DR AG I LL U S T R AT ED R OUN D TABLE
ON TOP OF
THE WORLD
How Top Sportsman and Top Dragster became the hottest
classes in sportsman racing — and why they plan to stay there
BY JOS H HACHAT
Photographs by Tara Bowker, Roger Richards, Cole Rokosky, Scott Arnold, and Alex Owens
O
n his own, Sandy Wilkins doesn’t have the high-end budget
required to run a professional class. But in his mind, he’s doing the next best
thing. Wilkins is a veteran standout in Top Sportsman, a thriving class in the
sportsman ranks because of how much it resembles a professional class – in
this case, Pro Mod – without having to break the bank.
“You can almost go as fast as a Pro Mod if you want to,” Wilkins says. “I
look at the economics. I can never race Pro Mod with me paying the bills.
But I can run the same car and go within 7-8 tenths of a second of a Pro
Mod car. It’s something I can do, I can work on and I can do that without
having the expense of trying to run a pro class. Top Sportsman is the fastest
non-professional door car there is.”
While some sportsman classes are searching for answers when it comes to participation, Top
Dragster and Top Sportsman have aced the quiz. Their golden ticket – at least for now – is impres-
sive participation in both classes. Both are quick and fast, going in the low 6-second zone at nearly
240 mph in the case of Top Dragster, on a reasonable budget with limited wear and tear on parts.
To find out why both classes are thriving,
Drag Illustrated talked to a panel of compet-
itors in both Top Sportsman and Top Dragster.
The five drivers have their fair share of accom-
plishment over the years, reveling in the fact
that each class is flourishing.
What made it interesting were the varying
viewpoints on the status of the class, different
rule changes and what – if anything – should
be done about a maximum dial-in. The answers
showcased a diversity much like the classes them-
selves, and it’s a variety that has kept each class
on the up and up, with most agreeing there’s no
reason why both Top Sportsman and Top Drag-
ster can’t continue to prosper.
Wilkins has Top Sportsman racing in his
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I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
blood. With two decades of experience in the
class, Wilkins has done it all and won it all. He’s
a multi-time national event winner and divisional
champion, and in 2017, he drove his Camaro to
seven final rounds, winning five of them and
claiming the NHRA Division 2 championship.
Joe Fisher is no stranger to sportsman racing,
having compiled a strong career that dates three
decades in Division 3 Top Dragster. His wife and
son also race in the class, while his business, Rac-
ing RVs, is a class sponsor for both Top Sportsman
and Top Dragster.
Zach Sackman is a rising star in the Division
3 Top Dragster ranks. The 23-year-old fabricator
picked up his first NHRA national event win in
2017, winning the NHRA Route 66 Nationals.
He’s since added success at divisional races in
Division 3, and qualified No. 4 in Top Dragster
with a 6.161 at 226.32 to open the year in Pomona.
Hailing from the Denver area, Steve Johnson
is a veteran and championship-winning driver in
Division 5 Top Dragster, bringing his family along
for the ride as well. His wife also competes in the
class, and Johnson, who is the vice president/
general manager at Fineline Graphics, has an
active schedule in 2019.
Glenn Butcher has a wealth of experience
and success in Top Sportsman, seeing success in
every sanctioning body. He won his first NHRA
national event last September in St. Louis, and
has achieved success at all levels dating back to
the original heyday of the class in the IHRA.
We’ve seen both classes pack the pits no mat-
ter the sanctioning body or location. Why have
these classes been able to thrive?
Steve Johnson: I think it’s the diversity and
challenge. Most of the Top Dragster, Top Sports-
man guys are ex-Super Gas, Super Comp guys,
and this gives them something new and excit-
ing. Although we’re not at the level of the pros
or even Top Alcohol Dragster, we’re getting a lot
closer. Obviously, speed is in all of our blood, so
we all want to go faster. It’s still probably cheaper
than Comp. The power adders are a little cheaper
way to go fast. The bumps are dropping and the
classes are thriving.
Issue 145