(Commerce, GA – August 13) The rain predicted by the Weather Channel did make an appearance during round one, but only for a couple of minutes, allowing the show to go on. Austin Carden pulled off his third Atlanta Dragway 8-12 Jr Dragster win in a row, and J.D. "Doc" Burford was one round win away from his third win in a row, but was stopped in the Sportsman final against Steven Wagner. Brittany Vancica had the quickest car on the grounds, driving her Top Dragster machine to 7.08 and 7.11 second quarter mile times in the 180mph range. The Wilson family had another good day, with dad Brian Wilson finishing runner up in Motorcycle, and sons Adrian and Jacob Wilson qualifying number one in their Junior Dragster classes. Jacob went on to finish third place in 8-12 Jr Dragster.
A camera shy Thomas Bell reeled off an impressive string of 4.55 second passes with his Toccoa, GA based '11 Undercover dragster en route to the Super Pro win against Brian Smith from Flowery Branch. Bell was on another 4.55 pass in the final, but was able to scrub off a little speed against Smith due to a slightly better reaction time, and carded a 4.57 at 144.74mph (4.55 dial). Smith's '05 Undercover dragster worked very well also, crossing the finish line with a 5.22 at 128.66mph (5.21 dial). After the event, Smith commented, "I missed it by that much." Jeremy Hancock, who recently won the NHRA National Dragster Challenge (Super Pro), ended his day as the lone semi-finalist in his Commerce, GA based '05 Undercover dragster.
Fair Play, SC racer Matt Ward enjoyed his third Atlanta Dragway win of the season in Pro class. Ward's '69 Camaro was nearly unbeatable in the final, reacting with a 0.011 time and then running a near-perfect 6.379 at 107.26mph. Ward's competition in the final was none other than recent National Dragster Challenge (Pro class) winner Chad Brewer of Canton, GA. Brewer '73 Nova was also great, with a 0.018 react and a 7.240 at 93.93mph, but crossed the stripe 0.008 seconds behind Ward. Ryan Johnson ('82 Mustang – Pendergrass, GA) earned the semi-finalist portion of the purse. "I want to thank God for keeping everyone safe, and my father in law Wayne for building my engine. It was an honor to race Chad in the final; we go back a long way", said Ward after the event.
"I got another ten points on him today," Motorcycle winner Tim Sutton commented about friend Jay Rhyne (who is now leading the class by only 30 points). Sutton met Brian Wilson of Tallapoosa, GA in the final, and used a small reaction time advantage (0.009 seconds for Sutton and 0.012 seconds for Wilson) and a slightly closer to the dial 9.10 at 138.14mph for the win with his Clermont, GA based '83 Suzuki. Wilson's '82 Suzuki crossed the finish line 0.0125 seconds behind Sutton with an 11.85 at 103.14mph (11.77 dial). Matthew Bates ('05 Suzuki Boulevard – Loganville, GA) tried out racing in Motorcycle class today for the first time and made it to the semi-final round, accompanied by Jay Rhyne ('81 Kawasaki – Athens, GA). "It's his turn to shine. He took my horseshoe away," Rhyne said about Sutton.
Sportsman winner Steven Wagner from Jefferson, GA downplayed his victory (second one in 2011) against J.D. "Doc" Burford, simply saying, "I got a couple of breaks today." However, Wagner had been on the ball throughout the day's competition, and in the final posted a slight breakout 13.203 at 103.16mph (13.21 dial). Doc, who was on track to win his third event in a row, made it easier for Wagner by turning on the dreaded cherry colored foul bulb at the starting line and then also breaking out (13.115 at 111.43mph - 13.12 dial) with his Greeneville, SC based '07 Corvette. Wagner thanked his dad and his family, and then added, "I want to give God the glory." Harold Wilson made it to the semi-final round today with his Winder, GA based '73 Nova.
8-12 Jr Dragster winner Austin Carden (12 – McDonough, GA) went from 40 points down a few races ago to 10 in the lead with today's win against Katie Wilhelm (11 – Commerce, GA), making it three Atlanta Dragway wins in a row. Carden did a good job, using a little better reaction time and an 8.94 at 73.26mph (8.90 dial) for the win. Wilhelm was right there, leaving Carden no room for error, crossing the finish line 0.009 seconds later with a 9.46 at 68.03mph (9.42 dial). Eight year old Jacob Wilson from Tallapoosa, GA earned the semi-finalist trophy for his efforts. Carden said he was feeling a bit rough from having spent the previous evening hanging out with his friends, but still did ok. He then thanked his family and friends for their help.
13-17 Jr Dragster winner and former champion Bailey Denton also downplayed her victory over Maddie Lee of Campobello, SC, thanking God, her dad, and Pop. The 17 year old Denton didn't leave much room for her competitors to win either, posting a final round 7.901 at 81.82mph (7.90 dial). Lee (13 years old) left the starting line just a bit too soon, leaving the red light on, and then posted an off pace 8.19 at 81.55mph (7.90 dial). Zach Hebert from Evans, GA earned the semi-finalist trophy.
