Two dragsters, each with a reputation for being the fastest on the circuit, will slow down long enough to make a stop at Bristol Dragway during the May 18-20 running of the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Q.

The legendary "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, named the National Hot Rod Association's top driver of all-time, will give fans the chance to step back in time when he displays two of his Swamp Rats, Swamp Rat VIII and Swamp Rat XVI, in Thunder Valley.

Swamp Rat VIII will be on display at the Food City Thunder Valley Club during the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, May 18-20, while Swamp Rat XVI will be located at the Bristol Experience at the Bruton Smith Building. It will be on display beginning May 15 and remain in the Bristol Experience through September.

Swamp Rat VIII, a front-engine dragster, was the first racer built by Garlits Automotive to feature a 426 Hemi. The car debuted at the U.S. Fuel and Gas Championships in Bakersfield, Calif. in 1965. Garlits drove Swamp Rat VIII to a top speed of 192 mph.

Swamp Rat XVI is Garlits' second rear-engine car. The car's best speed is 243.90 mph. It carried Garlits to many event titles including the IHRA Winternationals, NHRA Gatornationals, AHRA World Finals, and the 1972 World Championship.

Evolving from a long line of drag racing's most historically important cars, Swamp Rat VIII and Swamp Rat XVI come from Garlits' famous stable of Swamp Rat racers. Garlits' first rear-engine car, Swamp Rat XIV, is located in the NHRA Museum in Pomona, Calif. Swamp Rat XXX, a home-built streamliner, was inducted into the Smithsonian Institute in 1987.

For more information about the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, please call 423.764.DRAG. For more information about the Food City Thunder Valley Club, please call Anthony Golden at 423.989.6956.