Defending PDRA world champion Travis Davis was dealing with a gremlin in Friday qualifying at DragWars presented by Modern Racing, but the Georgia rider got his Timblin-built Suzuki figured out for race day. A little luck helped, too. Davis ended up seeing the win light illuminated in his lane when his final-round opponent, Ashley Owens, went red. Davis ran his slowest pass of eliminations, a 4.082 at 172.19, while Owens threw away a 4.051 at 171.95.
“All the competition’s tough,” Davis said. “The guys who haven’t been so fast, they can step up and run a number at any time. Sometimes I get a little relaxed on the tree and I’m behind. I’m just glad everything came together and we won tonight. The bike stayed together and I didn’t have to do anything to it.”
In the first round, Davis and championship rival Chris Garner-Jones left the starting line with nearly identical reaction times, but Davis pulled away with his 4.069 at 175.09 over Garner-Jones’ 4.084 at 171.49. He was consistent in the semis, laying down a 4.068 at 174.71 while opponent Gerald Smith went red. With Davis’ win over Garner-Jones in the first round and his third win of the season, he clinched his third PDRA world championship.
Owens went into eliminations as the No. 1 qualifier aboard his McKinney Motorsports Hayabusa. He ran a 4.15 at 172.21 to eliminate Terry Wynn in the opening round before firing off a 4.052 at 172.06 on a semifinal single.
It’s the second straight PDRA title for the Timblin Chassis racer.
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