Dirt
LIGHTS OUT 12
2 . Larson Miller Fires Off First 3-Second Diesel Pass � Prior to Lights Out 12 , the quickest eighth-mile pass for a diesel-powered entry was in the low 4-second range . Larson Miller and his family ’ s Hot Shot ’ s Secret Firepunk Diesel Chevy S-10 changed that in qualifying when Miller covered the South Georgia eighth mile in 3.998 seconds at 182.67 , breaking his own world record and becoming the first diesel to run in the 3-second zone .
“ A ton of hard work went into this ,” said Firepunk Diesel owner Lavon Miller , brother of driver Larson and crew chief Lyn . “ It ’ s something we ’ ve been chasing to try to get this truck into the 3s and every time you go deeper into the 4s it seems like it ’ s so close yet so far away and it finally all came together . It is really an accomplishment for the diesel world today and we are glad that our team can be a part of it .”
3 . Drag Radial Fans Show Up in Big Numbers � The attendance numbers in terms of spectators and racer participation show that Long ’ s brand of outlaw eighth-mile drag racing is showing no signs of cooling off . Even after Long added two small races to his typical schedule of three big races – Lights Out , Sweet 16 and No Mercy – last season , the fans who packed South Georgia Motorsports Park ’ s grandstands were clearly still hungry for small-tire racing after the winter break . Drone photos from the weekend show hundreds of campers and race rigs covering the grounds , along with thousands of spectators filling the stands and fences .
4 . Tim Slavens & Crew Bounce Back � When small-tire hero Tim Slavens took flight in his turbocharged ’ 69 Camaro on a Wednesday test pass , most people assumed the Missouri native was done for the event . After all , Slavens didn ’ t just hike up the front end and set it back down . He went airborne , floating over the racing surface for a few seconds before slamming back down , with the right front corner taking the initial impact .
Slavens and his team , led by crew chief Mark Werdehausen , decided not to let the setback stop them . They started thrashing on the “ Wolverine 2.0 ” Camaro , performing chassis and body repairs in the pits using whatever methods it took to straighten out the chassis .
After working through the night , Slavens returned to the staging lanes to make a planned shut-off run to make sure everything checked out . A 4.002 at 161 mph gave the team confidence in their work . Slavens improved to a 3.893 at 193.52 to qualify No . 16 in the 32-car Pro 275 field . He bowed out in the first round , but merely coming back from Wednesday ’ s incident was a victory in itself .
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5 . Mo Hall Arrives in Pro 275 � Outlaw 10.5 veteran Mo Hall is still fairly new to the similarly green Pro 275 class , but with his Brandon Switzer-tuned , Fulton-powered Corvette , he ’ s proving to be a serious player in the class considered to be one small step down from Radial
34 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com