Waddell, Tucker Win Drag Race Titles

by Michael Giacone

Samoa – Dale Waddell and Scott Tucker were two of the class champions at the Top Eliminator event held Sunday at the Samoa Drag Strip. Other winners included Troy Beck, John Terry, John Widmann, Robbie Waddell and David Silva.

Waddell was the top driver in Super Pro as he drove his 1927 Ford to an elapsed time of 10.47 at 128 mph to defeat the 1971 Duster of Joe Scheel. Richard Williams was the top qualifier and third place finisher in his 1923 Ford altered.

Tucker won the Pro bracket in his 1968 Barracuda and took over the class points lead with his victory. Tucker ran a time of 11.15 at 117 mph to win a double breakout race with the 1971 Charger of Dan Goekler. Hans Tautscher was third on his 1978 Kawasaki.

Beck drove his 1969 GTO to the top spot in the Quick Street class by running the quarter mile in 12.08 at 107 mph. Doug Atkins was second in his 1969 Camaro while Nelson Avelar garnered third place with his 1964 Nova.

Terry bested all the Street class drivers in his 1970 Nova with a time of 16.40 at 77 mph. Terry’s final round opponent was Brian Stone and his 1967 Firebird.

Widmann won the motorcycle class atop his 1997 Kawasaki running the strip at 9.04 at 125 mph. Jeff Daniel was runner-up on his 2002 Suzuki bike.

Robbie Waddell won the Junior Dragster bracket with a time of 10.86. His final round opponent was Adam Smith who broke on the starting line. Tim Ellsworth and Tyler Hutton were the semifinalists. Kara Pettit won the Consolation bracket with a time of 8.82.

The Gamblers bracket victory went to Davis Silva in his 1987 Mustang. Silva clocked an elapsed time of 11.65 at 106 mph to defeat the 1990 GMC of Bart Overson in the final round.

The next drag race will be held on September 12 and will be the Samoa Championships, which feature Championship brackets in addition to a regular bracket program.