{"id":102748,"date":"2025-12-21T15:44:04","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T15:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/rain-or-shine-carolina-dragway-keeps-the-tradition-alive\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T15:44:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T15:44:04","slug":"rain-or-shine-carolina-dragway-keeps-the-tradition-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/rain-or-shine-carolina-dragway-keeps-the-tradition-alive\/","title":{"rendered":"Rain or Shine, Carolina Dragway Keeps The Tradition Alive"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carolina Dragway kicked off its 68th season in 2025 with a robust schedule of events that featured many different attractions. Located in Aiken, South Carolina, this legendary NHRA-sanctioned, quarter-mile facility opened in 1957 and has been a staple in the community ever since.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All that was needed for this to be a race season to remember was good weather, but unfortunately, Mother Nature didn\u2019t get the memo. Track manager Chris Kneece was eager to see the track\u2019s planned events become a reality, but he soon realized that the weather was going to negatively affect the race season more than usual, and that\u2019s putting it mildly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Carolina Dragway track manager Chris Kneece<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had 27 rainouts this year!\u201d says Kneece, who took over managing the track in 2024. Among the hardest hit this year was the track\u2019s Thursday night test-and-tune and grudge racing program, which typically draws huge crowds. \u201cWe lost two months of Thursday nights this year,\u201d says Kneece, adding, \u201cAnd many of those rainouts were on days that started out beautiful, and then a rainstorm would seemingly come out of nowhere!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

This region typically enjoys mild winters, so test-and-tune events are scheduled as early as February, along with NHRA chassis certification. February is also a popular time to begin no-prep races, while March ushers in the first bracket race, although the rain did play a major spoiler with that as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Grudge race promoter Mike Hill also brings his events to Carolina Dragway, beginning in March, along with other events as the season progresses. Cars and Coffee is another popular gathering that\u2019s held at Carolina Dragway throughout the year, with the first meeting typically scheduled in March. Summit Bracket points racing kicks off in mid-March as part of a 10-race series. March Madness bracket racing closed out the month, with racers battling it out for $20K per day in prize money.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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April\u2019s lineup was filled with numerous test-and-tune sessions, along with Die Hard day, Last Man Standing Triggaman Productions, and a pair of points bracket races to punctuate the month.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Night of Fire in early May is always a huge fan favorite, featuring Funny Cars, Fuel Altereds, jet dragsters, and wheelstanders. The event is held in conjunction with the NHRA Open, making it a huge weekend of racing action. No Mercy Grudgefest closed out the schedule for the month of May.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many great events were slated for June, including Keefa and Stephen Clay\u2019s King of the South race. July typically features test-and-tune sessions, bracket events, and Street Car Nights. Chris Tyrone\u2019s Radial Fest and Q\u2019s Labor Day Bash were featured attractions on August\u2019s schedule.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mike Hill\u2019s Grudge Fest and Stephen Clay and KO\u2019s Street Cars events returned to the lineup in September. October had a full slate of events as well, including Import vs. Muscle and multiple opportunities for test-and-tune.<\/p>\n

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Vance Houston, winner of the Big Bucks Bracket Race on Saturday<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

November hosts one of the most beloved gatherings of the year with the Big Bucks Bracket Race, now in its 21st running.\u00a0Drag Illustrated<\/em>\u00a0was on hand to enjoy this legendary event, which features $20K per day in prize money and Wally trophies for the winners. On Saturday, Vance Houston parked his gorgeous Camaro in the winner\u2019s circle, as he and his team celebrated the win on day one. Shane Maddox went the distance on Sunday, emerging victorious in his dragster.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Shane Maddox, winner of the Big Bucks Bracket Race on Sunday<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The annual Big Bucks Bracket Race closes out the year for dial-in-style racing, while various test-and-tune sessions, Cars and Coffee, and grudge events continue into December.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The post Rain or Shine, Carolina Dragway Keeps The Tradition Alive<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carolina Dragway kicked off its 68th season in 2025 with a robust schedule of events that featured many different attractions. Located in Aiken, South Carolina, this legendary NHRA-sanctioned, quarter-mile facility opened in 1957 and has been a staple in the community ever since.\u00a0 All that was needed for this to be a race season to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102748\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}