King’ Crowned in NHRA Top Sportsman Championship
Story by Ian Tocher
‘SUWANEE, GA – Anything less than victory would have meant failure. At least that’s how Ronnie “The King” Davis felt entering the final NHRA Division II Top Sportsman race of the year Oct. 15-17, at Silver Dollar Raceway in
Reynolds, Georgia.
“We had to win the race at Silver Dollar to win the championship,” Davis said. “And we did.”
The Suwanee, Georgia-based golf cart dealer entered the event third, trailing only Jeff Pittman and points leader Billy Vaughn. His race got off to a great start, as Davis qualified his nitrous-oxide-injected 1963 Corvette in first place with a 6.53-seconds pass at 215.13 mph over the Silver Dollar quarter mile.
After 21 cars entered for a 32-car field, Davis enjoyed a free pass in round one, with Vaughn and Pittman also advancing, but a loss for Vaughn in round two left him with 304 points for the year. Pittman fell next in round three, stranding him at 295 points, while Davis still had two more rounds to go in order to earn his second NHRA Div. II Top Sportsman championship.
A low-lying sun nearly cost Davis his chance in the semis as it shone straight on the starting tree, making it difficult for him to see the signal to go and causing his worst reaction time of the day. The consistency of his Corvette in running just six-thousandths of a second over a 6.83 dial-in saved the day, however, and set up a final-round match with Mississippi racer Vince Hoda to determine the event winner and the 2010 Div. II champion.
After again dialing in at 6.83, Davis left with a nine-thousandths advantage off the start, then posted a winning 6.834 at 201.43 to beat Hoda and his 2000 Firebird that broke out by 12 thousandths against a 6.96 dial.
More importantly, the round win delivered the 11 points Davis needed to edge Vaughn by a single marker for the 2010 NHRA Div. II Top Sportsman championship.
“It was pretty exciting to win by just one point, but I knew if I could do my part of the deal the car would get me through and it ran perfect all day,” Davis said. “The weather was very nice and I want to commend the track owners, Ed and Dot Swearingen, on having an outstanding race track; it was a really, really good surface to race on. It was a perfect weekend.”
Following the race, Davis dedicated the championship to Calvin Pittman, the father of close friend and on-track rival Jeff Pittman, who is currently fighting a courageous battle against cancer.
“It’s the least I could do. Calvin is a big race fan and was always with Jeff at the races, but he always pulled for me, too—except when I was racing Jeff!” Davis said. “I know it was hard for Calvin not to be at this race, but after the race was over I spoke with him by phone to let him know, Big Daddy, this one’s for you.”
After previously winning the title in 2006, Davis now has two NHRA Div. II championships and three runner-up finishes since 2002, as well as five IHRA Top Sportsman championships to his credit.
Ronnie Davis Racing greatly appreciates the sponsorship and support of Rock Batteries, J.H. Global Star Golf Carts, Hickory Enclosed Trailers & Race Performance Motor Coach, TracStar Satellite Systems, Goodyear, CSR, VP Racing Fuels, TCI, Moroso, Magnaflow, Hedman Hedders, Auto Meter, Torque Converter Services, Braswell Carburetors, MSD, Penske Shocks, Chapman Auto Body, Fulton Competition, and Tommy Mauney Race Cars.
