Drag Racing Photos: Maple Grove Ice Breaker No Prep And Daily Driver Race Photos From Joe Grippo
(Words and Photos by Joe Grippo) The Winter Series at Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvania chalked up another successful event with the recent running of the 2025 Ice Breaker No Prep and Daily Driver Race. It was a chilly 34 degrees, but the sun was shining all day making it feel like a balmy 44. And once again the racers turned out to test their nerve, talent and machines on the unprepped surface of the world-famous Maple Grove 1/8th mile. We had a few big tire entrants and a few rounds of all motor completion, but as per usual it was the small tire racers that showed up en masse. Check the gallery for everything from rough and ready Fox bodies, loads of Camaros from almost every generation and so much more. The dichotomy of all those new Cadillacs and Genesis’s lining up against a battle scarred old Mustang is awesome. Such cool stuff.
While as I said the Small Tire guys were the show, the Daily Driver Bracket class had the participant numbers. Over 100 hardy bracket racers dialed in to try to take home the $1000 Happy Gilmore check. The rules for Daily Driver are simple: no trailers, no burn outs, and no vehicles quicker than 9.00 in the eighth mile. Take a couple of time runs and dial in your et, cut a light and get there first without going under. Easy right? Try it out and you too can discover a new way to lose! The staging lanes looked like a used car lot. Lots of tow rigs…Duallies, Rams, F-Series Fords, Silverado’s and all sizes of SUV’s were popular race choices. Of course, late model Mustangs and Camaros are always popular selections, but a fair amount of imported stuff was represented. Surprisingly BMWs were the choice for several daily racers and were really quick! Obviously, some cool vintage iron caught my attention. Check out the clean late ’70’s Corvette and Colonnade era Malibu, and my buddy Ken’s cherry Chevy II long roof shod with period perfect 5-spokes. He turned on some win lights and all was smiles. The winner was Doug Fellenbaum, Jr borrowed his Dad’s Chevy shop truck and put it on the dance floor. Fellenbaum is an accomplished bracket and Top Dragster competitor, so once again the cream rose to the top.
This pretty much wraps up the Maple Grove Winter Series for now. Everyone’s attention now turns toward the arrival of the Spring and the start of our regular racing season. Track owner Kyle Koretsky and Track Manager Shane Sweigart have a good thing going with these off-season events, it made the long harsh winter around here a little more fun being able to go racing…and we thank them for the Winter Series. See you at the Drags, when it will be warmer!
