George Ray’s Wildcat Dragstrip is legendary. The feeling of nostalgia is unparalleled from the moment you drive through the front gate. The grass pits, the gravel driveways that lead you to staging lanes that were once the starting line, to driving under the historic “Run at Own Risk” sign that hangs on the tower as you prepare to make a pass at what I call Brown County’s big brother. This was the perfect setting to end an incredible year of drag and drive with 116 real deal streetcars, the second largest car count of the year for this well-deserved track run by the grandson of legendary George Ray himself.
This story starts in August of 2024, as I made my way home from celebrating my grandmother’s 97th birthday, I swung in to spend a few minutes at George Ray’s. They were hosting a Sunday test and tune and the track had a great turnout. I met Tyler Russom right away as he was speaking to everyone that day. The atmosphere and hospitality immediately put the thought in my head of hosting a drag and drive here. I was not able to stay long, but before I left he dropped a nugget… “Hey, if you think we can work together to host an event here, I am all in.”
The thought stuck with me, but in 2024, we only hosted one event annually and that was enough, so I thought. During late 2025, in an effort to help Tulsa Raceway Park put more racers on the property during a test and tune, we hosted the Short Circuit. Meant to be a Friday night filler with 40-50 cars with a nice Saturday morning drive and a few passes on Saturday afternoon, all hosted during two days of test and tune, quickly turned into chaos with 78 cars showing up for Short Circuit and another 70 for the test and tune on Friday. Saturday ended up being a makeup race for the Bracket Series and we worked our racers in as a class, providing cool down time for points chasers. And the Short Circuit became a staple event.
With the success of the 2025 event, I set my sights on a new venue of George Ray’s Wildcat Dragstrip. I reached out to Tyler, and true to his word, he said yes immediately and we got to work. A few days of conversation and we landed on the first weekend of November with hopes to show the racers fields of cotton. The Mississippi River Delta didn’t disappoint with 1,000s of cotton bales lining the route and a few fields left to pick.
The Mississippi River Delta in fall lends itself to great photo opportunities, like cotton bales, huge expanses of flatfields, and of course historic landmarks. The Route Stops for this trip inlcuded Love's Travel Stop, the Historic Greyhound Bus Depot in Blytheville and one of the last remaining State Line Arches in the country as the racers entered Missouri. The Greyhound Bus Depot also hosted breakfast for everyone thanks to Susan (Michael’s mom) and Will Short. The Waffle and Pancake House in Blytheville made up 100 sausage biscuits, 100 bacon, egg and cheese biscuits, plus 100 orders of biscuits and gravy. The backdrop of the bus depot made for some incredible shots. The Missouri State Arch was the perfect last stop before returning to the track for racing.
Format and Classes
Short Circuit 2026 followed the traditional drag and drive formula with racers making passes on Friday, driving 100+ miles on Saturday morning and racing again on Saturday night. The Short Circuit was broken into 8 classes, 5 traditional drag and drive class formats based on the average of two passes (one from Friday and one from Saturday) and 3 classes inspired by the Back to the Streets event. BTTS is the only way in drag and drive to go heads up racing each day of the event. Racers are then split into a Winners and Losers bracket.
Power Adder by Missouri Transmission & Gear
The quickest class of the traditional classes was Power Adder by Missouri Transmission & Gear, with many racers running low 6s and high 5s. Day One, Michael Hailey and Jarrod Aspegren held the top two spots with 6.0xx passes, followed by Anthony Foster at 6.12 and Logan McIntosh at 6.26. But, after the 100 mile street drive, Mark Richardson and his 1967 Camaro were much quicker than the 7th place he left in at 6.455. The Camaro made huge strides on Saturday and netted Mark the Class Win with a 5.875, the quickest pass of the traditional classes. His Average finished at 6.165, just 0.027 ahead of Second Place Anthony Foster’s 6.192. Both racers have played this game before and know that thousandths matter. Places 3-6 were separated by just 0.09 with Logan McIntosh in 3rd at 6.204, Kobe Smith in 4th at 6.264, Michael Hailey in 5th at 6.283 and Payton Futrell rounding out the list at 6.296. Power Adder hosted 17 racers.
Tailgate by Cornerstone Performance Transmissions
Tailgate presented by Cornerstone Performance Transmissions had a bunch of S10s duking it out behind Robert Lamparek’s twin-turbo Coyote 2024 F-150. Robert finished Southeast Street-N-Yeet just 10 earlier and drove the truck home in 4wd with only the front wheels powering the truck after a run that deleted the driveshaft. With overnighted parts and a strong work ethic, he made the trip from Ohio to Arkansas and it paid off with the Class Win at 6.338 Average. He also ran the Quickest Pass of the class by nearly 4 tenths. Matthew Sist took Second with a 6.63 average, followed by Dustyn Caudle at 6.754. Dustyn was the First Race of the event and had a wild ride that resulted in a Grudge Match loss to Cody Ham in the Male Man Jeep.
