Beaver Springs Dragway – The definition of Jalopy, according to the dictionary is, an old car in a dilapidated condition. The definition of Fixation is, an obsessive interest in or feeling about someone or something. Well, those definitions are only a partially accurate description of the weekend. True, those who were there do have a obsessive feeling about those nostalgic hot rods that took to the track, but they could hardly be described as jalopies. As usual, there was a tremendous display of wonderful, nostalgic hot rods with something to put a smile on everyone’s face! Throw in appearances by wonderful clubs, the East Coast Gassers and the North East Timing Organization (NETO), not to mention the Back Seat Drivers, along with everyone else and you have a recipe for a weekend of drag racing like no other.

Almost every attendee at Beaver Springs will remark about how a race there always feels special, beginning with a big smile from Betty at the ticket booth and ending with winners getting a hug from Ethyl, along with a healthy dose of care and hard work from all the track personnel in between. On this weekend, the staff pulled out all the stops to keep the track in tip-top shape after several challenges put them to the test. No one wants to see these things happen, but it’s always a comfort to know the Beaver Springs gang stays on top of whatever is thrown at them. Thanks to the efforts of the crew and the quality of the safety equipment on the cars (not to mention a masterful bit of driving by Vinny Laurita to keep his car under control), events that could’ve been really nasty were only annoyances. And although some cars were hurt, every driver was thankful things turned out much better than what could’ve happened.

Pair after pair going down the track consisted of incredible match-ups between some fantastic hot rods. One thing that’s really becoming apparent is the family atmosphere that’s developing around these events. It’s a common thing to see racers helping each other. The East Coast Gassers put on quite a display in the pits of helping each other out. In one shining example, it was one of those cases that was full of good fortune. A steering link broke on Mike Wheeler’s truck in the pits after a run, a real blessing that it didn’t happen on the track. Not only was there good fortune in that, club mate Ed Linus just happened to have the exact part on hand as a spare. A number of guys pitched in to help swap out the broken part and get Wheeler back in the game. A perfect example of how the folks at the track become family.

I have to give a big shout out to another racing team, the Born Again Racing Team. James Joyce and Michael Breidenbach (along with co-founder Kevin Smith, Jr. and Christy Breidenbach) were there with their Faith-based hot rods to remind everyone how blessed they are to be able to take part in a weekend of racing all because of the love of our Creator. There will be more on this team in a future post here at DF Motorsports Magazine.

Mark your calendar for this race next year. You won’t want to miss it!