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to meet Justin Martin in the final round. There, Youmans left first and never looked back, running a 3.860 at 196.30. Martin coasted to an 11.817 at 41.03.
“ It’ s incredibly special to be here,” said Youmans, who credited tuner Lee White and Kauffman Racing Equipment for the billet Pontiac block in his GTO.“ We had such mechanical problems with the other cars, and then ol’‘ Judy’ over there, she just performed flawless all day long. The crew worked on her. We broke a couple of valve springs during the day. They got her fixed up every time and it’ s just incredible to be able to win in the Drag Illustrated Winter Series and just to be able to win, period. The LDR class is just so competitive. There’ s so many different combos. The field is so level and it’ s just a blessing. My guys work hard all the time and it’ s just incredible to be able to get this win here.”
� TOMMY YOUMANS
X275 � A long few weeks of preparation for the Radial Outlaws season opener paid off for Maryland-based X275 racer Billy Lackey, who knocked out class veteran Ron Rhodes in the final round. After qualifying No. 4 in his turbocharged’ 02 Mustang, Lackey set low E. T. of all four rounds of eliminations with his round wins over Derek Cooper, Trevor Fuqua, and No. 1 qualifier and reigning series champion DJ Mc- Cain. Lackey saved the best for last, unleashing a 4.125 at 176.93 to get past Rhodes in the final. Rhodes, whose son, Ronny, also reached the final round in Ultra Street, slowed to a 5.578 at 101.64.
“ It still hasn’ t hit me yet,” Lackey said.“ We’ ve been here since Monday and the car has just been freaking awesome. I couldn’ t ask for more. We had this thing apart. We tested two weeks in Orlando and hurt the oil pump, and luckily it didn’ t hurt the motor. We put it back together and I’ ve got Dave Hanlon and James Smith –
� CAILYN FARGO
� JASON RENNINGER
94 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated. com Issue 199