2016 Victory NSS Series Champion Tom Hoffman will be one of more than 40 Super Stocks racing this weekend at Gateway.  (Matt Mothershed photo)

This Friday and Saturday, Gateway Motorsports Park will be filled with classic Detroit iron as the Nostalgia Rendezvous returns to St. Louis. The St. Louis Nostalgia Rendezvous is a high-octane blast from the past, featuring nostalgia drag racing, rockabilly bands and DJs, a '69-and-older traditional car show, a pin-up girl contest, retro vendor midway, a burnout contest and vintage swap meet.

Helping headline the show will once again be the fan favorite Victory Nostalgia Super Stockers. More than 40 of the classic Super Stocks will be battling it out for the Rendezvous title and the all-important points towards the World Championship.

The Victory NSS Cars will make two qualifying runs on Friday night. On Saturday, they will make a final qualifying pass at 11 a.m. with eliminations starting at 2 p.m.

Also at the event will be the Nostalgia Gassers Racing Association, the Nostalgia Drag Racing League, the Ozark Mountain Super Shifters and more.  [05/08/17]

Howard Brewer, Bennett, NC, grabbed the biggest piece of the posted purse during the annual SRI Performance Spring Sportsman Wars drag racing event at Rockingham Dragway.

Brewer got his 1985 Ford Mustang to the finish line just .003 of a second ahead of touring sportsman veteran Kenny Underwood of Delaware, Ohio, in the final round to win the ATI Performance Products Top Door Cars title. Brewer’s .038 package (.035 reaction time with a track time of 6.463 against a 6.460 dial) was just good enough to take down Underwood’s .041 package.

OPEN COMP: Trey Sikes, Hamlet NC, 2009 BMW 335D, .076, 12.816 on a 12.870, 108.66 mph, def. Eric Aman, Clinton NC, 1981 Chevy Camaro, foul (-.062).

PRO TREE DOORSLAMMERS: Keith Daniel, Currie NC, 1986 Ford Mustang, .039, 6.853 on a 6.860, 97.35 mph, def. Rodney Faile, Pageland SC, 1967 Chevy Nova, .060, 6.244 breakout on a 6.260, 108.20 mph.

FOOTBRAKE: Art Laselle, Fayetteville NC, 1991 Dodge Daytona, .053, 5.650 on a 5.620, 117.95 mph, def. Mark Soles, Delco NC, .090, 5.581 on a 5.550, 121.32 mph. (photos courtesy Rockingham Dragway)

TROPHY: Trey Sikes, Hamlet NC, 2009 BMW 335D, .103, 12.855 on a 12.600, 109.13 mph, def. Chris Johnson, Fayetteville NC, 1980 Chevy Malibu, foul (-.051). [05/08/17]

Terry “Turtle” Brannon

The rain fell overnight and delayed the start of racing on Friday at GALOT Motorsports Park, but it was worth the wait as the winner took home a $50,000 check.

With round six in the books, the survivors were Tommy Plott with both his dragster and door car, Richard Alford Jr., 18-year old Angela Gantkowski, Terry “Turtle” Brannon, Wednesday’s winner Shane Carr and receiving the last bye run of the race was Tommy Cable in his door car.

In the quarter-final round, Alford took out Plott’s dragster, NHRA champion Kevin Brannon’s father Turtle received the automatic win when Gantkowski red-lighted, and in the final pair prior to Cable’s bye run, Plott hung on with his Mustang to defeat Carr.

In the semis, Plott and Cable faced off with Cable taking the win and making his second final round appearance this week. In the other half, Alford’s car got out of the groove and was forced to lift to hand the win to Brannon.

For the final, Turtle proved his son isn’t the only Brannon who can turn on win lights as his dead-on the dial with a “0” and a .022 reaction time was enough to force Cable to run out.

Saturday

First up for Day “Last” at the K&N Spring Fling presented by Optima Batteries was the Spring Fling Reaction Time Challenge.

Twenty randomly selected racers were invited to take one shot at the ‘tree. A .00X reaction time earned the driver a $100 bill while a perfect .000 would get $1,000. Six drivers received hundreds: Matt Schapiro, Bug McCarty, Vince Shrawder, Matt Brehm, Antoine Jett, and Jeremy Brewer. Just when it looked like no one was going to earn the grand, Tim Thomas pulled up to be the last of the 20. Lo and behold, triple zeros showed up on the board and Thomas was now $1,000 richer and given one more shot to duplicate the effort which would have earned him $10,000 if he did it again. A red -.002 was close but not close enough, however he still walked away a happy man.

Bug McCarty

Survivors of round six were Colby Fuller who defeated Tommy Plott’s dragster, Bug McCarty, Troy Brewer, Mark Horton, Chris Reynolds and Plott in his Mustang, along with Hoff who earned the bye run.

Round seven found McCarty with the bye to the semifinals, Fuller, Brewer, and now announced as the Spring Fling MVP award winner, Tommy Plott.

As the semifinals shaped up, the lone dragster of McCarty was outnumbered by the door cars of Fuller, Brewer and Plott. The semifinals were sort of anticlimactic as it was littered with two red lights as Brewer lit the red bulb to move Plott to another Spring Fling final, while Fuller did the same to make the finals a dragster (McCarty) against a door car.

The red light showed its ugly head one more time in the final as Plott turned it -.001 red to hand the win to McCarty.

Promoters Peter Biondo and Kyle Seipel next will bring the Sparco Fall Fling presented by Optima Batteries to Bristol, TN, on September 26-30. [05/08/17]

Gary Phillips was the big winner in the Pro Slammer bracket recording a best of 5.722 in defeating veteran rival, Victor Bray in an all Queensland final.  (Jon Van Daal photos)

The Nitro Thunder event at Sydney Dragway last weekend had everything – the most ever 4.5-second quarter-mile passes in one day down under, the most ever 5.6 and 5.7 Pro Slammer (Pro Mod) ETs and heaps of 5.4-second Alky Funny Car times. [05/08/17]

Wayne Newby (right) and Richie Crampton finished 1-2 in Top Fuel. Crampton ran a 4.538 in the second round, two hundredths of a second from the Sydney Dragway track record and three hundredths away from the quickest pass in Australian history.

The meeting saw the return of Richie Crampton to the driver’s seat in Top Fuel as well as stunning competition in Pro Stock, Pro Bike, Pro Slammer, Pro Alky and Top Bike in front of a healthy crowd.

We've been promised all this and more from our Antipodean scribe, Jon Van Daal, that will be published soon. [05/08/17]