Ground Shaking Racing, Controversy, and Bragging Rights...This was the 2018 YellowBullet Nationals

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Listen, there are races every year that are worth attending because they are a staple within our industry. Labor Day weekend is no different, though I am not talking about Indy, I am talking about the one and only YellowBullet Nationals.

For those that haven’t been around as long as some of us, before there was Facebook to vent and play keyboard warrior on, there were forums. Didn’t matter if you were a Mustang, Camaro, Mopar, or even Import guru, there was a forum for you. This is where you went for the information that you were seeking about a build, or to show off your build. It was were you went to piss and moan that someone ripped you off, or to tell the world how great a shop was. It certainly wasn’t all rosy though, and in YellowBullet.com Founder Monty Mikho, it certainly was BS when it came to certain forums.

The thing with forums is that the had the “Facebook” police. You know the ones. They are the ones that cry and get butthurt about every. Well Monty, being the unfiltered character that he is, tended to rub certain people the wrong way (I certainly know that feeling). So, Monty decided to start his own forum, one that he could say what he wanted, when he wanted, and not worry about getting the boot. So basically, you could say that all this mess started because one guy wanted a place to vent.

Monty had only intended on keeping the site up a couple of weeks, that was until it go so huge so fast that there was no turning back. Apparently, there were a whole hell of a lot of other people that were looking to be able to have adult discuss without getting smacked on the wrist as well. People flocked to the no holds barred era that was the YellowBullet. It became all consuming for some, and for others a great way to network within the community. I have personally been a member on there since 12-16-2007. I digress though, as I could do an entire article on the history of the website, the point it that it morphed into this once a year culmination of awesomeness that is the YellowBullet Nationals at Cecil County on Labor Day weekend.

This was the ninth annual YellowBullet Nationals and this one was filled with as much drama as any of the previous eight. So much so that one class had a mystery final that no one even got to see. More on that later though. If you haven’t been, or haven’t followed this event in years past, there are numerous different class. Really a smorgasbord of combos, class, and speed. You will find everything from a 17 second Dodge truck in the quarter mile, to a nitrous gulping Camaro that shakes the earth, rattles your brain, and lights up the scoreboard in 3.65 seconds from the moment he hits the gas pedal. This year featured Pro Mod, X275, Ultra Street, Warriors, Outlaw 10.5, Top Sportsman (kinda), 8.50,10.0, Pro Dial, Super Street, Pro Street, and No Clock Small Blocks.

I have to say though, from my point of view, the Warriors put on the best show for the fans. There was close racing, huge wheel stands, many different combos, including the cars themselves. This was a class that absolutely must return for the 2019 showing at Cecil. Pro Mods never disappoint, and this weekend was no different. With Jim Halsey, the Cecil County track owner, also having one of the quickest nitrous huffing pro mods in the country, he was certainly going to be the one to watch. Not to be outdone during the weekend, the Outlaw 10.5 class, which is a class older than time itself in the northeast was out for blood.

Outlaw 10.5 is a class that was really the gold standard for many a years before the radial explosion. I can’t even list all the huge names that came from the Outlaw 10.5 ranks. In my mind, one of the best classes ever in drag racing. Well at YellowBullet there is always something. This time it was about records, small tires, big tires, radial tires, and a bigass blower and some hairdryers.  

Recently the trend, which I hate, has been Outlaw 10.5 cars putting radial tires on and going racing. There are those Outlaw 10.5 purest that believe that radial tires have absolutely no place in Outlaw 10.5, I for one would agree. Then there are those that sing from the heavens that it doesn’t matter what tire you run as long as you are in the rules. Jeff and Patrick Miller are the latter of that group and they will run against just about anyone on any tire. This time, they brought Bumblebee, which is the quickest VARIFIED 275 tire car in the world in 1/8th mile racing. Jeff was going to take on heavyweight contenders like Mo Hall, The Deckers, Tommy Mauro, and more, all while doing it on a tire barely bigger than what comes stock on a 1993 Mustang. In the end though, it was two radial tire cars fighting for supremacy, with the turbo combo of Blake Copson taking the victory.

I know that some of you are wondering about the “controversy” that occurred over the weekend as well. Typical of the Northeast, it rained, and it started raining halfway through Q1 of 8.50 on Friday night. That meant that we didn’t get a majority of classes even one round of qualifying on Friday night due to weather. Saturday rolls around and we are cruising through qualifying. Everyone knows that the fans are there to see certain classes like Pro Mod, Outlaw 10.5, and radial action. Well the decision was made that a few classes would get a Q3 and few wouldn’t. Which in this case was needed so that we could complete the event on Sunday. This certainly didn’t sit well with some.

Cue the social media crying and outrage by a couple people. They are bitching about not getting a Q3, why can’t we race on Monday, blah blah blah. Well guess what, you had two qualifiers and couldn’t get it done, but now you want the whole show to be moved an entire day because you don’t have your shit together during qualifying. Needless to say, some cried and acted like children, while others were happy to get the two and be part of a great event. That isn’t even the best part of the childish behavior though. Later Sunday evening, during a conversation that I was not in attendance for, something was said by some finalist about track conditions, and this lead to their class not even running a final. Now, I am not track prep guru, but I was standing at the starting line for every single final and didn’t see a single issue. Not sure what track they were looking at, but it wasn’t Cecil. Seem to be more childish antics on the part of a class that was butthurt over only getting two rounds of qualifying instead of three. Nonetheless, the rest of the classes fought it out and put on a great show for the fans.

What more can I say? The weather sucked on and off all weekend, and yet it was still one of the best events of the entire racing season. We managed to get the entire event done at a decent time on Sunday night. Most people were pretty damn happy, and I saw a lot of excited faces in the Winner Circle Sunday night. So to Monty, Maria, David, Jim, the entire Cecil staff, and everyone involved with the event, we thank you and will see you again next year for number ten.

P.S. Not too bad for something that started out as a place to vent all those years back. Hope you hit the newbie thread, because I am in on 1

Class Winners:

Pro Mod- Jim Halsey

Outlaw 10.5- Blake Copson

Warriors- Bobby Demilt

X275- Ron Rhodes

No Clock Small Block- Ricky Fox

Ultra- Joel Greathouse

T/S- Not Available

8.50- Daniel Lutz

Pro Street- Brennon McMillian

Super Street- Jim Sauber

10.0- Michael Copenhaver

Pro Dial- Steven McMillan