PHOTOGRAPHS BY LUKE NIEUWHOF , DAVID HILNER |
STEVE FURR STAYS HOT WITH INTERCONTINENTAL TOP DRAGSTER CHAMPIONSHIP WIN The Intercontinental Top Dragster Championship presented by FTI Performance qualifying order was a who ’ s-who list of Top Dragster world champions , winners , and a few newcomers . There were some major upsets in the first round of eliminations , but no one was surprised when two-time and reigning PDRA Elite Top Dragster world champion Steve Furr drove his Pro- Charged Right Trailers ’ 13 American dragster into the winner ’ s circle on Sunday night .
Furr , who qualified fifth , used a superior reaction time to get the first-round win over Shannon Roberts , then was first off the line again in a double breakout win over Montana ’ s Robert Tehle . Another double breakout win came in the third round over 2019 WSOPM Top Dragster winner JB Strassweg , who ran a 3.92 on a 3.94 dial-in to Furr ’ s 3.859 on a 3.86 dial . The semifinal was insanely close with Furr
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and John Tolisano both cutting . 002 reaction times and running dead-on their dial-ins – 3.85 for Furr and 4.35 for Tolisano . It went Furr ’ s way by just . 0003 .
“ I was very fortunate to get through a couple of those rounds ,” Furr admitted . “ My man was like . 002 and dead-on zero in the semis , and somehow I managed to beat that with a stroke of luck .”
Furr ’ s opponent in the final round was 2022 PDRA Top Dragster world champion Tisha Wilson , who actually didn ’ t qualify but was inserted into the field as an alternate in her
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Wilkins-powered ’ 04 Undercover dragster . She used a reaction time advantage to beat Will Creasman in the first round , then a dead-on 4.36 to beat Paige Coughlin by . 001 in the second round . Wilson got the third-round win over Patrick McMath and his breakout run before unleashing a perfect . 000 reaction time and a 4.354 on a 4.32 dial-in to defeat many-time world champion Anthony Bertozzi ’ s 4.187 on a 4.17 dial-in in the semifinals .
In a final-round battle between PDRA world champions , Furr used a perfect reaction time and a 3.85 on a 3.84 dial-in to win the $ 50,000 prize . Wilson ran a 4.344 on a 4.32 dial-in to take runner-up honors .
“ It feels good to collect that big check amongst this bunch of killers , like Anthony Bertozzi and so many racers that I ’ ve raced with for years ,” said Furr , who thanked Jeremy Youker for covering his entry fee , as well as Hoosier Racing Tire , VP Racing Fuels , Right Trailers , PAR Racing Engines , and American Race Cars . “ I ’ ve never staged for fifty-grand , so for me it was a once-in-a-lifetime deal . I was honored to get invited to this event , and what Wes Buck and Drag Illustrated did is awesome . I appreciate the opportunity to get to come , and certainly to win and have some of the good luck I had .” — NATE VAN WAGNEN DI
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May / June 2024 |
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