A trio of repeat winners highlighted the second race of the year for the Southeast Gassers Association (SEGA) Apr. 15, when they visited historic Shadyside Dragway in North Carolina.

Ted McKee visited victory lane again after picking up the B/Gas win three weeks earlier at Reynolds, GA, as did 2022 class champion Tim Hall in C/Gas, and Super Stock winner Rick Varner, who actually won twice in the Peach State after also earning the A/Gas title there in a second car.

Also picking up wins at Shadyside was Chase Howard with his career-first in A/Gas and Scott Partee, also with his first H/Gas win.

As always, elapsed times and speeds are not announced or released at SEGA events, with the emphasis placed solely on first-one-to-the-finish-line wins.

A/GAS

Chase Howard ran the table at Shadyside, qualifying number-one for the first time with his big-block, 451-equipped ’67 Chevelle, then making his quickest pass ever in the final round to pick up his first SEGA race title.

“When we purchased the car it was named ‘All Business,’ and we haven’t repainted it yet but we’re going to change the name to ‘USA-1’,” Howard said in victory lane.

It was looking to be a full 16-car field, but after making the long tow from Wisconsin with his “The Joker’ ’57 Pontiac, Greg Stelse broke a rod in pre-race testing and despite many offers from SEGA competitors, he was unable to find the correct replacement part to complete a full field.

That gave Howard a first-round bye before going on the defeat Rob Walden and his ’59 BelAir in the quarterfinals and the “Frequent Flyer” ’63 Corvette piloted by Mitch Stott in the semis.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the ladder, second-place qualifier and reigning A/Gas champion Leslie Horne drove his “Chick Magnet” ’55 Chevy through Gary Cline and his ’41 Willys, Varner’s “Dirt Man” Chevy II and 2021 champ Gabriel Burrell in his “Southern Flyer” ’31 Ford.

Through each round of eliminations, including the final, both Howard and Horne went quicker as the race progressed until Howard took the win going just over three-hundredths quicker on the Shadyside eighth mile.

“Everything was smooth sailing. We haven’t changed anything on the car since the first round of qualifying,” Howard said afterward. “Everything just worked out in our favor today.”

Waiting his turn in victory lane, Howard also confirmed he wants to make a statement this season with a run for the championship.

“We’ve raced SEGA for several years, but last year was our first full season,” the Greer, SC-based racer said. “Last year I had a goal to finish in the top 10 in points and we actually finished fifth. So over the winter, we decided to come out with a vengeance and go for number one this time.”

To aid the cause, Howard said he and his team have gradually shed about 500 pounds from the classic, post-bodied Chevy over the last few years, which included ditching the steel doors this past offseason in favor of fiberglass.

​

B/GAS

Just as he did at Silver Dollar Motorsports Park in the 2023 SEGA season opener, Ted McKee dominated B/Gas at Shadyside Dragway.

McKee qualified his “Rocky Top Missile” ’67 Nova number one in a 19-car, all-run field, though Scott Butler withdrew his ’58 Morris Minor before eliminations began. Regardless, McKee had a first-round bye, then made it past Shaun McLemore in the “Fortunate Son” ’66 Nova, Charlie Lee and his “Tennessee Charlie” ’66 Mustang and Wayne Swofford in the semis.

Meeting him for the final would be number-seven qualifier Gerard Milidantri in the “Wicked 1” Anglia after he ran through Michael Walters in his “Papa’s Wild Willys” entry, Todd Blackwell in the “Thunder Struck” T-Bird, and the redlighting “Freebird” Chevy II of Jerry Birch.

Milidantri was well off the pace against Birch, however, and was very fortunate to have a free pass through the semis with a bye run to reach McKee.

The final was no contest at all as Milidantri left before the tree was activated and McKee just leisurely motored down track for his second-straight win to solidify his early points lead.

“I was just sitting there watching and he was gone,” McKee recalled later. “I just waited on the green and let the clutch out, but then I just shut it down. Just took it easy on it and drove it down. The car had been good to me all day.”

C/GAS

With 24 entries for an all-run field, C/Gas easily had the most entries at Shadyside. After two rounds of qualifying Larry Cummings and his “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” ’64 Falcon sat atop the list, followed by Hall in his 

“Scalded Dog” ’67 Rambler, with Ricky Jones in the long-roofed “Stud Muffin” Chevy II starting third.

Cummings made it to the third round of racing before seventh-place qualifier Billy Wilson in the “Trouble Maker” Studebaker pickup ended his day. Wilson next had a competition bye through the semis to meet Hall, who previously ran through Gene Russell, Alfred Adams in the “Dammit Bob” tri-five Chevy, Josh Pruitt and his “Young Blood” entry, and Jones in the semi-finals.

Wilson and Hall put together a great side-by-side battle in the early stages, but Hall eventually pulled away to win by about a tenth at the stripe.

After the race Hall revealed he’d been driving with an injured right hand all weekend after being hurt in a shop accident that required stitches to heal.

“I was a little worried abut whether I’d be able to shift okay, but we got through it,” he said. “After I found out it wasn’t going to hurt that much I drove better toward the third round against Josh Pruitt,” Hall said. “I knew that was going to be a tough run because he’s a young guy and he’s always quick on the tree. So, I actually made a real good run there. I was proud of that one.”

Jones had problems and slowed against Hall in the semis, but so did Wilson in his semi-final solo pass, giving Hall his preferred left lane for the final.

“I knew he got me a little bit on the tree, but I think he spun, maybe dripping a little water and didn’t know it. But I run a good bit quicker anyway and won that way,” Hall said in the Shadyside winner’s circle. “My car left so hard, so it just looked like we were pretty even to me, but then when I started shifting gears I didn’t look over to try to see him but I kind of knew he wasn’t there.”

​

SUPER STOCK

Eleven SEGA Super Stock cars made qualifying passes at Shadyside, but sixth-place starter Randy Kieffer in the “Spine Tingler” ’55 Pontiac wagon failed to answer the call for round one of racing.

Varner in “The Dirt Man” ’67 Camaro out of Kannapolis, NC, sat atop the S/S field and enjoyed the comfort of a first-round bye before taking out KJ Phillips and his “Street Legal” Nova in round two. Next came 2020 A/Gas champion Steve Davis in the semis with his “Spinny III” ’63 Falcon, who put up a good fight, but Varner moved on to the final against Jerry Dean in an as-yet-unnamed ’66 Chevy II.

Dean, who qualified second, initially defeated Taylor Bright in her race debut behind the wheel of the “Heartbreaker” ’66 Barracuda, then held off 2021 class champ Ron Allison in the “Poppy’s Toy” Nova before making a solo pass through the semis to meet Varner.

In the all-Chevy final, both cars left hard, but after 660 feet Varner secured a comfortable win over Dean by a little over a tenth of a second.

“I honestly had a good light every pass and the car was good, so that’s hard to beat,” Varner noted, adding that his ultimate goal for 2023 is securing back-to-back S/S championships. “Nobody’s done it before, so I’d just like to be first.”

The Southeast Gassers Association will return to racing May 6, at Farmington Dragway in Mocksville, NC, before heading to Knoxville, TN, early in June.