The second week of O'Reilly Auto Parts Friday Night Drags was a night of unprecedented events.
For starters, before the evening's slate of racing kicked off, Diamond Resorts Factory Street racer Nick Nicholson of Senoia had a surprise for his family and everyone else in attendance.
Until Friday night, nobody besides Nick and his wife Amber knew the gender of their upcoming child; their family waited with bated breath for that to change with a gender reveal that only a drag racer would think up
"I'm gonna do a burnout on top of these bags of chalk and it's either going to create blue smoke or pink smoke," Nicholson explained.
After a hearty rev of the engine, and a shout of "Show me the baby!" from an anxious family member, Nick performed his burnout, sending blue smoke pluming into the air and revealing that he and Amber are having a baby boy, much to delight of their family and the crowd.
Nick and Amber are expecting their son to arrive on October 27.
The night's racing action - the final event before the championship opener on May 31 - was just as excited, especially for Vicky Dillow of Fayetteville. For nine years Dillow has raced at O'Reilly Auto Parts Friday Night Drags; all nine years she's had fun, but never had she brought home a trophy.
That is until Friday night, when Dillow launched her 1988 Ford Mustang down the 1/8 mile pit lane drag strip at a blistering pace in the Street Performer Division final to secure her first win.
"It's like being on cloud nine," an elated Dillow exclaimed after the winning run. "That was a rush!"
With her first victory under her belt, Dillow suggested she might make a habit of winning after finally breaking through.
"I figured out something that I should have done last year," Dillow said. "Now I've got it down pat!"
Other notable winners included Justin Corley of Stockbridge, who pedaled his 2019 Chevrolet Camaro to the line first against a 1987 Ford Mustang driven by Jonathan Delcambre of Newnan. In the Metro by T-Mobile Tuner Division, Rudy Gonzalez of Jonesboro rocketed his 1993 Honda Civic to victory. After narrowly losing in the final round in week 1, Tim Hall of McDonough and his 1988 Ford Mustang came back with a vengeance to take home the trophy in the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Division.
Below is the complete list of May 17th race winners:
Harding Plumbing, Heating & Cooling Domestic Division: Justin Smith (McDonough); 2008 Chevrolet Corvette
South River Agency New Edge Division: Justin Corley (Stockbridge); 2019 Chevrolet Camaro
QuikTrip Pro Division: Kevin Mayo (Griffin); 2007 Chevrolet Cavalier
Harbin's Mechanical Services Street Outlaw Division: Daniel Harris (Griffin); 1995 Chevrolet S10
Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Division: Tim Hall (McDonough); 1988 Ford Mustang
Truck Advance: Blaze Bates (Locust Grove); 2018 Ford F150
Street Performer Division: Vicky Dillow (Fayetteville); 1988 Ford Mustang
Super Bike Division: Robin Malcolm (Lithonia); 2003 Hayabusa
Sport Bike: Robin Malcolm (Lithonia); 2006 Suzuki 1000
US Marine Corps Motorcycle Division: Areil Carter (Conyers); 2004 6SXR600 Suzski
Cruiser Division: Bobby Cole (Williamson); 2014 Harley Davidson Low Rider
Quad/Tri Division: Austin Vance (Stockbridge); 4-wheeler
Street Modified Division: Casey Bruce (Newnan); 2006 Ford Mustang GT
Starfire Automatic Gates Truck Division: Ed Blanford (McDonough); 1968 F100
Diesel Truck Division: Brandon Tate (Locust Grove); 2017 F350
Metro by T-Mobile Tuner Division: Rudy Gonzalez (Jonesboro); 1993 Honda Civic
AT&T Mobility Sport Compact Division: Tyler Hatchett (Griffin); 1991 Honda CRX
Diamond Resorts Factory Street Division: Keith Shockey (Peachtree City); 2015 SRT 392 Challenger
The Show-N-Shine competition featured everything from new imports to classic muscle cars and automobiles ranging as far back as the 1930s. Those vehicles then took part in the Speedway Cruise following judging.
Hot Rides (classic, custom, cool paint job, etc)
First Place: Ken Moore (Griffin); 1936 Plymouth
Second Place: Trevor Buchanan (McDonough); 2017 Ford Mustang
Showroom Polished (redone or polished up)
First place: Chris Gallagher (Fayetteville); 1998 Pontiac Trans Am
Second Place: Terry Sank (Conyers); 2019 Ram
Trucks
First Place: Tyler Griffith (Jackson); 1957 Chevrolet
Second Place: Dawson Quick (Pike County); 2002 Truck
Open
First Place: Mason Harris (Fayetteville); 2019 Polaris RZR 1000 Highlifter
Second Place: Dennis McCourt (Fayetteville); 2017 Polaris RZR 1000
Atlanta Motor Speedway's O'Reilly Auto Parts Friday Night Drags & Show-N-Shine returns to the pit lane drag strip in two weeks on Friday, May 31st, for the first points-paying night of racing for the 2019 season. Grandstand gates open at 6:30 p.m., and nightly drag race eliminations start just after 9:00 p.m.
Entry to drag race or for the Show-N-Shine is just $20 or competitors can purchase a combo ticket for $30. Spectator tickets are just $10, and children 5 and under are free.
More information can be found at www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/drags or by calling the Atlanta Motor Speedway Ticket Office at 770-946-4211.
