ROCKINGHAM — Richard Alford Jr. (Raleigh) doubled-up in the Footbrake class, Barry Nall (Eagle Springs) won his third track championship and the grandson of a drag racing legend showed that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree — highlighting the next-to-last race — in the 2017 Hoosier Tires Carolina Coalition Series this past weekend at Rockingham Dragway.
Alford, one of the Southeast’s most accomplished drivers, beat Matt Sayers (Vinton, Va.) to win Sunday’s Footbrake championship after getting a free pass to Saturday’s title when Will Walton (Jacksonville) missed the green light by .007 of a second and fouled out.
In addition to his Footbrake success, Alford reached the Saturday semifinals in Top Eliminator before fouling out himself against 2016 Rockingham track champ Lee Desist (Fayetteville).
Nall, whose 1968 Plymouth Barracuda is one of the region’s most popular bracket cars, outran Lumberton’s Jerry Brewer in the final round to earn enough points to add the 2017 track championship, along with the points he won in 1997 and 1998.
He shared the Top Eliminator stage with Will Holloman (Four Oaks) who beat Desist in the Saturday final.
Burlington’s Jason McCandless — grandson of Herb “Mr. 4-Speed” McCandless, one of the NHRA’s Pro Stock stars of the 1970s — won the Jr. Dragster title on Sunday after Harrison Cox (Conway, S.C.) got the money, the points and the hardware on Saturday.
While Nall was taking advantage of the double-point opportunity to win the track title, Mark Soles (Delco) was doing the same in Footbrake. However, the Jr. Dragster is still up for grabs with two final points races Oct. 21st and Oct. 22nd. Kimberly Messer (Four Oaks) is the current point leader on the strength of a runner-up finish Saturday and a semifinal finish Sunday.
The series, which crowns champions in Top Eliminator, Footbrake and Jr. Dragster classes, will conclude Oct. 7-8 with a pair of events at Mooresville Dragway.
Saturday and Sunday results from the Hoosier Tires Carolina Coalition Series race at Rockingham Dragway:
SUNDAY TOP ELIMINATOR FINAL — Barry Nall (.027, 5.798 on a 5.790, 120.37 mph) def. Jerry Brewer (.022, 4.675 on a 4.660, 146.86 mph)
SATURDAY TOP ELIMINATOR FINAL — Will Holloman (.007, 4.752 on a 4.530, 120.06 mph) def. Lee Desis (foul)
SUNDAY FOOTBRAKE FINAL — Richard Alford Jr. (.026, 6.280 on a 6.270, 98.31 mph) def. Matt Sayers (.029, 6.800 on a 6.740, 95.41 mph)
SATURDAY FOOTBRAKE FINAL – Richard Alford Jr. (.058, 6.219 on a 6.240, 106.63 mph) def. Will Walton (foul)
SUNDAY JR. DRAGSTER FINAL — Jason McCandless (.003, 7.956 on a 7.900, 73.45 mph) def. Lane Morgan (.037, 8.932 on an 8.910, 72.69 mph)
SATURDAY JR. DRAGSTER FINAL — Harrison Cox (.038, 7.927 on a 7.940, 80.87 mph) def. Kimberly Messer (.042, 7.922 breakout on a 7.940, 82.41 mph)