The First Drag Race presented by Robbin’s Repairables set at Shadyside Dragway
ignited the 2026 ten-race championship season for the Southeast Gassers Association.
From the creek side to the top of the North Carolina hills, the small vale of Shadyside
roared with life, echoing the glory days of the 1960s gasser and drag racing. The racers
of SEGA launched with parts straining revolutions, slammed all four gears by hand with
no electronic aid, and streaked over the finish stripe to the delight of young and old
alike, remembering or experiencing anew the no rival premier gasser drag racing that is
the Southeast Gassers Association.
Being the quickest and fastest wasn’t the only eye-focusing point for the A/Gas category
in SEGA competition. The category at Shadyside had the return of competitors, such as
Barry Adler in the Iron Eagle and Leslie Horne in the Chick Magnet, who had on-track
incidents in 2025. New combinations debuted, such as Alan Pittman’s Gravedigger II
and the 2025 B/Gas champion Ken Rainwater moving to A/Gas with a new gasser
dubbed the Instigator. Even the reigning A/Gas champion Chase Howard began his title
defense in his USA-1 Chevelle gasser with black primed, refreshed elements.
A familiar top performer in A/Gas, Gabriel Burrell in his Southern Flyer, a two-time
champion, earned the top qualifier honors on a warm Spring North Carolina day (5.26
Elapsed Time). With an odd number of competitors—seventeen in total—Burrell’s
qualifying effort proved advantageous going into eliminations. First in round one with a
bye run and then again, a bye run in the semi-finals, round four. To enter the final round,
the Southern Flyer with Gabriel Burrell wheeling the Ford Model A had defeated Dean
Jonas and, new to A/Gas, the 2025 B/Gas champion, Ken Rainwater. The eighth-place
qualifier, Todd Blackwell, in the Sling Shot Chevy II gasser, raced in a limited manner in
2025 but showcased in race one that he was undoubtedly able to get up to speed
quickly (5.39ET to qualify 8 th ). In round 1, Todd put Barry Lynn out of competition and
then scored a massive win-light in round two, defeating the reigning champion, Chase
Howard. After a bye run in the third round, he would have to face Alan Pittman in a
freshly debuted Gravedigger II Chevy that has certainly got the attention of everyone in
A/Gas. In that match-up, Pittman raced to a 5.40ET being second to the stripe as
Blackwell won with a 5.36ET. The final would be a classic Ford versus Chevy battle
between the number one and eight qualifiers. Todd launched noticeably first, out and
up, but towards the centerline, causing him to correct under full power to bring his
Chevy back into the groove. By half-track, it was a fender-to-fender race. At the stripe
was the Sling Shot of Todd Blackwell, slung out of his shot to win by Gabriel Burrell
flying on to a victory during golden hour in the gold Southern Fyler (Burrell 5.34ET –
Blackwell 5.43ET). “It ran good yesterday [during testing], so we knew we had a little bit
of hope. Tickled to be here. Didn’t really expect it. John Kaase horsepower put us up
front,” are the thoughts from the A/Gas event champion Gabriel Burrell.
With no defending champion competing in B/Gas, the category is seemingly up for
grabs. Though new entries were seen and more are expected in 2026, it was the
competitors that finished near the top in 2025, performing at the top again in The First
Drag Race of 2026. Ted Mckee, the second-place points finisher in 2025, set the top
pace as the number one qualifier with a 5.60ET. The rest of the field continued
searching for more performance, as the second, third, and fourth place qualifiers each
posted elapsed times of 5.69 seconds.
