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It takes talent to drag race. Sure, there are those people who just stage and hit the gas, hoping that with some luck they’ll move on to the next round, but that’s not what makes people successful in bracket-style competitions. No one knows this better than the people who participated in the 13th Annual Hangover Nationals in Ohio on New Years Day. As we found out from Hooniverse, it took every bit of talent for the competitors to stay on track with a strict dial-in time and mother nature’s blessing of rain.
The Hangover Nationals is held at Dragway 42 in Salem, Ohio every year. Kicked off right before lunch on New Years Day with eliminations starting mid-afternoon, the race challenges competitors to run an exact dial-in based on the year. This year, the dial-in for the quarter mile competition was 20.12 since it was the start of 2012.
While this may seem difficult enough, there is another factor in the competition. No matter what mother nature brings, whether it be sun, rain or snow, the race still takes place.
At this year’s Hangover Nationals, mother nature had something other than dry sunny weather in mind. Racers were faced with cold temperatures and rain that left the track wet, slippery and strewn with puddles. But that didn’t stop people from coming to race.
As if the 20.12 dial-in wasn’t slow enough, some competitors found the track conditions a bit tricky, causing them to elapse past the limited 28-second capabilities of the track timer. But some individuals came very close to hitting the strict dial in despite the rain.
So who won the 2012 Hangover Nationals? That honor went to Ron Hager with his ‘94 Buick Roadmaster Station Wagon in the 2-Wheel Drive Class and Tim Hammond with his ‘99 Chevy Suburban in the 4-Wheel/All-Wheel Drive Class. Hager won his class with a 21.1807 quarter mile time at 43.97mph while Hammond got almost spot on with a 20.1140 ET at 66.41mph.
The Hangover Nationals looks like a blast. Make sure to mark your calendars and start practicing your 20.13 quarter mile runs for next year!
