The Radford Beat The Rain At Pulaski

August 8, 2026August 12, 2026 Missed Gear

The racing at Pulaski County Motorsports Park went dark for a couple of seasons. Management plans faded out and the track went unattended until a new deal was struck. Currently, the IHRA association has hit some snags around the region. The racing for the rest of the season with IHRA events is hanging on a re-organization for 2027.

None of that seems to really be holding current manager, NASCAR veteran Stacy Compton, from working to keep the laps and lights on at the track. For the most recent event, even rain by the buckets a few hours before green flag could not stop the running of “The Radford Race” with the SMART Modified Tour.

Paul Radford was a grassroots racing legend at Pulaski and took over 200 wins at tracks up and down the region. The race has been honored to carry the name forward for several Modified events at Pulaski, including this last one on Friday, August 7, 2026.

With an eye on radar and weather by the hour, Compton and race officials determined that the race would go as the rain, heavy as it was, would pass in time. They were correct but just enough to get a few practice laps in and a cancelled but then un-cancelled “pit party” autograph session. It pushed racing back almost an hour but there were enough fans and families that came to meet and see these racers they put the “meet and greet” back in.

NASCAR veterans Ryan Newman and Jamie McMurray were there with SMART regulars such as Burt Myers, Jake Crum, Justin Bonsignore, Danny Bohn and more. Holding the start for autographs was a good move.

Carolina Crate Modifieds were also on track. Pulaski regulars Late Model, Street Stock and Legends filled the ticket. Fans were treated to a full evening of action with an invitation to return the next day for an “open house” style opening of the drag strip for the first time of the season.

For Friday, once the rain passed and the fans were back in the seats, the racing went green for 99 laps with the SMART Mods, 35 laps of Super Street, 62 laps of Carolina Crates, 50 laps with the Late Models and the Legends closed out with 20.

SMART Top 5
Jake Crum
Ryan Newman
Cayden Lapcevich
Luke Baldim
Carter McMurray

Super Street Top 5
Jimmy Mullins
Greg Story
Taylor Ransom
Robert Coc
Hank Turman

Carolina Crate Top 5
Annabeth Crum
Dean Lambrose
Dale Ogburn
Rylan Lowder
Toby Grynewicz

Late Model Top 5
Kyle Dudley
Mike Looney
Karl Budzevski
Daniel Silvestri
Cory Dunn

Legend

1. Gary Smith
2. Andrew Hund

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Photo Gallery – The Radford Race Night – SMART Modified Tour

Roanoke Drifting In Jappalachia

It is a fine thing when conditions lead to continuity. This particular continuity is also an automotive conundrum in several ways considering the current condition of the existence of the automobile. What….?? The trend that has taken hold, especially here in these United States, is the popularity of the SUV, the crossover variations of five door hatches, the automatic transmission and front wheel drive. All of these would point to a humorless and drab driving culture of A to B with a soccer game or a grocery store on the agenda. The days of fun behind the wheel are drying up. Or are they…? There are a handful of new rear drives out there. Of those, fewer still have a manual transmission. This leads to the continuity of cars of the past being rebuilt and re-born by people who seek the slides and the sideways. Yes, America, drifting may be the saving grace of the manual, rear wheel drive car. On a warm Wednesday tucked in the back corner of an industrial park I was there to bear witness to a mixture of car cultures. The recipe was a good mix of classic British “Top Gear”, American Motor Trend “Roadkill” and a heavy helping of the Japanese origins of drifting. The cars were budget sourced from the pre-owned market and rapidly made “drivable” over the past several days. Now they were here in this slightly barren environment to be compared on a mapped rally / drifting course by (can you guess…?) the same “tame” racing driver. For the sake of a little background… This group of guys have a mission which is building on their combination of talents. What is the mission…? Loosely defined it is a mixture of Japan’s origin culture of drifting and the extreme styling of it with the back roads mountain attitude of American muscle cars. They call it “Jappalachia”. There have been trips to Japan with driving study in the origins of the legendary Daigo Saito drifting style. Japan is distinguished as the genesis of drifting even as the sport has expanded worlwide. The “Jappalachia” handle has been vetted during these visits with positive approvals. The drift is no stranger to these men. A recent visit to NASA Haltech Hyperfest at Virginia International Raceway had a Nissan going tandem on the drift pad competition. On this Wednesday, they have two cars ready to take on the course. These are not their “pro builds” but side projects for the practice and fun of it. One is a late ’80s Corvette and the other is a Nissan 240sx (’89…? ’90…? give or take…) Both of them had less than “garage kept” history. Both put up sideways and dusty shows. I think the Corvette took the time even with bottom scrapes, fuel delivery issues and a lost ass bumper. It was also driven after the 240 so one could say the previous lap in the Nissan gave a nudge of “practice” to the ‘Vette. The “real” cars involved…? These guys are looking ahead to extreme builds in their shop. They are working up another C4 series Corvette and a 3rd generation Ford Mustang. The cars are being treated as homage to the extreme Kaido or Bosozoku style of Japanese drift builds. Big fenders, shovel forward in front of the wheels and wide body wings over the back. These are American muscle cars treated with anime angles. Engines are being built. Chassis and suspensions are being tuned and going into place. A rough timeline has turns on the calendar for the newly re-opened Southampton Speedway later this year as that track is running a drift schedule. This is Jappalachia. Connections…? Roanoke, Charlottesville, Japan, backgrounds in design, mechanics, fabrication, travel… They have formed a friendship from chance encounters, childhood history and love of fun in cars. The “tame” racing driver…? 2016 F4 Champion / 2021 EFO F3 Champion – Cameron Das, visiting from the UK with friends connected through common and crossed paths. His 2016 F4 is in the Jappalachia shop. 2016 USA F4 Champion, Cameron Das, with the season winning car in the Jappalachia shop Das is currently doing a social media series of video showcases of kart racing and tracks. Cameron Das: YouTube InstagramTay Whiteside – Lift Arc StudiosGresh Chapman (Instagram): Jackson WalkerConnor Shupe Visit the Jappalachia Website Photos – A visit to Jappalachia – Industrial Drifting *The dog is “Pickles” – an Alaskan Malamute. He’s a sweetheart in a sweet spot.
Movie Truck Throwback

Hanging out with long time friend from stage and screen who happened to be in a famous truck movie by Stephen King
RoVA-Drive Showcase: Benoit Pigeon

Elite commercial photographer has a fast eye for drag racing
RoVA-Drive Showcase: Bryan Reedy

Late Model Driver (#17) based in Roanoke