Fri, 17 Dec 2010, 12:32 PM Davis Dominates Snowbirds to Double-Up at End of Season

Courtesy of Ian Tocher

SUWANEE, Ga. --

Ronnie "The King" Davis

The year could not have ended any better for Ronnie "The King" Davis. The Suwanee, Georgia-based golf cart dealer won the last two races he entered in 2010, each time starting from the number-one qualifying position and each time in a different Tommy Mauney-built '63 Corvette.

Davis mounted a charge in October to win the final NHRA Division II points race of the season at Silver Dollar Raceway in Reynolds, Georgia, capping a thrilling come-from-behind campaign that secured his second NHRA Top Sportsman divisional championship by just a single point. Then, Davis earned the Automatic Pro Mod win in dominating fashion Dec. 3-5, at the prestigious and historic Snowbird Nationals at Bradenton Motorsports Park in south Florida.

"It's definitely a good way to end the season," declared Davis, who also sponsors the Davis Golf Cart Sales Automatic Pro Mod class at the Snowbirds, as well as the U.S. Street Nationals at Bradenton in January. "To win the final two races and to win from the pole at each one and to win with two different cars; you just can't do any better than that."

The weekend in Florida started off unseasonably cold, giving Davis fits in trying to put the power from his nitrous-boosted Fulton Race Engines 822-cubic-inch motor to the Bradenton eighth mile. Saturday delivered 70-degree temperatures, however, and he took advantage with a 4.10 seconds qualifying pass at 180.57 miles per hour (mph) that held up through a third and final session that night to lead the 16-car field into eliminations.

Despite cutting a perfect, triple-zero light, Corky Markwart and his '07 Mustang could not hold off the 4.12-seconds charge at exactly 180 mph by Davis in round one on race day. It was more of the same in round two, as Davis easily downed Kenny Burgess with a 4.13 pass at 179.21 mph. He then stepped it up a little in the semis to a 4.11 at 178.96 mph to edge out the '68 Camaro of Kentucky's Stephan Stringer in Davis' closest match of the day.

Waiting for Davis in the fourth and final round was another '68 Camaro driven by Stringer's brother, Tom, who unfortunately took himself out of the running with a .021 redlight start, while Davis posted a .057 reaction leading to another 4.11 at 180.21 mph to take his unprecedented fourth Snowbird Nationals Automatic Pro Mod title.

"The track temperature had dropped a few degrees again, so I was a little bit nervous and didn't even try to go any faster," Davis said of his final-round effort. "But the car left straight and went as smooth as glass, a perfect run. I did not see his red light, but I also never saw him from the time I left the starting line, so I knew I was in pretty good shape."

Davis also leaves 2010 with the NHRA Top Sportsman lead intact heading toward the annual Jeg's Allstars special event, scheduled for July 9, 2010, during the 14th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Chicago, which pits the top points earners from NHRA's seven geographic divisions against one another in team and individual competition.

Ronnie Davis Racing greatly appreciates the sponsorship and support of Rock Batteries, J.H. Global Star Golf Carts, Hickory Enclosed Trailers & Race Performance Motor Coach, TracStar Satellite Systems, Goodyear, CSR, VP Racing Fuels, TCI, Moroso, Magnaflow, Hedman Hedders, Auto Meter, Torque Converter Services, Braswell Carburetors, MSD, Penske Shocks, Chapman Auto Body, Fulton Competition, and Tommy Mauney Race Cars.