Drag Illustrated Issue 152, January 2020 | Page 96

The Champions of 2019
[ BIG DOG SHOOTOUT ]
Brian
Shrader
[ OUTLAW 10.5 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES ]
Mo H all
W
inning the championship is part hard work, lots of testing, and
lots of help from outside sources,” explains Mo Hall, the 2019 Atomizer Outlaw
10.5 National Championship Series victor. “That’s all part of winning.”
For Hall and his team, the year started out based on uncertainty, but the tide
quickly changed, and dominance became the strategy.
“In the beginning of the year, HFR Fabrication rebuilt this race car in less than 30 days,” Hall
tells us. “We took the car to Brandon Switzer at Switzer Dynamics on March 29 and installed a
brand-new, never-been-used-for-nitrous-before, M150 EFI system from MoTeC. The first race
of the year we won and then proceeded to progressively get better and better as we learned
the software. So this was a fun year because of the dominance built into that M150 and what
Brandon Switzer has done.”
In a season that saw wins, runner-up finishes and records being set and reset, it didn’t come
without challenge. Some of that challenge came from running on radials.
“Track conditions from event to event was probably the biggest challenge we faced this year,”
explains Hall. “With running the radial tire, track conditions from event to event made manag-
ing the power important. Running on slick-prep tracks and radial-prep tracks is no small feat.”
Hall promises another exciting season in Outlaw 10.5 in 2020.
“Changes for 2020 are not too severe,” Hall explains. “We are revamping the setup in the
race car, and we should start testing in February. Everything’s out getting freshened up, cleaned
up, redone, touched up, just making sure everything’s clean and ready and preparing. We are
literally changing the entire setup on the back on the race car and trying to conquer this piece,
but at a different way.
“I want to thank Steve and Joel,” Hall adds. “They’re the two that are on the crew that just
worked their asses off year-round to make this thing work and function. I also want to thank
Cecil County Dragway, Jim Halsey, Cathy Crouse, Brandon Switzer and Switzer Dynamics and
Fulton Race Engines.” – PETE EPPLE
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I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
Issue 152
W
hile growing up racing at
tracks around his hometown of
Bristol, Tennessee, Brian Shrad-
er established himself as a quiet
Southern gentleman who let his race car do the
talking. Over the last three years, his driving abil-
ities and competitive cars have established his
team as one to beat at every event. Beginning
with his “Lethal” Camaro and Corvette race cars,
Shrader combined with Robert Hayes, eventually
moving Hayes to Mooresville and into the Shrader
shop to add to the decision to use Fulton Com-
petition engines exclusively.
So how did Shrader end up repeating as Pied-
mont Dragway’s Big Dog Shootout season cham-
pion for the second
year in a row? First
of all, the white
Corvette became a
dedicated Big Dog
car after Hayes
completed an iden-
tical Corvette for
Pro Nitrous.
The 2019 season
was a tough one
compared to the
2018 season, but
Shrader, Hayes,
and Matt Herrick
had a great season.
Shrader won the
event in August and made it to the finals in April,
May and July. Running mostly in the 3-second
range all year long, consistency played a huge
part in his success. Finishing just 10 points
ahead of Travis Harvey, the season came down
to the final event, just as it should. Harvey beat
Shrader in the first round. Harvey had to go on
to win to become the champ, but he was put out
by the eventual runner-up, Justin Wall.
In addition to pursuing their second consec-
utive Big Dog title, the Shrader/Hayes group
also built their new Corvette and completed the
construction of a new building in Mooresville,
North Carolina, that was severely damaged in a
freak storm. The resolve of this team is evident
with every race they attend.
Shrader, Hayes and team will put up an-
other fight in 2020 as they fend off the doz-
en-plus competitors who show up for a shot
at the eight-car Big Dog Shootout fields each
month. – GREG BURROW
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