You can almost hear the cars at zMax from the abandoned, crumbing remains of Shuffletown Dragway. Sure, zMax is one of the most opulent strips in the world and it always packs the fans in but it is also the exact opposite of what the Carolina drag racing scene looked like for eons before it was constructed.
The state has always had notable strips and places like Rockingham have been big league for a long time but the roots of Carolina drag racing were (and mostly still are) grounded in the small eighth mile facilities that dot the countryside. One of the most legendary is the departed Shuffletown Dragway which is only a few minutes from the existing mega-track. zMax did not kill Shuffletown, noise did. Neighborhood complaints and bitching caused the town to close the strip and turn most of its grounds into a public park. The track is still there and the buildings are still there as well, just slowing rotting away. We make a quiet visit each year to check it out.
This video has the bad boys of Quick 8 racing one season before IHRA took it “legal” and ran it as pro modified. Scotty Cannon, Walter Henry, and everyone else you know and love is shown here at the scrappy little eighth mile course. The thing I love the most about this video? CLUTCHES. Every car in this flick has a clutch. Most of the drivers pull a dry hop before sticking the car into the beams as well. They sound awesome and the biggest thing you will notice is the fact that there is ONE blower car there. The Green Corvette of Henry is the only thing that is not being shot down the track with a big nitrous engine. Awesome, right?
Right.
