HIRED GUN BARRETT MOWS DOWN COMPETITION AT M M P

Alabama racer Rodney Byrd (of Montevallo), owner/driver of the "Total Chaos" dragster, is known as one of the guys to beat whenever he shows up for a race. Saturday night (4/1) at Montgomery Motorsports Park, Byrd showed up, but with another heavy hitter in the driver's seat. Mike Barrett of Maylene (Alabama) did his job and took t he Pro ET title at MMP. In the finals, Barrett faced veteran Danny "Bo" Hull of Prattville. Barrett dialed a screaming 4.67 and then ran a 4.704 at 144.86 miles per hour for the win. Barrett also did his thing on the starting line with an .005 light. Hull's '67 Mustang ran a 5.697 off his 5.67 dial at 119.80 miles per hour. Fultondale (AL) nurse Jamie Wilkinson was the lone semi-finalist in her rear-engine dragster.

In the MMP Footbrake wars, local racer Burl Pierson of Wetumpka (AL) defeated NHRA Division Two standout Clarence Woodham. Pierson's Chevy S-10 pickup ran a near-perfect 7.331 on his 7.33 dial at 91.91 miles per hour for the win. Woodham's Chevy Nova surprised him with a 7.627 run on his 7.65 dial at 85.42 miles per hour for the breakout loss. Robert Fleming of Abbeville (AL) was the semi-finalist.

Howard has scheduled a major big-bucks race at Montgomery Motorsports Park for April 22-23 with the Capital City Nationals . Pro ET racers will gun for a $10,000 top prize each day while Footbrakers race for a $1,000 winner's purse. In addition, Howard promises to give away an entry to drag racing's Super Bowl, the Bill Taylor Engineering Million Dollar Drag Race, if there are 200 Pro ET cars in the field for the Capital City Nationals.