1. Robert Cox – 4.23

2. Matt Reese – 4.53

3. Wes Blankenship – 4.56

4. Rick Reynolds – 4.58

5. Mike Smith – 4.69

6. Don Turner – 4.77

7. Kyle Ehorn – 4.80

8. Mike West – 4.88

9. Aaron Johnson – 4.93

10. Jim Parrott – 4.93

11. Scott Carter – 5.05

12. Domenic Friguglietti – 6.60

13. Dale Arbogast – 18.01

The first round of eliminations:

• Cox – Bye

• Smith over Parrott

• West over Ehorn

• Turner over Johnson

• Reese over Arbogast (Number 1 in Points)

• Blankenship over Friguglietti (transmission broke in qualifying)

• Reynolds over Carter

The second round of eliminations:

• West over Cox (Number 2 in Points)

• Smith over Reynolds (Number 4 in Points)

• Reese – Bye

• Blankenship over Turner

Semifinals:

• Blankenship over Reese

• Smith over West

Finals:

• Blankenship over Smith

So to recap
#1 in points (121 Points) Dale Arbogast broke his car the week before and brought a loaner that wasn’t competitive. (+10 = 131 Points)
#2 in points (108 Points)Robert Cox qualified #1, won his bye, then went out in round 2. (+ 23 Points = 131 Points)
#3 in points (90 Points) Kevin Hecht couldn’t make the last race.
#4 in points (82 Points) Rick Reynolds (+20 = 102 Points).
#5 in points (80 Points) Wes Blankenship (+51 = 131 Points)
I did the math for you so that you wouldn’t have to. That’s officially a 3 way tie in points for first place!
Now what!? It’s tie breaker time!

BONUS POINTS:
+3 for every event win
+2 for every event runner up
+1 for every event semi final

I wish we could have had a camera when they figured out that after bonus points there was STILL A TIE between Arbogast and Blankenship. What now? Tie Breaker #2! Who had the fastest ET of the season?

<drumroll> <suspense> <drumroll again>

Wes Blankenship is your 2019 Aeroquip Heads Up Series, VP Racing sponsored Drag Radial Class Champion!

It’s been a struggle for the Blankenship’s (Father Russ and son Wes) the entire year trying to get their car and new combo under control. Power wasn’t an issue, but applying it to the track has been a battle from the start. The countless times the tires spun at various parts of the track, the aborted passed, the testing…. it all paid off on this Friday when they ran personal bests, won the event, and clinched the Championship! It’s a shame that the car is just now starting to come around at the end of the season. I believe they are still just scratching the surface with this car. It’s my opinion that the car will go teens, but you know what they say about opinions. I’m hoping to sit down with Wes and Russ this winter to see what their opinion on it is and talk about whatever else might comes up.

There have been a lot of improvements to this class including some rule changes. I predict a couple more rules coming before spring to get the class to fit in with all of the LDR rules. The smaller 295 tire rule change this year was combined with contracting Total Venue Concepts for a better track surface. Although it is a smaller tire, the track’s drag radial class record was broken multiple times. The ET aren’t opinion based, they are fact based… …and the facts say, its an improvement!

Until this year, Brad Tyson had been racing in the Drag Radial Class. I could write an entertaining book on the different setups he’s tried along the way, but in an effort to keep this somewhat short I’ll get the point. Brad made some much needed chassis upgrades over the winter and had spent the summer trying to get it dialed in. He is running a 315 radial in the Outlaw 10.5 class now. In his third qualifier, his car got a little loose on the big end and ended up against the wall after a 4.29 at 179mph pass. It was one of those crashes that take your breath away until you hear the words from the announcer that the driver is out of the car. Fortunately, the car wasn’t as bad as it should have been. Brad was in good spirits and already talking about how soon he would have the car back out! Everyone here at Race660.com wants to send out positive vibes for Brad and his crew as they work to get their car back to the track!

