The Unlimited class was anything goes, first to the finish line was the winner. Some of the more famous folks that raced here over the years included Joe Lunati and the Troublemaker, Herb "MR. 4 speed" McCandles, and even current IHRA Top Fuel sensation Clay Millican raced here when he was 15 or 16 in a Cuda I believe. This was right at the time we changed to the Christmas tree and he wanted to be flag started, which he was. I've gone on enough about the last strip, just thought you might want to know about a piece of drag racing history that still exists and is more than surviving, indeed, the place is thriving.

Charles Jolliff

Jeff Burk and Chris Martin have been planning a trip to Paragould ever since Burk started DragRacingOnline in 1999. Will they ever make it? Stay tuned.

NOW, KIDS, DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME

Glad you're bringing some attention to these tracks.

Following a wedding in South Georgia I brought some friends from Long Beach, CA to Macon National Dragway for a 10.5 race. This is a guy who used to work for Mickey Thompson, spent a lot of time at Lion's, has promoted fuel races, won best appearing crew at the Winternationals, and raced in Japan with the NHRA tour. He hung on the fence for hours, said it was the most fun he had at a dragstrip in many years. The people were great, the betting was constant (pretty much a given at outlaw tracks), and they even sold boiled peanuts. He said the atmosphere was comparable to Lion's back in the day.

Several years back I was racing my '32 Ford there around the 4th of July. There was a timing system failure of some kind and the racing came to a halt. I mentioned to Jerry that I had a bunch of fireworks and would be happy to set them off if it was ok with him. He cut the lights off and brought some fire extinguishers over. We had fun blowing up all the mortars and rockets we brought and the paying customers got a free show.

Jerry and his wife always make a point to say hello and I always have a good time down there.

Dave Cox
Hellzapopin' '32 Ford

IF YA GOT 'EM. . .

Dale's story is a hoot! Several years ago I went to Humbolt, Iowa, with a friend who had sold his front engine dragster and wanted some action shots before it was gone. He took me up to the track owner and told the guy what we were doing. I then asked him where I should and should not stand. He said, "You can stand in the middle of the track, just past the Christmas Tree if you've got the balls." I passed!

Al Booton

THE VERY LAST MARTIN ITEM:

AGENT 1300(SHY A FEW FEET OF A FULL STRIP)

Sources confirm to the agent that Drag Racing Online eMagazine's Editor at Large, Chris Martin was the broker behind the recent U.S. Army-Brown/Savoie sponsorship package. One source stated that Martin utilized his keen knowledge of current events, Court rulings, organization charts and public opinion to author the package. Other sources told the agent that Martin look at the fact that the U.S. Army is part of the Federal Government and the fact, that companies and individuals contracted to the Army have to abide by federal rules and regulations. He then researched recent federal court rulings and public opinions regarding the subject of "separation of church and state," and came to the conclusion that this would be the perfect opportunity to eliminate Ms. Savoie's constant use of the word "God" in her on-air interviews. Savoie, asked to reply, stated that, "God brought me this deal because he knows how badly I want to race, and there is nothing Chris Martin can do to stop me from thanking God. I prayed and told God that from now on, I would refer to him as the "Big General" in my interviews to eliminate any problems."