After losing to a holeshot by Steve Kirk the night before, Mike Hill wasn't about to let it happen again as he left with a .010 reaction and scored his own holeshot victory over Kirk on Sunday night at Montgomery, AL. Hill posed in victory lane with the tree he chopped down and joked, "I may want to take this one with me everywhere I go!" (Ian Tocher photos)

W Mike Hill .010/4.586/160.59
R/U Steve Kirk .106/4.527/168.44

With a 449 c.i. small-block Ford between the rails of his 1985 'Stang, Chuck Lawrence powered to the Real Street win at Montgomery. (Ian Tocher photo)

W Chuck Lawrence .058/5.365/130.47
R/U Ed Rice .021/5.579/117.21

Despite a dominating performance at Montgomery, Limited Street winner Jeff Cooner said his car had an ignition problem all weekend, forcing him to take eight degrees of timing out of it just to get down the track. (Ian Tocher photos)

W Jeff Cooner .106/4.987/153.58
R/U Keith Szabo .074/5.111/136.28

Knowing he had a performance edge over final-round opponent Wendell Smitherman, Hueytown, AL's Gerry (pronounced Gary) "Shag Nasty" Dawkins said he deliberately let Smitherman leave first in the Outlaw 4.70 final. "I knew I could catch and pass him and that's exactly what happened," Dawkins said.

W Gerry Dawkins .030/4.841
R/U Wendell Smitherman .011/5.124

After Phillip Sexton broke on the line, Phenix City, AL's Jeremy Ellis made a solo pass to win the 5.30 class final in his 1967 Chevy II. (Ian Tocher photo)

W Jeremy Ellis .012/5.515
R/U Phillip Sexton Broke

"All I had to do was keep adding weight," said Dana "Shut Up" Kloet after winning the 6.0 class final in his big-block Chevy equipped '94 Skylark. "This car can run 5-teens, so I had added 285 pounds to it by the end."

W Dana “Shut Up” Kloet .022/6.003
R/U Kevin Pruett .025/5.998

Coming all the way from 45th in a 50-car field, Adamsville, AL's Chuck Aldridge survived to win the 7.0 final in his 408 Ford-powered '79 Mercury Capri. "I had good lights all day," he said. "All the numbers just lined up for me."

W Chuck Aldridge .011/7.053
R/U Mark Armstrong .024/7.090

Rockmart, GA's Jimmy Blackmon fought transmission troubles all weekend at Montgomery, but still managed to reach the Outlaw 10.5 semi-finals where he went red off the start against Steve Kirk. (Ian Tocher photo)

W Mike Hill .050/4.764/152.74
Marcus Birt .066/4.819/155.44

W Steve Kirk .053/4.566/166.29
Jimmy Blackmon -.005/4.786/150.67

That sets up a replay of last night’s WW IV final, with Mike “The Hitman” Hill going up against Steve “Iceman” Kirk in the big money round.

Mike Jones, from Hazel Green, AL, steered his 1971 Camaro to a semi-final finish in Limited Street at Montgomery. (Ian Tocher photo)

W Jeff Cooner .046/4.940/156.38
Bye

W Keith Szabo .063/5.055/155.33
Mike Jones .106/5.378/138.95

Cooner has had an easy ride to the final, though he set low E.T. of each round. Szabo clearly was the best of the rest, so it should be a good final.

Jack Barfield had his car apart after nearly every round, trying to find a nagging performance robber. The Savannah, GA-based racer said his team eventually narrowed the problem to the first stage of his engine's nitrous system, but not before it ended his day in round two against Steve Kirk. (Ian Tocher photo)

W Mike Hill No time (staged, broke beam)
Bye

W Marcus Birt .061/4.756/158.53
Michael Robinson .026/4.794/155.44

W Jimmy Blackmon .028/4.763/150.45
Ronnie Davis .016/4.894/150.98

W Steve Kirk .052/4.653/164.71
Jack Barfield .036/4.694/157.61

Semi-final Pairings
Hill vs. Birt
Blackmon vs. Kirk

Acworth, GA's Gerry Gunter looked strong in an opening-round win, but his '69 Z-28 was unable to answer the call for round two. (Ian Tocher photo)

