Veteran meets rookie in Top Eliminator final

Ainsley scores first win in Jr Dragster

class=Section2>

By Wendy Curling

After taking a few years off from drag racing, Rodney Edwards of Smithfield is back on the track running stronger than ever. Sporting a new set of wheels, Edwards now stages up in a dark-green Ford Maverick, just one of several drag cars he has owned over the years.

The former Top Eliminator track champion scored his first win at Northeast Dragway Saturday night since making his return to racing. “ This is not my first win, though,” he was quick to add as he stood in the winner’s circle with his eight-year-old daughter and “crew chief.” “I already won up at Dinwiddie (Virginia Motor Sports Park) and it’s hard to win up there” he said and elaborated by saying, “You have to run a lot of dragsters.”

Oddly enough, Edwards was paired with a dragster in the final round, stepping up to the challenge with style posting a .004 reaction time and running dead on his 6.15 dial for the win.

His opponent, Javon Creekmore, made an impressive showing himself as he piloted the Donald Wiggins owned Race Tech dragster for the first time, taking it all the way to the finals.

Wiggins had been looking for a driver to fill in on the race days that conflicted with his longshoreman work schedule. Creekmore had never been faster than 6.60 in his door car and that had Wiggins’s friends doubting his decision to turn him loose in a vehicle capable of 4.70 second passes. But he never doubted his friend’s ability. “I knew he was ready, and he proved it tonight, “beamed Wiggins.

Julie Ainsley of Chesapeake will have plenty to talk about as she put her Junior Dragster named “Motor Mouth” in the winner’s circle for the first time ever. Ainsley faced last week’s winner, Danielle Hill in the final where the margin of victory was a barely measurable .0002 at the finish line.

Ainsley and Hill are scheduled to attend the Scotty Richardson Drag Racing School this coming week where they hope to learn skills that will earn them even more final round appearances.

Earl Watson was feeling a little more confident as he took first place in the Modified Class. Watson, a long time racer, has not enjoyed as much success recently as he would like but he said with a smile and an air of confidence, “I think I may be back.” Opponents in the Modified Class, including runner up Bill Haskell, are well aware that Watson and his familiar purple and white Mercury Capri never really left.

Tony Boone of Tyner picked up his second straight win in the Street Class over Paul Cohen of Camden and Tom Reid bested Don Weatherway for the Pro Bike title.

4.90 and 5.90 Index will bring heads-up, side by side action back on Saturday, May 15^th along with Bracket racing in all five regular classes. Gates will open at 1:00 p.m., time runs begin at 3:00 p.m. followed by eliminations at 5:00 p.m.

Friday night Test and Tune will be held from 7 to 10:00 p.m.

Log onto www.northeastdragway.net for more details and upcoming events.