Another one for the record books folks. Donald Long and the team pulled off a great event that featured record-setting performances, as well as major upsets, and peddle jobs for the win.

Year after year we descend on South Georgia Motorsports Park for three of Donald Long’s radial extravaganzas. Whether it be Lights Out in February, Sweet 16 in March, or No Mercy in October, you can bet there something wild and exciting is going to happen. Sweet 16 V4.0 last weekend was no exception to that standard either.

Sweet 16 this year featured four classes for the first time in its short history. On deck for the event were X275 and Radial vs. The World, as well as Limited Drag Radial (LDR), and the hottest new class in radial, Pro275. Going into the weekend I have very limited expectations not only performance-wise, but car count-wise. I knew damn good and well that there are a lot of people still unhappy with some of the rules packages in pretty much all of these classes, especially RvW and X275. Well, that certainly didn’t stop the legends and heavy hitters from showing up and throwing down like this was a true rumble on the concrete.

I rolled onto the property on Wednesday with the thought that it was going to be cold and miserable on Thursday, and I was 100% correct in that assumption. There was absolutely nothing pleasant about the weather on Thursday. It was cold and windy, almost to the point of annoyingly unbearable. I thought Friday might get a little better, but by late Friday I found myself wearing five layers of clothes and ready to call it a day. Saturday though, Saturday was a complete role reversal though. It was warm and sunny, with very little wind, and I managed to get my head sunburnt.

The action on the track didn’t seem to be adversely affected by the weather though. New class records were set in all four of the classes completing over the weekend. This included the one thing that everyone in the radial world was waiting for. The very first 3.40’s pass on a radial in competition was run over at the event. Should come as no surprise that it was someone very familiar with radial racing as well. Daniel Pharris was back in the seat of a car. The GALOT Camaro had a fresh paint scheme on it, along with Daniel at the wheel. Add to that the fact that we saw a 4.14 in X275, bottom 3.90’s in LDR, and 3.60’s in Pro275.

Something that should be noted though, as we talk about all the records set, whether it be ET or MPH. While it’s great and prestigious to set a record, especially when competing against top line competitors, records don’t always win races, and that was evident by the final results of at Sweet 16. Not a single one of the cars that broke records over the weekend went on to win their class.

X275 saw names like Goss, Hull, McCain, and so many more competing for the top spot. Early in the weekend White Rice, who is always a favorite at any X275, suffered carnage that forced them to pack it up for the weekend. Goss was obviously a favorite as he ran stellar numbers in the mineshaft air, but he wasn’t able to get around the little Datsun of Ryan McCain, who sent Rob packing early. Two names that I haven’t mentioned yet though are two of the biggest names in the class, that being Ron Rhodes and Gary White. You couldn’t have asked for much of an opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to these cars, combos, and drivers. Ron is a North Eastern guy with a nitrous small block Camaro, while Gary is from down south and pilots the Titan Supra. An import engine with a clutch and turbo. In the finals though, these two were ready to square off as two legends would. Ron usually has the early advantage, while Gary tends to freight train the back half. This time though, Ron’s front end went a tad higher than usual and this allowed Gary to zip down to the win.

Over in LDR the 3.90’s zone is already old hat for some, while others are trying to work their way into it. Stack, Harrison, Martin, Gargus, Cyrnek/Summers, have all dipped or sunk deeply into the 3.90’s there are numerous drivers right on their heels. LDR also had the most cars attempting to qualify for the class I believe. Steve Summers was tasked with driving Justin Cyrnek’s Mustang, and did so to a new class record, but was not able to keep up that momentum during eliminations. What should come as no surprise is that Shane Stack was in the finals. The World Champion competitor outlasted everyone while capturing the victory and taking the prestige back home to Alabama.

Pro275 to the lanes. The class that most think of as the step before Radial vs The World was absolutely on fire over the weekend. Shawn Ayers was tearing people up left and right in the Fletcher Cox owned Camaro. That tear lead to a new Pro275 World Record, but it did not lead to a victory over the weekend. This is a class that people have consistently touted “Nitrous cars can’t compete”. Well, the same has been said for damn near every other heads-up class in history, and just like in X275, Ultra Street, LDR, and even RvW, it has been proven that nitrous cars can in fact compete side-by-side with turbo and blower cars. Over the weekend the proof of that was front and center, when Mo Hall, in his Switzer Dynamics Nitrous Assisted Corvette took home the victory over all comers.

Rounding out the event on track is none other than Radial vs. The World. As I mentioned earlier, Daniel Pharris went out and set a new World Record, as well as being the first driver to the 3.40’s in competition over the weekend. While the performance is one for the ages, Daniel wasn’t taking the tree in the finals. In the left lane was none other than multi-time RvW winner and NHRA World Champion Stevie Jackson facing off against Brad Edwards in the right lane. And before we get to how the final went down, let’s chat for a minute about how Brad Edwards got to the finals. This man essentially lost his roof, did a monster wheelstand, and had to out peddle fest two of the quickest cars in the world to even be lined up against Stevie in the finals. So a big kudos to Brad for sticking with it and making it to the end. He is the exact reason that we don’t race on paper, and the finals were no different.

Stevie didn’t exactly have an easy go at it over the weekend, or for the entire beginning of the 2021 season for that matter. Lady luck has not been on his side. Most people on most days would have thought that Stevie had this final round matchup in the bag before the burnout started. Not today though, not on this weekend, a weekend where anything and everything can happen. As I watched from the right lane starting line behind Brad’s car, I just had a feeling that this was going to be something that no one expects. Both cars leave smooth, but then Brad’s car starts to climb towards the sky and he is forced to peddle it. Against Stevie, a wheelstand and peddle job is going to be hard to recover from. This allowed Stevie to capture the win. If you want my opinion, I think it Brad’s car would have made a clean pass is would have been a pick’em at the top end.

Along with all the on-track action this weekend, there was also a big Easter egg hunt for the kids, along with an absolutely beautiful tribute to Blake Copson. A tribute that saw Josh Ledford, his close friend, mentor, and brother, drop the starter switch for one final ride down the track. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house during that moment. And that’s a wrap on what was Sweet 16 V4.0 for 2021.