Drag Illustrated Issue 136, September 2018 | Page 62

DIALED IN
MOORESVILLE DRAGWAY
but I’ve got to pay for the place. It will happen,
it just takes time,” he says.
To his credit, the facility already looks better
than it has in years, but Gibbs envisions many
more updates, some of which are already in the
works. For example, Mooresville’s shutdown has
been in need of lengthening for a while now, and
Gibbs is about to remedy the situation. In July,
the shutdown was leveled and prepped for paving,
which will add an additional 300 feet of length
and provide an extra pull-off. The installation of
concrete walls is something Gibbs desperately
wants to do, and will be accomplished as soon
as it’s feasible.
Mooresville used to be a hotbed for Pro
Mod racing from the 1990s to the early 2000s,
and Gibbs has a dream of returning ultra-fast
doorslammers to regular competition. Other fu-
ture updates include relocating his Gibbs Race
Cars shop to the grounds of the drag strip, com-
plete with a speed shop. “My current shop up
the road is for sale, and just as soon as we can
get it sold, I’m looking forward to relocating the
shop right here at the track.” Gibbs even envisions
building a house on the Mooresville Dragway
property, which will serve as his primary resi-
dence. “I never leave the track anyway, so I may
as well move everything out here,” he laughs. He’s
dedicated about the long-term investment of the
track to the point that he’s yet to even pay himself
a dime, electing instead to re-invest everything
into the improvement of the facility.
The locals who grew up racing here have re-
sponded favorably to Gibbs’s dedication and they
support the track often. Gibbs says he tries to
schedule some type of event every single weekend,
including 11 points races for his bracket racing
participants. Other special events include diesel
truck meets, Street Outlaws, Volkswagen races,
and the Elite Drags, an action-packed event
that consists of
Top Sportsman,
Top Dragster,
LS Renegades,
index racing and
an appearance
by the Carolina
Class Racers As-
sociation. Gibbs
is also gearing up
to host the NHRA
National Open in
September, which
he says might be
the biggest event
of the year.
And if he’s not
busy enough,
Gibbs even com-
petes in the Gibbs
Race Cars-sponsored 4.70 series, which he also
founded in 2012. He races his 1992 Camaro at
Mooresville and also tours to neighboring tracks
to compete in the series, usually holding 10 or so
events per season.
Gibbs will tell you he’s got a full plate, but his
intense focus is set squarely on making Moores-
ville Dragway a top-notch facility, and his long-
term vision and determination drives him toward
that goal daily. “I just want Mooresville Dragway
to be in super-nice condition,” he concludes.
Door Wars
Midwest racers shine at
8th annual JEGS Summer
Door Car Shootout
By Rob King
I
-57 Dragstrip played host to the
“Biggest Little Door Car Race in the Mid-
west,” the 8th annual JEGS Summer Door
Car Shootout, July 20-22. Nearly 200 of the
best door car racers from the region were
greeted by sunny skies, great prize money and
a growing array of valuable prizes throughout
the weekend.
On-track action kicked off Friday with the
$5,000-to-win Ohio Crankshaft pre-game event.
When the smoke cleared, it was a pair of I-57
Dragstrip regulars dueling for the big check: Don-
nie Ellis defeated Dave Angelly in the all-Illinois
final round. Both Ellis and Angelly have attended
every JEGS Summer Door Car Shootout to date,
and both have had previous success in the event:
Ellis was a runner-up in the Quick 16 back in
2013, and his son Kyle took runner-up honors
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in the main event the following season. Angelly
was a Quick 16 runner-up in 2015, and has been
a regular in the late rounds of the event.
Also of note Friday night: last season’s Moser
Sunday Main Event winner, Tony Atchison ad-
vanced to the quarterfinal round before losing to
Ellis. Between the two days of racing, spread over
almost a full calendar year, Atchison accumulated
an incredible 15 consecutive JEGS Summer Door
Car Shootout win lights.
Saturday, as Summer Door Car Shootout
fans and competitors have become accustomed,
brought a full day of non-stop action. Alabama
racer Jared Pennington was the first big winner
of the day. One year (almost to the day) removed
from an encounter with the I-57 Dragstrip retain-
ing wall at last year’s JEGS Summer Door Car
Shootout, Pennington drove his familiar “Big Red”
Nova to the $7,500 Brodix Main Event title over
Jeremy McKague in a final round decided by just
one thousandth of a second. In what was one of
the more memorable moments of the 2018 event,
Pennington, the well-known announcer and co-
host of the Sportsman Drag Racing Podcast, was
interviewed by his 12-year-old son JJ on the start-
ing line following the final round. McKague, it
should be noted, added to his legacy as the most
decorated performer in JEGS Summer Door Car
Shootout history: Saturday’s final round appear-
ance was the sixth final round in the eight-year
history of the JEGS Summer Door Car Shootout
for the Chamois, Missouri-based runner.
Pennington’s victory served as an appetizer
of sorts for the evening schedule that featured a
packed house of spectators to watch the DRAG
ILLUSTRATED Fan Appreciation Night, which
Issue 136