Peyton Davis Feature

GALOT Motorsports home to some of the nicest people you ever want to meet.  I get invited to a number of events by pullers and usually feel like an outsider.  Here, it felt like home to me.  Earl Wells, Anthony, Grant, and all the people running their merchandise booth were very approachable and easy to work with.  I never assume it is okay to film and take photos so I ask.  If they didn't know the answer, they directed me to the person(s) who knew the answers.  A lot of times you drag all your gear through mud, yuck or have to park a mile away.  Everything is paved, nice, neat, and clean. The only dirt here is on the track.  Being that this was my first NTPA event, I got to meet Greg Randall and Doc Riley.  These men are great people simply doing good things.  Greg asked me what I thought of the pull.  I told him, I had a different sound and a way different smell.  This is after all the best of the best in the nation and from around the world.

On to the action.  I have witnessed several hometown heroes winning their respective events this season already.  This trend continued in the Open Super Stock class. John Strickland and Brent Payne went 312.03 and 303.75 respectively to get into the pull off. the pull off on this night was for the top three spots. The third puller joining them in the pull off was Terry Blackburn and the legendary tractor Extremely Armed and Dangerous going 312.455.  Jordan Lustik took that sweet Silver Bullet tractor some 302.07 feet down the track just missing the pull off by 18 inches.  In the pull off, Terry went first and went 285.335.  Up next John took GALOT II 297.97 feet to secure the win for the GALOT team.  But who wants one and three when you can go 1 and 2.  And that is exactly what happened when Brent Payne piloted GALOT 292.85 feet to gun down Extremely Armed and Dangerous.  I could really get used to hometown pullers getting it done at home.  Of course the crowd went crazy.  It made for a great start to a great Memorial Day Weekend!  I purchased a GALOT Motorsports flex fit hat and the Mule City 300 with the Red, White, and Blue tee shirt with GALOT pulling on the back. 

Peyton Davis loves pulling.  So much so he hooks twice at just about every event he attends.  He drives The Young Gun and The Punisher National Modified 4x4 trucks.  The old Punisher has been renamed The Legend and John T his brother drives that one.  So needless to say they get plenty of looks at a track.  Session 1 Friday night hooked really good allowing 14 pullers to go a distance greater than 300 feet.  Peyton took the Young Gun 299.70.  He came back in the Punisher and went 311.16.  See what I mean, his second hook he used what he learned in the first to put it out of the gate.  Jacob Cramer ran a 319 even to secure his spot in the pull off.  Eric Squires and his Zero Down Ford went 311.68 to secure the third spot in the pull off, but Zero Down broke and was unable to pull.  In the Pull Off, Peyton ran a 313.95 proving Vaughn Bauer had the sled dialed in.  Last up on the Pit Side Track was Jacob Cramer.  Jacob went 3254.50 to take the first session.

On to Session 2 Saturday afternoon.  Danny Johnson got things started and went 305.16 in the truck they call "Talk to Me".  It stayed that way for just three hooks.  The fourth hook was Peyton Davis.  He came out on the Punisher first and went 309.95. On the fifth hook Paul Holman went 305.58.  This track was real tricky these trucks were scratching and clawing for everything they got.  A lot of smoke was left on the track trying to get these wheels to get the pullers just a few more inches.  Approximately half of the pullers that went over 300 in Session 1 managed that feat in Session 2.  The track just went away big time.  Peyton led the remainder of the class.  Randy Brann cracked the top 5 with a run of 305.48 and Eric Squires went last and got 305.16.  The sun took every bit of moisture from the track and rendered the track daunting for the pullers.  So Peyton Davis and The Punisher start the season off with 60 points, 4 Play and the Holman's start of 2 points behind.  I talked to Peyton a while back and asked him would we see more of him in Virginia?  He said, "Well I really want to win on the big stage!"  So if the NTPA has a venue, Peyton is going to be throwing it down and leaving nothing left.

I do want to say a special thanks to all the fine people working this pull!  Mr. Wells, you have a great bunch of people working this event and cannot wait until next year.  Thanks for making me feel right at home.

Pictures from the event.