Over 270 Photos of Cars, Stars, and the Sights of 50 years worth of drag racing from Gainesville Raceway
Opened in 1969, Gainesville Raceway has long been a favorite on the NHRA Mello Yello tour, attracting fans from across the globe for a multitude of events, including popular Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals. This year, NHRA and Gainesville Raceway teamed up to celebrate the Gatornationals Golden 50th Anniversary of the famed event.
Considered one of the fastest tracks on the NHRA circuit, Gainesville Raceway has produced the first 260-, 270- and 300-mph Top Fuel runs. In 2019, the Gatornationals thrilled once again with record-setting performances and a host of specialty events.
The schedule was packed with Stock Eliminator, Super Stock, and the full list of sportsman classes, including Pro Stock Bike, Pro Stock, Funny Car and Top Fuel. Highlighted categories included the SAMTech.edu Factory Stock Showdown, E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod, Top Fuel Harley, and the “Unfinished Business” match race showcasing legendary drivers of the sport.
The Unfinished Business line up included Don “Big Daddy” Garlits, Warren “The Professor” Johnson, Joe Amato, Shirley Muldowny, Terry Vance, Ed “The Ace” McCulloch, Kenny Bernstein, and Don “The Snake” Prudhomme. The eight drivers battled in 14-second Toyota street cars and the racing was intense. In the end, “The Professor” took the Fuel drivers to the mat, dropping them one by one until he was crowned champion.
Pro Stock bike saw the debut of 3-time time NHRA champion Angelle Sampey on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and 200 mph runs from the two-wheelers. Sampey clocked a 6.81 and a top speed of 198.47 mph in qualifying to lock into the 6th slot, meanwhile, Matt Smith and Eddie Krawiec produced 200 mph runs. On Sunday it was an all-Vance & Hines final, with Andrew Hines beating Krawiec (6.75/199.17 mph to 6.75/198.90 mph) for the gold Wally.
Excitement continued in each and every class, but had our spotlight on the SAMTech.edu Factory Stock Showdown (you can read the fully FSS story on HotRod.com). This is the newest NHRA heads-up category showcasing Cobra Jet Mustangs, Chevy COPO Camaros and Dodge Drag Pak Challengers. These modern warriors go to battle with in a production-based supercharged steel cage match full of horsepower, burnouts, wheelies, and 7-second, near 180 mph performance—all from factory-built cars that run on 9-inch tires!
Former Pro Stock racer Drew Skillman was the class of the field in Gainesville, running a class record 7.71 at 176 mph and scoring his first FSS win. Skillman has previous wins in NHRA Stock, Super Stock, Pro Stock, and now he adds a FSS victory to his resume.
The action didn’t stop there. We witnessed insane Pro Mod runs, high flyers in Stock and Super Stock, and after four days, hard work paid off for teams who took home the commemorative Gold Wally trophies. It was great to watch former Car Craft magazine feature car owner Randi Lyn Shipp win Stock Eliminator in her ’67 Pontiac Firebird, then, her fiancé, Bo Butner took home gold in his Pro Stock Camaro. We could go on and on about the winners and hard chargers, but it’s way more fun to dig into the photo gallery. So kick back and check out the color, horsepower, and amazing action at the 50th Anniversary NHRA Gatornationals.
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