All the previous Grove No Prep event classes were contested at the Ice Breaker No Prep, Big Tire, Small Tire, Stick Shift, Street. These groups were run heads up first to the finish, with an instant green start off the tree. Early morning participation may have kept some racers home, but each class had solid representation. The lightest turnout was Big Tire but local racer Chuck Schultz was the winner with his big-inch powered second-gen Camaro, shod with battle scars and cut of roof. It’s a nasty piece.  Ross Okun rowed the gears to a victory in the Stick Shift class, which is appears to be one of the fasting growing categories at these deals. Long live the hand mixers! 

The Street class was huge and after a mandatory street cruise, and several rounds later Joey Allen and Matthew Manton, Jr. split the purse with the sun dropping almost as fast as the February temperatures. Small Tire is traditionally the largest contingent of racers at the Grove No Preps, and the 2024 Ice Breaker was no different and again, at the end of the day the cash was split between Wesley Skinner and Tommy Kolankiewicz in their Fox Bodies. 

The Ice Breaker race this time had a bracket racing class, called Daily Driver, complete with buybacks! To no one’s surprise, the bracket racers showed up big time, filling four lanes of the Maple Groves ample staging area! With a 15.00 second et cutoff for the 1/8th mile, most competitors left the real race cars at home and jumped in their daily driver or the tow rig. Even with the slower racing, the competition was nonetheless fierce. I saw several .00 lights and tight winning packages from the bracket racers chomping at the bit for a hit of the tree! Two veteran bracket racers waded through the tough field to the final, where Nikki Adams bested Martin Flegal to the win. 

With the regular race season starting in a few weeks, the No Preps are on hold…for now. If you can’t wait for the next one the traveling circus known as No Prep Kings will be kicking off their season at Maple Grove Raceway, hit up the track website for more info and tickets. See you at the Drags!

https://www.maplegroveraceway.com/monthly-race-schedule/

https://www.platinumroofingandrenovations.com/

The post 2024 ICE BREAKER NO PREP PHOTOS: JOE GRIPPO HAS SENT IN ALL KINDS OF ACTION SHOTS AND VIDEO FROM MAPLE GROVE RACEWAY! appeared first on BangShift.com.

That means multiple galleries over multiple days, so keep coming back to check them all out here.

I’ve raced and announced a fair amount in the state of Florida and can tell you that the fans there are awesome. And boy did they get a great show at the 2024 Gators. Everyone that goes always comments on how fun the crowd is there and they aren’t kidding. We hope you enjoy the photos as much as they loved the live action.

CLICK HERE IF YOU MISSED THE OTHER GALLERIES FROM THE GATORS

The post Our 2024 Gator Nationals Photos Continue With An All New Gallery From Rich Pasley. The People, Cars, Action, And More You Dig. appeared first on BangShift.com.

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During the 2024 Moab Easter Jeep Safari we headed out to Kane Creek Trail with SkyJacker Suspension family, go along with us for a great day of wheeling on the rocks and in the water.

The post FIRST DAY TRAIL RIDE AT MOAB EASTER JEEP SAFARI 2024: CASEY CURRIE AND THE GANG ARE DRIVING KANE CREEK! CASEY CURRIE VLOG appeared first on BangShift.com.

(Photos by David Whealon) – NHRA Drag Racing at the Gatornationals was off the hook yet again in 2024! We’re talking huge crowds, great racing, and a good time had by all! This is the start of a whole new year of NHRA Drag Racing and we know this season is going to be something special. We’ve got great nitro action photos from Gainesville thanks to longtime contributor David Whealon. David was in Florida shooting all kinds of fun stuff at the Gatornationals and sent us a whole bunch of his favorites.

That means multiple galleries over multiple days, so keep coming back to check them all out here.

I’ve raced and announced a fair amount in the state of Florida and can tell you that the fans there are awesome. And boy did they get a great show at the 2024 Gators. Everyone that goes always comments on how fun the crowd is there and they aren’t kidding. We hope you enjoy the photos as much as they loved the live action.

CLICK HERE IF YOU MISSED THE FIRST GALLERY!

The post Our Final David Whealon NHRA GatorNationals Photo Gallery! Great Action Pics Of Top Fuel, Funny Cars, Pro Mods, And More Plus Links To All The Rest! appeared first on BangShift.com.

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It’s been several years since the Southeast Gassers Association raced at my home track, Brainerd Motorsports Park, but they returned as the season opening race in 2024. This event was PACKED with people…they were bussing them in from surrounding parking areas and squeezing into the stands to watch heads up, real deal gassers do battle on the historic drag strip. The action was wild with lots of wheels up launches, and crazy runs. As usual, I was splitting my time, shooting photos for a magazine coverage, and taking video when I had the chance.

This video certainly doesn’t cover ALL of the highlights from the Southeast Gassers Association return to Brainerd, so stay tuned as more coverage comes out from PowerTubeTV and the Southeast Gassers Youtube channel. This is 12 minutes of RAW action from the 2024 season opener.

The post WILD Heads Up GASSER Drag Racing Video From The Hot Rod Hoarder – Southeast Gassers Return to Brainerd appeared first on BangShift.com.

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We had to come back to the most scenic drag strip in the world , Alaska Raceway Park. With the strip seemingly leading you to the base of Pioneers Peak, this is by far our favorite track to visit. When we first came here a couple years ago we knew it wouldn’t be the last time. The unique stories we hear and people we meet here is just as amazing as the racing. With such a short racing season these drivers come out from all over the state once the snow melts to race and they have tons of cool toys!

Top end no prep video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwvB2…

The post Kyle And Fred And The Boys From 1320 Video Are Back: Returning to the ONLY 1/4 Drag Strip In Alaska! appeared first on BangShift.com.

