Davis Plans Two Top Sportsman Entries for ADRL at Rockingham
Written by Ian Tocher
SUWANEE, GA — Fresh off making history last weekend at Virginia Motorsports Park (VMP) as the first driver to compete in three different American Drag Racing League (ADRL) classes, Ronnie Davis is planning to step up his
program next month in the ADRL’s Dragstock VIII at historic Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina.
“There is a very good chance you will see two Davis Golf Cart Sales ’63 Corvettes in the Top Sportsman class at the ADRL race in Rockingham,” the defending NHRA Division 2 Top Sportsman champion said. “I’ll be in my black Tommy Mauney Pro Mod car in Top Sportsman again, but the driver for my second Mauney-built car has not yet been named.
“I actually asked if I could drive both cars in Top Sportsman,” he added with a smile. “But I don’t think ADRL will allow that.”
Considering his performance at VMP in the ADRL’s only bracket-racing class for full-sized cars, that may come as good news to the competition.
After dialing in his car during the first two qualifying sessions, Davis turned on three of the four nitrous systems available on his Roush Yates-prepared, 822-cubic-inch engine and blasted to a class record 4.09-seconds pass at exactly 180 miles per hour to take the number-one starting position.
After getting past Donny Thompson and Wayne Rogers in eliminations, Davis faced Roush Yates teammate Sandy Wilkins in the semi-finals.
“What hurt me there was obviously Sandy’s perfect reaction time (.000), but what really hurt me was when I went to stage I hit the transbrake and the car rolled in probably three or four inches and it startled me,” Davis explained.
“I knew if I let it go when I saw yellow the way I’m used to that I’d red light, so I tried to slow down, but it’s very difficult to hold the transbrake longer than normal. I ended up with not really a bad light, a .031, but it made the difference at the top end where I ran a 4.31 on a .30 dial and he went 4.37 on a .35 dial.”
Wilkins went on to finish runner-up to Glenn Teets Jr. in the final round.
“I really enjoyed racing with the ADRL in Top Sportsman,” said Davis, who previously had competed in the ADRL’s Pro Nitrous and Extreme 10.5 categories. “I thought it was a very well-run race and don’t have any complaints at all. Plus, I love doorslammers and it was a lot of fun to be around strictly doorslammer cars.”
With a 4.40 bump time after 25 cars made qualifying laps in Virginia, Davis said he expects even better runs at Dragstock VIII.
“I understand ADRL may allow more entries at Rockingham and if they do it could be quite a bit quicker field with maybe a low-.30s bump,” he said. “I know for me that 4.09 was nowhere near the best we could do; if conditions are right I think we’ll go a lot faster.”
