), plus a full interior and carpet required.
Lane Cavar, who we recently featured with his ProCharger-fed 79 Malibu (click HERE to view article), navigated the eighth-mile for a 5.515 at 127.23 mph pass to lead the class.
The third American Graffiti class is Naturally Aspirated, and it uses the same rules as the American Graffiti Power-Adder class, but with fuel and air only being ingested by the engine. The ’68 Camaro of Micky Buerger leads the field after one day with a 6.397 at 108.67 mph time slip.
The fourth, and brand new, American Graffiti Hard Tire class, allow for any tire size, provided it carries a tread rating of 200 or greater, clearly labeled on the sidewall. All-Wheel-Drive is permitted for 4 cylinder vehicles and trucks only, and GT-R / EVs are not allowed in the class. The ’99 Chevy Silverado of Jason Rellinger performed the best on day one, posting a 6.814 at 102.13 mph on the eighth-mile distance.
The stick shift class, 3 Pedal, allows brings a solid turnout of competitors. As long as a driver is using a clutch pedal and banging the gears with a traditional right hand operated shift lever on the quarter-mile distance, bring it! The top dog after one day is Nate Curran, who carded a 9.337 at 152.59 mph in his 1980 Ford Fairmont.
The largest class of the event is the Mind Over Matter class, which only has three rules. A .500 full start starting system is used on a quarter-mile standard, and day one requires two time slips.
The first one establishes a competitor’s personal index, while the second time slip goes towards the total amount above the personal index for the week. Three competitors strayed just 0.001 of-a-second from their base on day one, but the closest was Vinny Lombardi.
Junior Street is the second of the five newest classes to join Redwood Rally, and uses the same personal indexes / lowest total amount above the index to determine a winner that Mind Over Matter does. Dylan Ellsworth was just .001 of-a-second off his initial 10.872 pass base for the lead after one day.
Glory Days Gassers is the third new class to the Redwood Rally lineup, featuring door cars that bring the gasser flavor to the quarter-mile distance. Walt Hooker’s 1965 Ford Falcon laid down an 11.01 at 121 mph for the lead.
The fourth class new to the 2024 docket is Tailgate Racers, and focuses on truck-style vehicles, as well as El Camino, Ranchero and Aussie UTE models. The vehicles must appear to have the ability to tow a trailer; a trailer is not mandatory, but there must be a trailer ball mounted somewhere on the exterior of the vehicle.
An all steel, all glass foundation is required (with the exception of roll pans, and the rear window for roll cage purposes). Competitors can choose between three maximum sizes for a tire: a 28-inch-tall x 10.5-inch-wide non-W bias-ply slick, 30-inch-tall x 9-inch-wide bias-ply slick, or a 275 drag radial.
Danny Crownover, who finished second in the American Graffiti Magnum Power-Adder in 2023, put his 1992 Chevrolet pick-up through the eighth-mile distance with a 5.76 at 131 mph pass for the lead.
The Speed Queens is the fifth and final new class. But it is not only a new class, but a new category for 2024. The overall championship uses the same personal indexes / lowest total amount above the index to determine a winner that Mind Over Matter does, and the 1970 Ford F100 pick-up of Erika Young ran the closest to her initial 12.763 base pass, putting her in the lead.
The Speed Queens category will also feature some additional sub-categories:
- Quickest female of the Redwood Rally (5 run average)
- Most consistent (E.T.) female of the entire event
- Slowest female of the Redwood Rally (5 run average)
- Best snacks provided to Redwood Rally staff
- Most cheerful (5 day average)
- Best R.B.F
Competition is already underway at Samoa Dragstrip in Samoa, California for day two, and we’ll have updates on Sick the Magazine throughout the week, including results and photos.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com