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Silance
Slays Again
PITTSBORO, N.C. (December 4, 2017): Success seems to come
easy to Dewayne Silance, but behind the 3,000 hogs at
Silance Hog Farm and three Silance Service Centers across
Jacksonville, North Carolina, behind the now nine
divisional and national championships is years of hard
work and dedication.
Silance won two IHRA Top Sportsman World Championships and
a couple of divisional championships back in the early
2000s, but took a break from TS competition a few years
later, switching to try his hand with a Pro Mod. During
that time he racked up four championships with the EOPM.
But the workload and price tag of Pro Mod made the
self-supported racer return to his roots. TS called his
name again and last year Silance made his PDRA debut. “I
was a little bit rusty,” Silance confessed. “I got some
practice in and this year was fantastic. I had a real good
year this year. The first race I didn’t do good, but after
that I started winning.”
After that first event, Silance quickly put himself in
championship chase mode, going to a semi-final at GALOT
Motorsports Park and then winning at Darlington Dragway,
one of his home stops on the tour. As is often the case in
Top Sportsman, the points battle remained close all
through the year. SIlance used another win in Indy and a
second semi-final at GALOT to pull out front of Randy
Perkinson and Henry Underwood.
Everyone wants to win at Indy. The historical facility
holds a place in the industry that few tracks can compete
with. “I hadn’t ever been to Indy,” Silance said. “I had
heard a lot about it, of course. We won Indy, and that was
a good time. That was a highlight.”
That win would be a major factor in Silance becoming the
2017 MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman World Champion.
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“First I want to thank my
wife, Zonnie, and my three kids, Chaz, Kenna and Emma. I got two guys that
go with me all the time, Jeremy Evans and Tommy Doss. They help me and
Chaz a lot at the race. I want to thank Cameron Torque Converter
Specialities, Charlie Buck and Jerry Bickel Race Cars.”
There were over 100 cars entered in PDRA Top Sportsman at the World
Finals. The class is popular for a reason. The new format of having an
Elite 16 and then a secondary 16 or 32 car field (based on the number of
entries) means the class still holds prestige and, at the same time,
allows a greater number of cars to participate.
I think it’s pretty good myself,” Silance said of the new Top Sportsman
format. “I want to run the Elite Top Sportsman. Now with IHRA folded up,
having the two categories gives people a place to run.”
Silance is keeping his 2010 Jerry Bickel Camaro for next year, but already
has a bigger Charlie Buck powerplant in the works. He’s upgrading from his
762 to an 888 to take on the intense Elite competition. He’ll be back to
defend his title in 2018, with son Chaz racing alongside him in Top
Dragster. They’ll continue to race together as a family, and, if history
repeats itself, continue to find a lot of success along the way.
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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