HOWES MAKES IT HAPPEN

Tommy Howes qualified his ’68 Camaro fourth in the eight-car field and advanced to win his career-first Nitro Coupe final.

Words and photos by Ian Tocher 4/6/05

Now in its 25th season, the Super Chevy Show rolled into South Georgia Motorsports Park April 1-3 for its third of 19 events this year. Rain washed out Friday’s action and high winds forced the Nitro Coupe and Top Sportsman classes to qualify over the eighth mile on Saturday, but on race day, sunny skies and temperatures in the low 70s greeted racers and fans at the facility and it was back to quarter-mile action.

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Regardless, Nitro Coupe competitor Tommy Howes didn’t really feel like racing. Howes, from Laytonsville, MD, had been hospitalized earlier in the week for a yet-to-be-diagnosed illness and said friends and family encouraged him to skip the race. “When we got here Friday, I thought I was gonna have to go to the hospital again. I felt that bad,” he admitted.

Howes beat Dave Tomasino, Randy Adler, and Mel Eaves for the win. He was unhappy with his reaction times all weekend, but saved his best light (.058)—though his slowest pass—for the final round, going 6.598 at 209.88, while Eaves banged the blower on his car, slowing to 6.862 at 166.91 mph. “It just happened to go my way,” Howes concluded.

Eaves, from Bayonet Point, FL, slotted into the third qualifying position with his ’63 ‘Vette, a car he bought from Brian Gahm last year. Gahm ran it as a nitrous Pro Mod entry and Eves said “it cost about $10,000 just to switch it over to a blower car,” explaining the chassis was stiffened, fuel capacity was increased from three to 12 gallons, and “it has a full-floater rearend now. Everything’s different.”

Mel Eaves said he plans to enter a few ADRL Outlaw Pro Mod races this year. “I can still pull 200 pounds out and now that they’re allowing nitro I think we can be competitive.”