With most of the attention on the world's fastest
man on 10.5s,Tim Lynch and Sexton's teammate Chuck Ulsch, no one seemed to
expect Sexton to step up and take the event and the Mickey Thompson Tire
sponsored World Championship.
Sexton's 4.43 in qualifying trailed only Lynch's 4.39. Lynch slowed to a 4.62 in the
second round after getting way out of shape and fell to Steve Kirk's 4.55. Also in
the second round, Sexton's Mobley Racing teammate Chuck Ulsch lost to Todd
Moyer's Texas-based turbo-powered Camaro 4.53 to a right-there 4.55. That
unlocked the door for Sexton and he pushed it wide open. Sexton put together
possibly four of the most consistent runs in 10.5 history. His 4.47 had already
defeated a troubled Bill Lutz in round 1. His second round 4.48 took care of Jim
Robbins 4.59. In the semis, he put away Bryan Markiewicz's 4.63 with another 4.47.
The wait for the final round had car owners, sponsors, drivers and crew chiefs
pacing the pavement. By this time, everyone had figured out that with the points
system allowing each driver to drop their worst race, that Sexton could win by a
mere 2 points. Speculation was rampant that there would be some kind of deal or
arrangement to determine the outcome of this all-important round. Moyer put an end
to all that talk when he left on Sexton in the GTO and laid down a stout 4.52. Sexton
was not to be denied, however: and he answered with yet another 4.47.
Congratulations to Richard Sexton and Team Mobley.
Sheppard Race Cars Limited Street championship didn't quite have
as much drama as 10.5 but
provided some exciting side-by-side racing as well. Eric Dillard and the Berry Racing
Team knew coming in to the event there was no mathematical way they could catch
Darrin Hoyle for the points championship; but they came loaded for bear anyway.
Dillard qualified # 1 with a near-record pass of 4.77 and never looked back. In the
finals Dillard took out the new champ-to-be Hoyle with an exciting 4.80 to Hoyle's 4.85.
Factoring in Hoyle's .0254 to Dillard's .0681 reaction time advantage and the margin
of victory was a mere .0048. Congrats to the Berry racing Team on the win and to
Darrin and Emily Hoyle on their world championship.
The banner on the spectator bridge read welcome to Shane Stack country and he
didn't disappoint. He qualified #1 in TCI EZ Street with a 4.89 just ahead of new series
champion David Reese's 4.93. In the semi-finals he defeated Billy Smith with a 4.87,
which setup a final-round match-up with reigning NMRA Drag Radial Champ John
Kolivas who had disposed of Reese in their semi-final race. Stack, the hometown
hero, took the popular win with a 4.88 to a game 5.00. Congratulations to David Reese
and team on the amazing comeback and winning the championship. Also to Shane
Stack and the entire "Thrillbilly" team on their race win.
In RaceCoachSales.com Modified Street, Ryan Rakestraw resumed his winning ways
by qualifying #1 and defeating a red-lighting Richard Reagan in the finals. Due to
several cars suffering season ending engine damage in last week's race, the field
started out short of entries. It became even smaller after Spurgeon Akins suffered
a horrific fire during Friday night's testing and Bryan Murphy disintergrated an engine,
also on Friday. Rakestraw is also the first Modifed Street points champion. Congrats
to him, car owner Scott Taylor and the crew.
Defending Southern Truck Parts 5.30 class champion Kenny Acree did not relinquish
his title quietly, as he picked up the win in Huntsville. In the final he defeated teammate
Paul Baxter with a dead-on 5.30 to a 5.34. Scott Pennington picked up his first ever
#1 qualfying position with a 5.303. Congratulations to Jermy and David Ellis for their
World Championship season and to the Acree family on their win.
Industrial Depot 6.0, Lebron "The Man" Hill also parlayed an event win into the
season championship. "The Man's" trip to the finals included victories over Mr. 6.0
Jody Voyles and Carolina winner,Scott Flowers. In the finals, Lebron defeated
Bo Conner's beautiful Camaro on a holeshot by running 6.02 to a quicker but losing
6.01. Mike Davis was #1 qualifier with an outstanding 6.0009. Kudos to Lebron Hill,
Ashley Acree and the STP team on the championship.
The Atlanta Speed Shop 7.0 title went to local racer Lucas Bendall in his early-
model Chevy II. He defeated L.Pharr in the final 7.03 to a 7.02. B.Taylor was #1
qualifier with a 7.0006. After coming into the race tied with Ricky Pennington,
Al Hause claimed the championship by going one round further in eliminations. Ricky
bowed out in round 3 while Al lost in round 4. Congratulations to "the Doctor".
We here at the ORSCA would like to thank our racers for a great 2007 season.
Our sponsors
Mickey Thompson
Sheppard Race Cars
TCI Automotive
Race Coaches.com
Southern Truck Parts
Industrial Depot
Atlanta Speed Shop
Berry Motor Sports
Performance Two way
Thanks to the entire ORSCA staff for a exciting year
Many thanks are owed to our sponsors for allowing each one of our racers and every person that is involved in ORSCA to do what they Love.
We are the luckiest people on Earth. We get to go racing.