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What's the best drag race you ever attended?
- Thread starter Mike
- Start date
MSopko_Jr.
Nitro Member
I've been to a bunch of national events including some really great US Nationals. We live 45 minutes from Route 66 and have been to some great races there. Even got to share the winner circle with Kenny Bernstein at the inaugural Route 66 Nats as part of a Prolong promotion from the auto parts store my Dad managed (even met 240 Gordie that day). I have been to Englishtown and Reading. Been to numerous nostalgia events around the Midwest and a bunch of great shows at US 131. However, my favorite all time event was a Match Race Mania event at US 41 on April 21, 1996 as a 15 year old kid. Here is an excerpt from an article I did for Nostalgia Drag World about that event:
Fortunately that lead to the construction of US 41 Dragway about 45 minutes down the highway in Morrocco, Indiana. The track began to have a race every April known as Match Race Mania. They would book in a cool assortment of nostalgia cars, jet cars, outlaw super stocks, and funnies. They really made for some great shows. The only problem was that they were in April. April in Indiana can be tumultuous to say the least. It is not totally uncommon to experience snow and unseasonably warm temperatures within the same week. Also the old saying “April showers bring May flowers” rings true much of the time. Therefore, when scheduling a race in April it is almost certain that Mother Nature will take aim at said weekend.
Well on April 21, 1996 that was not the case and we were blessed with weather that is very uncommon. By the shot of the scoreboard you can see the trees have no leaves yet, which may make you think it was pretty cold out. Actually, the temperature was in the low 70’s with ridiculously low humidity and very calm winds. As I have said, it is not uncommon to have warm temperatures in the spring; however they almost always come with outrageously strong winds. I once attended an NHRA points race that was postponed due to wind. This day was absolutely gorgeous and the track had a killer line up that day. In my opinion it was the best race I still have ever been to.
That day there was a new AA/FD team on the premises. Though Dad and I should probably been more familiar with the name, we really did not know who Paul Romine was. We did notice the guy who was the crew chief, sure looked a lot like Clayton Harris though. We later found out that it was indeed Clayton Harris.
Towards the end of the afternoon Romine lined up to make his last pass on the track. Undoubtedly the unseasonable weather had an impact and the stars aligned at just the right moment for history to be made. As Romine’s cars tripped the beams a 5.96 rang out on the scoreboards signifying the first 5 second AA/FD pass.
The other cars mentioned in the line up included the Midwest Funny Car series which was a group of alcohol funny cars that ran on a 7.50 index. They always put on a great show. There was also a group of nostalgia outlaw super stocks that day that put on a heck of a show. I remember a black Dodge Challenger going into a big wheelstand coming down and getting crossed up before eventually ending up on its roof. It was a beautiful car and hated to see that happen. The overall show was fantastic though and Bret Kepner was on the mic. I have included a picture my Dad took of Paul Romine's run. I was using the video camera that day instead of the film camera.
Fortunately that lead to the construction of US 41 Dragway about 45 minutes down the highway in Morrocco, Indiana. The track began to have a race every April known as Match Race Mania. They would book in a cool assortment of nostalgia cars, jet cars, outlaw super stocks, and funnies. They really made for some great shows. The only problem was that they were in April. April in Indiana can be tumultuous to say the least. It is not totally uncommon to experience snow and unseasonably warm temperatures within the same week. Also the old saying “April showers bring May flowers” rings true much of the time. Therefore, when scheduling a race in April it is almost certain that Mother Nature will take aim at said weekend.
Well on April 21, 1996 that was not the case and we were blessed with weather that is very uncommon. By the shot of the scoreboard you can see the trees have no leaves yet, which may make you think it was pretty cold out. Actually, the temperature was in the low 70’s with ridiculously low humidity and very calm winds. As I have said, it is not uncommon to have warm temperatures in the spring; however they almost always come with outrageously strong winds. I once attended an NHRA points race that was postponed due to wind. This day was absolutely gorgeous and the track had a killer line up that day. In my opinion it was the best race I still have ever been to.
That day there was a new AA/FD team on the premises. Though Dad and I should probably been more familiar with the name, we really did not know who Paul Romine was. We did notice the guy who was the crew chief, sure looked a lot like Clayton Harris though. We later found out that it was indeed Clayton Harris.
Towards the end of the afternoon Romine lined up to make his last pass on the track. Undoubtedly the unseasonable weather had an impact and the stars aligned at just the right moment for history to be made. As Romine’s cars tripped the beams a 5.96 rang out on the scoreboards signifying the first 5 second AA/FD pass.
The other cars mentioned in the line up included the Midwest Funny Car series which was a group of alcohol funny cars that ran on a 7.50 index. They always put on a great show. There was also a group of nostalgia outlaw super stocks that day that put on a heck of a show. I remember a black Dodge Challenger going into a big wheelstand coming down and getting crossed up before eventually ending up on its roof. It was a beautiful car and hated to see that happen. The overall show was fantastic though and Bret Kepner was on the mic. I have included a picture my Dad took of Paul Romine's run. I was using the video camera that day instead of the film camera.
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