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BALLARD BOYZ AND EDDIE CHAPMAN VICTORIOUS ON GRUDGE RACES AT TEST & TUNE

 

By Chad Cathell - Action was at full throttle last night at the US 13 Dragway as a rescheduled Test and Tune turned into a Grudge Matchup Night for the ages! Invading the 302 was the "King Hater" himself Bruce Styles taking on the Ballard Boyz of Princess Anne, MD. Also on the docket for the nights Grudge matchups was a couple of "local boys" with Eddie "Who" Chapman of Pocomoke City, MD taking on Drew "The Assasin" Birch of Whaleysville, MD in a SWB, Stock Motor, motorcycle match up. US 13 was also racing live with the assistance of Matt Pencek with WBOC 16, as he was at the track with live coverage of the action taking place, as well as conducting interviews with track staff and some of the racers in attendance.

 

When Styles rolled into US 13 with one thing in mind, overtake US 13 and reclaim it as MY US 13. However, as the night would wear on, the only thing that took place was Styles adding to his 0 for record against the 302 Nation. To start the night off Ballard and Styles both agreed to one test hit before their matchup against each other. At 7:20 with the camera's rolling from WBOC, Ballard and Styles both made their respective test runs in preparation. Styles would shoot of the line like a cannon, but shortly after the 60' mark began to get sideways and had to left to avoid taking out the 330' cone. The Ballard's were up next, and it was Tim Ballard behind the wheel of "The Hulk" to take his shot at the "Wicked Bird" of Styles. Ballard's test hit was one he would like to forget, as he blew the tires off right from the hit. After returning to their pits, track officials met with both camps and decided on a 30 minute turn around before they would be called to the lanes again for their matchup.

 

At 8:15 both Bruce Styles and Tim Ballard rolled out of the staging lanes and up to the burnout box. Ballard did his burnout first and Styles followed up with a 330' long "John Force"-like burn out to try and intimidate the Ballard Boyz. However, Tim never let it phase him as he cleared the throat of the Hulk and prepared it for battle. For their 1/8 Mile .400 Pro Tree race, the Ballard Boyz were given the Rear Tire, the Clear, and their bottle against Styles on all motor. As they rolled in to stage the anticipation of the crowd began to rise and the tension in the air was thick. The .400 Pro Tree dropped and it was over from the start, Tim Ballard had Gapped the snoozing King out of the gate, and began his climb to the stripe. Styles started to reel him back in, but just before the 1/8 mile the Wicked Bird got out of shape, and it was all she wrote as the King had fallen, and the Empire of the 302 Nation stayed UNDEFEATED against the invaders from the 301.

 

In the other monumental match-up of the night Eddie "Who" Chapman and Drew "The Assasin" Birch spent the better part of the night making multiple test runs getting ready for their heads up, full tree, grudge race. After all the testing was over Chapman and Birch lined up and were ready to get it on. As they left the gate it was Birch in front by a good margin, but Chapman showed no fear as he hammered down on his bike, and was able to quickly get out in front of Birch to take a sizeable lead. At the stripe it was Chapman in front with his flashers a flying and taking the win. However, that was "not all she wrote" as Chapman came back to lanes to collect on his winnings, he was approached by Birch and after some discussion between the two, they decided to run it back at a rate of $50 to $100.

 

Again, the riders suited up, and pulled up to the line. The crowd was tuned in to see what Birch would have up his sleeve to try and overcome his initial loss to Chapman. Both drivers staged and when the bulbs dropped it was again Birch out of the gate first, but again Chapman held his line and set his sights on getting around Birch on the big end. As the closed in on the finish line Chapman was able to gain the advantage and roll around Birch to once again claim the win, and in doing so, going 2-0 on the night.

 

We would like to thank everybody who came out to support us on the night! From the drivers in Top ET, Mod ET, Outten Brothers Pro-Bike, Street Eliminator, Hot-Rod, Grudge, and Jr. Dragsters, to all of the spectators who came out to attend, we truly thank each and every one of you for all of your support. We are extremely fortunate to have the group of racers and fans that we do, and appreciate you all working with us over the past few weeks as we have had to reschedule every Sunday race thus far for a Wednesday night due to the inclement weather. We would also like to that Matt Pencek, Laura Landry, and everybody from WBOC 16 for coming out and providing coverage of the track and the racers.

 

This weekend we have a full docket of events scheduled! We kick things off Saturday morning at 10 am until 4 pm with the FREE to attend, Anything Motorsports Swap Meet that will include vendors with parts for Drag Cars, Dirt Cars, Go-Karts, ATV's, Mud Trucks, and 4x4's. We will also be having our IHRA Chassis Certification by Gary Hood (Certifciations by Appointment Only. Contact Track Office to reserve a spot). Then on Sunday we get the 2016 Points season started with our IHRA Summit Super Series, and our first of eight SBRA points races. The Easter Bunny will also make his appearance for his annual Easter Egg Hunt at 2pm, just before the beginning of eliminations. We look forward to seeing everybody out to the track this weekend!

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