Hot rodders from around New England converged on the small town of Epping, NH yesterday as New England Dragway threw the gates open for the first time in 2012 to kick off the racing season and we were there. The track operates from April to October each year and the crew had the long running drag plant all tuned up and ready for action on day one. Temps were in the mid 40-degree range and there were clear blue skies for the competitors who showed up to run, mark out their pit spots, or just get their car inspected by the tech department to make sure it is up to snuff with the rules.

There was a great variety of iron at the track with the majority of the vehicles being street cars. There was some unique stuff in there as well, though, especially the Dodge Mirada Super Stock M/A car of Vermont’s Greg Gay. Greg is an awesome racer and his big Dodge was pulling the front wheels (as seen below) all day while running very deep into the 11-second zone. Our buddies from Performance Auto and Dyno were there with their turbocharged X275 car and made some half and three quarter length pulls down the track. The turbo small block Ford in the car sounds nasty as all get out when driver Ben Dahlgreen is on the loud pedal.

It was a fantastic first day of racing and we look forward to many more sunny days at the strip this season. If you’re local 1320 isn’t open yet, allow these photos to keep your hopes up for the day when you can thrash your racer at the track!

Drag Gallery: