Week 3 of the popular street-style drag racing series, O’Reilly Auto Parts Friday Night Drags, hit the pit lane drag strip at Atlanta Motor Speedway Friday night, as competitors continued to tune-up in preparation for the points season.
A four year veteran of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Friday Night drags, Steve Shaffer of Newnan and his brand new bright yellow Corvette Z06 made the jump to a new division this year. After competing in the Factory Street division in each of the past three season, Shaffer moved into the New Edge division introduced this year.
“I’ll be here all summer,” explained Schaffer. “I get a new ‘Vette every year and I run it, have fun, and I enjoy coming out here. This is the best place to run and I’ve been to all of them around here and AMS has the best show in town.”
Shaffer wasted no time in tuning his machine to battle the competition in the New Edge Division. He earned his second win in as many events by defeating newcomer Ken Collier of Loganville in the New Edge division final on Friday night.
“Tonight it’s been running real good,” said Shaffer. “The thing about the Z06 is they run consistent and the drag radials definitely helped with the track which was biting real good tonight. The [AMS staff] did a great job of prepping the track tonight.”
Other competitors who also ended up in victory lane with Shaffer tonight included the 1993 Nissan Hardbody piloted by Nate Morales of Stockbridge in the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Division; Chris Morgan of Hampton, behind the wheel of his 1966 Ford Mustang in the Harding Plumbing, Heating & Cooling Domestic Division; and Kevin Prescott of Monroe in his 1994 Acura Integra in the Harbin’s Mechanical Sport Compact Division.
Below is a complete list of the May 12 race winners:
Super Pro
Arnie Cobb (Locust Grove); 1975 Chevrolet Nova
Pro
Kevin Mayo (Milner); 1969 Chevrolet Nova
Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman
Nate Morales (Stockbridge); 1993 Nissan Hardbody
Harding Plumbing, Heating & Cooling Domestic
Chris Morgan (Hampton); 1966 Ford Mustang
Street Modified
Kelly Morgan (Jonesboro); 1968 Ford Mustang
Factory Street
Nick Nicholson (Senoia); 2014 Ford Mustang GT/CS
Tuner
Michael Ellis (Monticello); 2005 Dodge Neon SRT4
Street Outlaw
David Helland (Forsyth); 1984 Mustang
New Edge
Steve Shaffer (Newnan); 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Street Performer
Lamar Fitzgibbon (Griffin); 1995 Ford Mustang
Diesel Truck
Aaron Patel (Newnan); 2008 Chevrolet 2500 HD
Truck
James Ragsdale (Union City); 1978 Ford F100
Harbin’s Mechanical Sport Compact
Kevin Prescott (Monroe); 1994 Acura Integra
Super Bike
Robin Makolm (Lithonia); 2004 Hyabusa
Sport Bike
Bryan Berube (Forest Park); 2013 Suzuki Hayabusa
Motorcycle
Bo Price (Stockbridge)
ATV
Wayne Cline (Griffin)
The Show-N-Shine competition featured everything from new imports to classic muscle cars and automobiles ranging as far back as the 1930s. Those vehicles then took part in the Speedway Cruise following judging.
Classic Custom (Through 1972)
First Place: Robert Morgan (Fayetteville), 1966 Chevrolet Corvette
Second Place: Nasona Beattie (South Bend, Indiana), 1966 Ford Mustang GT Convertible
Modern Custom (1973 through 1999)
First Place: Keith Reid (Jonesboro), 1979 Pontiac Grand Prix SJ
Current Custom (2000 through current)
First Place: Dixie Turner (Hampton), 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZLI
Second Place: Earl Reed (McDonough), 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
Showroom Modern (1973 through 1999)
First Place: Wendell Williams (Hampton), 2016 Dodge Challenger Hellcat
Showroom Current (2000 through current)
First Place: Wayne Mueltor (Fayetteville), Chevrolet Camaro
Second Place: Schwan Worman (Covington), 2007 Mini Cooper
Third Place: Stephen Robertson (Atlanta), 2010 BMW Z4 3.5i Turbo
Tuner
First Place: Leonardo Leon (West Palm Beach, FL), 2010 Honda Civic
Second Place: Patrick Smith (McDonough), Scion FR5
Third Place: Patrick Murphy (Griffin), 2015 Scion FR5
Truck
First Place: Steven Rutlinger (Fayetteville), 2004 Chevrolet Silverado
Second Place: Sammy Johnson (Jackson), 2014 Ford F-250
Third Place: Carter Lewis (Griffin), 2001 Ford F-150
Open
First Place: Dillon Bates (Locust Grove), 1998 Chevrolet Tahoe
Second Place: Tristan Cumbrun
Atlanta Motor Speedway’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Friday Night Drags & Show-N-Shine continues with more than $2,500 on the line in Week 4 in addtion to bragging rights in Street Wars I on May 19. Grandstand gates open at 6:30 p.m., and nightly drag race eliminations start after 9:00 p.m.
Entry to drag race or for the Show-N-Shine is just $20 or competitors can purchase a combo ticket for $30. Spectator tickets are just $10, and children 5 and under are free. For complete details on Street Wars I and more information on O’Reilly Auto Parts Friday Night Drags can be found at www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/