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Two
Generations Share the Spotlight
Travis Davis Scores First PDRA Championship Alongside
Son
PITTSBORO, N.C. (November 27, 2017): There’s a new king in
Drag 965 Pro Extreme Motorcycle. Since the PDRA’s
inception, Eric McKinney has sat upon the proverbial
throne. He started out 2017 winning the first event and it
looked that his vanquishing trend would continue. That was
until Travis Davis. This season he was ready to give a
championship run serious focus, as he quickly illustrated.
He stepped up and won the next four events, subsequently
ending McKinney’s three year domination in PDRA.
“It feels great,” Davis relayed. “The McKinneys have been
on top of the pack ever since the beginning. If you’re
gonna win a championship, you got to do your homework and
put the time and effort in. It all worked out for us in
the end.”
Although beating his friend and competitor out for the
2017 Pro Extreme Motorcycle World Championship was
certainly a cause for celebration, it wasn’t the best
thing that happened for Davis and his family this year.
His son, Brayden, won the MegaCorp Top Junior Dragster
World Championship, as well, making them the first father
and son to win PDRA championships in the same season.
“For him to win was more important to me and Brandy than
me winning the championship,” Davis confessed. “Them
junior dragster kids are tough. It’s bracket racing.
There’s a lot of skill involved in what they have to do.
He eats, sleeps drag racing. That’s all he does. Him
winning the championship was icing on the cake for us.”
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It was certainly a good year
for the Davis family, one that will go down in the history books. While
this is not Davis’ first bike championship, making history with his son
makes this one that much more memorable. That wasn’t the only significant
marker for Davis this year, however. Davis made some pretty incredible
runs en route to his championship, including a first-ever sub four second
side-by-side pass with Eric McKinney.
“It’s hard to run a 3.99. I tried for years and years and I finally done
it. One race in the final I went a 3.98. Then the next race I went a 3.99
and then a 3.98 in the final against Eric’s 3.99. So we both run
side-by-side 3s and that’s a major accomplishment on both our parts.”
While Davis has been a strong contender for years, he recognizes that his
focus was more intent this year, playing a major part in his triumph.
“I made a few changes on the setup that I run, but the main difference was
that I had time to really focus this year. Not that I don’t take it
serious every time I go, but I found something that worked and I worked
around it the rest of the season. You’re racing the track and the weather.
And that was the biggest thing - I paid attention. I got some car guys in
Pro Nitrous and Top Sportsman that race real fast and I listened to them a
lot about what they do and tried to learn off that, too. It’s basically
just paying attention to what I’m doing and really focusing on my riding
and tuning skills.”
As with most successful race teams, Davis had a host of people behind him,
pushing him forward.
“The first one I’d like to thank is my wife, Brandy. She helps me out a
bunch. Also, my son, Brayden, my mom and dad, Brandy’s mom and dad, Walt
Timblin with Timblin Chassis, ProFab for the exhaust systems we run, Vance
& Hines crankshafts for their involvement with the class, Falicon
Crankshafts, Fast by Gast, McKinney Motorsports for sponsoring the class.
They’re a big help and real good friends with us. And Drag 965 for
sponsoring the class. The sheik also helps me personally some, so a big
thanks to him. MTC Engineering, Dan and Kathy with DTM. If I forgot
anybody, I apologize. There’s a big crowd behind me that helps me.”
The PDRA recently announced major rule changes for PXM, including opening
the category to turbo powered applications. Davis is excited for the
changes coming. He owns the current turbo bike quarter-mile ET record and
is also the fastest unofficial turbo bike in the eighth-mile.
“I started professional drag bike racing back in ‘99. I mostly raced what
we are fixing to see now - injected turbo bikes. Then I changed up to Pro
Mod bikes when the ADRL started. I’ve been racing Pro Mod and turbo bikes
ever since then.
“The turbo bike that we run is competitive with the Pro Mods. My dad might
ride it at a few of the races next year. I really think turbos coming in
there is a good thing to get the bike count up. I’ve been to car races
where there’s turbo, nitrous, blower cars all in the same class. It really
gets the people on their feet with the diversity. I hope it plays out the
same way with the motorcycles. There’s a lot of those old bikes around and
I think they’re going to come out and race with us.”
Davis got into motorcycles, thanks to his dad, who, as Davis mentioned,
races himself and also owns a motorcycle/ATV shop. With the family
patriarch riding the turbo in PXM next season, it’s likely the Davis
family isn’t done making history yet.
Travis, Brayden and the other PDRA World Champions will celebrate their
victories at the PDRA Awards Banquet December 9 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Tickets and more information can be found at 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, Extreme Pro Stock and Pro Extreme
Motorcycle along with several sportsman and various
exhibition categories. The 2017 PDRA schedule consists of
eight national events. For more on the world’s premier
eighth-mile drag racing organization visit
www.pdra660.com. Follow the PDRA: Facebook, Instagram,
Youtube.
Photo: Gary Rowe / RaceWorks.com / PDRA660.com
PRESS CONTACT: Lisa Collier
Professional Drag Racers Association
lisa@pdra660.com
704.692.4636
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