Also in the Outlaw 10.5 class was Tim Slavens. If you aren’t familiar with Tim, just google his name and learn about one of the most impressive cars ever on a radial. Tim ended up winning the class over Bob Ross in the finals but was only able to get his car into the 4.30’s during the event. The next day, Tim stuck around and made some test hits which included what I believe is the record for Milan Dragway on radial with a 3.89.

Now on to the actual Drag Radial class! 

It wasn’t the day the weather forecast had been predicting. It rained in the morning and was overcast to start the qualifying rounds. The track had announced that it needed to make some changes in an effort to keep the event from running so late. Instead of 3 qualifiers, they only guaranteed 2 but would work hard to make the day run more efficiently in hopes to provide 3. Racers had to be a little more strategic with their qualifying passes to make certain they qualified well. In the end, the track crew did an awesome job of speeding up the program and were able to get 3 rounds of qualifying in even with an hour rain delay.

After 3 rounds, there were 15 cars qualified and EVERY car was in the 4’s. I’m hoping next month, we have a full all 4 second field with a bump. The top of that list in the number 1 spot was none other than Jim Monson. He decided to show up out of the blue and break the drag radial class record with his 4.25. Robert Cox qualified 2nd and Dave Harmer qualified 3rd.

These guys push their cars to the limit every month for a chance to take home some money. This year has been more rough on some race teams than others but across the board, its just been a rough year. This September we had a record number of cars break and it turned into a race of who could last the longest!

Round 1 of Eliminations:
Jim Monson had a bye, Matt Reese broke giving Mike Barran a bye, Robert Cox broke giving Mike West a bye, Dave Harmer broke giving Jim Parrott a bye, Karri Anne Beebe broke giving Wes Blankenship a bye, Ray Litz won over Aaron Johnson (spun at the line), Dale Arbogast won over Don Turner, and Kevin Hecht won over Rick Reynolds (spun at the line).

Round 2 of Eliminations:
Barran broke giving Monson a bye, Litz broke giving Arbogast a bye, Hecht won over West, and Blankenship won over Parrott.

Round 3 of Eliminations:
Monson broke giving Arbogast a bye, and Hecht won over Blankenship (spun at the line).

Finals:
Arbogast won over Hecht in one of the only side by side passes of the night in this class.

Great job from the Primer Nova team and Dale Arbogast to sneak into first place when the opportunity made itself available! Their car was consistently fast and went round after round. Will Arbogast’s 13 point lead be enough to hold off Robert Cox? We hope everyone is able to get their cars back together before October race. With 1 event left in the series, here are the points standings after September!

I think one of the best parts of the day for me was hearing track announcer Monte Kev, repeating over and over “That’s a new personal best” throughout all of the classes. Great job to all the racers and crews, the track personnel and Total Venue Concepts. We will see everyone on October 4th!

This is the fourth scheduled event in a six event series. May’s event was cancelled due to weather, June’s event ended early because of May Flies stuck to the track, and July ended early due to weather. This could be anyone’s Series to win! At the end of July, Matt Reese is currently the points leader over Robert Cox by 7 points and over Dale Arbogast by 9. In my opinion, Reese has been the MVP of the year so far. His car is running consistently fast and he’s been doing it seemingly under the radar.

As we inched our way closer to the August event, I made a few predictions:

1. There would be a bump spot (more than 16 cars) in Qualifying
2. There would be an all 4 second qualifying field
3. Robert Cox would win this month.

After the first round of qualifying (Q1), there were 16 cars (no bump), less than half of the cars went 4.XX, BUT Robert Cox was the number 1 qualifier with a 4.33 in the heat of the day. I might salvage being right 1 out of the 3 predictions. JR Gibson was number 2 with a 4.49, Dave Harmer number 3 with a 4.56, and points leader Matt Reese number 4 with a 4.68.

