BEST OF TIMES NOSTALGIA NATIONALS BUILDING TOWARD THE BIGGEST OLD TIMERS DRAG RACE ON THE EAST COAST

The Best of Times Nostalgia Nationals, taking place at Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie, Virginia on May 14-16 is quickly becoming the largest nostalgia drag race to ever have taken place on the East Coast.

Action on the track is highlighted by a match race between the “Rolling Stoned” and “Tweety’s Rat” Nostalgia funny cars. Also competing will be two original Pro Stockers from the seventies.

Exhibition cars include The S&S race team, Bill Stiles, Ed Hedrick, Dick Gaylord, The Dixie Twister funny car and lots more. Brian Beatties’ “Great Expectations II” Top Fuel car joined by original owners Jim and Allison Lee and original driver Tom Raley will highlight a cackle fest that also includes The Bob Banning Dodge funny car with original crew Tom Sneden and Dave Rietz. All this will be hosted by “ol’ Thunderlungs” himself, Jon Lundberg, who will also be providing Certified Valuations for some of the classic metal that is on the grounds through his company, Southwest  Valuations.

Special guests include Virginia drag racing legends “Pee Wee” Wallace, Dan Weis, and “Bunny” Burkett. Traci Hudrka from the Project 1320 preservation group will be coming, along with Jeff Gilder and Sam Auxier, Jr. A special “Drag Racer’s Reunion” radio show will take place Saturday night at 7 PM from the host hotel, The Hyatt Place in Chester, VA. Call (804) 530-4600 for hotel info and reservations. 

Racing will take place all three days with classes set up to accept most any race car twenty five years or older. The Best of Times Nostalgia Nationals will also serve as the Inaugural Draglist.com Nationals East. See www.draglist.com for more details.

The Two Day Hot Rod show will be part a major part of the event with a Top 20 Legends Pick on Saturday and a Top 25 Judged Show on Sunday. It’s a great chance to “Cruise Down Memory Lane” and check out the some of the gorgeous hot rods from up and down the East Coast.

The Inaugural Mini Bike Reunion will take place featuring a collectors group of old mini bikes.

To top it all off, the Mothers Car Show Series TV Show will be filming a full episode over the weekend, which will air on the Fox Sports Network at a later date and time.

Harry “the Hat” is back running things in VMP’s huge swap meet area.  Swap meet spaces are just $25 and participants will receive unlimited space.  Contact Harry at (561) 301-6840 for more information.

Harry will also be assisting with flag starts on the drag strip for cars 1963 and older. Flag Starts are a rare opportunity to look into the past to see how drag racing started and how things were before the invention of the timing system.  It’s truly a rare opportunity to witness drag racing “Back In The Day.”   

Autograph sessions will be taking place throughout the weekend and fans are encouraged to bring photos of their favorite race and track and share their stores.  Hear and see the “The Legends of Drag Racing” as they share their stories from “Racing Back in the Day”. This will be a weekend drag racing fans must see. As always, this event is Jack Approved.

Gates open at 8 AM all three days and tickets are $15 for one day or $25 for all weekend.  Children 12 and under are free and Best of Times members receive $5 off at the gate with a valid ID card. 

Virginia Motorsports Park is a 500 acre, state of the art multi-million dollar drag racing facility built in 1994 and is the largest facility of its kind on the East Coast.   The Virginia Motorsports Park facility also includes a 1.2 mile National Motocross facility, a 1,500 seat Mud Bog and Truck Pull Arena, a brand new BMX track, and hosts concerts throughout the year. Virginia Motorsports Park is located just south of Petersburg, VA off I-85, exit 63A.  For more information about VMP’s 2010 racing season, be sure to visit www.virginiamotorsports.com

The Best of Times Drag Racing Association is an organization dedicated to preserving the history of drag racing.  Since its founding, Best of Times has grown to members in eight states and has worked endlessly to locate and reunite many legends in the sport of drag racing. This has given younger generations the opportunity to hear stories and experiences from those who revolutionized the sport in its early days. For more information on the Best of Times Drag Racing Association visit www.bestoftimes.ning.com