W Jeff Cooner .046/4.940/156.38
Mike Collins Broke

W Keith Szabo .063/5.055/155.33
Kevin Scott .081/5.500/130.81

W Mike Jones .106/5.378/138.95
Jerry Gunter Broke

Semi-final Pairings
Cooner vs. Bye
Szabo vs. Jones

With crew chief Randy Conner watching in the background, Marcus Birt launched hard against Texan Kevin Hargett in round one at Montgomery Motorsports Park. (Ian Tocher photo)

W Mike Hill .082/4.591/161.49
Bryan Goethe Broke

W Michael Robinson .031/4.792/153.71
Ken Rainwater Broke

W Marcus Birt .074/4.652/160.62
Kevin Hargett .056/5.670/143.25

W Jimmy Blackmon .004/4.841/146.46
David Sheppard .139/4.726/162.19

W Ronnie Davis .046/4.963/150.42
Mike Brown .078/7.940/59.35

W Steve Kirk .104/4.647/165.01
Tommy Kelley -.028/6.247/81.27

W Jack Barfield .017/4.711/156.79
Bobby Cole DQ (crossed center line)

Round Two Pairings
Hill Bye
Robinson vs. Birt
Blackmon vs. Davis
Kirk vs. Barfield

After a big wheelstand start, Griffin Stiles, from Cumming, GA, had to shut off early in his first-round match against Kevin Scott. (Ian Tocher photo)

W Jeff Cooner .089/4.938/156.16
B. Mullins Broke

W Mike Collins .288/6.410/91.74
Kevin Seaborn Broke

W Keith Szabo .035/5.034/154.74
Carl Gilbert .217/4.998/151.00

W Kevin Scott .247/5.229/141.11
Griffin Stiles .043/6.183/88.20

W Mike Jones .020/5.525/137.84
Josh Peel Broke

Jerry Gunter .074/5.210/141.37
Mike Mitchell .085/6.537/136.52

Round Two Pairings
Cooner vs. Collins
Szabo vs. Scott
Jones vs. Gunter

In its first outing this year, Ronnie Davis' 1969 Nova carried the Suwanee, GA-based racer to an Outlaw 10.5 career-best 4.698-seconds pass in the last round of qualifying. (Ian Tocher photo)

1. Mike Hill 4.515/166.38
2. David Sheppard 4.520/165.07
3. Steve Kirk 4.525/162.19
4. Michael Robinson 4.561/160.77
5. Marcus Birt 4.585/161.81
6. Jack Barfield 4.634/157.59
7. Mike Brown 4.663/155.76
8. Ronnie Davis 4.698/153.55
9. Bobby Cole 4.701/157.15
10. Kevin Hargett 4.736/149.82
11. Ken Rainwater 4.738/157.50
12. Tommy Kelley 4.983/154.16
13. Jimmy Blackmon 5.266/131.92
14. Bryan Goethe 5.668/149.05

It was too close to call anywhere but the finish line as Steve Kirk (near lane) edged Mike Hill for the $5,000 WW IV payday. (Ian Tocher photo)

In a thrilling side-by-side drag race, Steve Kirk prevailed over Mike Hill with a slim holeshot in the $5,000 World War IV final.

Kirk left first with a .057 advantage off the tree, then laid down a 4.529-seconds pass at 160.37 mph to beat Hill’s slightly quicker and faster 4.527/164.98 combination. The margin of victory was .055 of a second.

Making the run even more spectacular, Kirk’s 2000 Camaro got very loose as it crossed the finish line and it appeared the parachutes straightened it out and prevented it from crossing the center line.

Other than polesitter Jeff Cooner, Gainesville, GA's Keith Szabo was the only Limited Streeter able to reach the four-second zone in qualifying.

