The pit lane drag strip roared to life on Friday night under clearing skies and cooler temperatures for Week 7 of the popular street-style drag racing series, O'Reilly Auto Parts Friday Night Drags at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
After posting wins in each of the first four races of the season and capturing the Spring Fling title, Jonesboro's Robert Cheney could not get back to victory lane in the Harbin's Mechanical Services Super Pro Division with a final round loss in his American Dragster for the second consecutive week.
In his first appearance at O'Reilly Auto Parts Friday Night Drags last week, Bobby Daniel of Atlanta knocked off Cheney. This week, it was Billy Clevenger of Jonesboro in his first outing of the season with the win over Cheney.
"It was great to be in victory lane. We ran real well, the track was real good and finally came around to us in that final run," said Clevenger after the win. "That is what we were waiting on all night. It was a little pushy earlier."
In addition to the challenging track, Clevenger had his work cut out for him as soon as he unloaded his car.
"Thanks to some folks who loned me some parts to be able to be here today," said Clevenger. "We needed a new transmission in it. We were working till six o'clock working to get it loaded."
Despit the final round loss, Cheney holds a six point advantage on the rest of the field in the Harbin's Mechanical Services Super Pro Division.
There were no challenges for Amanda Ledbetter of Peachtree City as she extended her lead in the MetroPCS Tuner Division with her third straight win to open the points season. Ledbetter moved up to the MetroPCS Tuner Division after competing in the Sport Compact Division last year.
"We decided to add nitrous [this year]," said Ledbetter on the move to the MetroPCS Tuner Division. "We plan on coming out all year, but in the Tuner Division."
Behind the wheel of her 2016 Ford Mustang V6, Ledbetter took down Lamar Childers of Griffin in the final for the victory.
"There is a lot of competition, but we're able to get out and its hard to catch us once we are out of the hole," explained Ledbetter. "All these turbos get us on the top end, but its so short that once we are out of the hole, they run out of real estate to catch up to us."
Ledbetter holds a five point lead on second place Childers after three events.
Winners of note in week seven include Jon Stovall of Fayetteville claiming his second win in the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Division in his 2006 Dodge Viper while Griffin's Kevin
Mayo returned to victory lane in the Active Pest Control Pro Divison with a final round victory over Griffin's David Clevenger. Mayo earned the win in week one and now trails Clevenger by a single point in the division standing.
Below is a complete list of the June 17 race winners:
Harbin's Mechanical Services Super Pro Division
Billy Clevenger (Jonesboro); 1963 Chevrolet Corvette
Active Pest Control Pro Division
Kevin Mayo (Griffin); 1696 Chevrolet Nova
Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Division
Jon Stovall (Fayetteville); 2006 Dodge Viper
Harding Plumbing, Heating and Cooling Domestic Division
David Smith (Jackson); 1990 Isuzu Truck
Dynamic Towing Street Outlaw Division
Mike Chambers (Griffin); 1988 Ford Mustang
HeadsUpGeorgia.com Street Modified Division
Doug Anglin (Griffin); 1988 Ford Mustang
Peach Pass Factory Street Division
Wantez Robinson (Stockbridge); 2016 Chevrolet Camaro
MetroPCS Tuner Division
Amanda Ledbetter (Peachtree City); 2012 Ford Mustang
Domestic Advanced Division
Scott Bates (Jackson); 1979 Chevrolet Malibu
Truck Advanced Division
Jacob Mason (Locust Grove); 1976 Chevrolet C10
Diesel Truck Division
Taylor Wilder (Locust Grove); 1994 Dodge Ram 1500
Truck Division
Brian Leath (Hampton); 1976 Chevrolet C-10
Sport Compact Division
Damon Waldrop (McDonough); 1993 Honda Civic
Super Bike Division
Tony Freeman (Stockbridge); 2012 Suzuki
Sport Bike Division
Ricky Harrelson (McDonough); 2011 Kawasaki
U.S. Marines Motorcycle Division
Jamar Copes (Locust Grove); 2007 Suzuki
Cruiser Division
Justin Goodman (Griffin); 2006 Harley Softail
ATV/Dirt Bike Division
Rob Allsop (Winston); Yamaha
The Show-N-Shine competition featured everything from new imports to classic muscle cars and automobiles ranging as far back as the 1930s. Those vehicles then took part in the
Speedway Cruise following judging.
Below is a complete list of the June 17 winners:
Classic Custom (Through 1972)
First Place: Larry Young (Woolsey) 1967 Chevrolet Camaro
Slingshots
First Place: Ka-San Palmer (Virginia) Slingshot
Second Place: James Wick (Washington DC) Slingshot
Third Place: Jack Polubinski (Sarasota, FL) slingshot
Current Custom (2000 through current)
First Place: Hannah Haralson (McDonough) 2016 Jeep Wrangler
Second Place: Matt Thompson (Gay, GA) 2009 Ford Mustang CS
Showroom Classic (Through 1972)
First Place: Clint Foster (Oxford) 1965 Shelby Cobra
Second Place: Bill Whatley (Acworth) 1966 Chevrolet Nova
Showroom Current (2000 through current)
First Place: Jason Zaleranski (McDonough) 2016 Nissan Altima SV
Second Place: Marty Poole (Macon) Cadillac
Third Place: Colin Harrington (Locust Grove) 2012 Chevrolet Sonic LTZ
Tuner
First Place: Jose Lopez (Griffin) 2000 Toyota MR2
Truck
First Place: Justin Couch (McDonough) 2009 Ford F150
Second Place: Mattson Houston (McDonough) 2011 Ford F250
Third Place: Craig Fincher (Stockbridge) 2005 F350 Dually
Open
First Place: Alex Ramsey (Fayetteville) 2013 KTM 150 SX
Second Place: Daniel Bavaer (Zebulon) 2008 Kawasaki KX250F
