For many years, the Shakedown at E-Town was a destination event for Pro Mod, Outlaw 10.5, and numerous small-tire and outlaw doorslammer classes, bringing racers from up and down the East Coast and beyond to now-defunct Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. Originally conceptualized and promoted by Dave Hance, the event changed locations and names a few times over the last decade-plus. Now, the Shakedown brand is back as the Alan Johnson Performance Engineering (AJPE) Shakedown at M’Town at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan.
Set for May 28-31, the Shakedown at M’Town will feature the FuelTech Radial Outlaws Series drag radial classes, Mid-West Drag Racing Series Pro Mod, Top Sportsman, and Top Dragster, Pro Street/Outlaw 10.5, and more.
The event is a collaborative effort with stakeholders including U.S. 131 Motorsports Park track owner Jason Peterson and his son, Samuel, Duck X Productions’ Donald Long, and MWDRS owner Keith Haney. With Virginia Motorsports Park no longer holding its Shakedown Nationals, the Petersons saw the opportunity to revive the Shakedown brand. With Hance’s blessing, they went to work putting together a lineup that will stand out on the track’s schedule. It’s also the northern-most race on the FuelTech Radial Outlaws Series schedule by far.
“I’m for sure excited, but who’s even more excited is my son, Samuel,” said Jason Peterson on a recent episode of the Wes Buck Show. “He’s been pushing hard and doing a lot of track rentals with a lot these radial cars and creating a lot of relationships with them. We’ve been blessed that they’ve been going back to Donald saying, ‘You need to do a race up here. There’s no big race up here in the Midwest.’ We’ve very excited. We’re anticipating a very good car count. Now we have to do our promotions between Donald and ourselves and try to get people in the seats to watch this thing.”
Serious payouts are on the line, including $30,000 to win in Radial vs. the World and $20,000 to win in MWDRS Pro Mod and Pro 275. X275 and Limited Drag Radial will race for $10,000 to win, while 10.5 Pro Street (using PDRA Pro Street rules) and Ultra Street will compete for $7,500 to win each. $3,000 is up for grabs in Limited Street 235 (RTRA rules), MWDRS Top Sportsman, and MWDRS Top Dragster. N/T Outlaw 275 is also on the lineup with $4,000 on top of tech cards going to the winner.
While U.S. 131 Motorsports Park already hosts the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series’ Pro Street class at the Northern Nationals in August and the MWDRS at the Funny Car Nationals in September, the Shakedown at M’Town will bring them together – along with the FuelTech Radial Outlaws Series classes – into one marquee race.
“As Donald would say, we want to make this a staple event, both for Donald and for us at U.S. 131,” Peterson said.
Testing for the Shakedown at M’Town will take place on Wednesday, May 28, from 3-10 p.m. Qualifying for all classes is scheduled from 4 p.m. to midnight on Thursday and Friday, while a final qualifying session is set for Saturday morning. Eliminations are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
FloRacing will cover the Shakedown at M’Town through its exclusive livestream, which will begin Thursday, May 29, at 4 p.m. Find the official event livestream here: https://www.floracing.com/events/13811671-2025-shakedown-xxii.
This story was originally published on May 29, 2025. 
The post Shakedown at M-Town to Unite Pro Mod and Radial Powerhouses first appeared on Drag Illustrated.