While Pro Modified is the headlining class at the Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by J&A Service, the True 10.5 No-Time teams are doing their best to steal a bit of the spotlight at the upcoming Snowbird Outlaw Nationals, Dec. 5-7 at Bradenton Motorsports Park.
Over the course of the Thanksgiving holiday, class promoters Tom Gunner – better known as Jimmy Dale – and Michael Poland announced a smorgasbord of grudge matches set for Friday and Saturday during qualifying.
“Ever since creating Lil Gangsta’s, Michael Poland and I have been focused on figuring out where we were going next,” said Gunner. “With help from Wes Buck and Barrett Green, we came up with the new True 10.5. We feel like Lil Gangsta’s is successful because so many people feel competitive, and we hope to duplicate that success with True 10.5.
“As racers, we always hear the tire is the equalizer,” Gunner continued. “While that can be true, 275 N/T radial has become a high-stakes class with sometimes up to half a second between front runners and first-round ducks. By changing that tire to a 28×10.5 slick and not allowing radials or Pro Mod-bodied cars, this class will have parity that’s never been seen without weights involved. We’ve spoken to all 32 locked-in racers, and the margin from the fastest to the slowest is a tenth of a second. That’s something we are proud of.”
Headlining the matchups on Friday night is a battle between veterans Lyle Barnett and Larry Larson. Barnett, driving the Salvage Title Mustang owned by Tommy Youmans, will be looking for a bit of payback against Larson and his ’66 Chevy II. Larson narrowly beat Barnett by just .004 earlier this year at the $75,000 King of the South small-tire invitational at Shadyside Dragway in Shelby, N.C.
“Ol’ Larry nipped me .004 in the final at King of the South, and I want some get back!” Barnett posted on social media. “Harts Charger on Harts Charger crime Friday night! Pick one and ride!”
Outlaw Armageddon double champion (Small Tire and High-Roller Small Tire) Chase Womack is doubling up again in Bradenton, locking in huge grudge races on both Friday and Saturday. Womack, piloting his ProCharger-equipped, Hemi-powered Firebird, will take on Joey Rabiola and the Boost12 Mustang on Friday, and line up against Russell Stone’s screw-blown “Black Widow” Camaro on Saturday.
“Good luck to both those fellas,” Womack said of his opponents. “We’ve got nothing but respect for the other drivers. They’ve been holding it down in 28×10.5 for a long time and have the wins to back it up.
“I’m bringing a Procharged Hemi with a little nitrous – just enough to keep it interesting,” continued Womack. “I might be the new guy in the mix, but don’t let ‘new’ get confused with anything else. We’ll be tough – there’s no reason to show up if you don’t think you can win. Still, it’s an honor to line up with these killers. No matter how it shakes out, it’s gonna be a show.”
The Preston Bros. – Isaac and Adam – are both getting into the grudge action as well. Adam will be piloting the team’s orange Corvette against former No Prep Kings star Scott Taylor and his “Lil Goldie” ’69 Camaro, while Isaac will run their infamous “Frankenstein” ‘Vette against Craig Pachar and the Triangle Speed Shop’s newly upgraded Mustang, “Slimer.”
“Let’s see if this ol’ small block will hang with that big Hemi,” Isaac Preston said on social media regarding his matchup. “Adam said he wanted action too. We got two fast hot rods, let’s see if we can put them to work!”
Other big-time matchups on Friday night include Ryan Martin vs. Memphis Raines, Ryan Mitchell vs. Billy Hoskinson, “Dominator” Joe Woods vs. Ryan Hendrickson, Brandon James vs. Taylor Strange, and Brandon Sandlian in the Junkyard Studebaker vs. Corey Reed in Manny Buginga’s Mustang, “Freddy.”
Poland says that fans heading to Bradenton should be ready to witness an all-out battle of heavyweights, as he and Gunner have worked tirelessly to bring about a main-event worthy group of drivers.
“We’ve come up with as list of guys from all forms of drag racing – radial, street, no prep, grudge – and combined them all together,” said Poland. “All 32 drivers are coming to Snowbirds with 100% confidence they can win. With 32 killers in a cage, it took one driver to swing and we had an all-out brawl of grudge races break out. Everything fans have seen thus far is locked in for Friday and Saturday, and Sunday [eliminations] are going to be insane!”
For more info on the Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by J&A Service, visit www.TheWinterSeries.com. To purchase tickets for the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals presented by Motion Raceworks at Bradenton Motorsports Park, click here: https://bit.ly/3LvZ4DR.
This story was originally published on November 30, 2025.
The post Ryan Martin vs. Memphis Raines, Mitchell vs. Hoskinson Amongst Grudge Races Locked-In for True 10.5 at Winter Series-Opening Snowbird Outlaw Nationals Presented by Motion Raceworks first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
