NITRO BATTLE AT BARONA

​The most nitro-filled night of the year came, as on May 27th, the Second Annual Nitro Night at Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip rocked the dragstrip, pouting nitrous and fire into the air for a packed grandstands, full of exciting Nitro fans.

The event started with an autograph session, as Event Host and NHRA Funny Car Champion Del Worshim would sign fliers and merchandise for fans, as well as Gary Densham, John Hale, Danny Gerber, "Nitro Cowboy" Dennis Swearingen,  "The Amazing Speed Racer" Will Martin, current Barona 1/8th Mile Dragstrip speed record holder "Witch Doctor" Keith Wilson, and more were there for their awaiting fans. After that, was a parade, as each vehicle was brought in, and track announcer Walt Ohm spoke a few good words with each driver.

​And with those pleasantries out of the way, it was time to run.

But it wasn't just Del Worsham and fellow 20,000 horsepower fire-spitting NHRA Funny Cars there, as Altered Dragsters, Nostgalia Funny Cars, Fuel Altered Dragsters, Top Fuel Dragsters, Vintage Dragsters, and more were there to speed through the night. And as the track cooled down into the night, and the cars started to really hook, the roars of their engines and the rush of their nitrous was intoxicating for the absolutely packed grandstands.

There were other games for the fans too, as raffles were held at the merchandise booth, `as fan Taylor Caps went home with a huge basket of car are goodies, and Rick Reed won the 50/50 raffle, going home with over $500 cash.

​The tracks was exciting too, as the racers began to stick and speed down the track. Some were even getting a bit loose: the first Altered Dragster race finished with both drivers in the opposite lanes, absolutely untouched, as it wasn't just pure speed that was exciting there.
But with many fire-spitting runs and top tier speedsters finishing up, and with no rain to ruin this parade this time, Nitro Night came to a close with a round of applause, and an eye forwards to next year, where we hope to have one that's even better than this year's.

But for now, we got to go back to our regular schedule, as the NHRA Summit Series comes back in two weeks for a weekend of bracket racing excitement. See you there!