Battlefield hosting car show, drag racing

Published 11:43 pm Thursday, October 17, 2013

Battlefield Raceway north of Collinsville will be the source of a great deal of thunder Saturday as the raceway, along with the Queen City Rods and Classics Car Club, will host the 23rd Annual Rock and Roll Revival and Nostalgia Drag Races.

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    Billy Jack Ethridge, one of the organizers of the event, said the car show is an open event.

    “That means if it has wheels it is eligible to be shown regardless of year and model,” Ethridge said. “Another feature of this car show will be the swap meet. If you have old car parts, you are encouraged to bring them and display them beside your show car or in a separate area.”

    Ethridge said you don’t have to have a car in the show to display and sell your car parts. Just pay the $10 spectator fee and the swap meet area is free.

    Entry fee for those wishing to show their cars is $25, which allows two people to enter. Additional entires by the same owner is $5 each. Car show participants are eligible for one of more than 100 awards plus door prizes and money drawings, Ethridge said. One of the door prizes will be a 42-inch flat screen TV provided by Long John Silvers and A&W. Participants can purchase additional chances to win the TV with the proceeds benefiting the Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital.

    “Since the car club was formed in 1985, we have raised thousands of dollars for local and state charities,” Ethridge said. 

    Whereas a great many car enthusiasts will be wanting to browse through all the car parts and accessories that will be on hand to find that good deal or hard to find addition to their own classic car project, many more will be wanting to see some classic hot rods show their stuff on the track.

    Spectators will be entertained by “The Southern Gassers”, a group of 1950s and 60s drag cars that will be racing “heads up” in an elimination program.

    “Also, this will be the first Ford FE powered Fall Nationals, a drag race for the 390-427 cubic inch Ford engined cars of the 60s,” Ethridge said. “These racers will be competing for a $2,000 purse.”

    Ethridge said there will also be a “foot brake” gamblers race for any 1972 or older vehicle with 100 percent payback.

    A Mississippi legend in racing, Meridian native Killer Thompson, will be on hand with his front engine dragsters. Thompson will be making “killer” exhibition passes in his machines to showcase the pure power of dragsters.

    “Former Pro Stock and Super Stock cars are coming from as far away as South Carolina,” Ethridge said. “Many of these cars should be retired to museums but spectators will be able to see them in their own element as they were meant to be — flying down the drag strip.”

    Gates will open at 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 19 with time trails beginning at 10 a.m. Ethridge said the racing will continue through the day with the car show awards scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.

    Battlefield Raceway is located at 512 George Road, off of Highway 19 North, four miles north of Collinsville. For more information call 601-486-3808.