(Words and Photos by Benoit Pigeon) – I had never been to a NOPI event so when they joined with EOPM for the Bristol, TN event at the famed “Thunder Valley” strip, it was a no brainer.  The view is fantastic and the light is somewhat unique on the cars, not always, but NOPI picked the right week end for sure.  What I liked the most was the mix of activities. Spectators could go from drift, to car show, to the drags strip, and to the various vendors within minutes It was a very nice way to discover new things.

Certainly, I could see how to convince friends, a girl friend, a wife (or both!) to come out for an afternoon and not feel bored if they are not as passionate for cars as you are. I loved to see some of the new wraps with texture that are available now. These guys get really creative with vey little amount of graphics.  Jumping cars were in demonstration mode and they go quite high and wild. It was a fun watch.

Pro Mods were fighting for Extreme Outlaw Pro Mod points and it’s the Franklin Family that took the win for the third time this year.  Oddly, the final was decided during the semis. Randy Weatherford, 2013 champion and his beautiful blue Camaro had a bye, but the engine malfunctioned when he attempted to start the car. The engine had enough damage to prevent him from taking the tree and roll the beam to go to the next round. That left Jr Ward and his blown black Corvette and Franklin for the last pair. Ward has had very encouraging efforts this year but not enough at Bristol to stop Tommy Franklin. All Franklin had to do on the next round was to start the car and stage roll and shut off to win the event. It was anti climactic but a rewarding win for the Franklin bunch or sure.