ROCKINGHAM – The need for speed is inherent in many of us, certainly those competing in the racing portion of the annual Rockingham Dragway Super Chevy Show presented by Richmond County Tourism this week.
The event features a bow tie-themed car and truck exhibit that awards Gold Cups to nominations deemed ‘Outstanding’ while also showcasing 25 Class Winner Awards, 25 ‘Outstanding’ Awards, 12 Outstanding Awards. specialty and 13 “best category” awards, including the highest prize. the award-winning “Best of Show” designation.
There’s a car corral, swap meet and manufacturers halfway along with a slew of specialty and souvenir vendors, but most of those who pay the $ 25 entry will be there to find out. the surreal sight, sound and speed of Larsen Motorsports’ jet dragsters. . The jets will run Saturday only at 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.
There will be races on Saturday and Sunday in the Top ET, Footbrake and Trophy classes and there will be qualifying for a Sunday race in the DOT class on Saturday but nothing in traditional drag racing, not even a Top Fuel dragster, cannot prepare a neophyte for the jet car experience.
Think about it. Who in their right mind would look at something like an F4 Phantom jet fighter and think, “Dude, I bet if we cut the wings off this thing and get rid of some of the dead weight, that would make a hell of a car?” race. “
Well, a guy named Art Arfons had this idea in the fifties when he created the first in a long line of ‘Green Monster’ jet dragsters that broke ground speed records on the salt marshes of Utah and Top Fuel Dragster Scholarship money on the American Hot Rod Association and International Hot Rod Association Circuits.
As for the two 300-mph hybrids that make Super Chevy headlines, they represent the very latest in jet car technology.
“The Dominator” is driven by Marine Corps veteran Dewayne Hill, whose day job is to work for NASA at Cape Canaveral, just up the road from the team’s headquarters in Palm Bay, Florida. The Florida Tech dragster is driven by Elaine Larsen, who holds the distinction of being the only world champion jet dragster the sport has ever crowned.
Co-owner of Larsen Motorsports with her husband Chris, the 54-year-old Michigan native, won the IHRA Jet Dragster Championship in 2014 and 2015, for the past two years the IHRA has hosted a series of professional races and the the only time a sanction has been granted for jet races in the autonomous category.
Originally created as a racing team, Larsen Motorsports has grown into much more over the past 10 years. Housed in a 30,000 square foot complex in the heart of the Florida Space Corridor, it has transformed into a development and research center for high performance vehicles linked to major players in the aeronautics and aerospace industries.
Significantly, 80% of the company’s employees are high school and college students involved in various STEM programs who spend all of their free time making sure every ride Larsen and Hill take is both fast and safe. .
Saturday tickets for the Super Chevy Show cost $ 25 for adults and $ 5 for children ages 6 to 12. Children under six are free with a ticketed adult.
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