The First Drag Race presented by Robbin’s Repairables set at Shadyside Dragway ignited the 2026 ten-race championship season for the Southeast Gassers Association. From the creek side to the top of the North Carolina hills, the small vale of Shadyside roared with life, echoing the glory days of the 1960s gasser and drag racing. The racers of SEGA launched with parts straining revolutions, slammed all four gears by hand with no electronic aid, and streaked over the finish stripe to the delight of young and old alike, remembering or experiencing anew the no rival premier gasser drag racing that is the Southeast Gassers Association.
Being the quickest and fastest wasn’t the only eye-focusing point for the A/Gas category in SEGA competition. The category at Shadyside had the return of competitors such as Barry Adler in the Iron Eagle and Leslie Horne in the Chick Magnet, who had on-track incidents in 2025.
New combinations debuted, such as Alan Pittman’s Gravedigger II and the 2025 B/Gas champion Ken Rainwater moving to A/Gas with a new gasser dubbed the Instigator. Even the reigning A/Gas champion Chase Howard began his title defense in his USA-1 Chevelle gasser with black primed, refreshed elements.
A familiar top performer in A/Gas, Gabriel Burrell in his Southern Flyer, a two-time champion, earned the top qualifier honors on a warm Spring North Carolina day with a 5.26 elapsed time. With an odd number of competitors – seventeen in total – Burrell’s qualifying effort proved advantageous going into eliminations. First in round one with a bye run, and then again in the semifinals. To enter the final round, the Southern Flyer with Burrell wheeling the Ford Model A had defeated Dean Jonas and, new to A/Gas, the 2025 B/Gas champion, Ken Rainwater.
The eighth-place qualifier, Todd Blackwell, in the Sling Shot Chevy II gasser, raced in a limited manner in 2025 but showcased in race one that he was undoubtedly able to get up to speed quickly (5.39 ET to qualify 8th). In round one, Blackwell put Barry Lynn out of competition and then scored a massive win-light in round two, defeating the reigning champion, Chase Howard. After a bye run in the third round, he would have to face Alan Pittman in a freshly debuted Gravedigger II Chevy that has certainly got the attention of everyone in A/Gas. In that match-up, Pittman raced to a 5.40, being second to the stripe as Blackwell won with a 5.36.
The final would be a classic Ford versus Chevy battle between the number one and eight qualifiers. Blackwell launched noticeably first, but out and up towards the centerline, causing him to correct under full power to bring his Chevy back into the groove. By half-track, it was a fender-to-fender race. At the stripe it was Burrell flying on to a victory during the golden hour in the gold Southern Fyler with a 5.34 to Blackwell’s 5.43.
“It ran good yesterday [during testing], so we knew we had a little bit of hope,” said Burrell. “Tickled to be here. Didn’t really expect it. John Kaase horsepower put us up front.”
With no defending champion competing in B/Gas, the category is seemingly up for grabs. Though new entries were seen and more are expected in 2026, it was the competitors that finished near the top in 2025 performing at the top again in The First Drag Race. Ted Mckee, the second-place points finisher in 2025, set the top pace as the number one qualifier with a 5.60 elapsed time. The rest of the field continued searching for more performance, as the second, third, and fourth place qualifiers each posted elapsed times of 5.69 seconds.
Eliminations would see the top two qualifiers compete to turn on the final win-light of a four-round contest for the B/Gas contingent. Ted McKee in the Rocky Top Missile earned the bye in round one with his number one qualifying effort. Once competitors were in the other lane for McKee, they wouldn’t be those of the second-tier variety to make the final round. The quarter-final round for McKee had him paired with 2024 B/Gas champion Daniel Haynes in The Patriot Falcon gasser. For his semi-final match, it was true young gun in the Young Gun gasser, Brilee Stott, who was the fourth-placed qualifier. In the final, McKee would face another young SEGA star, Michael Oden, in the Double Down Chevy II.
Oden’s path as the number two qualifier to the final is one of consistency over his opponents. He could have put a dial-in on his hot rod running .69s and one .70 up to the final. The performance advantage was clearly with McKee, who had run nothing slower than a 5.64 through eliminations. Oden needed to double down and get his best light of the day, along with his best performance of the day, to overcome the faded orange missile of McKee. At the stripe, Oden did pedal out one of his best passes of the day. He needed that to win, but he also needed to be first off the line to be first at the stripe, and Oden missed his mark on the starting lights. McKee illuminated the win-light in the Laris Motorsports Insurance Left Lane with a better reaction time and a 5.62. McKee closed out Shadyside competition in B/Gas with the win and low e.t. of the meet in the category, running a 5.602 during eliminations. As one crew member remarked with the new FMG Racing Engines powerplant in the Tennessee-branded gasser, “We’ve got a rocket ship now!”
In C/Gas, competition went much as it did in qualifying. Multi-time SEGA champion Todd Oden passed down historic Shadyside Dragway with a 6.03 for the pole in the category. On his heels was the reigning and defending champion of the class Jerren Purdue, with a 6.03. In eliminations, these two competitors followed nearly identical paths through the rounds, ultimately meeting in the final.
Other gasser racers ended their own days against them, knowing they needed every tick of time, leaving early, and turning on the red light of disqualification. No one else mustered the performance that these two competitors had en route to the C/Gas final. Oden’s best e.t. of the day during eliminations had been a 6.04, while Purdue’s best had been a 6.03. The best cars all weekend were against each other to determine the event champion before the enthusiastic North Carolina crowd.
Both launched with wheels in the air. Oden sent his Double XX 1958 Chevy gasser first off the line, and it was enough to defeat the low e.t. of the category pass by Perdue (5.99).
“Beats the heck out of last year at this time [Todd was recovering from heart issues], I can tell you that. I’m so excited to be up here and get back to the winner’s circle – it makes me feel wonderful,” stated Oden on his twenty-fifth SEGA victory.
The last championship class contested at the SEGA season opener was Super Stock. The story in Super Stock has been and remains a matter of the rest of the competition defeating the reigning and defending champion, Jerry Dean. By the end of qualifying and eliminations, no other competitor presented an answer for The Last Rebel II Super Stocker. Dean continued his dominance in the class, defeating Rob Walden in the final. Dean, in typical Jerry fashion, reminisced over the day with the thought of, “We tried. Didn’t have a perfect day, but it was a good day.”
It had been six months since the SEGA Championship Finals at Shadyside Dragway in 2025. The long-awaited ignition of the premier gasser drag racing series roared to the delight of fans and competitors alike. Nostalgia done the SEGA way, brought to life, drag racing yearned for by those that want to see drag racing in a pure sense. The First Drag Race presented by Robbins Repairables at Shadyside Dragway closed, opening the 2026 season that is expected to be the best yet for the Southeast Gassers Association.
This story was originally published on April 15, 2026. 
The post Southeast Gassers Association Ignite 2026 Season at Historic Shadyside Dragway first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
