The offseason in drag racing can sometimes seem forever.

Sitting at home during the winter months waiting to get back to the track is not a cure for boredom.

Enter Don O’Neal.

With the layoff in mind, O’Neal put his head together to give racers in

Evansville, Ind., and surrounding area something to do the last several years.

O’Neal and his friends have put on the DragstersForSale Practice Tree Race.

The 5th annual DFS Practice Tree Race takes Jan. 19 at the VFW Post 114 located at 110 North Wabash Ave of Flags in Evansville. Doors open at noon (CT). Food and refreshments will be provided.

“Last year we had 550 people entered and it would be nice to either match that or bigger,” O’Neal said. “The main event (Top Bulb class) we are currently paying $4,000 to win and $1,200 to runner-up. In our Warm-up race, for everybody to get practice we give away race entries to the Million Dollar Race in Montgomery, Ala., Las Vegas Triple, No Box Nationals in Indiana. We have a lot of people coming in for the first time, so we are going to try and give everyone a little bit of extra time to settle in and get in a groove.”

In addition to the Top Bulb class and Warn-up race, there’s the Million race with the winner receiving entry into the Million Dollar Race in Montgomery and the runner-up earning $500. The Bottom Bulb class is available where racers run separately until one person left.

“Every year this gets bigger,” O’Neal said. “Last year we gave away more than $15,000 in prizes. We had the Who’s Who of high-performance companies send swag, gift certificates, product discounts, items to giveaway. We also feed everybody, and we have two simulators and we move things quick. We try to get done at a decent hour, pay good money and give away a lot of prizes and keep everybody fed so everybody can have a good time. This is a great event we want people to be a part of. We are all itching to get back to racing and practice letting go off the button and we are giving everybody a chance to shake off the rust and make a little money. The goal for this event is to have it keep getting bigger and better.”

For pre-entry to all races, visit the DragstersForSale Practice Tree Page on Facebook.

For more information, contact O’Neal at 910.237.3825.