SEVERAL FAMILIES GO DEEP INTO ELIMINATIONS AT ATLANTA DRAGWAY, KATIE WILHELM TAKES FIRST VICTORY
(Commerce, GA - April 21) Three father and son teams made it deep into eliminations today. Pete Wagner and his son Jeff made it to the semi-final round in Pro, and another son, Nick, made it to the semis in Sportsman. Jeremy Hancock won Super Pro, and his dad Mark Hancock made it to the semis in Super Pro. The Wilhelm family had a good day, with Marty Wilhelm and son Hank making it to the quarter-final round in Super Pro. Another Wilhelm, Katie (daughter) won her first ever event, in 8-12 Jr Dragster. Two brothers, Austin Bowden (10 years old) and Chris Bowden (15) did very well, with Chris finishing runner up in 13-17 Jr Dragster and Austin going to the semis in 8-12 Jr Dragster.
Not to be outdone by his father's victory last week during the NMCA / NHRA Unleashed event, Jeremy Hancock graced the winner's circle in the family's Commerce, GA based '74 Vega after tonight's final round pairing against Donny Brown Jr ('03 Spitzer dragster – Buford, GA). Hancock was ready for Brown in the final, with a stellar 0.005 second reaction time. Shortly after, Brown, who had been having great green light reacts all day, pushed it just a little too much, resulting in a -0.010 red light. Knowing Hancock's win was sealed at that point, both Brown and Hancock coasted to the finish line. Hancock's elapsed time was 6.57 at 82.36mph (6.05 dial in time) and Brown put a 27.95 at 25.85mph on the scoreboard (4.77 dial). Mark Hancock ('05 Undercover dragster – Commerce, GA) and Lloyd Kaylor ('87 Regal – Winder, GA) were the semi-finalist finishers. "This is my fifth (wedding) anniversary to Ashley. We met right here and we're still coming," added Hancock, who was accompanied by his two year old son Cooper.
"Looks like the price might go up now," said Pro winner Tim Polnaszek from Nicholson, GA. Polnaszek is in the process of buying Jeff Voyle's '69 Camaro, and with coaching help from Voyles, earned the final round win against John Norris, hot off a double win during last week's NMCA / NHRA Unleashed event. Polnaszek reacted with a very good 0.037, but the race was already his as Norris had turned on the dreaded cherry colored bulb with a too-quick -0.024 red light in his Royston, GA based '86 Camaro. Polnaszek crossed the big end stripe with a 6.598 at 104.36mph (6.61 dial) and Norris' machine slowed a bit to 7.49 at 91.17mph (7.44 target). Dad Pete Wagner ('71 Demon – Jefferson, GA) and son Jeff Wagner ('71 Duster – Braselton, GA) ended their day in the semi-final round. "I want to give a special thanks to Jeff Voyles," added Polnaszek.
In a repeat performance (he also won the March 31 event against Burford), Howard Warren took the Sportsman win with his Douglasville, GA based '72 Maverick against Greenville, SC racer J.D. "Doc" Burford. Both racers were on their game, with only 0.006 seconds separating them in the reaction time department. Warren kept his foot in the throttle to post a 12.08 second pass at 107.95mph (12.05 dial), which helped him cross the win stripe 0.02 seconds in front of Burford's fast charging '08 Corvette, which had slowed a little to 12.59 at 112.98mph (12.54 dial). Another Wagner family member, Nick ('04 Neon – Jefferson, GA) was the lone Sportsman semi-finalist. "It was a good race, and I beat Doc! That Corvette is hard to beat, as it has a lot of top end (speed)," said Warren.
Another March 31 finalist, Tim Sutton from Clermont, GA, turned the win light on this time with his '89 Suzuki. Sutton had to be near perfect to get the win, as opponent Jimmy "Cha Cha" Heisler had a 0.023 reaction time advantage in his pocket. Sutton took the narrow win with a dead-on 8.866 at 145.00mph. Unfortunately for Heisler, his '00 Kawasaki crossed the stripe first by 0.03 seconds, but broke out by 0.008 seconds in the process, going 10.662 at 125.27mph (10.67 dial). Eric Hutton ('76 Kawasaki – Covington, GA) and Brian Wilson ('95 Suzuki – Tallapoosa, GA) earned the semi-finalist portion of the purse. Sutton thanked his wife Jennifer, who is always there crewing for him. Sutton said he wasn't counting points, but did note he had pulled ahead of good friend Jay Rhyne. "I had him beat everywhere….. except for the stripe," lamented Heisler. Heisler then thanked some of his sponsors, Vanson Leathers, Motool and Traxxion.
Immediately after earning her first ever win in 8-12 Jr Dragster, 12 year old Commerce, GA racer Katie Wilhelm postponed her victory celebration and jumped back into action, helping crew for both her dad Marty Wilhelm and brother Hank Wilhelm, who were still competing in the Super Pro class. Wilhelm met ten year old Trey Butler from Jackson, GA in the final and used her 0.003 second reaction time advantage over him to push him into a breakout situation. Butler actually crossed the top end stripe 0.002 seconds in front of Wilhelm, but posted a 0.056 second under 8.894 at 71.80mph (8.95 dial). Wilhelm also broke out, but her infraction was a little better, with a 0.051 second under 9.009 at 68.63mph (9.06 dial). Austin Bowden (10 – Homer, GA) took home a semi-finalist trophy for his efforts. Wilhelm thanked all of her family and friends for helping her win, saying, "I love them and wouldn't take anything for them." Her dad Marty added, "I think it's good. I'm glad she finally won one."
When asked, one of the first things the 13-17 Jr Dragster winner Cole Sheriff said, was "Dad, how many races have we won?", emphasizing the family aspect of his win. The 15 year old Sheriff, who comes from Lula, GA, won his third Atlanta Dragway victory against Chris Bowden (15 – Homer, GA). Bowden, who also finished runner up in the previous Summit ET series event, had the better react (0.030 to 0.042) but was a little off in the elapsed time department, posting an 8.22 at 78.48mph (8.16 dial). Sheriff was closer to the target with a 7.93 at 82.02mph (7.91 dial). For the second event in a row, Brittney Hellemn (16 – Buford, GA) made it to the semi-final round. Sheriff then said, "I want to thank the Lord first. Also, thanks to my parents (Todd and Misty Sheriff), Motivational Tubing and Whaley Motorsports."
