HOMETOWN HEROES HIT HOME RUNS AT MONTGOMERY O'REILLY SUPER CHEVY SHOW

In football, it's called the home field advantage...on the Montgomery Motorsports Park strip, it was called a win for Jerry Rhodes of Gadsden, Alabama as he took the Aeromotive Nitro Coupe Challenge event at MMP
September 15-16.

Qualifying numbers and setups went out the window as the weather did a switcheroo, leaving Aeromotive Nitro Coupe racers on Sunday with cooler temperatures and lower humidity than Saturday's qualifying sessions.

Consistency was the name of Rhodes' game on race day as he turned in 1/8
mile times of 4.161 in the first round, 4.183 in the semis and 4.194 at
170.84 miles per hour in the finals against Tennessee racer Jeff Balton.
Balton ran a 4.69 at 117.23 mph in the finals as he failed to find the
handle on the MMP track.

Rockmart, Georgia racer Jimmy Blackman and his Southern Truck Parts
sponsored Firebird took the win in a tough Outlaw 10.5 field during the
O'Reilly Super Chevy Show. Blackman roared to a 4.694 at 161.31 miles per
hour in the finals to defeat Covington, Georgia racer David Sheppard, who
treed Blackman with a .004 light but couldn't match Blackman's ET and speed.


O'Reilly Super Chevy fans got a thrill as Jessie Harris and her Queen of
Diamonds nailed another 300-mile per hour pass down the MMP strip. Bob Hall
lived up to his "King of the Wheelstanders" title with four blistering 1/4
mile runs on two wheels steering with the rear brakes of his Chevy
Astrovan "Airborne Express."

The sportsman racer of the event had to be Allen Reno of Gardendale,
Alabama. Reno won the Jeg's Bracket Two Battle, raced at 1/8 mile, and was
runner-up in the 1/4 mile DOT Street Wars. Reno faced former world
Footbrake champion Jared Pennington of Fultondale, AL in the finals of
Bracket two and won with a sterling .014 reaction time and and an 8.133 run
on an 8.10 dial.

In the DOT Street Fight finals, Reno fell to Alexander City, Alabama racer
Gary Tapley, who won with a near perfect quarter mile of 12.921 on his 12.92
dial. The Aeromotive Jr. Dragster Challenge title went to Chase Mullinax of
Buford, Georgia in a tough final over Brandon Thompson of Douglasville, GA.
Brandon ended the final on the starting line by turning on the reds.

In the ProCharger Bracket One Brawl, Douglasville, Georgia racer Gary
Thompson was the last man standing as he did in hometown hero Cole Cousins
of Millbrook in the finals. Thompson ran a dead on 5.053 on his 5.05 dial
with an.011 light. Cousins was also dead on his 6.60 dial but couldn't
match Thompson's awesome 13/1000 package.

The TREMEC True Street Challenge presented by Mr. Gasket was just that as
Phil Cooper's '66 Chevy II came out on top after a tough trip over local
roads and three back to back passes. Runner-up honors went to a Volvo
driven by Jerry Henslee.

The O'Reilly Super Chevy Show is already on the road to Thunder Valley and
Bristol Dragway for a spectacular event presented by Jeg's
this weekend, September 22-23.