ROCKINGHAM — Cassie Lewis of Lumberton and Donald Norris of Conway, S.C., claimed the biggest shares of the purse in the seventh annual Carolina Powerfest at Rockingham Dragway.
By contrast, it was a weekend of “almosts” for the racing Combs family of Bluff City, Tenn. Dad Michael Combs lost to Lewis in the Top Eliminator final on Saturday. His son Blake fouled out by a measly .002 of a second in Sunday’s Jr. Dragster final, handing the win to Rockingham regular Alyssa Rabon of Florence, S.C.
Other winners included Ricky Bullock of Sanford, who repeated as Sunday Footbrake champion; veteran Ernie Humes of Troutman, the Saturday Footbrake winner and Budd Trammell III, who used a .002 reaction time to help him get past Liberty’s Kristen Brady for the Saturday Jr. Dragster trophy.
Lewis is no stranger to success at Rockingham Dragway where her parents, Tim and Georgia Thomas, enjoyed considerable success in their own right. She used a .031 package to turn back Combs on Saturday. Norris beat Clayton’s Blane Parrish on Sunday to earn his $5,000 share.
Bullock drove his 1971 Chevelle past the 1962 Chevy Nova of veteran Willie Buie of St. Pauls to win Sunday’s Footbrake final a day after Humes forced Levi Boozer of Kannapolis into a breakout foul to win his title.
Rabon’s starting line skills carried her through the final two rounds. She had a .016 reaction time in the final round but it was her .005 light against Lane Morgan in the semifinals that may have compelled Combs to push a little too hard in the final, resulting in a foul start.
