PHOTO : VAN ABERNETHY |
Porky Sellers crowned king of Rico Dragway
By Van Abernethy
Clarkton , North Carolina ’ s Rico Dragway held its annual King of Rico event on Sunday , April 2 , under perfect weather conditions , and with grandstands packed with fans who turned out heavily for this yearly showdown contested at the unsanctioned eighth-miler located in the eastern region of the Tar Heel state . The King of Rico event is comprised largely of local grudge cars that compete on a regular basis at Rico , except this special event honors the winner with not only $ 2,000 in prize money ; it ’ s also good for a free gate pass for the upcoming season , VIP parking for all special events throughout the entire year , and yes , to the victor belongs the spoils in the form of a season-long supply of Rico ’ s famous fried chicken , which has been a well-known drag |
strip delicacy for several decades around these parts !
Buddy Blow , who took over managing the track last year was more than pleased with the success of the most recent running of King of Rico . “ We normally hold this race late in the year around Labor Day weekend , but we had some bad weather towards the end of 2016 and so we rescheduled it for April 2017 ,” explained Blow , who ’ s also a seasoned grudge racer himself , as well as the track co-announcer alongside facility owner Lonzell McKenzie . “ We ’ ve never held this event in April before , but the turnout was outstanding !” beamed Blow .
King of Rico is contested in a heads-up , notime fashion that has zero performance or tire size restrictions . In fact , you may enter the contest with a purpose-built Pro Mod car if you please , although it doesn ’ t necessarily mean you ’ re going to get down the track with it , nor should you expect to have room to get stopped if you happen to click off a career best lap ! Rico is a grassroots country track with a short shutdown . Contestants
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who compete for King of Rico bragging rights are familiar with the facility , and they usually do just enough to win , but generally don ’ t push their performance limits beyond the win light .
The fans love the unpredictable nature of notime , heads-up racing among 4-second-caliber cars , with drivers trying to white-knuckle their way to the finish line . This event often produces a first-time winner , and the most recent running was no exception when Porky Sellers drove his stock-appearing 1979 Chevy LUV truck to the win . Sellers , who ’ s a professional chassis builder for customers ranging from drag racers to mud truck enthusiasts , is a regular here on Rico ’ s grudge racing scene with his familiar truck he named “ Strictly Business .” His pint-sized , steel-bodied LUV truck has been back-halved with a 4-link suspension and is motivated by a beefy 601-cubicinch big block Chevy from Jacksonville , North Carolina ’ s P & M Performance .
While Sellers politely declines to disclose the actual elapsed times this truck has clocked at Rico , it ’ s widely believed that it covers the eighth mile
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April 2017 |
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