With the five remaining championship winners determined on the drag strip in Friday Night Drags' final event of the 2010 season, Championship Night saw titleholders crowned in 15 divisions at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Friday night.
Five Friday Night Drags classes – the Sportsman, Pro Four, Domestic, Sport Compact and Motorcycle divisions – saw their 2010 championship come down to the year's final event, and drivers in three of those classes – Mike Chambers in Pro Four, Frankie Collins in Domestic and Jacob Turner in Motorcycle – claimed a win on week 17 to secure their 2010 title.
In Chamber's case, he claimed his third Pro Four title in four years, but the final run victory did not come as planned. Competing in the Pro Four finale with Vincent Varela, who trailed by just one point in the Pro Four standings, Chambers quickly slammed on his brakes after Varela swerved into his lane. In addition to saving his car with the evasive stop, Chambers was also declared the victor as Varela was disqualified for leaving his lane.
"It was a crazy night. He was in my lane, but I'll take the championship however they want to give it to me," said Chambers with a celebratory smile as he walked towards Victory Lane.
Scott Bates, 2010 champion of the Sportsman division, also claimed his championship in unusual fashion. Bates, the driver of a 1962 Chevrolet Nova wagon, was disqualified for jumping the start against second-place Jeremy Rhodes. However, by advancing to the final run, Bates was able to score enough points to hold off Rhodes to claim his first Friday Night Drags championship in his first-full season.
"I guess I red lighted at the start, but I feel great to know I won the championship," said Bates. "I only ran half the season last year, so I'll count this as my rookie season."
Below is a complete list of the Sept. 10 winners:
Pro Four: Mike Chambers (Griffin) in a 1957 Volkswagen Beetle
Street Outlaw: Chris Stripling (Stockbridge) in a 1987 Ford Mustang
Sportsman: Jeremy Rhodes (Hampton) in a 1989 Ford Mustang
Truck Advanced: Chris Elliott (Barnesville) in a 1986 Chevrolet Silverado
Truck: Rodney Tolbert (Locust Grove) in a 1990 Chevrolet 1500
Domestic: Frankie Collins (Zebulon) in a 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle
Sport Compact: Charles Watts (Bremen) in a Volkswagen dune buggy
Tuners: Bobby Bramblet (Loganville) in a Volkswagen rail car
Super Bike: Randy Stevens (Moreland) on a Suzuki Hayabusa
Motorcycle: Jacob Turner (McDonough) on a 2006 Yamaha
ATV: Logan Rhodes (Hampton) in a go kart
Radical: Austin Carden (McDonough) in a junior dragster
The Show N' Shine competition featured everything from new imports to classic muscle cars. Below is a complete list of the Sept. 10 winners:
Showroom Current (1973 through current): Pat Mosely (Fayetteville) in a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro
Runner-up: Devin Vaughn (Fayetteville) in a Shelby GT500
Third-place: Mike Claman (Senoia) in a 2010 Ford Mustang GT
Showroom Classic (1972 and prior): Robbie Willis (Marietta) in a Volkswagen Beetle
Runner-up: Terry Sark (Conyers) in a 1967 Pontiac Firebird
Third-place: Jimmy Shavers (Griffin) in a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air
Tuner (all sport compact vehicles): Chris Millians (Newnan) in a 2007 Street Rail
Runner-up: Natalie Vaughn in a Mini Cooper JCW Edition
Third-place: Vivian Knight in a 2006 Infiniti G35
Current Custom (1973 through current): Wesley Floyd (Hampton) in a 2002 Ford Mustang
Runner-up: Donald Keene (Griffin) in a 2005 Ford Roush Mustang
Third-place: Chris Bittle (Lithonia) in a 1988 Chevrolet IROC2
Classic Custom (1972 and prior): Earl Reed (McDonough) in a 1926 Ford T Model
Runner-up: Danny Fincher (Senoia) in a 1971 Ford Bronco
Third-place: David Sims (Hampton) in a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro
Stock Truck: Carl Ragland (Rome) in a 2003 Peterbilt 379
Runner-Up: Broderick Dunn (Decatur) in a 1959 GMC 100
Third-place: Brett Preston (Jonesboro) in a 2008 Toyota Tundra
Friday's Championship Night event concluded the 17-week 2010 season of Friday Night Drags at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The series will return to Atlanta Motor Speedway's eighth-mile, pit-lane drag strip in 2011 for the series' fifth-full season of straight-line speed.
For more information about Friday Night Drags or Atlanta Motor Speedway, contact the Speedway's Ticket Office at (770) 946-4211, (877) 9-AMS-TIX, or visitwww.atlantamotorspeedway.com.