All Motor by US Motorworks
The weather was perfect for the guys and girls that like their power to be of the Naturally Aspirated kind. With a low DA and cool weather, the All Motor class presented by US Motorworks was ripe for quick ETs. Chad Maggard showed that lightweight and a big motor is how to win the class. He left Friday in 4th after submitting a 6.712 in the Ford Courier. But Saturday proved to be his day with the 408 cubic inch Windsor and Powerglide pushing the 2200 pound truck down the track in 6.174 seconds for a 6.443 average. Corey Pant in his Duster would finish Second at 6.486 Average after submitting a 6.44 and 6.533. John Daugherty would land in Third with a 6.533 average in the Nova repping the Gearhead Perspective Podcast banner.
6.50 index Class by LS Customz
The 6.50 Index Class presented by LS Customz was an incredible class to watch. With no timing boards, this class was a blast to watch come together. The Top 4 racers finished within 0.0245 of each other. Joshua Peterson took home the trophy with his 6.539 average, after submitting a 6.530 on Day One and 6.548 on Day Two. Joshua’s 6.53 was the Quickest Pass of the Class. Second place, behind by just 0.018 seconds goes to Paul Polizzo with a 6.557 average from 6.554 and 6.56 timeslips. Third place is held by Hunter McQueen at 6.5575. Yes, just 0.0005 behind Second. And Michael Hollis rounds out the Top 4 of the class with his 6.5635 average.
Stick Shift Class
The Stick Shift Class had the Third Largest Car Count at 13. BJ Bax took the win in his 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass at 7.207 average with the Quickest Pass of the Class at 7.04 on Day One and 7.374 on Day Two. Rich Van Allen took home Second in his Corvette at 7.822. Third and Fourth was separated by just 0.001 with Wade Sunderland finishing with a 7.876 to Sean Fling’s 7.877 Average. Sean should have been quicker but a head gasket explosion at the starting line put the team into overdrive to get it fixed before the racing ended on Day One.
You VS You Class
The Traditional Classes saw some very tight standings, closest of all being the You VS You, which is centered around being the most consistent racer on the property. The spread between the racer’s quickest and slowest pass determine the standings. With just one pass to submit from each day, this class was destined to put racers on edge because every thousandths would matter. The Top 20 in the Class finished with a spread tighter than 0.10 of a second, and 39 of the 45 racers finished with less than a half second spread. Bobby Bell would put the Under Funded 1964 Chevy Nova Gasser in the Winner Spot with a 0.002 spread from his 8.637 pass on Day One and 8.635 from Day Two. Mike Turner would take Second at 0.007 with his 7.410 and 7.417 passes in his 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger. Chris Taylor would take Third at 0.01 in his 500+ hp 2019 Ford Explorer. Chris Wozniak and April Barker battled for 4th, with Chris coming out on top with his 0.016 to her 0.017 spread.
Back to the Streets Inspired Heads Up Elimination Classes
You can’t bring a bunch of gearheads to George Ray’s Wildcat Dragstrip and not run some kind of heads up racing. So, we hosted two Back to the Streets drag and drive event inspired classes. Racers drew chips to pair up across three rounds of racing on Friday night, with the racers that won 2 or more races headed for a four car shootout on Saturday to determine the class winner. These racers still had to complete the street driven portion of the event to race on Saturday. These classes were invite only and were full of heavy hitters in their respective fields. The OG Small Tire class had Adam Hodson, Travis Martin, Shawn Fensler, Peter Cisler, Jacoby Betts, Bradley Hodson, Gary Vardaman and Kody Kutz. The 6.50 Index was equally as stacked with Redhat Scotty, Scott Barker, Chucky Skinner, Casey Banner, Chris Fecher, Steve Rzewnicki, Joey Tjarks, and Casey Matthews.
BTTS 6.50 Index
The 6.50 Index class was some really tight racing, especially since there were no timing boards. Many races were settled by thousandths of a second. The Winner Class would consist of Joey Tjarks (3 Wins), Steve Rzewnicki (3 Wins), Redhat Scotty (2 Wins) and Casey Matthews (2 Wins). The remaining racers would pair up in the Second Chance race. Redhat Scotty would beat Steve and Joey Tjarks would get a comp bye as Casey Matthews was home with family obligations. The Finals of the Winner Class would go to Redhat Scotty. Chucky Skinner would take home the title of Losers Winner.
BTTS OG Small Tire
The OG Small Tire Class was full of side by side mayhem. With no ET Index to worry about and the track the best it had been all weekend, the guys had as much power as possible in the cars. The Winner Class would consist of Shawn Fensler (3 Wins), Travis Martin, Gary Vardaman and Adam Hodson (2 Wins Each). Gary Vardaman would get a competition bye for Round One. Shawn Fensler would outrun Adam Hodson. The Second Chance race come down to Jacoby Betts and Bradley Hodson for the Final, with Jacoby taking the win. Shawn Fensler took home the Winners Class trophy and bragging rights.
The event was an incredible success and the second largest car count for the track during the 2026 season. Everything was smooth, all the racers were focused on having a good time.
We are already working on our return to George Ray’s Wildcat Dragstrip for Short Circuit 2027.