In eliminations, we would see the top two qualifiers compete to turn on the final win-light
of a four-round contest for the B/Gas contingent. Ted McKee in the Rocky Top Missile
earned the bye in round one with his number one qualifying effort. Once competitors
were in the other lane for McKee, they wouldn’t be those of the second-tier variety to
make the final round. The quarter-final round for McKee had him paired with 2024
B/Gas champion Daniel Haynes in The Patriot Falcon gasser. For his semi-final match,
it was true young gun in the Young Gun gasser, Brilee Stott, who was the fourth-placed
qualifier. In the final, McKee would face another young SEGA star, Michael Oden, in the
Double Down Chevy II. Michael’s path as the number two qualifier to the final is one of
consistency over his opponents. He could have put a dial-in on his hot rod running 69s
and one 70 up to the final. Clearly, the performance advantage was with McKee, who
had run nothing slower than a 5.64ET through eliminations. Michael needed to double
down and get his best light of the day, along with his best performance of the day, to
overcome that faded orange missile of Ted McKee. At the stripe, Michael did pedal out
one of his best passes of the day. He needed that to win, but he also needed to be first
off the line to be first at the stripe, and Michael missed his mark on the starting lights.
Ted McKee illuminated the win-light in the Laris Motorsports Insurance Left Lane with a
better reaction time and 5.62ET. McKee closed out Shadyside competition in B/Gas with
the win and low ET of the meet in the category, with a 5.602ET turned during
eliminations. As one crew member remarked with the new FMG Racing Engines
powerplant in the Tennessee-branded gasser, “We’ve got a rocket ship now!”
In C/Gas, as it went in qualifying, it went in competition. Todd Oden, multi-time
champion in SEGA, passed down historic Shadyside Dragway with a 6.03ET for the
pole in the category. On his heels was the reigning and defending champion of the class
with a 6.0303ET, Jerren Purdue. In eliminations, these two competitors followed nearly
identical paths through the rounds, ultimately meeting in the final. One with a bye in
round 1 and the other a competition single. Other gasser racers ended their own days
against them, knowing they needed every tick of time, leaving early, and turning on the
red light of disqualification. No one else mustered the performance that these two
competitors had en route to the C/Gas final. Todd’s best ET of the day during
eliminations had been a 6.04, and Jerren’s best had been a 6.03. The best cars all
weekend were against each other to determine the event champion before the
enthusiastic North Carolina crowd. Both launched with wheels in the air. One went on to
his best pass of the day in performance. The other slowed slightly but was still within the
performance range displayed throughout the race day. Todd Oden sent his Double XX
1958 Chevy gasser first off the line, and it was enough to defeat the low ET of the
category pass by Jerren Perdue (5.99ET). “Beats the heck out of last year at this time
[Todd was recovering from heart issues], I can tell you that. I’m so excited to be up here
and get back to the winner’s circle – it makes me feel wonderful,” stated Todd Oden on
his twenty-fifth SEGA victory.
The last championship class contested at the SEGA season opener was Super Stock.
The story in Super Stock has been and remains a matter of the rest of the competition
defeating the reigning and defending champion, Jerry Dean. By the end of qualifying
and eliminations, no other competitor presented an answer for The Last Rebel II Super
Stocker. Jerry continued his dominance in the class, defeating Rob Walden in the final.
Jerry, in Jerry fashion, reminisced over the day with the thought of “we tried. Didn’t have
a perfect day, but it was a good day.”
It had been six months since the SEGA Championship Finals at Shadyside Dragway in
2025. The long-awaited ignition of the premier gasser drag racing series roared to the
delight of fans and competitors alike. Nostalgia done the SEGA way, brought to life,
drag racing yearned for by those that want to see drag racing in a pure sense. The First
Drag Race presented by Robbins Repairables at Shadyside Dragway closed, opening
the 2026 season expected to be the best yet for the Southeast Gassers Association.
ABOUT SOUTHEAST GASSERS ASSOCIATION DRAG RACING
Our mission is to bring back the authentic drag racing from the 1960’s and to put on a
show the whole family will love. The 1960’s produced some of the most exciting times in
drag racing history and we are doing our best to preserve those time at the track. Our
cars represent the gassers of that era as closely as possible. This means exciting
wheels up launches, drivers banging gears with their four speeds, as well as the car’s
appearance while sitting in the pits. Follow the Southeast Gassers Association on
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X.
Dujunnea Bland is a NFL and NHRA reporter for SportsJourney. Bland was a New Orleans Saints Reporter and Content Producer for About.com and a contributor at USA TODAY SMG's Redskins Wire. You can follow him on Twitter @NotBland21
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