Drag Illustrated Issue 164, January 2021 | Page 43

Special Section

DOMINANCE IS A WORD that can be misused in sports , but it would be unfair to call Steve Furr ’ s performance in the first half of the season anything but dominant . The North Carolina sportsman racing star started the year with a final-round win over 2018 world champion Chaz Silance at the East Coast Nationals . Another victory over Russ Whitlock at the Carolina Showdown at Darlington followed . After Furr defeated 2019 world champion Kellan Farmer at the Mid-Atlantic Showdown for a third consecutive victory , everyone began to wonder who – if anyone – would stop Furr ’ s streak in his quest for the Lucas Oil Elite Top Dragster title .

Silance provided the answer to those questions when he broke out by just a little less than Furr in their second-round match at the Summer Shootout . He went on to win the event in his Buckpowered , roots-blown ’ 08 Worthy dragster .

Furr ’ s massive points lead shrank yet again at

DragWars , where he fell in the first round despite cutting a perfect . 000 reaction time . Silance capitalized on the points leader ’ s early exit by racing to a semifinal finish , bringing him to just under two rounds behind Furr going into the World Finals .

Silance ’ s bid for the championship ended in the second round at the World Finals , as he fell to Nick Hamilton while Furr defeated Whitlock . Furr was set to face Hamilton in the semifinals before the rain started Saturday night , putting an end to the event .

Whitlock , Farmer and Michael White fell in behind Furr and Silance in the final top five points standings .

WHEN 19-YEAR-OLD Kendall Payne pulled into GALOT Motorsports Park for the season-opening East Coast Nationals , he couldn ’ t have possibly expected to make it to the final round in the first race of his first season in a dragster . And even after reaching that final round , he couldn ’ t have predicted that five races later , he would be hoisting the Lucas Oil Top Dragster world championship trophy .

Payne , who started racing his grandfather ’ s Nova at age 16 after stopping Jr . Dragster racing around 11 , consistently went rounds at the next four races , but he wasn ’ t able to string together another final-round finish . He went into the World Finals leading a tight points battle with several other drivers , an accomplishment he shared with his father , Mark , who was leading the Top Sportsman points .

A first-round exit left Payne with no choice but to wait and see how the points shook out . He breathed a little easier when No . 2 in points , Josh Duggins , also lost in the opening round . Then , Nick Meloni went out in the second round , leaving him a round and a half behind Payne .

Payne in his PAR-powered House of Payne entry was declared the champion when Steven Boone fell in the quarterfinals . Just 61 points – less than one round – stood between the two drivers . Payne ’ s title makes him the youngest PDRA world champion outside of the Jr . Dragster classes .

Duggins and Meloni finished third and fourth , respectively , with just five points separating them . Aaron Roberts closed out the top five in fifth place .

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