1. Jeff Cooner 4.868/158.14
2. Keith Szabo 4.946/157.01
3. Josh Peel 5.061/153.45
4. Jerry Gunter 5.068/149.75
5. Kevin Scott 5.115/137.56
6. Mike Collins 5.119/145.34
7. Kevin Seaborn 5.178/142.15
8. Griffin Stiles 5.203/140.47
9. Mike Mitchell 5.404/132.88
10. Mike Jones 5.528/137.13
11. Carl Gilbert 8.016/56.79
12. Bill Mullins 11.291/54.26

After three rounds of qualifying, Chuck Lawrence and his Dallas, GA-based Mustang led a short field of Real Street entries at Montgomery. (Ian Tocher photo)

1. Chuck Lawrence 5.322/132.58
2. Ed Rice 5.456/138.35
3. Randy Henry 5.685/122.95
4. Frank Savage 5.762/125.36
5. Vincent Maxwell 5.964/117.38

Jimmy Adams, from Bessemer, AL, placed his beautiful '58 'Vette third in the Outlaw 4.70 field for raceday. (Ian Tocher photo)

1. Danny McGee 4.703
2. Greg Buschmeyer 4.725
3. Jimmy Adams 4.769
4. Gerry Dawkins 4.788
5. Darryl Bryant 4.801
6. Wesley Sparks 4.808
7. Perry James 4.903
8. Scott McCain 4.923
9. William Clary 4.957
10. Wendell Smitherman 4.995
11. Billy Key 5.004
12. Dickson Kidd 5.049
13. Phillip Anderson 5.089
14. Traman Geno Wright 5.119
15. Jim Haines 5.123
16. James Lowe 5.164

DNQ Jeremy Noah
DNQ Lester Pitts
DNQ Kenny Acree
DNQ David Goodson

Kenny Acree will start 12th in the 5.30 class on raceday after going .028 over the index in qualifying. (Ian Tocher photo)

1. Michael Morris 5.300
2. Jeremy Ellis 5.303
3. Paige Owens 5.304
4. Lester Pitts 5.306
5. Jonathan Dixon 5.306
6. Jeremy Noah 5.307
7. Phillip Sexton 5.312
8. James Lowe 5.312
9. Tim Jones 5.314
10. Wendell Smitherman 5.316
11. Jim Haines 5.323
12. Kenny Acree 5.328
13. Leon Callena 5.330
14. Billy Parker 5.336
15. Robbie Roberts 5.337

Bill Cowles put together a 6.012-seconds pass in his Ramer, AL-based, late-model Mustang, but it was only good enough for 11th on the qualifying list. (Ian Tocher photo)

6.0 Index
1. Danny Moore 6.000
2. Tony Hill 6.002
3. Michael Strickland 6.002
4. Jerry Williams 6.002
5. Keith McKnight 6.002
6. Brad Jones 6.002
7. Mike Young 6.002
8. Jerry Carnley 6.010
9. Wade Kelley 6.011
10. Joseph Smith 6.011
11. Bill Cowles 6.012
12. Will Findley 6.013
13. Kevin Pruett 6.013
14. Buddy Baggett 6.014
15. Roger Tindoll 6.017

7.0 Index
1. Marel Adams 7.000
2. Chris Sloan 7.003
3. Ken Buckner 7.005
4. Roger Tindoll 7.005
5. Brandon Howard 7.007
6. Mark Armstrong 7.008
7. Martin McElmore 7.009
8. Don Pruitt 7.010
9. Daniel Cothern 7.013
10. Gumby Gaston 7.015
11. Louis Lathan 7.016
12. Rusty Abernathy 7.016
13. Larry McQueen 7.017
14. Steve Cothern 7.019
15. Ed Bendahl 7.022

A quick discussion centered around Steve Kirk's cockpit while Dave Sheppard's crew attepted repairs while on the starting line for their WW IV semi final. Kirk and team owner John Ferguson (leaning into car) reached the decision to wait and race, after Tony Johnson (right) relayed Sheppard's case. It was all over for Sheppard at the green, though, as Kirk left him stranded on the line with a broken blower belt. "Steve and John deserve a lot of credit for that," Johnson said later. "They didn't have to wait." (Ian Tocher photos)

The premise was to stage a four-driver, $5,000-winner-take-all special event, pitting the top Outlaw 10.5 qualifier from each of four regions–Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, Southwest–based on where each driver’s license was issued. Unfortunately, no one from the Northwest or Northeast regions showed up at Montgomery Motorsports Park, but promoter George Howard stuck to the plan and went forward with the top three Southeast drivers going against Kevin Harget, hailing from Garland, TX, and representing the Southwest.

So, round one of World War IV was an all-mustang affair with top qualifier Mike “The Hitman” Hill having lane choice over Hargett, while the other pairing featured Dave Sheppard and his blown Nova with lane choice over Steve Kirk and his John Ferguson-owned Camaro.

