With a construction date of 1957, North Carolina’s Piedmont Dragway is among the oldest, still-active dragstrips within the Tar Heel State. Located just outside Greensboro in the town of Julian, this IHRA-sanctioned eighth-miler kicked off its 67th season with a test-and-tune session in late February.
William Roberts in the winner’s circle at Piedmont Dragway.
On March 25-26, Drag Illustrated was on hand as Piedmont hosted the IHRA Sportsman Spectacular, although the event was rain-shortened due to lingering rain showers that moved in during the weekend, causing Sunday’s finale to be cancelled.
Winners from Saturday include Michael Paschal in Top E.T., driving his classy Ford Falcon. Paschal captured the win early when his opponent, Scott Macy, turned on the red light by the slightest of margins behind the wheel of his Dodge Coronet. A pair of Mustangs faced off in the Footbrake finals, with William Roberts getting past Carson Robbins. Forrest Radford emerged victorious in Jr. Dragster, defeating Landon Burnette in the thrilling finals.
The following week, Piedmont was scheduled to kick off their legendary Thursday night Big Dog Shootout, a popular heads-up series that dates back to the early 1990s. Once again, rainy weather affected the racing action, as an unfavorable forecast forced the track to postpone the Big Dog season opener until the following week. On Thursday, April 13, the conditions were perfect for the Big Dog season opener, and veteran wheelman Travis Harvey scored the victory over Jamie Chappell.
Other events in April include various test-and-tune sessions, as well as the Wednesday night Triad Street Scene. Piedmont always presents plenty of Sunday Funday gatherings throughout the year, which features grudge racing, test-and-tune, motorcycles, and shootout racing. The track continues to be a multi-purpose facility, which offers a drifting pad and hosts events throughout the year, sometimes holding two-day gatherings for the drifting enthusiasts.
The month of May began with another Big Dog shootout, test-and-tune, as well a two-day IHRA-sanctioned bracket points race. Tony Nutso also brought his No Mo Talking grudge event to Piedmont in May. The Carolina No-Time series also made their first of several stops at Piedmont in late May, as well as a special truck event schedule on Saturday, May 20.
In June, Piedmont will host the first LDP Truck and Tractor Pull of 2023. In late June, there’s a big event planned, featuring Carolina No-Time Blood Wars, along with Donkmaster, and includes a car/truck/bike show and drag race.
The Dirt Drags Summer Brawl, featuring dirt bikes, ATVs, SxS and trucks, is coming to Piedmont in July, along with many other great summer events.
A special Friday/Saturday race in August features the Carolina No-Time series, as well as a Tony Daye no-time event slated for late August.
The Carolina No-Time series returns in September with a Friday through Sunday gathering featuring cars and bikes. The IHRA bracket points series will end with a special two-day event on September 9-10. Piedmont continues holding races throughout the latter part of the season with regular test-and-tune sessions, drifting, Triad Street Scene events, dirt drags, and much more.
In November, the popular Loose Rocker bracket series visits Piedmont, while drifting and Carolina No-Time will close out the season in December.
This story was originally published on June 2, 2023. 
