Beaver Springs Dragway – The Ford FE (Ford-Edsel) Engine was a very versatile design that debuted in 1958 and appeared in various displacements and vehicles up to 1976. Of course of the many configurations available (and there were many), the ones most familiar to the general public are the 427s that were prominent in the 60s in various types of racing, and the 428 Cobra Jets that were popular towards the end of the muscle car days. For the true Ford aficionado, well, they can rattle off almost every combination available.

Anyone who knows Beaver Bob McCardle, former owner of BSD, knows he’s one of the most passionate Ford owners there is, who not only knows his stuff on what Ford makes, he backs it up with ownership. Bob was a big part of making the first FE Reunion happen, and the event was so popular, it just kept rolling on every year, gaining steam. As Bob was quick to explain to me, it’s become more than an event, it’s now a destination, and that was proven out by all the out-of-state license plates on display. And then there’s the folks from all over the place who make this event an annual pilgrimage on their schedule. This is an event crowd like no other.

The day started out on a dreary weather note. The BSD crew worked hard getting the track dry, only to be laughed at by Mother Nature, who waited to fool the track crew and the weatherman each time by dropping down liquid sunshine as soon as the surface was ready to race on. Little did Mother Nature know, a little rain wasn’t enough to dampen the spirits of these hearty FE fans. They were having fun and enjoying the day regardless, and had plenty of show cars to drool over, besides. Finally, though, the track crew prevailed and the racing began. The FE faithful were rewarded by some fierce competition, some crazy wheelstands, and about as diverse a collection of Fords imaginable on a single drag strip.

Every round of eliminations brought out the best competition, with the fans admiring every car. When it was all said and done, and only the winners were left standing, I heard a number of racers and fans already making plans to attend XIV next year. If you’re a fan of Fords powered by the FE engine, you better make your own plans to join them!

The winners from Saturday’s action, 9-6-2025.