ROCKINGHAM — The drag racing season officially revved up this past weekend with the second annual Billy Weeks Shamrock Challenge.
The bracket racing event at Rockingham Dragway is named in honor of the track’s late operations manager who passed away two years ago.
Dragway co-owner Dan VanHorn previously told the RO that Weeks was deserving of a memorial event, saying, “He was a big part of the track’s history.”
Weather caused a few issues, with fog delaying the start on Saturday and Sunday’s racing being called off due to storms. The latter led to a double payout. Clouds skirted around the track Saturday afternoon, dropping a few sprinkles — but not enough to stop the action.
At the end of the day, the following drivers came out on top in their respective classes:
Warm-Up Race
Winner - Ken Batchelor
R/U - Tyler Mayhew
Jr. Street
Winner - Bladen Core
R/U - Brian Adkins II
Sportsman
Winner - Joshua Dial
R/U - William Locklear
Motorcycle
Winner - Joshua Dial
R/U - Cedric Mingo
Jr. Dragster
Winner - Autumn Adkins
R/U - Dallas Locklear
Pro
Winner - Matt Ricchezza
R/U - Jeff Knight
Super Pro
Winner - Blane Parrish
R/U - T.G. Paschal
There are two more bracket racing events scheduled for the track later this year: the Big John Memorial May 24-26; and the Sandhills Championship Aug. 30-Sept. 1.
This weekend, the Rock is hosting two events.
The action moves to the back side of the track Friday and Saturday for Dig or Die: Flashlight Fiesta 5. This will be the first of three Dig or Die no prep races for the season. The other events are scheduled for July 18-19 and Dec. 5-6.
Import Face-Off returns to the track on Sunday featuring not only racing, but a car show, burnout contest, stereo contest and low car limbo.
Closing out the March Madness in motorsports will be the return of Battle for the Thrones featuring “the fastest door cars in the world.” Several new records were set at last year’s event.
The Rock also has a packed schedule for April, except for the weekend NASCAR returns nextdoor at Rockingham Speedway with races in the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck series.
See the dragway’s website and social media pages for more information on upcoming events.
