A record-setting 104 entries showed up for the season finale of the South East Gassers Association (SEGA) Nov. 6, at Shady Side Dragway in Shelby, NC, where Ben Christopher took the A/Gas race title, Colby Welch prevailed in B/Gas, Larry Floyd wrapped up his 2021 championship run with the C/Gas victory, and Super Stock rookie Ron Allison capped off his own championship-winning run with his second race win of the year.

Just by showing up at Shady Side, former Outlaw 10.5 standout Ken Rainwater became the first to officially sew up a 2021 SEGA championship, as participation points alone were enough to put him and his '66 Nova "Renegade" out of reach of last year's B/Gas champ T.J. York. 

"We were thinking of moving up to A/Gas next season, but I think now we'll have to come back and try to defend our B/Gas championship," Rainwater said shortly after bowing out in round three of eliminations. "They tell me no one's ever won back-to-back championships here, in any class, so that's making me want to come back and try. We'll see, we'll make a decision on it soon."

Meanwhile, the A/Gas season title went to Shady Side finalist Gabriel Burrell and his "Southern Flyer" 1931 Ford Tudor, who had to go at least two rounds further than Leslie Horne, who fell in round two of eliminations. 

Heading into the Shady Side event, Burrell said he knew it was a longshot to overtake Horne for the 2021 SEGA A/Gas championship, but when the ladder came out for the 22-car field he realized destiny could be on his side.

"I saw I could meet Leslie in the third round and if I beat him and won the race I could still get the championship," Burrell said. "I also knew that I would have a bye in the semis if I beat Todd Blackwell. So after I saw Leslie go out right before, that race against Blackwell was the pressure round for sure."

According to SEGA founder and promoter Quain Stott's wishes, the organization doesn't publicly announce or report elapsed times or speeds, as Stott prefers instead to let the close heads-up racing speak for itself. In Burrell's case, he ran a solid ET against a redlighting Blackwell, going just two-thousandths off his fourth-place qualifying pace.

That sent him to the final, where Burrell faced off against the "Happy Daze" Nova driven by Christopher, who streaked to the race title while Burrell struggled with traction off the start and opted out of the contest.

"It just spun and normally I'd have tried to force it down through there and went on with it, but there was nothing to prove at that point," the new champ explained.

Meanwhile, Christopher ran his second-best time of the day to take the win after surviving a bizarre coasting battle in the semis after both his car and the "Mr. Quick" '55 Chevy of past Pro Mod racer Terry Housley (who set a new class ET record in qualifying number one) broke shortly after the launch.

"It broke the rear differential and I lost all power," Christopher explained. " I pulled over to the side in case I was dumping oil or whatever, but I didn't know whether he (Housley) had redlighted or broke or what, so as long as I didn't see him I just let it roll. Fortunately, nothing was coming out and we were able to get it fixed in time for the final."

Christopher bookended the SEGA series' 11-race schedule in 2021 after also winning the season opener in March at Holt, FL. He called it "an extra-special win, too," because his wife, Betty, was by his side to share the victory lane experience in person.

"We've been married 31 years, together for 33, and this is the very first time she's been with me for a win," he said. "We used to run the IHRA trail a lot and I ain't going to guess how many races she's been to and herding our kids. I mean, they went to the races with me a lot, but yes, this is the first one she actually got to see me win, so that's pretty awesome."