After a four-year absence, the Southeast Gassers Association finally returned to Farmington Dragway, and judging by the crowd that packed the historic North Carolina facility, the wait was worth it.
The G-Force Racing Transmissions Nationals marked the sixth stop of the 2026 SEGA championship season and the second leg of the series’ Carolina Swing. Fans were treated to the kind of racing that has become synonymous with the Southeast Gassers — hard-launching vintage machines, wheelstands, gear changes and close competition beneath a threatening Carolina sky.
For longtime Farmington attendee Jonathan Boyles, the turnout was something special.
“I’ve been going to Farmington for 50 years, and I can’t EVER remember a time with that many fans there to watch! Great time yesterday!” Boyles wrote on Facebook following the event. The racers gave those fans plenty to remember.
Ben Christopher arrived at Farmington with the A/Gas points lead and left with an even bigger advantage.
Driving the Happy Daze Chevy II, Christopher continued what has become a remarkable 2026 campaign, collecting his fourth victory of the season. He entered the weekend with three wins in five races and four final-round appearances.
Christopher established himself immediately, qualifying No. 1 with a 5.21-second pass.
With 15 cars in the A/Gas field, Christopher received a first-round bye before eliminating Dean Jonas in round two. His semifinal opponent was Kenneth Phillips, the most recent A/Gas winner coming into Farmington.
Phillips and Christopher produced one of the closest races of the weekend. Christopher’s Corvette-powered Chevy II stopped the clocks in 5.34 seconds, edging Phillips’ 5.35.
Waiting in the final was 2025 A/Gas champion Chase Howard.
Howard returned to SEGA competition after missing several events following the birth of his child. The USA-1 Chevelle qualified third and worked his way through the field before meeting Leslie Horne in the semifinals.
Howard launched cleanly while Horne’s Chick Magnet ’55 Chevy moved toward the right side of the track. Howard stayed in the groove and advanced after Horne crossed the centerline while trying to gather up the car.
The championship matchup was then set. Christopher, with a Jason Line engine between the fenders of his Chevy II, lined up opposite Howard and the Gene Fulton-powered USA-1 Chevelle.
Chase Howard produced his quickest run of the weekend in the final, but it wasn’t enough, as Ben Christopher’s 5.22 defeated Howard’s 5.26, giving Christopher his fourth A/Gas victory of the season and another step toward the championship.
If Christopher is controlling A/Gas, Ted McKee has been doing much the same across the gasser classes.
The driver of the Rocky Top Missile Chevy II entered Farmington having won every 2026 event except the Bama Brawl at Holiday Raceway, where he still reached the final round.
McKee qualified No. 1 in B/Gas with a 5.62, nearly a tenth quicker than Michael Oden’s 5.71.
The eight-car field eventually came down to McKee and Kelvin Cannon.
Cannon, driving the Loose Cannon ’33 Willys Panel, was making his first SEGA championship final after years of competition. He qualified third with a 5.76 and continued his march through the field to earn the opportunity.
The Tennessee pair staged for the B/Gas final, but McKee’s Chevy II proved too much.
McKee recorded a 5.60 while Cannon finished with a 5.75, giving McKee another victory and preserving his stranglehold on the gasser classes.
The C/Gas finale provided perhaps the most unusual ending of the weekend.
Jerren Perdue, the defending C/Gas champion and current points leader, qualified No. 1 in his Chevy II wagon with a 6.09. Ernie Smith followed with a 6.11 in the Saturday Night Special four-door Chevy II, while Tony Tatgenhorst rounded out the top five with a 6.14.
Perdue advanced on his qualifying bye and eventually reached the third round, where he faced fellow wagon racer Randy Keifer.
Keifer, who has put considerable work into converting his Pontiac wagon from Super Stock configuration to a C/Gas gasser, got the better of Perdue on a holeshot.
On the other side of the ladder, Smith continued to advance before meeting Jimmy Huff and the Hoopty Wagon in the semifinals.
Smith had been consistently quick, running 6.10, 6.12 and 6.14 in his previous rounds. Huff was considerably slower, but drag racing doesn’t always reward the quickest car.
Smith got the jump, but a rear-end failure slowed the Saturday Night Special and handed Huff the win with a 6.58.
That set up an all-wagon final between Keifer and Huff.
Keifer’s Pontiac left first and reached the finish line first, apparently securing the C/Gas victory.
The result, however, didn’t survive post-race inspection.
SEGA rules require that the winning car be weighed after the final. Keifer’s Pontiac came in under the minimum weight. A second weighing produced the same result, resulting in his disqualification. Huff was then called to the scales and passed the weight requirement.
But the C/Gas drama wasn’t finished.
Huff acknowledged afterward that he “knew better” but returned to his pit before reporting to victory lane and completing the required post-race procedures.
That violation resulted in Huff’s disqualification.
The result was an extraordinary conclusion to the C/Gas final: both finalists were disqualified, leaving the class without a declared winner.
It was also an indication that, in SEGA competition, the win light is only part of the equation. The car still has to pass everything that follows it.
Jerry Dean arrived at Farmington leading the Super Stock standings and carrying one of the strongest performance records in the class.
He qualified No. 1 again, this time with a 6.42 in the Last Rebel II Chevy II.
Rob Walden qualified second with a 6.66 in the Street Legal hot rod.
The two championship contenders proceeded through the eight-car field.
Dean defeated Dean Hall and John Wisz, while Walden eliminated Ronnie Jones and Kenny Phillips.
Dean had won four of the first five Super Stock races of 2026. His only defeat came at Brainerd Motorsports Park, where Walden beat him at Walden’s home track.
Farmington added another chapter to their growing rivalry.
With lightning visible in the distance, the two Super Stockers staged for the final.
Dean struggled to deliver the same launch performance that had helped him through much of the season. Walden, meanwhile, left cleanly and never surrendered the advantage.
Walden’s 6.61 was enough to defeat Dean’s 6.69 and score another important victory over the points leader.
Dean still holds the championship advantage, but Walden continues to apply pressure.
Farmington proved to be a fitting second stop on SEGA’s Carolina Swing, bringing the series back to a track that had gone missing from the schedule since the 2022 Southeast Gasser’s schedule.
The racing delivered. So did the crowd.
Now the series moves toward another important return.
Greer Dragway in Greer, South Carolina, will host the next round on Sept. 12. From there, SEGA heads to Gulfport Dragway for a double-feature weekend Oct. 9-10 before closing the regular season Oct. 31 at Shadyside Dragway in Shelby, North Carolina.
With the championship battles tightening and the season entering its critical stretch, there is little room left for mistakes.
The Carolina Swing isn’t finished yet. And if Farmington was any indication, SEGA’s return to Greer should be another one worth watching.
THE SOUTHEAST GASSERS ASSOCIATION REMAINING 2026 SCHEDULE
9/12 Greer Dragway – Greer, SC.
10/9, 10 Gulfport Dragway – Gulfport, MS. (Double Feature)
10/31 Shadyside Dragway – Shelby, NC.
