HUTTON AND WICKS ENJOY FIRST ATLANTA DRAGWAY VICTORIES
(Commerce, GA – May 26) For the second week in a row, Motorcycle featured a first time Atlanta Dragway winner; this time it was Eric Hutton. Ten year old Sadie Wicks has been racing for just a year, and earned her first Atlanta Dragway win on her first visit to the facility. Although he did make a number of rounds, Howard Warren was not in the Sportsman final for the first time in 2012.
Door cars reigned supreme in Super Pro action, and by the semifinal round, only one dragster remained in competition. Lloyd Kaylor's '87 Regal took the top prize of the day after defeating Stan Sinack's Lilburn, GA based '69 Dart. Both driver's reaction times were separated by a mere one thousandth of a second (Kaylor 0.006 react, Sinack 0.007 react). Kaylor's Winder, GA based machine posted the winning time of 7.74 at 88.31mph (7.72 dial) and Sinack's car (which won the 6.50 Index class last week) crossed the stripe shortly after with a 6.55 at 100.83mph (6.51 dial). Jim Onda ('96 Dragster – Toccoa, GA) and Scott Dauberger ('73 Duster – Lawrenceville, GA) were the semi-final finishers. Kaylor has raced several different Buicks over the years, and even campaigned a dragster for a few years, but came back to his Buick to make it to the winner's circle again. He said he missed racing some of his friends from several years back, and hopes they come back to compete again.
Fair Play, SC racer Matt Ward finished in the top Pro spot today after making it to the semi-finals last week in his satin black '69 Camaro. Ward's final round competitor was John Norris of Royston, GA, hot off a double win last week. Ward's car crossed the win stripe first with a .03 over 7.40 at 101.72mph, and his reaction time made the difference. Norris' final round react was off pace, and he broke out trying to take the win with a 7.427 second pass at 91.43mph (7.43 dial). Jeff Wagner ('71 Duster – Braselton, GA) and Al Baker ('72 Maverick – Marietta, GA) earned the semi-finalist portion of the purse. "I want to thank the Lord first, and then all the men, women and families who gave their lives fighting for our country. Without them, this would not be possible," added Ward.
Eric Hutton from Covington, GA has been in an Atlanta Dragway Motorcycle final round before, during a ProStar race in 2006. This time, however, Hutton earned his first ever Atlanta Dragway victory astride his Rockdale Cycles '76 Kawasaki. Shortly after leaving the starting line with a good reaction time, the automatic win was his when David Fletcher's Lawrenceville, GA based '84 Kawasaki left the starting line too soon, leaving the red light glowing on his side. Knowing it was already over, Hutton let off the throttle and crossed the finish line with an easy 11.88 at 79.92mph (9.59 dial). Fletcher's mount carded a 9.34 at 137.43mph (9.24 react). Mark Welch from Bowman, GA, campaigning his "Beat The Heat" '05 Suzuki, ended a good day by making it to the semi-final round. Hutton added, "I want to give a special thanks to David Mayo of Rockdale Cycles for helping me earn my first win here."
Steve Wagner of Jefferson, GA used a 0.008 second reaction time advantage to earn the Sportsman win with his '71 Duster. As it turned out, he needed that margin to defeat J.D. "Doc" Burford's formidable '08 Corvette. Wagner's machine crossed the big end stripe with a 0.01 second over 13.081 at 103.25, and Burford's car did the same 0.008 seconds later, with a 0.01 over 12.601 at 112.79mph. Allen Long ('96 Silverado – Ballground, GA) and Harold Wilson ('74 Nova – Winder, GA) earned the semi-finalist portion of the purse. "I am very fortunate. I want to thank God to be able to race, and winning is a bonus. Also, thanks to Universal Service Center in Hoschton for their help," added Wagner.
Another first time Atlanta Dragway winner was featured in the 8-12 Jr Dragster class. Ten year old honor student Sadie Wicks from Roberta, GA began racing in 2011, and experienced her first ever race win last week at South Georgia Motorsports Park. Wicks family then brought her to Atlanta Dragway, where she worked her way through the field to face nine year old Nate "Hot Rod" Halsey from Clermont, GA in the final. Wicks was on her game, putting an 8.916 at 74.09mph (8.90 dial) on the scoreboard. However, the win was already hers before she left the starting line, as Halsey's machine left the starting line too soon, leaving the dreaded cherry colored bulb glowing en route to a 13.06 at 49.88mph (12.91 dial). Katie Wilhelm (12 – Commerce, GA) and Charlie Smith (12 – McDonough, GA) took home a semi-finalist trophy for their efforts. Wicks, who lists Tony Schumacher as her favorite driver, said her family wanted to dedicate this win to Morgan Berryhill. Nate Halsey added, "I want to thank God, my dad Jeff, mom Lavell and sister Maddie for all of their help.
Austin Solesbee has been making rounds in 13-17 Jr Dragster, finishing runner-up during last week's Summit ET action and then taking the first place trophy home for his efforts today. The 14 year old racer from Sautee Nacoochee, GA had a great final round 0.026 react, and took the win with a 7.95 at 81.58mph (7.90 dial). Fifteen year old Chris Bowden from Homer, GA actually had a better reaction time (0.018), but his race car took too much finish line stripe, breaking out with an 8.09 at 77.33mph (8.12 dial). Maddie Lee (14 – Campobello, SC) was the lone semi-finalist. "I couldn't do this without my parents. I want to thank them and my friends, including Alexis Lewis for coming out to support me today. God planned to do good with me today," the happy Solesbee stated after the event.
