Photos by Jeff Burk and Ian
Tocher
10/31/05
 ith
the completion of the 10th annual Udderly SMOOth World Finals,
an event in which Clay Millican became the first driver in
IHRA history to break the 4.50 second barrier, Rockingham
Dragway re-established itself as the premier performance racetrack
in the IHRA Hooters Drag Racing Series. The Rock's high traction
quarter mile yielded IHRA world records in not one, not two,
not three, but all four professional categories: Top Fuel,
Pro Modified, Pro Stock and Funny Car.
TOP FUEL
Millican led the record-shattering parade, twice dipping
into the 4.40s at the wheel of Kenny Koretsky's Werner Enterprises
Top Fuel dragster en route to his ninth consecutive victory
at Rockingham.
The veteran from Drummonds, TN, applied an exclamation point
to his fifth straight series championship by dropping the
IHRA record to 4.484 seconds, bettering the old mark of 4.534
seconds set on the same track the year before by Australian
Andrew Cowin.
"Since we already had (clinched) the championship, we
came in here with one goal in mind," Millican said, "and
that was to get our IHRA world record back. That was a big
deal for the whole team."
As a bonus, Millican also bumped the track speed record from
322.81 miles per hour, a mark he established back in 2000,
to 323.19 mph.
"To win nine races in a row anywhere is just phenomenal,"
Millican said. "This track has been really good to us.
The joke is that we've all made a lot of house payments off
this place."
Nevertheless, Millican wasn't the whole show, nor the only
record-setter.
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