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TS Points Leader
Ronnie Davis Makes
Astounding Offer
PITTSBORO, N.C.
(September 27,
2015): There’s one
event left in the
PDRA’s sophomore
tour, which means
championships are on
the line and a
year’s worth of
racing boils down to
four short rounds.
In Top Sportsman
Ronnie “The King”
Davis leads the
pack, 185 points
over current
reigning champion
Dan Ferguson.
Ferguson has been no
slouch competitor
this year, leading
the points from the
season opener, where
he won, up until the
Memphis Drags. This
means that the
young, self-funded
driver from
Pennsylvania was the
sole points leader
for Top Sportsman
for 13 consecutive
races.
The weekend after
the PDRA Dragstock
event in Rockingham,
N.C. Ferguson took
his 2002 Firebird to
Norwalk Raceway Park
for the Shakedown at
Norwalk. One fateful
run, Ferguson
clocked a 6.41
elapsed time at 210
MPH. Everything was
smooth until he
pulled the
parachutes, and one
got tangled in his
wheelie bars sending
Ferguson on two
wheels and up
against the wall.
While he managed to
walk away unscathed,
the Firebird told a
different story.
The green and orange
machine would
require extensive
repairs, including a
total front half
rebuild. A setback
of this magnitude
could potentially
keep Ferguson from
defending his
championship at the
PDRA World Finals.
When Ronnie Davis
heard the news, his
reaction was quite
unlike anyone
expected. He offered
Ferguson his backup
car.
“He’s a good kid - a
hard worker. And I
respect that,” told
Davis. “If I win
this thing, I want
to win it. I don’t
want it given to me.
The car is here.
It’s a good car.
He’s like me- he’s
going to want to run
his own car that
he’s more
comfortable in, but
the offer will
stand.
“I don’t run that
car at all,” Davis
said of his backup
car. “I got it out
of what I call the
moth balls two
nights ago and
started putting new
belts in it, which I
needed to do anyway.
Dan and I are
friends. He’s a
young boy and I
tried to help him
some when he first
got into racing. So
we built a
friendship.”
Ferguson does,
indeed, prefer to
race his own car and
is working
tirelessly to get it
fixed in time for
Virginia. Still, he
says if he doesn’t
get the Firebird
repaired, he may
take Davis up on his
offer. “I can’t tell
for sure if it’s
going to be done in
time for Virginia,
but we’re trying our
best.”
With Davis’
three-round points
lead, Ferguson
realizes that he’s
got his work cut out
for him in Virginia.
“I might just try
and get Ronnie first
round and settle it
there,” he
continued. “In
reality it’s going
to be hard
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to
win it, with only four rounds left.
That’s why I say I might as well just
go ahead and race Ronnie first round.
If I beat him I got a chance, and if I
don’t, he wins it.
“I’m very proud of what I’ve done so
far. I’m competitive. I’ve got high
standards for myself. I’m hard on
myself. I recognize that I made a lot
of mistakes this year, but whether I
win it or not I’ll be proud of what I
did.”
“You always go to win,” Davis said of
his plans for holding on to the points
lead and winning . “I don’t try to
pull any shenanigans or deal with
that. I let it sort itself out on the
race track. I’ll have the car ready to
go, show up and do the best we can do.
Hope we have some blessings and let it
fall where it falls. I hope Dan gets
his car back together, but if for some
reason he doesn’t, my orange car will
be ready for him.”
Should Davis become the second-ever
PDRA Top Sportsman World Champion,
this would be his eighth championship
(divisional and national titles) in
his 25 year Top Sportsman career.
Davis has been a pioneer in Top
Sportsman, paving the way for the
class to be admitted into NHRA
competition. While Davis continues to
run some NHRA events (he won the Gator
Nationals this year), he says he
prefers the competitiveness of PDRA.
“Even though I started Top Sportsman
in NHRA in 2002 and have been the
class title sponsor in Division 2 ever
since, PDRA is still my favorite
racing and probably all I’m going to
do next year,” Davis relayed. “The
[Traction] Twins can prep a track like
nobody else. I enjoy the qualifying, a
fast field. That’s what Top Sportsman
used to be about. I like having a real
quick 16 car field. It’s the baddest
of the bad, in my opinion. Although
NHRA is the bigger company and has
been around since the ‘50s, you better
bring your best stuff when you come
over to PDRA. I’ve seen plenty of NHRA
guys that say they can’t qualify in
PDRA. I really like PDRA Top
Sportsman. I like where it’s going. I
think they’ve done a good job with it
and it’s going to grow and grow and
grow.”
For more information on the PDRA World
Finals visit
www.pdra660.com.
ABOUT THE PDRA
Based in Pittsboro, North Carolina,
the Professional Drag Racers
Association is the top sanctioning
body in the United States for the
sport of eighth-mile drag racing. The
PDRA’s professional categories include
Pro Extreme, Pro Nitrous, Pro Boost,
and Pro Extreme Motorcycle along with
Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Pro Jr.
Dragster, and Top Jr. Dragster. The
2015 PDRA schedule consists of ten
national events. For more on the
world’s premier eighth mile drag
racing organization visit
www.pdra660.com.
Follow the PDRA:
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram,
YouTube.
Photos: Gary Rowe / RaceWorks.com
PRESS CONTACT: Lisa Collier
Professional Drag Racers Association
lisa@pdra660.com |
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