A threat of wet weather didn’t prevent the racers from coming out for the Summit ET event at the Atlanta Dragway Saturday.
Howard Bowman of Homer cruised to the Motorcycle finals on his ’02 Harley, next to Brian Wilson of Tallapoosa, on an ’82 Suzuki.
Bowman got the handicap tree due to his 15.10 dial-in against Wilson’s 8.80-second prediction.
Bowman cut a .019 light, and the wait may have been too much for Wilson, who launched a bit early with a -.002 red light, automatically handing the win to Bowman. Bowman finished his victory lap in 15.32 seconds at 85.74 mph, while Wilson ran it out in 8.82 seconds at 146.26 mph.
Jesse Young of Danielsville advanced to the Super Pro finals in his ’00 Undercover dragster, facing off against the ’71 Vega of John Hobbs of Conyers, who was the semi-finalist at the last Summit ET event.
Young was dialed at 4.76, and poised to wait for Hobbs’ Vega, dialed in at 6.54. Hobbs left the line with a .044 reaction time, outdone by Young’s launch with a .021 green light. Hobbs ran .02 seconds over with a 6.56 elapsed time at 104.60 mph; Young got the better package with a 4.77 run at 138.86 mph, taking the win with a .02 margin of victory.
Tallapoosa’s Bruce Wilson made it to the Pro finals again, as he faced Middleton’s Tim Prince. Wilson cut the better light with a .016 reaction against Prince, who left the line with a .044 green. Prince ran 7.11 on his 7.09 dial-in at 95.44 mph, but Wilson’s start made his 6.86-second run, on a 6.83 dial-in at 94.93 mph, a victorious one.
Rickey Morris of Ellenwood came to the Sportsman finals seeking revenge against Cumming’s Mel Abney, who beat Morris’s son Mickey Morris in the semi-final round. Abney, dialed in at 13.18, cut the better light with a .051 reaction. Morris, dialed at 14.87, lost ground with a .072 green. Abney couldn’t catch Morris at the top end, running a 13.27 elapsed time at 106 mph, after Morris took the win running dead-on at 90.44 mph.
The 8-12 Junior Dragster finals featured 12-year-old Maddie Lee of Campobello, SC, against 10-year-old Wesley Syme of Atlanta. Syme was dialed in at 9.10, with Lee closely following with an 8.98 dial-in. Syme left the line too early, setting off the red bulb with a -.012 foul. Lee cut a .038 reaction time, and crossed the finish line in 8.89 seconds at 73.01 mph, as Syme held out with a 9.11 second run at 69.95 mph.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Commerce News or The Banks County News.
