Perrenial race favorite George Bowland completes a burnout on his way to making a course record at the Doughton Mountain Road course in 2005.

Hillclimb will move to August in 2006

A 50-year-old North Carolina auto racing tradition is moving to August this year, as competitors return to Alleghany County for the Alleghany Chevrolet Blue Ridge Sports Car Hillclimb.

Drivers will race up the sharp turns of Doughton Mountain Road, competing for the best time in classes based on the power and the configuration of their cars. Upwards of 80 entrants are expected for this year’s event, to be held Aug. 5-6.

This will be the fourth year Alleghany has hosted the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) sanctioned event. It was held in May the first three years, but has been moved to August.

“Hopefully a change to a summer event in the mountains will increase both number of the entrants and the spectators,” said one of the event stewards Tom Richardson. “This event has become a favorite for a lot of the drivers because of the reception and friendliness they’ve received from the people in our area.”

The Doughton Mountain Road course consists of 15 turns, is one mile long and features a 600-foot change in elevation “That puts this course right up there with the best of them, better than some,” said Richardson. “It attracts a full variety of race cars. There are some events that if you don’t have enough horsepower you might as well stay at home, but this course is good for everybody. That’s why we see the variety we do.”

Last year, a total of 65 participants came from 10 states including North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, South Carolina, Florida, and Alabama.

Get the rest of this article in this week's issue of the Alleghany News! Back