The increasingly popular FAST (Factory Appearing Stock Tire) Racing Series rolled into New York’s Empire Dragway on May 27-28 for the FAST Auto Service of Old Saybrook Nationals. With muscle cars from the 1960s and 1970s racing on narrow stock tires, the goal of the series is to maximize factory parts on factory tires on factory-appearing cars. The group that competed at Empire certainly achieved that goal, with some drivers racing deep into the 10-second zone.
In the FAST Quick 8 Shootout, Bill Atwood Sr. qualified No. 1 in his Hemi-powered ’69 Road Runner with a 10.19. He carried that performance through to the final round, where he defeated No. 3 qualifier Ed Cook in his ’63 Savoy. Other qualifiers included Don Giannone in his ’66 Chevelle, Bryan Doyle in his ’71 Challenger, Bill Atwood Jr. in his ’73 GTX, Bill Dicicco in his ’68 Road Runner, Andrew Colling in his ’67 Firebird, and Rhett Moody in his ’68 Barracuda.
The weekend also included the Factory Stock Quick 8 Shootout, where No. 1 qualifier Eric Simpson emerged victorious in his ’69 Camaro ZL1. His final-round opponent was Owen Simpson in his ’69 Camaro. Jeff Wilkins in his ’70 Torino Cobra joined the Simpsons in the top 3 in qualifying. Additional entrants included Tom Cannon in his ’68 Dodge 330, Alana Beltrame in her ’69 Camaro SS, Frank Heofling in his ’68 Road Runner, and Steve Oliver in his ’71 GTX.
The FAST series has five races left on its 2023 schedule, including three stops on the NMCA tour. For more info on the FAST rules and schedule, check out www.FASTDrags.com.
Drag Illustrated contributing photographer David Hilner was on the property to capture the action and atmosphere.
This story was originally published on June 8, 2023. 
