Homer’s Bowman Takes Hayes Win At Atlanta Dragway

By Amy & Tim Glover

The Hayes Automotive group and YearOne teamed up this past weekend for the Hayes Automotive American Muscle Meet, presented by Year One, at the Atlanta Dragway. The show featured all makes of American muscle cars in many different settings, including a Car Show, Swap Meet and Car Corral.

Seven different classes contested on the quarter mile, ranging from the popular Jr. Dragsters for kids eight to seventeen years old to the ultra quick Super Pro machines.

The Junior Dragster class may have had the tightest final of the night, without advantage as a result of no tree-end red lights or top-end breakouts. It came down to the older boys of the category to finish the race, with Homer’s Brett Bowman, 17, and Chase Mullinax of Buford, also 17, facing off.

Mullinax cut the better light, with a .053 against Bowman’s .060 reaction time, but Bowman’s win-light flashed after he ran an 8.31 on an 8.30 dial, alongside Mullinax’s 7.92 on a 7.90.

Ten-year-old Hunter Ramsey of Commerce placed in the semi-final round.

The Super Pro class made for an interesting race, replacing the usual tight runs with a slapdash go for the finish line, as both racers left before the tree was ready. Tim Gibson of Walhalla, SC, jumped the gun in his ’70 Dart, automatically giving the win to Gainesville’s Bubba Rich. Rich felt lucky after his ’02 Firebird jumped before the green, and let off the gas for his predetermined victory lap. The ’08 Super Pro win made Bubba Rich the undefeated Hayes event champion for two years running, a daunting title despite his comment on the run, being “the sloppiest final [he] ever won.”

Stan Sinack from Lilburn stayed behind with a semi-final placement in his ‘69 Dart.

The Pro class final produced a double-breakout. Blairsville’s Mac Everett ran an 11.74 on an 11.78 dial-in in his ’88 Mustang, against Maysville’s Ed Nalley, whose ’76 Vega, ran a 9.48 on a 9.53 dial-in.

Tom Moran of Walhalla, S.C., finished in third place in his ’72 Plymouth.

Sportsman winner Mel Abney of Cumming claimed victory in his ’67 Camaro despite breaking out, running a 12.98 on a 13.09 dial. Tracy Schaffer of Austell pulled a -.016 foul in her ’68 Camaro, while also breaking out at the top end, with a 13.69 on a 13.70 prediction.

Chris Moore of Greer, S.C. placed in the semi-final round in his ’08 Jeep SRT8.

The ET Diesel class, brought in by the NADM organization, gave fans a line of smoke-spewing trucks from the East Coast competing for recognition in the budding Diesel component of drag racing. The final came down to Kurt Lincoln’s close dialing, running a 14.92 on a 14.90, against Howard Bowman’s 16.54 on a 16.35. The Hayes event was his first NADM win.

Lincoln’s competitor, Howard Bowman of Homer, was hoping to win to join his son Brett as a Hayes winner, who won the Jr. Dragster class. Unfortunately, his ’07 Chevy didn’t run the number, pulling off the 16.54 on a 16.35 dial.

The Quick Diesel class was another offshoot of the NADM. Scotty Bradshaw of Haw River, NC, claimed the win in his ’00 Ford F-250, after High Point, NC, racer Brian Buchanan red-lit in his ’97 Dodge.

Mickey Davis, who recently made the field at the Atlanta Pinks All Out event with his Pelham-based ’97 Dodge RAM, was the winner in AirWerks Unlimited Street. Although he ran a very quick 6.59 at 105.70, his opponent, Phillip Palmer, of Cairo, made the win easier when his ’94 Dodge RAM broke the engine immediately following his starting line launch.