RACERS FINALLY ENJOY ACTION AT ATLANTA DRAGWAY DURING FIRST RACE OF DOUBLE HEADER

(Commerce, GA – April 26) After two rain outs, Summit ET racers finally got to enjoy a day at the races at Atlanta Dragway. To help make up for the cancelled races Atlanta Dragway hosted two separate Summit ET events today, which was well received by all. Following is the first event story.

“It must be the new helmet I got from Jeremy Hancock”, quipped Super Pro winner Hank Wilhelm from Maysville, GA. Wilhelm was on a hot streak, and continued that through the final, defeating Oxford, GA racer Joe Haddon. Wilhelm’s .004 react in his ’96 Ed Quay dragster sealed the deal, along with a .02 over 5.06 at 131.48mph (5.04 dial). Haddon didn’t cut any slack with his ’08 Undercover, crossing the finish line 0.013 seconds after with a 4.79 at 143.17mph (4.77 dial). Mike Brown (’96 Horton – Covington, GA) was the lone semi-finalist. Wilhelm thanked his crew, including sister Katie and parents Marty and Linda Wilhelm.

It was a safe bet to predict a black camaro was going to win Pro class. Dickey Forrester from Hickory Flat, GA prevailed in his ’68 Camaro against Matt Ward of Fair Play, SC in a ’69 Camaro. Forrester reacted first with a near-perfect 0.001 second reaction time, and backed it up with a 7.55 at 88.70mph (7.54 dial). Ward ran a dead-on 6.409 at 107.35mph, but an other wise great 0.023 react was only good for second place this time. Eric Smith (’71 Nova – Baldwin, GA) was the semi-final finisher. “It’s pure luck. My only thought when it left the starting line (with the front wheels up in the air) was I hope it goes straight,” added Forrester. Chad Brewer commented, “Shoot, that car doesn’t need a driver!”

Long time Ellenwood, GA racer Rickey Morris did not even intend to race today, as he came to the track to help his son Mickey earn his NHRA competition license. However, the lure of racing proved irresistible, and he entered his wife’s ’06 Trailblazer SS into the Sportsman competition. Although his final round package would have been extremely hard to beat (reaction time 0.014 seconds and 14.648 at 93.27mph on a 14.64 dial), his opponent Russell Haskins left the starting line in his Marietta, GA based ’13 Mustang 0.026 seconds too early, lighting up the dreaded cherry colored foul bulb. Haskins chose to run it on out to a 12.54 at 112.73mph (12.50 dial). Jesse Young (’07 RAM – Danielsville, GA) ended his day in the semi-final round. Morris then thanked his wife Kathy for letting him use her car.

David Fletcher from Lawrenceville, GA returned to the winners circle and took the Super Pro Bike points lead on his ’84 Kawasaki with a final round win against Clermont racer Tim Sutton’s ’83 Suzuki. Fletcher posted a good 9.28 at 137.29mph (9.25 dial), but received the automatic win when Sutton’s machine left the dreaded tomato colored bulb glowing with a -0.014 second red light, coupled with a breakout 8.94 at 144.29mph (8.95 dial). Zach Hulsey of Clermont, GA did a great job getting to the semi-final round with his no delay box ’82 Suzuki, and the other semi-finalist was defending champion Jay Rhyne (’82 Suzuki – Athens, GA). “It’s always good to win the first race; it is a good confidence builder,” said Fletcher. He then thanked Don and Andre Chavous for their help.

Randy Barnett has been riding since 2005, and began racing last year. He earned the distinction of being the first 2014 Street ET Bike winner at Atlanta Dragway against Tim Houghland from Lawrenceville, GA (’12 Hayabusa). Barnett’s Colbert, GA based ’08 Suzuki GSXR 1000 posted the winning time of 9.48 seconds at 131.59mph (9.45 target). Houghland was close behind, but second across the big end stripe with a time of 9.37 at 153.09mph (9.35 dial). Ken Fore (’05 Suzuki Boulevard – Lavonia, GA) earned the semi-finalist portion of the purse. Barnett thanked the track for a great event, and also his wife Kay for letting him race, along with Fulp Motorsports and Hardcore Cycles.

Congratulations to 13 year old Atlanta Dragway Jr Dragster racer Rachel Flowers. Flowers was invited to compete at the recent NHRA 4-Wide event held at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, SC. First, she won the event against Maddie Lee (16), Treasure Severance (15) and Angelica Severance (14). As a reward, she then was given the chance to compete against three Mellow Yellow Pro Drivers and former JDRL alumni members on Sunday; Top Fuel racers Leah Pritchett and J.R. Todd and Funny Car racer Blake Alexander. To her delight, she also prevailed against them, giving her family a memory that won’t soon be forgotten.

Tori Crowe (14 – Covington, GA) has been racing since she was eight years old, and has finish deep in the rounds prior to today. This time, Crowe enjoyed winning her first 13-17 Jr Dragster race, against Daniel Bruce (also 14 and from Covington, GA). Crowe used a tenth of a second reaction time advantage, coupled with an 8.96 at 72.15mph (8.94 dial) to take the win. Bruce broke out with a 7.88 at 82.26mph (7.90 dial) trying to catch Crowe. Austin Carden (14 – McDonough, GA) made it to the semi-final round. Crowe thanked her crew chiefs Mark and Jeremy Hancock, and also her parents, Kelley and Craig Crowe. Bruce noted they struggled during the day, breaking a chain, which then bent the sprocket, and also dealing with a fuel leak.

Ten year old Wallace Wilson from Taylors, SC used a telepathic 0.003 second reaction time to seal the 8-12 Jr Dragster win against Nate “Hot Rod” Halsey from Clermont, GA. Wilson crossed the win stripe first with an 8.97 at 73.46mph on an 8.95 dial. Halsey was close behind with a dead-on 8.954 at 71.78mph (8.95 dial). The semi-final finishers were Ryan Blanton (11 – Jefferson, GA) and Chris Patrick (12 – Stockbridge, GA). “Thank God for helping me get this far, and my dad helped me a lot. His dad, James Wilson recently sold his race car so that he could devote his time to helping Wallace race. Halsey mentioned he was happy that they made it to the final with their Boom Shakalaka Motivational Tubing car that was formerly owned and built by Bill Gillen.