LIGHTS OUT X
A decade of small tires, big payouts and huge crowds in Valdosta, Georgia
BY JOSH HACHAT AND NATE VAN WAGNEN
PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRIS SEARS
■ ALEX LAUGHLIN
W
hat started as “The Night
the Lights Went Out in Geor-
gia,” a modest small-tire drag
racing event at South Georgia
Motorsports Park a decade ago
has continued to build steam and capture the
interest of fans, competitors and manufactur-
ers from across the sport and around the world.
Promoted by Donald “Duck” Long and his Duck
X Productions team, Lights Out has become the
proving grounds for drag racing’s baddest outlaw
racers, where drag radial legends do battle with
April 2019
newcomers bringing top tuning talent and the
finest equipment money can buy.
This year’s 10th running of Lights Out exceeded
expectations in every way, with overflowing fields
in several classes and numerous world records
set in the cool February conditions. The grand-
stands and starting line area alike were packed
throughout the weekend, but especially so when
the headlining Radial vs. the World class came to
the starting line. All eyes were on the infamous
Valdosta eighth-mile strip as the stock-wheelbase
entries of Tim Slavens and Alex Laughlin squared
off with the Pro Mod-style cars of Daniel Pharris
and Kevin Rivenbark.
While Slavens and Rivenbark fought over the
Radial vs. the World record in qualifying – Riven-
bark left Valdosta as the quickest driver with a
3.613-second blast – the $50,000-to-win final
round came down to No. 4 and 6 qualifiers Laugh-
lin and Pharris. The two young guns put on an in-
credible show, racing door-handle-to-door-handle
in a 3.69-second race decided on a holeshot. It was
a fitting end to what will be remembered as one of
the best weekends in drag radial history.
DragIllustrated.com
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