Unfortunately, it was an anticlimactic battle, as Harvey’s Pontiac rolled the beams before Voyles laid down a 6.054-seconds winning pass. Harvey later explained a wire attached to his transbrake button broke and when he went to stage the car just wouldn’t hold the line. “Oh well, better it breaks in the final than the first round,” he said.
Voyles realized Harvey had problems while staging and said he deliberately waited for the tree to reset before leaving himself. It helps to explain his .148 reaction, easily his worst light of the day.
“We were on the bottom all weekend and struggling. The car was there, but we just couldn’t get the track conditions right, but once we got past that we could go rounds,” Voyles said. “Double-zero runs, some teens and twenties lights all day long, and a couple of lucky breaks; that’s what it took to win.”
7.0 INDEX
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| In addition to his 7.0 duties, Kevin Thompson entered the special 11.0 index quarter-mile event put on by Year One on Saturday, but lost in the first round. “I feel like I should’ve won that one, too,” he said after picking up the ORSCA win on Sunday. “I’ve made 14 passes this weekend, so I’ve been real busy.” |
Glasgow, KY’s Kevin Thompson qualified his 1970 Olds Cutlass 14th in the 7.0 class with a 7.031 at 98.64 mph, then made it through six rounds of competition to face off against Sloan, the number-five qualifier in a 1967 Camaro.
At the green, Thompson left first with a respectable .042 light, but Sloan waited an excruciating .269 before moving. The big delay allowed Thompson’s 7.103 to easily beat the 7.039 by Sloan.
“Last night I ran in the final from Farmington and I was decent on the tree all day, but I went in last night and was .085 red. Today I guess nerves got to me and I didn’t want to redlight again so I got the worst light I’ve ever had in racing,” the Hayden, AL, driver explained. “But it’s all part of it. This is my first year ever to race, so anything that happens I consider it a great learning experience.”
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Thompson praised his ride for being “deadly consistent” in posting three 7.00s during eliminations and said he knew Sloan was very late at the tree so he backed off at the top end just to ensure he didn’t break out and give the race away. He also revealed some personal adversity he had to overcome just to race at Atlanta.
“Three weeks ago I had a total hip replacement,” Thompson said. “The hip itself is going real good, I’ve got more movement, but sitting in that seat is a pain in the butt because there’s still a little scar tissue there. At least I won, though, so that makes it feel better.”
