Amarillo Wins Go To
Cunningham, Godwin & Rose

Amarillo Dragway - July 11th, 2015

The third event of the 2015 MalloryPrint.com Southwest Heritage Racing Association season took the series to Amarillo Dragway on Saturday, July 11th, where SHRA made it's first appearance at this truly historic facility. Nostalgia Eliminator 1-2-3 classes were contested under sunny and pleasant weather conditions, but this was the first time for many SHRA racers to run in high altitude conditions. Weather stations indicated a corrected altitude of 7,000+ feet at one point on race day which threw some teams a big curve in performance.

Amarillo Dragway remains very similar to the way it looked in 1971 when the NHRA World Finals was first held there. The original tower, push start road and walk over bridge remained intact giving a very old school vibe to the SHRA Summer Nostalgia Nationals. A field of 21 cars filled the pits with a big crowd of spectators finding their seats in the stands eager for some old school drag racing action as SHRA qualifying got underway.

In the 4.65 index Nostalgia Eliminator 1 class, hometown racer Clay Cunningham proved his ability to run in high altitude conditions as he led the field with a 4.73 at 147 mph in the "Still Crazy II" blown fiat. Chris Graves claimed the second qualifying position with a 4.97 and Jason O'Neill qualified third with a 5.09, but the "Bad Behavior" team was unfortunately sidelined with mechanical issues. The number one and two qualifiers met in the final round as Cunningham and Graves brought their machines to the starting line. Cunningham was off first and never trailed as his 4.85 at 138 held off Graves' 4.89 at 144 mph. Cunningham and company were the class of the NE 1 field in Amarillo and notched their first win of the season, which moved them into second place in the points standings behind Graves. Jason O'Neill and Tera W. Graves are currently tied for third with Tommy Drozd rounding out the top five.

The 5.00 index Nostalgia Eliminator 2 field was the largest class contested in Amarillo. Gary Ballard took the pole position with a 5.04 at 137 mph, as Bee Godwin, Thomas Hixson and Bruce Dodson rounded out the top half heading into eliminations. Two rounds down and the final was set between the top two qualifiers, Ballard and Godwin. Godwin hoped to claim his first win of the season while Ballard and company searched for their first career SHRA event win. At the flash of amber, Godwin had the advantage off the starting line and he needed every bit as his 5.08 at 134 was just enough to take the win over Ballard's quicker 5.01 at 137 mph. With is win, Godwin now holds a slim four point lead over Bruce Dodson in the NE 2 standings with Rick Taylor, Thomas Hixson and Gary Ballard rounding out the top five.

Action in the 5.50 index Nostalgia Eliminator 3 class was exciting as teams struggled to find the horsepower in the high altitude. Gary Mitchell took top qualifying honors with a 5.54 at 121 with Cecil Johnson and Dusty Rose securing the second and third positions. In the final, points leader and defending class Champion Rose met top qualifier Mitchell in a highly anticipated match-up between two friendly rivals. Rose blasted off the line with the better reaction time and tripped the clocks with a 5.65 at 119 which narrowly held off Mitchell's quicker 5.59 at 120 as the "Foggy Mountain Special" team scored their third straight NE 3 victory this season. Rose now sits comfortably in the top spot in the points standings with Mitchell, Dustin Bradford, Josh Moseley and Carl Johnson rounding out the top five.

Three of eight events are now completed in the Southwest Heritage Racing Association season as the series will move to Big Country Raceway in Abilene, Texas for the Big Country Raceway Nostalgia Nationals, Saturday, August 1st, presented by Mears Mazda-Volvo and BCA Energy LLC. The SHRA would like to thank MalloryPrint.com, AlkyDigger, Good Vibrations Motorsports, Bad Behavior Racing, Neil & Parks Racing Enterprises, Mears Mazda-Volvo, Lenamond Auto Supply, Gary's Muffler Shop, Equipment Sales & Service of Texas, Bubba's Tow, Harry's Hot Rod Truck & Accessories, Competition Sales of Dallas, Howards Cams, Competition Products, Hayden Enterprises and Safety Boost for their support of the 2015 SHRA racing season.

Nostalgia Eliminator 1 Results:

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Nostalgia Eliminator 2 Results:

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Nostalgia Eliminator 3 Results:

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Click Here to see photos from Amarillo!