After a year that wreaked havoc on every planned event, the 2021 Beaver Springs Dragway Mopar or No Car Nationals was back in the typical first weekend of June timeslot on the schedule.
Just like the previous years, the two-day event consisted of a Friday test and tune session and a gamblers race, and the Saturday main event was comprised of four classes, which included the Pro Mopar class (quickest eight qualifiers), the 11.99 and quicker HiPo class, the 12.00 and slower Cool Mopar class, and the Modern Muscle class.
If racing wasn’t your thing, the event had a car show with Mopars ranging from vintage iron to the newest offerings from Detroit. Sponsoring this year’s event was Butch Gummo and Surplus City and the Beaver Springs Zoo Crew.
On Friday, the competitors met with intermittent downtime due to a few morning showers followed by a midday downpour, but after the track was dried, the sun came out for the rest of the event.
After hours of testing, a four-round gamblers race concluded the day. Steve Harkiewicz was the top eliminator with his 1976 Dodge pickup truck. Not only did he pick up the win, but he was also the quickest and fastest vehicle on the grounds running solid 8.60s at over 150 mph all weekend.
Harkiewicz anchored the Pro Mopar class and made it to the final, where Darlene Straub defeated him with a tree-chopping ’26 Mopar-powered roadster. The largest class of the weekend was the HiPo class. The five-round eliminations were whittled down to Ray Thurston IV in his ’66 more-door Belvedere taking the title over Joe Dicello’s Duster.
The Cool Mopar class had Adam Mowery in his ’70 Dart taking the double-breakout win over Rich Kershner’s Dart Sport. The ever-growing Modern Muscle class was packed with Hemi-powered Chargers and Challengers. However, it was Zac Piper in his Magnum taking the win in a double breakout over Patricia Tucker’s wide-body Challenger.
To keep up with the special events and nostalgia races at Beaver Springs, check out its schedule regularly. Be sure to mark the first week of June 2022 for the 5th annual Mopar or No Car Nationals.
Final Round Results
Pro Mopar (1/8th mile) Dial RT ET MPH Car
Winner – Darlene Straub 5.38 .008 5.431 122.68 ’26 Roadster
R/U – Steve Harkiewicz 5.45 .069 5.496 124.72 ’76 Pickup
HiPo Mopar (1/4 mile)
Winner – Ray Thurston IV 10.98 .005 11.037 108.75 ’66 Belvedere
R/U – Joe Dicello 9.94 .171 9.964 133.57 ’71 Duster
Cool Mopar (1/4 mile)
Winner – Adam Mowery 12.78 .034 12.762 102.06 ’70 Dart
R/U – Rich Kershner III 13.60 .039 13.562 98.79 ’73 Dart Sport
Modern Mopar
Winner – Zac Piper 14.20 .028 14.161 93.56 ’05 Magnum
R/U – Patricia Tucker 12.78 .449 12.699 108.20 ’19 Challenger
