Special Section
ELITE TOP SPORTSMAN DONNY URBAN
● AFTER TWO WINS in the first three races of the season , Donny “ Hollywood ” Urban looked like an early favorite to win the MagnaFuel Elite Top Sportsman presented by PAR Racing Engines world championship . The 2018 world champion added a runner-up finish and consistent performances through the rest of the season to claim his second series championship with his Jeffrey Barker-tuned , Nesbitt-powered ’ 69 Camaro .
“ I don ’ t even know how to put it into words ,” Urban said in the championship winner ’ s circle . “ This one means more than anything . I ’ ve won the five-day bracket championship stuff , all the IHRA stuff , but this one means the most . It was a lot of work .”
ELITE TOP DRAGSTER STEVE FURR
TOP SPORTSMAN CHAD TRAYLOR
● CHAD TRAYLOR went into the 2023 season just hoping to secure a top 10 finish in the MagnaFuel Top Sportsman presented by Corbin ’ s RV points standings . Despite driving a new-to-him car – Keith Cox ’ s nitrous-assisted ’ 63 Corvette – and having never really competed on a full-time basis in the series , Traylor finished the season as the Top Sportsman world champion with two victories .
“ This means the world to me ,” said Traylor , who went into the World Finals in a five-way title fight . “ I ’ m very blessed . I ’ m glad I had some people that believed in me and gave me a shot and helped me this year . My goal was to finish top 10 if [ Cox ] let me take the Corvette to all the races . We were just blessed to get first . I didn ’ t really expect that , but I ’ ll take it .”
● WITH BACK-TO-BACK wins in Laris Motorsports Insurance Elite Top Dragster to start the season , Steve Furr reminded everyone why he won the 2020 world championship . The 2023 season featured two more races than the COVID-shortened six-race 2020 season , though that didn ’ t bother Furr . He added a runner-up finish at Maryland and another win at the World Finals in his ProCharged Right Trailers dragster to hold off past world champions Larry Roberts and Pete Maduri .
“ This is a great group of guys right here – some of the best racers in the country for going fast ,” Furr said in his championship speech . “ I really enjoy this class . I ’ ve raced all over the country in multiple classes and multiple sanctioning bodies , but I gotta tell you , this particular class in the PDRA is definitely where it ’ s at . Having a place to race these really , really fast bracket dragsters is a wonderful thing . Especially when you can race them without a throttle stop and you ’ re running wide open .”
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