Wheelies, Quick E.T.s and Christmas Trees – Bradenton Motorsports Park and Cleetus McFarland Host 4th Annual Christmas Tree Drag Racing World Championship
By the time Christmas rolls around, most racing activities have ceased for the remainder of the year. But since Florida has racing nearly year-round, Cleetus McFarland decided to cross drag racing with the Christmas spirit, and each December, Bradenton Motorsports Park hosts a Christmas Tree Drag Racing World Championship.
“I wanted to have the ultimate Christmas Tree showdown," Cleetus said, and the traditional holiday Christmas Tree is a central focus for each vehicle.
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The rules are simple: a minimum six-foot tall Christmas Tree (real or fake) must be attached to each vehicle. It must be lit, and it must stay on the vehicle the entire length of the run and the drive back to the pit area. If the tree comes off at any point, that driver will be disqualified.
When the race debuted in 2020, several Drag-and-Drive racers were in attendance, including Doug Cook in the “El Toro” Coyote-powered Fox Mustang, Kevin Smith in the LS-swapped “Soccer Mom” Camaro, and Cleetus wheeled the 2005 Corvette known as “Ruby.” But at the end of the night, multi-time Rick Prospero would deny all challengers, as his twin-turbo 1990 Mazda RX-7 produced a pair of 6-second runs, the best of a 6.92 and 201 mph, to grab the win.
Prospero would defend his title one year later, taking out the ’86 El Camino of Cleetus in the finals with a 7.00 at 200 mph blast. 2022 would find Prospero skipping out on a possible three-peat, and Ricardo Dinez would take out Sick Summer Rowdy Radial competitor CJ Durbin in the final round.
This year will feature 32 entries running for the chance to be the third winner of the Christmas Tree Drag Racing World Championship. As before, there are several rides from the drag-and-drive world that will battle for the chance to win.
Cleetus is scheduled to have three cars in the running, including the Corvette known as Leroy and McFlurry the twin-turbo Mustang.
Motion Raceworks is bringing back El Toro, the single turbo Coyote-swapped Fox Mustang.
Richard Flint is debuting his revamped 7-second Honda S2000 in its new orange hue.
Jimmy Rinehart will wheel the turbocharged LS-swapped Nova of Drew Fleming.
Michael Corsilli made the trip from New Jersey to enjoy slightly warmer temperatures and try his hand with a turbocharged Chevrolet pick-up.
In addition to the Christmas Tree racing action, Cleetus and Bradenton Motorsports Park added a little extra to the mix for 2023, as Larsen Motorsports will bring a pair of jet-powered dragsters to light up the night and make side-by-side passes!
The action is already under way; you can watch it all on Freedom Plus HERE!!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Motion Raceworks, Cleetus McFarland, Justin Young, Jimmy Rinehart, Richard Flint and Michael Corsilli.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com