by Susan Wade Tue, 2019-03-19 09:37
Laced with the lore of legends, the 50th NHRA Gatornationals added more memorabilia to its scrapbook this past weekend.
On hand at the Amalie Oil-sponsored Florida classic were eight selected drag-racing pioneers who took nostalgic but competitive runs down the Gainesville Raceway in Toyota Camrys.
The event was a peek at the future, too, with Top Fuel rookie Jordan Vandergriff challenging eventual runner-up Clay Millican for a spot in the semifinal round and challenging fellow-23-year-old class newcomer Austin Prock to a T-shirt sales battle. (The loser has to wear the winner’s promotional T-shirt at next month’s Houston race.) Megan Meyer, 24, earned the Top Alcohol Dragster victory and set low elapsed time and top speed of the meet. The Top Alcohol Funny Car trophy went to still-youthful-at- age-37 Sean Bellemeur, on the 10th anniversary of his mother Nancy’s passing.