Mark “Woody” Woodruff is
the Fastest Man on Radials
Just to be able to race again two weeks after a wreck is a
huge accomplishment in itself, but Mark “Woody” Woodruff of Arnold,
Missouri, one-upped himself when he took home a huge runner-up
finish in PTC Radial vs the World at Lights Out 8.
Only a handful of days prior to the Georgia race, Woody crashed his
big block-powered, twin turbo 2010 Corvette during the final round of
the U.S. Street Nationals in Florida. Thanks to quick work and many
sleepless nights from the team at Larry Jeffers Race Cars, his radial tire
ride was repaired in record time.
Upon arriving at SGMP, “Woody” made it known that he wasn’t going
to go easy on the competition. During the first round of Radial vs the
World qualifying, he threw down a massive 3.835-second, 212.36 mph
hit that catapulted him to the number-one spot for the 51-car field. To
sweeten the deal, Woodruff ’s tremendous trap speed also reset the drag
radial tire speed world record and officially made him the fastest man
on the planet on radials. Although “Woody” didn’t improve his numbers
during later sessions, his initial hit was good enough for fifth once the
order was finalized.
With his usual M&M torque converter and two-speed 400 lock-up
on board and a FuelTech engine management system keeping the whole
powertrain running flawlessly, Woody headed into eliminations. “We got
a bad ass hot rod,” he affirmed, and he didn’t disappoint. Wins in rounds
one, two, and three put Woody into the semifinals where he showed
impeccable sportsmanship as he waited for opponent Steve “Stevie Fast”
Jackson to make repairs from his wreck in the quarter-finals so that the
March 2017
two could run as intended. When they finally got down to it, Woody had
the hole shot advantage and never looked back as he picked up another
win on his way to the finals.
Unfortunately, a dropped valve near the half-track mark meant
Woody’s engine grenaded a piston and needed a host of other repairs.
An intense, last-minute thrash-session in the Woodruff ’s pits, lovingly
referred to by many as “Woodymart” due to the amount of spare parts he
is known for carrying with him, saw a gathering of some of drag racing’s
greatest all lending a hand to make sure their dear friend and fellow
racer could run the last round of the night. Folks like Brent Sansoucie,
Mark Micke, Tim Davis, Johnny “Drama” Maguda, Luís Fernando Back-
es de Leon from FuelTech, and many more were all on site to minimize
the madness. “There ain’t no quit in us!” confirmed Woody, determined
to overcome the unexpected obstacles.
Before long, the engine had heat in it again and “Woody” was on his
way to the starting line. There, he faced off against “Nova Joe” Al-
brecht and the two both ran all-out. Ultimately, it was Albrecht who
took the win with a 3.837 at 202.00 mph pass to Woody’s 4.005 at
196.42 mph run.
“We’ve been small tire racing forever. To have the success we have to-
day is wonderful. We’ve been through some struggles, but I’m surround-
ed by good people, great sponsors, and the package has finally come
together,” said Woodruff, who still went home feeling like a winner.
- AINSLEY JACOBS
DragIllustrated.com
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