In the 20-plus seasons that Piedmont Dragway’s Big Dog Shootout has been held on the first Thursday night of the month, many names have risen to the top, catapulting them to bigger events on a much bigger stage.
One name that comes to mind is Travis Harvey winning his very first time in NHRA Pro Mod, the result of the success of the “Carolina Kid” at Piedmont Dragway.
Another name is, of course, Jason Harris, who found himself in the thick of possibly winning a cool $1,000,000 in the largest Pro Mod event in the known universe, during the three-event Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by J&A Service held at the epic facility in Florida, Bradenton Motorsports Park.
Any one that knows anything about fast door car racing has at least heard of Todd Tutterow, but most of us living in the Carolinas know the extent of the impact that the Tutterow family has had on the racing world. Competing and tuning from North Carolina to as far away as Qatar, the family name fills the record books and has filled their shop with not only their own cars, but awards and trophies for customers from all over the U.S. and beyond.
Ty and Todd Tutterow
But the 2025 season would be a two-horse race with another gentleman who has centainly paid his dues at the “DoorSlammer Capital of the World” in Scott Lang. For the past two seasons, Lang has become proficient driving the ex-Randy Weatherford Camaro, with Pro Line power, to success in PDRA and this season, Big Dog.
Let’s look at the season in review to help understand how dominant these two were. April was won by Lang, as was August. Tutterow responded with wins in May and October. Keep in mind that during the season, a total of 19 different drivers competed to win the porcelain dog that is the coveted Big Dog trophy.
Details for the year are as follows: April was won by Scott Lang with runner-up going to Travis Harvey. This set up May for Tutterow to defeat Mike Decker Jr. Thus, we have one and one. June was the victim of rain and there was no race in July. August began the run to the finish of the year with Lang winning over a very competitive Zach Houser. September brought another runner-up to Harvey with Tutterow winning. Now the final in October. Some numbers first. There were 19 cars that took a time to compete in the Shootout resulting in Mike Decker Jr. third in points. Fourth went to Dale Brinsfield and fifth went to Harvey, lower in points, no doubt, after missing the May event.
And finally, the October race with Lang and Tutterow totaling 144 points each as the finals were lining up. The only way a winner would be determined is if someone could win AND set an E.T. record in the process. That would give someone an additional 3 points and the title. The scoreboard told the story with “Cuda Time” setting a new track record at 3.600 and the title. So, for the second year in a row, “Cuda Time” wins the Big Dog Shootout, last year with owner Barry Mitchell driving, and for the 2025 season, “King Tut,” Todd Tutterow.
Also crowned were two other points champions with Tanner Miller dominating the Outlaw Door Slammer eliminator, winning by a huge margin over Chris Smith and TG Paschal. It should come as no surprise that the winner of the 7.49 Rico’s Real Street was Melvin Watlington, again. His margin was close, however, by only 2 points over Mark Dudley Jr. Congratulations to both.
As most are aware, Piedmont Dragway has been sold to the IHRA and Darryl Cuttell. Progress is being made as this is written, and results are already evident. Walls are down and a new track surface is being planned that will make the surface a minimum of 3,000 feet in length and also will be raised about a foot for drainage.
To fans and competitors alike, hang on. The new Piedmont Dragway is on the way and the “DoorSlammer Capital of the World” will be ready to make more history.
This story was originally published on January 28, 2026. 
