Shadyside Dragway to host Ronnie Buff Memorial on March 21-24

SHELBY, N.C. — A stacked field of 64 hard-nosed racers are scheduled to take to the track for the ninth annual Ronnie Buff Memorial on May 21-24 at Shadyside Dragway.

The is the biggest small tire race of the year. It features the $75,000 King of the South, and a 64-car invitational for the Lil Gangstas’ class with $15,000-to-win races on Saturday and Sunday.

It’s a huge event, but one personal to Shadyside Dragway promoter Seth Buff with the event named after his grandfather.

“I wanted to do a big race for my grandpa’s memorial race,” Buff said. “It’s a marquee event and everything started coming together. The names started rolling in, and we didn’t have any trouble drawing a 64-car field. You can see some of the best racers in the world are coming. It was like the stars aligned the first year, then the second year it really took off.”

The big names for this year include Bill Lutz, Ryan Martin, Lyle Barnett and Larry Larson. Buff has stressed to his staff what a big deal it is to have such an event at a smaller track.

“It’s so good for a small track to do this. We’re fortunate to have such great support from our locals,” Buff said. “We’ve had so many people step up to help us. Even though this has gotten national-event attention, it’s still Shadyside. I’ve stressed to everyone working that small tracks don’t usually get this opportunity, and how grateful we are to host this event.” 

Shadyside Dragway, dubbed the baddest outlaw track around, joined the IHRA in 2023. The track is also known for great bracket racing, the IHRA Division 9 (Raiders) Team Finals champions in 2025.

It is located in the racing hotbed of the Carolinas with the 73-acre property just an hour from Charlotte. The 1/8-mile drag strip, which is an impressive 51-feet wide, has 2,000 feet of shutdown with concrete barrier walls and an Accutime timing system. The property has primitive camping, while a full-service campground is literally two miles away. 

The move to join IHRA has paid off handsomely.

“My grandpa bought in 1980 and was family-operated it as an outlaw track until we joined IHRA in 2023,” Buff said. “What prompted us to move was I have some awesome bracket racers. It’s been awesome to see my guys come together at the team finals. We have some of the toughest racers around and they showed out.”