Top Sportsman driver wins at Toronto Motorsports Park's Cayuga Dragway
CAYUGA, ONTARIO (May 20, 2012) – Everything is good and on plan, although we'd like a couple of more rounds.
Dan Aitken Jr got his wish as the Belle River, Ontario racer captured the first race of the 2012 Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts.
Driving his Holbrook Racing Engines big-block powered Ford Mustang in Top Sportsman, Aitken ran a good race to eliminate the Top Dragster of Mike Everitt of Stratford, Ontario in the final. The Quick 32 Sportsman Series is comprised of 16-car Top Dragster and 16-car Top Sportsman entries. After a top eliminator is decided from each side, the two are paired off, and the winner is declared the event winner.
The win was Aitken's fourth in Quick 32 Sportsman Series competition, and he said the final run against Everitt was so close he was not sure who won.
I glimpse up at the score board and thought I could see his win light. I thought I must have red lit, he said after the race. The win caught me by surprise.
Running on a 7.18 dial-in, Aitken posted a 7.187-second, 192.38-mph final to Everitt's 6.916, 187.18 on a 6.89 dial-in. Everitt, in his first Quick 32 Sportsman Series event, was quicker off the line with an .025-second reaction time to Aitken's .032.
Everything ran well today, Aitken continued. The car was right consistent, and the last two rounds were pure race, alluding to earlier rounds where his opponent had fouled at the starting line.
Aitken qualified number six in Top Sportsman, and eliminated Wes Goddard of Guelph, Ontario, Darryl McMillen of Goderich, Ontario, and Spencer Hyde of Stratford, Ontario to meet up with Kevin Wicke in the Top Sportsman final.
Wicke, of Stratford, and former Quick 32 Sportsman Series champion, qualified number one for the field, but Aitken got him at the line, and Wicke was unable to catch him. Semi-finalists were Hyde, who qualified fourth, and Dan Flanigan of Buffalo, New York, who qualified number nineteen from an alternate spot.
Aitken would like to thank his father and crew chief Dan Sr., crew members Louise, Monique, Xandre and Mea Aitken, Michelle, Adam, Maddie and Elise Beck... He would also like to thank his sponsor Waddick Fuels, Roffelsen and Lindsay Racing, Howell Welding, Dependable Truck & Tank and Artistic Landscaping. Without their continued encouragement and support this would not be possible.
On the Top Dragster side, Everitt qualified number nine with his big-block Chevy powered Mullis dragster, and eliminated Phil Nedham of Ajax, Ontario, Melanie Simmons of Orillia, Ontario, and Bob Jennings of Mississauga, Ontario to meet with Michael Kalin of Niagara Falls, New York in the Top Dragster final.
Kalin, a former Quick 32 Sportsman Series event winner, and number 10 qualifier, gave Everitt a battle, but Everitt's .024 reaction time helped him to a 6.947, 183.74 win over the 6.920, 196.16 of Kalin, who posted a .069 reaction time. Everitt's dial-in was 6.88, and Kalin's was 6.89.
Semi finalists in Top Dragster were Katie Ward of Orangeville, Ontario, who qualified number four, and Jennings, who qualified in 15th.
At present Aitken leads the Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts 2012 Championship Point Award Series Standings with 338 points followed by Everitt with 316 points. Wicke is third with 300 points, Kalin is fourth with 296 points, and Hyde and Ward are tied with 279 points.
Next race for the PMRA is the Summer Showdown June 8-9 at US 131 Motorsports Park at Martin, Michigan.