Going in to Q2, everyone is qualified with a time and I’m hoping to see some big tune ups get down the track and possibly get closer to my prediction of an all 4 second field. At this point I don’t think it is possible for this month but I’m still hopeful. It’s fairly warm out and the track has had the sun on it all day. Q1 track temp was 123 degrees and for Q2 it had only dropped to 121. When the qualifying round was over, I grabbed the Q2 sheet from the tower to see where everyone stood and realized that there were now 17 entries! I laughed a little that my prediction for a bump was right but then my heart sank as I noticed who was qualified #17. In the bump spot and not in the show yet was the team of Seher Schultetus Racing. I’d watched their Facebook updates through the week and they seemed doubtful they would have the car together in time. They had been struggling all year but all of the stars seemed to align and with some help and overnight shipping from Menscer they made it just in the nick of time. The top of the Qualifying sheet was Robert Cox still number 1 with a 4.33, 3 Time Track Champion Mike Barran number 2 with a 4.47, and JR Gibson in number 3 with a 4.49.

Going in to Q3 I’m feeling pretty good about my predictions. Robert Cox has the field covered by a tenth and a half, there’s a bump, and there are 10 cars in the 4’s and 4 of them not in the 4’s I know can run 4’s. It’s no secret that by the time Q3 comes around the track will always start to come around to nearly perfect condition as the temperature drops and the sun goes down. I know the big boy tunes are loaded in and Total Venue Concepts (Jason Ruckert this month) has the track prepped to hold them. The first pair down were Aaron Johnson and Rick Reynolds. I needed Johnson to run a 4 second pass to keep my prediction hopes alive but he only went 5.01. My disappointment was short lived as next to him Reynolds went 4.589 setting a personal best ET again this month. The drivers never get to see the crew celebrate a win light, a reaction time advantage or a personal best ET. It’s unfortunate because sometimes I believe it’s more valuable than any money they could win. These crews are as invested as the drivers are. Fortunately we were able to capture Rick’s Crew Chief Adam Tarrant after Rick set his personal best ET. Congratulations Rick and Adam!

After Reynolds pass, the rest of the field continued to qualify. There were some improvements but none of the cars I needed to run in the 4’s made it in the 4’s yet. As the lanes were being prepped for this round I stood in the staging lanes with a few guys. One of them was Chris Schultetus, he mentioned that because they were currently not qualified in the field the plan was to make an easy pass on 1 kit of nitrous just to get in the field. Then with a Chuck Norris style smile he said if they happen to spin again off the line again they decided Greg should get back into the throttle and give it all the kits they have. Here’s a video of what happened, and I assure you this video does not do it justice.

Last months fireworks were canceled due to the weather, but this months fireworks were sponsored by Seher Schultetus Racing. We hope they can get things figured out soon and get that car back to the standard it’s known for. This is a great group of guys, they have no quit in them and have tons of heart. I’m certain you will see them back next month and their car will be stronger than ever!

After the fireworks show the qualifying order was set.

1. Robert Cox             4.33 @ 180.09 mph
2. Mike Barran          4.47 @ 172.10 mph
3. JR Gibson              4.49 @ 156.61 mph
4. Dale Arbogast       4.52 @ 167.89 mph
5. Dave Harmer        4.54 @ 164.85 mph
6. Matt Reese            4.55 @ 162.48 mph
7. Rick Reynolds      4.58 @ 152.92 mph
8. Scott Carter          4.71 @132.83 mph
9. Kevin Hecht          4.74 @ 153.45 mph
10. Randy Darocy       4.86 @ 158.45 mph
11. Aaron Johnson     5.01 @ 141.22 mph
12. Mike West              5.02 @ 139.79 mph
13. Wes Blankenship 5.04 @ 164.43 mph
14. Mike Smith            5.07 @ 144.18 mph
15. Don Turner            5.11 @ 141.63 mph
16. Jim Parrott             5.17 @ 134.01 mph
    —————————————-
17. Greg Seher             5.58 @ 142.18 mph

Round 1 of Eliminations (E1)

