(Photos by David Whealon) – Top alcohol funny car and top alcohol dragster are among our favorite classes in the world of drag racing. Why? These are immensely powerful and fast cars that are run at a very serious level and they are run by people who do not happen to be zillionaires. These are family teams, volunteer teams, and teams that are competing for their severe and honest love of the game rather than huge money and riches. The alky dragsters run low, low 5s and the funny cars live in the middle/lower range of the 5-second zone. The car are really fun to watch and the ranks of the alcohol machines are the feeding ground for the next generation of nitro pilot in the pro ranks. Both alky funny car and dragster are loaded with kids in their 20s seeking the experience to move onto the next level.

Charlotte may have been a four wide race but the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competitors ran two wide, making the competition way more traditional than it had been on the professional side of things. The photos below tell the tale and David Whealon did a heck of a job shooting them.

Click the images below to see them in full-size! Great action photos –