“It’s going to be hard to get by these heavy hitter guys that can run 3.60s, but I think we’ve proven
here that my little ‘small-block’ 908 is a force to be reckoned with.” - CHARLES CARPENTER
MOVERS & SHAKERS
TEXAS ROYALTY: Funny Car and Top Fuel pioneer
“King Richard” Tharp flashes his trademark smile
at Xtreme Raceway Park, where he attended the
Pro Mod vs. Fuel Altered Showdown.
PAINLESS: Top Sportsman
wheelman Mark Payne
shows some love for his
turbocharged, Holley EFIequipped
House of Payne
Performance Chevy
Cavalier in the Darlington
Dragway staging lanes.
THE QUEEN OF NO-PREP: No-prep star Kayla
Morton, known as the “Queen of No-Prep,” reviews
the data after making a test pass in her “Hot Mess
Express” Mustang at Xtreme Raceway Park.
PARTY TIME: Bob Harris enjoys his time at the PDRA Carolina
Showdown, where his son, two-time Pro Nitrous world
champion Jason Harris, qualified No. 1 in Pro Boost. Harris
was the PDRA series director for its first five seasons.
FRESH FACE: Aaron Philpot, who previously drove
his family’s nitrous-assisted Top Sportsman car,
heads to the staging lanes in his new-to-him,
screw-blown ‘63 Corvette to represent team Pro
Mod at the Pro Mod vs. Fuel Altered Showdown.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOE MCHUGH, TARA BOWKER, VAN ABERNETHY AND GREG BURROW
42 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated.com Issue 158