Mike West over Dave Harmer (Harmer Broke)
JR Gibson over Mike Smith
Rick Reynolds over Randy Darocy
Dale Arbogast over Wes Blankenship
Aaron Johnson over Matt Reese
Robert Cox over Jim Parrott (Parrott Broke)
Kevin Hecht over Scott Carter (Carter Broke)
Don Turner over Mike Barran (Barran Broke)

Round 2 of Eliminations (E2)

Dale Arbogast over Mike West
Aaron Johnson over JR Gibson
Robert Cox over Kevin Hecht
Rick Reynolds over Don Turner

Semi Finals (E3)

Rick Reynolds over Aaron Johnson
Robert Cox over Dale Arbogast

Finals 

Robert Cox over Rick Reynolds

It was great to see Robert Cox win the Drag Radial class in the Aeroquip Heads Up Series at Milan Dragway. They have been fighting through their fair share of struggles and bad luck along the way, including a previous DQ on a bye run after they qualified number 1 in June over Matt Bell. Congrats to Cox and his crew on a job well done! The car is getting more and more consistent every month and if that continues through the next two events, we are looking at the new Track Champion in the Drag Radial Class. Only time will tell. Here are the points standings after this months events.

It’s fairly early to make any predictions for next month, but 2 out of 3 for this month isn’t bad. I feel like JR Gibson has a hotrod that should win an event and we can never count out the 3 time Champ Mike Barran. As we wind down the series into the cooler months, I can see Cox, Gibson and Barran making 4.20’s passes. Currently only Cox has been in the 4.20’s here. I would love to see an all 4 second field with a bump at some point this year!

As a side note, I see today that Tyler Crossnoe posted some rule changes for Limited Drag Radial (LDR). The Heads Up Series Drag Radial Class is in the process of adopting the previous rules, I’m curious if they will affect the rules moving forward. That being said, I don’t believe the changes would affect anyone currently racing in this Drag Radial Class.

We will catch you all next month! I hope to see Don Turner, Mike Smith, Moe Alfaqih, and Jim Parrott make the long trip again and keep the car count for this class high!

The points standings after July is as follows:

Round 1 Qualifying

The mid 90’s temperature combined with the upper 135+ degree track temperature made the first round of qualifying the slowest we’ve seen all year. If there was a bright side to the round, it was seeing the struggling 3 time Milan Drag Radial Champion back in the #1 spot again (5.01) just ahead of Aaron Johnson (5.21) with his Sunday Ice Cream Street Cruiser.

Round 2 Qualifying

Although, there was a brief mist of rain just before the second round of qualifying for Drag Radial, the conditions stayed essentially the same as round 1. The delay was less than 5 minutes. After a quick double check of the track, Tom and Kurt had us back to racing. Still number 1 qualifier, Barran improved to a 4.64, but Matt Reese (4.67) and Rick Reynolds (4.68) were right behind him rounding out the top 3. At this point, 8 of the 14 cars in the field were in the 4.xx’s after round 2 of qualifying.

Round 3 Qualifying

A big dark cloud brought in a 45 minute downpour that created a rain delay that lasted a couple hours. The track crew along side of Kurt Johnson busted their butt to get the track dry and prepped again. I was a little surprised they decided to finish out the 3rd round of qualifying because it had started to get late, but they were able to complete the round for all of the classes including Drag Radial. Alfaqih stole the number 1 qualifying spot from Barran with a 4.52, Rick Reynolds ran a personal best of 4.61 to take the number 2 spot, and Dale Arbogast right behind him with a 4.62. Barran wasn’t in the lanes for the third round to defend the number 1 spot.

Round 1 Eliminations

The bracket pairings were a bit confusing to me with 14 cars in a 16 car bracket. Normally the #1 and #2 qualifier would get byes in this situation, but they paired up the field of 14 cars with each other and then created a bye vs a bye as a pair to make up the 16 car bracket. By doing it this way, it changes the matchups which could have cost/won a racer a round win in points and the money. Matching up the #1 qualifier with the lowest qualifier in round 1 and then giving him a bye in round 2 if he wins doesn’t seem right to me. Although I found it odd, I didn’t hear any of the racers mention it when I was in the lanes after the pairings were posted. Round 1 of eliminations was underway! I took video from a different location, I haven’t decided which I like better. Let me know what your opinion is! Here is the first round of Eliminations.