(Photos by David Whealon) – NHRA Drag Racing at the Gatornationals was off the hook yet again in 2024! We’re talking huge crowds, great racing, and a good time had by all! This is the start of a whole new year of NHRA Drag Racing and we know this season is going to be something special. We’ve got great nitro action photos from Gainesville thanks to longtime contributor David Whealon. David was in Florida shooting all kinds of fun stuff at the Gatornationals and sent us a whole bunch of his favorites.

That means multiple galleries over multiple days, so keep coming back to check them all out here.

I’ve raced and announced a fair amount in the state of Florida and can tell you that the fans there are awesome. And boy did they get a great show at the 2024 Gators. Everyone that goes always comments on how fun the crowd is there and they aren’t kidding. We hope you enjoy the photos as much as they loved the live action.

CLICK HERE IF YOU MISSED THE FIRST GALLERY!

The post NHRA GatorNationals Photos Continue! We’ve Got More Great Action Pics Of Top Fuel, Funny Cars, Pro Mods, And More! appeared first on BangShift.com.

The points are handed out before the field is split into classes, so overall field size and talent depth are both important factors. That can often make early season stops and those in geographically remote locations like Portland or Sebring offer more potential for big points, than the sold-out events with stacked fields that will come later in the year. With a second stop at Thunderhill now in the books, the points battle is beginning to take shape across all the classes in the series. Even though these cars could be separated by thousands of miles and may not face off in the regular season, many tight battles are already emerging.

Duke Langley’s ’02 Corvette has been dominant in the Nine Lives Racing Lucky 7 Outlaw Class, but he always seems to be waging a battle with his car, to keep it on track. Langely lost the battle at Thunderhill and couldn’t even make the start, which now puts Danny Weller’s Camaro and Jamie Elliott’s Corvette in a tie for first place in the class with 399 out of 400 points at the first two events. Langley can still get around them, but it will probably take at least one perfect weekend for him to do it and the longer he waits and the more points they gather, the tougher that task will get.

In the Speedtech GTV Class, Ryan Breezee’s first place finish at Thunderhill only placed him third overall in the season-long points chase, while the Camaros of Chris Smith and Larry Woo hold onto the top two spots from their runs at Sebring. Breezee is only signed up for one more event this season at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca and it will take a 490-point run there for him to pass Smitty for the lead in points…if Smitty does no better than 472 points in his remaining three events.

Breezee won the GTV Class at Laguna Seca in 2023, but a sold-out field with lots of competitive cars limits points opportunities and Breezee was able to win the class there with 462 points. He may win again at Laguna Seca this season, but if he wants to get around Smitty to win the class championship, he’ll probably need to find his way to Portland.

A transfer case failure caused defending No-Limit Engineering GTT Class champion, Stephen Dorrick, to stumble badly out of the gates at Sebring. He still managed to win the class, but only posted 405 points, which now leaves him fourth after three trucks passed him at Thunderhill. David Carroll’s 41-point lead is not insurmountable, but if Carroll or Dustin Reed do well at Portland, Dorrick may need all three of his remaining events to catch either one of them.

In the After Dark Speed GTS Class, Bob Sobey’s Nissan GT-R posted a 13-point win over Jordan Priestley’s Model 3 at Thunderhill. The two are scheduled to square off again at Laguna Seca and if Sobey posts another win, it would make it hard for Priestley or anyone else to catch him. Priestley will have at least one more shot to do it at Road America and a run at Portland could make things very interesting. If Priestley were to move into the lead after Portland, that would force Sobey to travel from Arizona to the Virginias to try to reel him back in at one of the last stops of the season.

The tightest races can be found in the Lingenfelter GTL Class and the Viking Performance GT Class, where the point differential between first and second is two and one point, respectively. Both of those classes also look to be at least four-horse races. Ryan Mathews’ Corvette holds a two-point lead over Lane Farka’s Porsche GT3, but Mike Rovere and CB Ramey haven’t run any events yet this season. In the GT Class, Matt Ramirez’s Mustang holds a one-point lead over defending class champion, Dave Schotz, who is one point ahead of Austin Barnes’ Mustang, while Jonathan Blevins will wait until the final two events to try and take back the GT class title.

Compelling battles can be found at every stop in this series, so if one of these events comes to a track near you, don’t miss out on your chance to see these incredible machines in person. Learn how you can drive among them at www.DriveOPTIMA.com 

The post Ultimate Street Cars at Thunderhill: Round Two of the Ultimate Street Car heads to Northern California appeared first on BangShift.com.

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The post FREE LIVE DRAG RACING: NHRA Division 2 Divisional Lucas Oil Sportsman Drag Racing At South Georgia Motorsports Park – Sunday appeared first on BangShift.com.

(Photos by David Whealon) – NHRA Drag Racing at the Gatornationals was off the hook yet again in 2024! We’re talking huge crowds, great racing, and a good time had by all! This is the start of a whole new year of NHRA Drag Racing and we know this season is going to be something special. We’ve got great nitro action photos from Gainesville thanks to longtime contributor David Whealon. David was in Florida shooting all kinds of fun stuff at the Gatornationals and sent us a whole bunch of his favorites.

That means multiple galleries over multiple days, so keep coming back to check them all out here.

I’ve raced and announced a fair amount in the state of Florida and can tell you that the fans there are awesome. And boy did they get a great show at the 2024 Gators. Everyone that goes always comments on how fun the crowd is there and they aren’t kidding. We hope you enjoy the photos as much as they loved the live action.

CLICK HERE IF YOU MISSED THE FIRST GALLERY!

The post Our 2024 NHRA GatorNationals Action Photos Continue: Whealon Outdid Himself Getting Us All The Action Shots Right Here! appeared first on BangShift.com.