Hill and Hargett went first and although the Texan put up a game 4.75 at 148 mph, it was no match for the Hitman’s 4.54-seconds pass at 158 mph.

Next up was Sheppard and Kirk, who both made it to the lanes just in time to avoid disqualification. Both performed their burnouts uneventfully, but the reverse shifter in Sheppard’s car broke and it looked like he was dead on the starting line. Kirk waited for Sheppard’s crew to make repairs, but eventually track officials counted him out–just as Sheppard was apparently ready to race again.

Realizing Kirk still was willing to make a race of it, Howard decided to let them go for it after all, but it was a quick decision. Unfortunately, Sheppard’s blower belt broke on the hit, leaving him stranded, watching Kirk streak to a 4.62 at 158 mph win.

That sets up a titanic battle for the $5 grand, with Kirk going up against Hill in the winner-take-all final.

Mike "The Hitman" Hill launched hard on his way to the top of the Outlaw 10.5 qualifying list. (Ian Tocher photo)

Outlaw 10.5 (14 entries)
1. Mike Hill 4.515/166.38
2. David Sheppard 4.520/165.07
3. Steve Kirk 4.525/162.19
4. Marcus Birt 4.612/161.26
5. Michael Robinson 4.616/153.08
6. Jack Barfield 4.634/157.59
7. Mike Brown 4.663/155.76
8. Bobby Cole 4.701/157.15
9. Ronnie Davis 4.715/151.59
10. Kevin Hargett 4.935/132.54

After blowing the tires off in his first attempt, Jeff Cooner stepped up in round two to lead Limited Street qualifying. (Ian Tocher photo)

Limited Street (11 entries)
1. Jeff Cooner 4.928/155.38
2. Keith Szabo 5.029/154.08
3. Josh Peel 5.061/153.45
4. Kevin Scott 5.115/137.55
5. Mike Collins 5.171/143.42
6. Kevin Seaborn 5.229/141.77
7. Griffin Stiles 5.260/139.40
8. Mike Mitchell 5.404/132.80
9. Jerry Gunter 5.417/124.37
10. Mike Jones 5.528/137.13

Springfield, TN's Ed Rice is slotted in at second after two rounds of Real Street qualifying. (Ian Tocher photo)

Real Street (5 entries)
1. Chuck Lawrence 5.322/132.58
2. Ed Rice 5.456/138.35
3. Frank Savage 5.762/125.36
4. Vincent Maxwell 6.002/117.40
5. Randy Henry 6.100/114.85

Lester Pitts has his Corvette fourth in 5.30 index qualifying. (Ian Tocher photo)

5.30 Index (24 entries)
1. Michael Morris
2. Jeremy Ellis
3. Paige Owens
4. Lester Pitts
5. Jeremy Noah
6. Phillip Sexton
7. Tim Jones
8. Wendell Smitherman
9. Jim Haines
10. Jonathan Dixon

Gerry Dawkins maintained third place in Outlaw 4.70 qualifying after two rounds were completed at Montgomery's WW IV. (Ian Tocher photo)

4.70 Index (17 entries)
1. Danny McGee
2. Greg Buschmeyer
3. Gerry Dawkins
4. Wesley Sparks
5. Perry James
6. Scott McCain
7. William Clary
8. Darryl Bryant
9. Dickson Kidd
10. Wendell Smitherman

Selma, AL's Mike Young is solidly in the 6.0 field in fifth place. (Ian Tocher photo)

6.0 Index (47 entries)
1. Danny Moore
2. Tony Hill
3. Michael Strickland
4. Keith McKnight
5. Mike Young
6. Brad Jones
7. Jerry Carnley
8. Wade Kellley
9. Joseph Smith
10. Bill Cowles

7.0 Index (50 entries)
1. Marel Adams
2. Ken Buckner
3. Roger Tindoll
4. Mark Armstrong
5. Martin McElmore
6. Daniel Cothern
7. Rusty Abernathy
8. Larry McQueen
9. Steve Cothern
10. Chris Sloan

Michael Robinson got off to a good start with a 4.66 in the VIP Racing Camaro. (Ian Tocher photo)