The cars were in the lanes for round 2 when rain moved in and the event was ended early. The money and points were split among the winners of round 1.

I’ve been fairly vocal about how impressed I’ve been with Milan Dragway this year, especially with the Heads Up Series. The best decision was to bring Total Venue Concepts back again this year and lock them in for the 3 day weekend that includes every Heads Up Series event. I want to double down on that this month but also add to it. When I go through my photos and videos from the event, one thing stands out to me that I’ve failed to mention specifically before. Every picture and video regardless of the time of day or the temperature, Tom (the Commander and Chief of the starting line) is on top of every situation. He looks under every car, he watches every pass, he mops, scrubs, drags, sweeps, etc. Contracting Kurt Johnson and his crew was brilliant, but it in no way discredits Tom and his crew. Tom might be the hardest working and most alert track employee in the state and he’s been with Milan Dragway for as long as I can remember.

I’ll see everyone again August 2nd! When the points are updated, I’ll add them to the Facebook Page!

The sun was shining, it was 82 degrees, and a light breeze was blowing gently through Kurt Johnson’s golden locks. As I made my way through the pits, there were two things being talked about. 1. Did you see that Matt Bell is here with his LDR car? and 2. It’s going to be a very fast field. The expectations were high and the excitement was real.

The track temp was up over 120 degrees for the first round of qualifying and the qualifying times represented that. There were only three cars that made it into the 4.XX’s zone. Robert Cox with a 4.44, Rick Reynolds with a 4.81 and Mike Smith with a 4.89. In the preview I wrote a couple months back, I neglected to mention Robert Cox. I’m not sure how I could forget him, but I did. Round two qualifying brought the field a bit tighter with six cars in the 4.XX’s zone and Cox still at the top. There were a couple major cleanups in the beginning of the third round qualifier, and time was on the side of those running radials. The sun had started going down, the track temp was near 85 degrees, Kurt Johnson gave his seal of approval, and the last-minute big boy tunes were thrown into their cars. Round three of qualifying placed all but two of the fifteen car field into the 4.XX’s zone (Edwards broke earlier after a 5.04 pass and West went 5.00). Remember how I forgot about Cox? He made certain I will never forget again as he set the Milan Drag Radial record in qualifier number three with a 4.27. This is the perfect time to mention that this year with the new rules set closer to Limited Drag Radial (LDR), these cars are now on a 295 tire max instead of a 315 when the record was previously set; This was also in the heat of June, not the cooler September temps. I believe Milan Dragway 100% made the right move with using the proper equipment and contracting Total Venue Concepts to prep this track. The ETs alone should be the only validation needed. The controversial rule change to switch (mostly) over to LDR rules was also a good move in my opinion. One of the arguments against it was that no new LDR cars would come for this smaller payout event. A canceled event in Kentucky created an opportunity for Matt Bell and Brian Edwards to compete here. Could there still be some arguments? Sure. Will I change my mind? At this point, No.

Round 1 might have been the most exciting racing of the night. Three time champ Mike Barran spun and Ray Litz drove right on by and took the win. Barran will be playing catch up with points but you don’t become a three time champ by buckling under pressure. Mike Smith pulled the front tires for 100+ feet wheelie in his loss against Reese. Reese had a very impressive day and it certainly did not go unnoticed by the field! Robert Cox sprung a leak after a healthy burnout for his bye run and wasn’t allowed to take the beams disqualifying him (by the rules) from the event. I stood at about 690′ videoing for the matchup between Dale Arbogast and Aaron Johnson. In my previous article I mentioned that Johnson, in his weekly driven street car, would keep the faster guys on their toes. This is exactly what happened! Johnson treed Arbogast, then Arbogast struck the tires. Johnson got out on Arbogast but Arbogast was coming on strong. At the stripe it was a margin of .011 (that translates into inches) between the two. Arbogast had 20 mph on Johnson and came around him at the stripe to take the win and advance. Johnson went 4.93 to Arbogast’s 4.89 in the best race of the night.

