BLOWN FUSE DOESN’ T DETER HAILEY HAWKINS
Hailey Hawkins went into the Intercontinental Top Dragster Championship with an untested engine between the frame rails in her’ 06 Race Tech dragster, and when tire shake left her with just one full qualifying run, she went into race day without much data. But the Cocoa Beach, Florida-based driver pulled things together in eliminations. She then caught a lucky break in the final round against Lucas Salemi, who suffered a mechanical issue and couldn’ t stage. Hawkins’ car also shut off due to a bad fuse. Her crew replaced the fuse on the starting line, allowing Hawkins to stage and take the tree for the $ 50,000 victory.
“ This is my first win, so to do it out here is incredible,” Hawkins said.“ I drove well today on both ends. I missed it one time, but overall, I think I put in the work to deserve it today.”
Hawkins realizes it wasn’ t the most conventional final round, but it certainly made for a memorable win.
“ I know everybody was frantic, including myself, and Randy Lee [ chief starter ] reached into my car and said,‘ I need you to calm down, get the car cranked, and stage it,’” Hawkins said.“ Got the body panels off and I staged the car with no top body panels, so I think that’ s kind of epic. It’ s special for sure.”
Along with a financially rewarding win, it was a motivational accomplishment for Hawkins, who’ s notched semifinal and runner-up finishes in the past.
“ Some days I do have bad days,” Hawkins said,“ but being able to put it all together on both ends for an entire day just encourages me and tells me I’ m not that bad and I can hang.”
Qualified No. 13, Hawkins raced past 2023 WSOPM Super Pro Shootout winner Brooks McMath, who went red, in the first round. She used a. 004 light and a 4.335 on a 4.32 dial-in to get past Anthony Bertozzi, one of the most accomplished Top Dragster racers in history, when he ran a 4.501 on a 4.49 dial-in in the second round. She won on the starting line again over Johnny Tolisano in the third round, then knocked out No. 2 qualifier Les Feist in the semifinals.
Salemi, the son of Pro Mod tuner Jim Salemi, qualified No. 11 in his’ 07 S & W dragster and clicked off win lights over Randy Perkinson, Larry Strickland, No. 1 qualifier Russ Whitlock, and bracket racing star“ Sugar Shane” Carr to earn his spot in the final round.— NATE VAN WAGNEN DI DI DI
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