Outlaw 10.5 (14 entries)
1. Steve Kirk 4.567/162.95
2. David Sheppard 4.583/159.57
3. Marcus Birt 4.612/161.26
4. Michael Robinson 4.667/158.89
5. Bobby Cole 4.701/157.15
6. Mike Brown 4.720/159.34
7. Ronnie Davis 4.838/144.20
8. Mike Hill 4.917/122.76
9. Tommy Kelley 4.983/154.16
10. Kevin Hargett 5.007/141.70

Mike Collins, from Enterprise, AL, drove his second-generation Camaro into third place in the opening round of Limited Street qualifying. (Ian Tocher photo)

Limited Street (11 entries)
1. Kevin Scott 5.115/137.55
2. Josh Peel 5.118/151.46
3. Mike Collins 5.171/143.42
4. Keith Szabo 5.336/124.68
5. Griffin Stiles 5.383/135.66
6. Jerry Gunter 5.417/124.37
7. Mike Jones 5.528/137.13
8. Mike Mitchell 5.535/141.06
9. Kevin Seaborn 5.567/124.36
10. Carl Gilbert 8.016/56.79

Bessemer, AL's Danny McGee took the early qualifying lead in Outlaw 4.70 at Montgomery Motorsports Park. (Ian Tocher photo)

4.70 Index (12 entries)
1. Danny McGee
2. Greg Buschmeyer
3. Gerry Dawkins
4. Perry James
5. Wesley Sparks
6. Scot McCain
7. William Clary
8. Philip Anderson
9. Wendall Smitherman
10. Kenny Acree

Frank Savage made the trek down from Bartlett, TN, to compete in the Real Street class at Montgomery. (Ian Tocher photo)

Real Street (4 entries)
1. Chuck Lawrence 5.322/132.58
2. Ed Rice 5.456/138.35
3. Frank Savage 5.762/125.36
4. Vincent Maxwell 6.002/117.40

Michael Morris' fast-n-flamed '57 Chevy hit the dial dead on in the first round of 5.30 qualifying. (Ian Tocher photo)

5.30 Index (25 entries)
1. Michael Morris
2. Jeremy Ellis
3. Paige Owens
4. Lester Pitts
5. Jeremy Noah
6. Tim Jones
7. Jim Haines
8. Leon Callena
9. David Goodson
10.  Phillip Sexton

Northport, AL's Wade Kelley slipped his big Chevy pick-up into seventh place after one round of 6.0 index qualifying. (Ian Tocher photo)

6.0 Index (43 entries)
1. Tony Hill
2. Michael Strickland
3. Keith McKnight
4. Brad Jones
5. Mike Young
6. Danny Moore
7. Wade Kelley
8. Kevin Pruett
9. Gerome Rooks
10. Lebron Hill

7.0 Index (48 entries)
1. Marel Adams
2. Ken Buckner
3. Mark Armstrong
4. Martin McLemore
5. Daniel Cothern
6. Jerry Powell
7. Kerri Hall
8. Adam Garrett
9. Ed Bendahl
10. Josh Mackey

Send in the troops! Promoter George Howard will have the big guns blazing this weekend (Oct. 13-15) as he hosts World War IV at Montgomery (AL) Motorsports Park.

Headlined by a 32-car, $10,000-to-win Outlaw 10.5 race, WW IV also will feature a special race-within-a-race on Saturday night pitting the top qualifier hailing from each of four pre-determined regions against each other in a $5,000 winner-take-all shootout.

“There’s Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, and Southwest divisions and where each driver fits in will be based on where his driver’s license is issued from,” Howard explained. “I’ve had calls from teams in all four divisions, so it’ll be a true national event.”

Limited Street, Real Street and an Outlaw 4.70 index class also will mount assaults over the eighth mile at Montgomery, all with 16-car fields. In addition, all-run 5.30, 6.0 and 7.0 index racers will complete the ranks in the pits.

Spectator tickets start at $15 for Friday’s test-n-tune sessions, or $20 for either Saturday’s qualifying or Sunday’s racing action, but as always at a George Howard event, kids 10 and under get in free. Two- and three-day passes also are available.

Drag Racing Online will be embedded at the track Saturday and Sunday filing reports from the field to keep the rest of the homeland informed.