Round 2 went down in seemingly anti-climatic fashion. Gibson red lit in his loss to Reese, Arbogast had an electrical failure and was left at the tree by Litz, and Harmer had a bye because of Cox’s DQ. The only thing redeeming about round two is that Matt Bell reset the Drag Radial track record at Milan Dragway with a 4.26! Unfortunately, Blankenship got out of shape in the lane next to him, narrowly escaping the wall, and hardly anyone noticed the record being set. Thankfully, Blankenship was ok and his car was undamaged. Bell left the Milan record well within reach (he’s been better than a tenth faster). This fall, I believe the Milan drag radial record will go into the teens.

Here is where the story becomes almost unbelievable. I did not see the track claim one shoe from the prep, however, it claimed so many mayflies that the glued surface became slippery. I’ve never heard of such a thing! Milan has had snow, dew, water, and now it has had.. mayflies. Thanks a LOT Kurt Johnson! We’re left with only you to blame… for the new records… AND the “flypaper” radial surface (literally). I would have loved to see these guys race this event out, but not at the expense of their cars, or worse. It was a tough but good call by Milan based on the recommendation of Kurt.

Matt Reese, Matt Bell, Ray Litz, and Dave Harmer will chop up the money and the points. The mayflies were the only thing to beat these guys tonight. Great job, you’ve set the bar high in a class where the competition is strong! I’m already looking forward to July 5th, at Milan Dragway. Milan usually has a nice firework show, and a bonfire for the first Friday in July. Bring the family!

As a side note, Bob Ross also set a new Milan Dragway record in Outlaw 10.5 with a 3.97. I should also mention that Monte Kev did a fantastic job behind the microphone.

Here are the two rounds of action in Drag Radial, condensed into less than three minutes.

Here is how the field qualified:

1. R. Cox 4.27 @ 175.66
2. M. Bell 4.29 @ 187.35
3. JR Gibson 4.30 @ 180.08
4. M. Barran 4.44 @ 165.74
5. D. Arbogast 4.51 @ 166.93
6. M. Reese 4.56 @ 159.14
7. W. Blankenship 4.64 @ 139.25
8. D. Harmer 4.68 @ 158.65
9. R. Reynolds 4.68 @ 156.36
10. K. Hecht 4.69 @ 148.87
11. M. Smith 4.72 @ 144.79
12. A. Johnson 4.94 @ 143.66
13. R. Litz 4.99 @ 149.20
14. M. West 5.00 @ 139.78
15. B. Edwards 5.04 @ 141.60
16. Bye

Round 1:
#13 R. Litz Over #4 M. Barran
#6 M. Reese Over #11 M. Smith
#8 D. Harmer Over #9 R. Reynolds
#7 W. Blankenship Over #10 K. Hecht
#3 JR Gibson Over #14 M. West
#5 D. Arbogast Over #12 A. Johnson
#1 R. Cox DQ (Leaking Car, Couldn’t Break The Beams)

Round 2:
#6 M. Reese Over #3 JR Gibson
#2 M. Bell Over #7 W. Blankenship
#13 R. Litz Over #5 D. Arbogast
#8 D. Harmer Bye From DQ

