Redwood Harley-Davidson /
Sportsman Motorcycle Class
Beautiful weather was on hand at the Bella Vista Realty Primo Eliminator, the 1st event of the year, and a wonderful start to the 51st season of racing at the historic Samoa Dragstrip.
Kirk Speelman, who earned the #1 Qualifier award many times during the 2005 season, picked up where he left off and again earned the award (over thirteen other racers) with a lightning quick .005 reaction time during qualifications.
Speelman advanced to the semi-finals, where he was eliminated by first time snowmobile racer Mike Pettit. Mike Pires, who defeated current NHRA Division 7 Points Leader John Widmann in the ¼ finals, was the other semi-finalist.
In the final round, Wayne Cox, riding the 1997 Kawasaki ZX-7 for Black & White Motorsports, defeated Pettit and his Ski-Doo (9.014 @ 143.45 mph vs. 12.469 @ 96.53 mph) to earn the win.
Speaking of his win, Cox wished to thank teammate John Widmann for all of his assistance, as well as the many sponsors of Black & White Motorsports.
Cox said, “It’s great to win today, a great way to start the season, but the huge turnout last night for the EPD “Street Legal Drags” was even better (approximately 200 racers and 500 spectators attended the event). The whole idea behind Black & White Motorsports is to promote safe racing in a controlled environment, to ‘Keep the racing ON the track and OFF the street’. If last night is any indication, it looks like our message is starting to sink in with the community. That, to me, is absolutely the best part of the whole thing”.
The next race, the Run-Tuff Eliminator, is scheduled for April 30th, 2006.
Current points standings for the Sportsman Motorcycle Class can also be accessed by clicking “RACE RESULTS” at www.blackandwhitemotorsports.com.