- Race Coverage
- Car Show
Mopar vs. the World
Thousands of spectators and several hundred racers gathered Sep. 8, at Atlanta Dragway to enjoy the 23rd annual Hayes Southeastern Mopar Meet. While the car show featured plenty of drool-worthy Mopar muscle, the real action was taking place on the quarter-mile strip.
NHRA Pro Stock stars Richie Stevens Jr. (near lane) and Mopar teammate Allen Johnson made a few exhibition passes at Atlanta Dragway’s 23rd annual Hayes Southeastern Mopar Meet. (Tim Glover photo)
Mopar Pro Stock racers Richie Stevens and Allen Johnson performed a few exhibition passes and met with fans while Les Shockley wowed the crowd with his “Super Shockwave” jet truck. Racing action in six of the nine classes on the schedule (the others were SRT and two eighth-mile Jr. Dragster classes) featured a “Mopar versus the World” format, in which all makes of vehicles were welcome to compete. Mopars took all the wins but one, and another runnered up in that class (Super Pro).
Ballground, GA’s Gerald Wright took his “under construction” 1971 Scamp all the way to the Pro final and ran 10.91 on a 10.90 dial in, but fell victim to the dreaded red light against Florida’s Brad Bauman.
Five of the six cars remaining in the Pro quarter-final rounds were Mopars, ensuring a good day for the Pentastar crowd. The final featured Brad Bauman from New Smyrna Beach, FL, who bought his ’69 Dodge Dart new and began racing it the next year, up
against Gerald Wright and his Ballground, GA-based ’71 Plymouth Scamp. Bauman reacted with a telepathic .001 second time and ran 11.40 at 118.49 mph while Wright went red by five thousandths.
Only one Mopar remained in the quarter-finals of Super Pro, but Dennis Brothers made it to the final with his Byrom, GA-based ’71 Demon. However, Bubba Rich from Gainesville, GA, took the win with his ’02 Firebird, courtesy of a 5.326 at 132.44mph pass (5.31 dial) after Brothers went just a bit too quick, breaking out with a 6.793 at 100.06mph (6.80 dial). Brothers also finished runner-up in Super Pro over the Memorial Day weekend earlier this year during the Southern Mopar Club event at Southeast Georgia Motorsports Park, near Valdosta, GA.