4-Way Tie for 1^st Matt Reese, Matt Bell, Ray Litz, Dave Harmer

Drag Radial has typically been the largest field of any class in this Series. The success of this Series has always been the racers even with little help from the track. This year it seems Milan is taking some steps in the right direction. In an effort to  grow this class and fall in line with other similar events around the country, Milan has made some rule changes to their Radial Class. Drag Radial is adopting similar rules to the more common Limited Drag Radial (LDR). These new rules seem to be more uniform across the board and possibly bring in new racers that will not need to change their combo to race this Series. In addition to those rule changes, I’m also excited to hear that Kurt Johnson and Jason “Pooch” Ruckert will be prepping the track at every Heads Up event. This will significantly improve the surface for this Drag Radial class! Only time will tell how these rule changes and the track prep will affect this class as the season moves forward.
Barran runs a Big Block Twin Turbo combo which really won’t be affected by the rule changes. Unfortunately, we are already hearing rumors of racers currently in this class being forced to move to other classes such as Outlaw 10.5. I won’t know for sure until the first Heads Up Series but I believe Greg Powrie and Brad Tyson will be among those deciding to switch classes, both of these would be a huge loss for Drag Radial! (new class rules at the bottom)

With top programs like Greg Powrie and Brad Tyson potentially leaving Drag Radial, does Barran have an easy path to his 4th Championship? Of course not! Let’s take a look at some of the other teams who would love to dethrone the champ.

Turbo:
I need to be honest, I’m excited just writing about the next three teams. If there were music, I’d ask you to cue it up so I could announce these guys like it was a cage match to the death.
Right out of the gate let’s talk about the Clements. They currently hold the record in Drag Radial at Milan with a 4.28.  They took some time off to make some upgrades and are looking to come back this year with a vengeance.
JR Gibson. Yes, I just wrote an entire sentence with just his name. He’s THAT impressive. Gibson took a couple years off for his family and is back to let everyone know he only stepped out for a minute to let the other teams catch up to his program. I believe he is running the same combo as he ran a few years ago and still has a car that could lead the pack.
The father/son combo of Russ and Wes Blankenship have made some impressive improvements on their 4th Gen Camaro. It’s likely going to take a little bit of time to tame this beast but when they figure it out, they are going to hurt some feelings!

Nitrous:
One of the nitrous teams I believe that can give Barran some competition is the team of Greg Seher. These guys have no quit in them and recently started using a 3^rd kit with their combo while testing in Bowling Green, Kentucky at Outlaw Street Car Reunion! This team spends a lot of time at the track and becomes more impressive with every pass!
Last year a couple teams jumped over to Outlaw 632, Dave Harmer’s team was one of them. I hear Harmer is coming back to Drag Radial with a bigger cubic inch setup that he feels can be more competitive.

Procharger:
One of my favorite cars in Drag Radial is Dale Arbogast’s Procharged Primer Nova. I think it would be foolish to look past this car and you can count on him making rounds. Impressively, this Nova sits on leaf springs and a 275.
Like the little brother that just won’t go away, Randy Darocy’s Procharged Mustang is always in the lanes and ready for action.

New comers to the class are Aaron Johnson and Rick Reynolds. Johnson qualified in the backside of the field (with his old turbo combo) the only time he raced this class back in 2017. Johnson has a new combo that probably won’t run at the top, but will definitely keep any car at the top honest. Rick Reynolds is switching classes from OL632 to Drag Radial. Rick has already been out testing his car this year at Lights Out 10 but with the recent rule changes will be new to the 295 like many others.
Monte Kev, Rick Perry, Kevin Hecht, Troy Waterstraat, Jeff Sandlin, Mike Smith.. the list goes on and on of racers that can go rounds and that we look forward to seeing every first Friday of the month.

Rumor is that with the rule change there are some new cars coming to compete. This sounds amazing but I’ll have to see it to believe it! I believe this Heads Up Series is one of the best around. Hopefully it continues to grow. I will keep a close eye on the Drag Radial class and keep you updated!

2019 Aeroquip Heads Up Rules – Drag Radial Rules – PDF

2019 Heads Up Series Dates:
May 3
June 7
July 5
August 2
September 6
October 4

LOCATION: Milan Dragway
10860 Plank Rd, Milan, MI 48160

TIMES: Qualifying 2 PM
Gates: Racer 11 AM | Spectator 2 PM

ADMISSION:
Crew/Spectator: $20 | Kids 12 & Under: FREE
Spectator Side Parking: Free | Pit Side Parking: $20