Cacklefest is the sweetest sight and sound in the world for car folks: 30 or
more vintage dragsters fire up and "cackle" 10 gallons of nitromethane fuel in
less than five minutes. The sound of that exploding nitro will be music to the
ears of thousands of fans at Beech Bend Park Raceway, Bowling Green, Ky. on
Saturday night, June 14, as Cacklefest once again roars at the 6th annual Holley
NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion. The 3-day Reunion runs from June 13-15.
"A
Cacklefest is like a barely controlled atomic bomb," said Greg Sharp, curator of
the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, producers of the Reunion and the man
who coined the term back in 2000. "That exploding nitro cracks like a gun shot
and shoots header flames into the night sky. It's a sight to behold and people
love it," said Sharp.
Among drag racing fans, Cacklefest is now a common
word - there's even a www.cacklefest.com. This year, according to Sharp, more
than 30 cars will push-start their early-style front-engine dragsters like they
did in the 1950s and '60s, then line then up down the center of the drag strip
at Beech Bend with the headers glowing and the motors running or 'cackling.'