(Words and photos by Tommy Lee Byrd) – For the past 11 years, a group of dedicated drag racers has been organizing an event called Draggin’ for Toys, and it has become a popular destination for super fast street cars. It is held annually at Brainerd Optimist Drag Strip in Ringgold, Georgia, and all of the money is donated to T.C. Thompson Childrens Hospital, while all toy donations are given to a local charity.
The event always draws a huge crowd, with more than 100 racers on hand and several hundred spectators. The historic eighth-mile track offers lots of great racing action, with a wide variety of cars hitting the track. You’ll see hot rods, imports, muscle cars, and of course lots of Mustangs doing battle, all for a simple trophy and bragging rights.
Unfortunately, the 2012 Draggin’ for Toys event experienced a terrible tragedy near the end of the day. A dragster ran over a man named Johnny Walker, who had run the burnout box at Brainerd for 18 years. He would later pass away, due to extreme head injuries. The track officials called the race after the accident occurred. Please keep the folks involved in the accident in your thoughts and prayers.
Despite the tragic ending to what would’ve been a nice day of racing, Tommy Lee Byrd shot a bunch of great photos, so check out our gallery here.
To see more even more pictures from Draggin’ for Toys, check out his full gallery linked below!
CLICK HERE TO SEE TOMMY LEE BYRD’S FULL RACE GALLERY
