Street Car Challenge 2025 shows Alabama is full of Tough Competitors!

Street Car Challenge 2025 shows Alabama is full of Tough Competitors!

The inaugural Street Car Challenge in Alabama wrapped up after four days of racing across Baileyton Dragstrip, Holiday Raceway (which lost Day Two to rain), Jake’s Dragstrip, and finishing back at Baileyton. Contestants traveled over 400 miles across Alabama, dodging rain but having a blast in the state’s first-ever drag and drive event.

SCC took racers on a scenic and diverse tour across Alabama with a total of 10 route stops spread over three drives. Drive One kicked off at 278 Rock Grocery in Cullman before heading to Strokin Diesel in Oneonta, then to Talladega Speedway in Lincoln, and wrapping up at Avid Speed in Sylacauga. Drive Two rolled through Hueytown Church, made a pit stop at Miller Generating Plant in Quinton, and soaked in the views at Smith Lake Dam near Jasper. Drive Three wrapped the adventure, hitting Wheeler Dam in Rogersville, cruising by Greenlight Performance in Elkmont, and finishing strong at Bryant Brothers Automotive in Decatur. Each stop along the way offered great views or another interaction with an Alabama automotive business.

First time events should be easily accessible and the classes welcoming. To help with this, SCC provided racers with six class choices.

RWYB (Run What You Brung)

Clyde Carlson took the top spot, posting a 5.448 average ET and 134.573 mph. “Day 4 was another heater that ended a bit early with some rain,” Carlson said. “The Baileyton crew had the track ready. With a boost leak fixed, I bumped my speed from 132 to 137 mph today. Conservative power management kept my sixty-foot at 1.41 and ET at 5.47. Gary Bell struggled managing his Chevelle’s torque, so I turned in a better average despite his 4.95 and 5.03 runs on Saturday. Usually, I’m just a class filler, but winning this one hits differently.”

Runner-up Gary Bell debuted a new Chevelle built by Tyree Smith, who also won the Modern Mayhem class. Gary’s Chevelle finished with a 5.661 Average!

Modern Mayhem (MM)

Tyree Smith topped MM with a 6.867 average ET at 104.840 mph. Kyle Buntley finished second with a 6.993 average.

Tailgate (TG)

Jeff Hughes took the win with a 5.958 average ET, outpacing Josh Elam’s 6.151.

Stick Shift (SS)

Adam Buntley finished first in Stick Shift with a 5.741 average ET, ahead of Austin Grims’ 6.544 despite injector issues, as described by Kyle Buntley, “Austin Grims’ car stopped up all the injectors and made the whole drive barely running. We flushed and flowed them at Avid Speed last night (day one) and are ready to go,” he said.

True Street (TS)

Richard Campbell survived a rough weekend to claim True Street honors with his 6.191 average at 113 MPH. “Had an unfortunate mishap with the trans cooler the day before the event,” Campbell said. “Replaced it with what we could get fast. Then I got lost on the way to a checkpoint in some very mountainous terrain. The ATI TH400 got a little toasty pulling a loaded trailer. Changed fluid but didn’t have a filter. The car stayed together and got me the win.” Todd Aaron claimed second with his 6.197 average, just 0.006 behind!

Dial Your Own (DYO)

Michael Johnson nailed a perfect index run: “I ran dial your own and had a perfect index—0.000 on a 7.815 dial. Mostly spent the weekend using my trailer and tools to help others.” Runner-up Jonathan Phillips was close behind, missing perfection by just a few thousandths at 7.474 on a 7.479 Dial-In.

Mechanical Issues and Camaraderie Highlight Weekend

Mechanical failures made for some tough stories. Anthony Cooper summed up his run with a laugh: “Engine diaper drug and wrapped in flywheel. Trailer latch broke and fell off the car, then blew the oil pressure sending unit guts out and lost oil pressure—lol.”

The new Racemaster Live app made its drag and drive scoring debut with huge success! The team is reviewing feedback and already working on improvements for upcoming events. (More on this in an upcoming Drag Drive Repeat Show)

The Street Car Challenge tested racers with Alabama’s weather and terrain. Despite the setbacks, the event proved to be a solid step forward for drag and drive competition in the Southeast. We look forward to future events in the region!

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Photos provided by Street Car Challenge.