The special match race between Rich Guasco’s “Pure Hell” and Dave Hough’s “Nanook” Old School AA/FA’s certainly didn’t disappoint, with each car getting a match race win and bragging rights. On Sunday’s first match race, Jason Richey drove Gausco’s famed ’32 Bantam to a winning time of 6.647 at 161.11 while in the afternoon stanza, “Nanook” took the win with a 6.683/216.83 while Richey smoked the tires the entire length of the quarter mile to the delight of the crowd. (Bob Johnson photo)

Returning to the winner’s circle in Pro Comp I for the first time this season was Richard Edwards (shown) and his VP Racing Fuels-sponsored ’48 Fiat. A two-time winner in 2008, Edwards used a 7.088 on a 7.00 class index to collect the event win over a red-lighting Steve Walczak. In the 7.50 index Pro Comp II eliminator it was Steve Knopp tasting victory with a 7.536 winning ET. (Bob Johnson photo)

Larry Grenke’s “Moparious Maximus”  (DRO file photo photo)

Utica, Kentucky’s Darrell Wathen showed everyone in the 8.50 index B/GBAS category why he’s the man to beat. Twice in eliminations, Wathen pegged the index with runs of 8.503 to defeat Rob Davis in the semis and again with an 8.505 in the final to defeat a wheelstanding Larry Grenke. Grenke must be given some credit for showmanship as the wheelstands he pulled throughout the weekend in his blown ’63 Plymouth Belvedere left the race fans begging for more!

Yet another treat for the fans was Saturday’s round robin, run-‘til-there’s-a-winner eliminations for the Street Rod Shootout and Hot Rod Shootout. Pitting cars from the car show side of the Goodguys event against each other in heads-up eighth-mile competition in two divisions (Hot Rod are allowed blowers and nitrous), the event always attracts some exciting show cars strutting their stuff on the dragstrip.

Tasting victory in the Street Rod Shootout was New Berlin, Wisconsin’s Jiggs Lindhorst. Competing here in Bowling Green for the first time after winning the Hot Rod Nationals in Indy five times, Lindhorst took out 2008 Hot Rod Nationals champion Ralphe Dehne in the quarter finals with a 7.324 to Dehne’s 7.351 (which turned out to be the closest race of the entire shootout). In the semi’s, Lindhorst went sub-7-seconds clicking off a 6.919 at 98.58 mph, and then in the final dispatched the ‘68 Olds 442 of Larry Mayfield with his best eighth mile lap ever – an amazing 6.865/98.33mph!