Conclusion

This historic race proved several things. 1. Nitro Funny Cars, Dragsters, and Altereds can race together and put on a great crowd-pleasing show. 2. The fans at Paducah loved the variety and expressed those feeling to the racers and staff at the Paducah event. 3. Perhaps most importantly, nitro cars racing an eighth-mile don’t tear up as much equipment as they do when they race a quarter mile.

Neither of the two finalists had the cylinder heads off of their engines at any time during the race, which meant they both went five rounds on the same cylinder heads, and not one DRO race car oiled the track or the pits.

Next stop for the Hedman Husler Hedders DragRacingOnline.com Nostalgia Nitro Challenge will be at iconic Maple Grove Raceway near Reading Pa., on July 18-19. This race will be on the quarter mile and is the only DRO event to run on Saturday and Sunday instead of the normal Friday-Saturday.

Bob Snyder photos