This past weekend we had the opportunity to be a part of something special. The first event in the newly formed Southern California High School Drag Challenge, was a riot, and everyone on site had a great time. John Force was on hand as Grand Marshal, and had a great time hanging out with adults and students alike. Hell, he even made a bunch of passes riding shotgun with kids, or racing them in his daily driver Lincoln pickup. There were a bunch of kids who now get to say they beat the 16 time Champ. This is the first of 4 races that are going to make up the High School Drag Challenge, with the overall points champion getting a scholarship to the School of Automotive Machinists. The twist? Get a moving violation anytime during the season, and you are not eligible to win the scholarship.

This is all in an effort to not only get the kids off the street, and racing on track where they belong, but also to help hook some students that might otherwise have passed up the opportunity to go drag racing. Every person at this event, whether driving or spectating, had a great time, and BangShift.com is proud to be a part of this program. Our own Chad Reynolds was on hand working the mic, and talking to drivers, faculty, and fans.

Unfortunately there were only about 25 cars on site for the racing, but with the amazing number of passes each driver got, and the fact that everyone was having an awesome time, we expect that the word will spread and the next event will have a lot more cars. In fact, we’re meeting with sponsors, promoters, and track management to help spread the word even more.

If you have a high school student in your group of friends or family, do your part and get them out on the track as well. We spent a lot of time talking to unsure teens this weekend, and once they had somebody to talk to about racing, they were all stoked. It was great to see.

Congratulations to all the kids who came out to run. Final results are below.

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High School Drag Challenge Final Round Results

                                                               RT    Dial In      ET/MPH
Winner 7206 Kevin Lee (Upland High School) ’98 Camaro         .141   13.75       13.765/99.91
R/U    7057 Daniel Chiaranonte (Alta Vista Hesperia) ’06 EVO  .139   13.15        13.377/104.50

Alumni Challenge

RT   Dial In       ET/MPH         
Winner 9135  Jim Los Quadro (Alta Loma HS)          ’62 Nova     .024  10.63       10.660/112.20
R/U    7052  Daniel Nilges  (Riverspring Charter)   ’65 Chevy II .141  13.40        11.400/101.41