- Race Coverage
- Photo Extra
APMA victory this year by defeating Rick Davis
(no relation) in the final round at Montgomery, AL.
Words and photos by Ian Tocher
7/7/06
One thing was certain at the CSR Performance Products Automatic Pro Mod Association (APMA) event July 1: R. Davis was going home a winner. What remained to be seen in the $2,500-to-win final was whether it would be the ’63 Corvette of series promoter Ronnie “The King” Davis, or the 2002 Firebird of Parrish, FL’s Rick Davis that rolled into victory lane at Montgomery (AL) Motorsports Park.
The bright yellow Firebird left first with a .036 light, but “rattled ‘em hard and veered right,” Rick Davis explained after shutting off early while the TracStar/Lightnin’ RV-backed ‘Vette reeled off a 4.379-seconds pass at 167.37 mph over the Montgomery eighth mile. It was Davis’ sixth win in his last seven races and his ninth of the year after so far making it to 11 final rounds.
Rick Davis (near lane) clearly got out first against APMA promoter Ronnie Davis, but his Firebird soon lost traction and veered dangerously close to the right guardwall while the ‘Vette stormed to the event win. “I didn’t get to make ‘The King’ into a queen today,” Rick Davis quipped afterward. “Maybe next time.”
“We were trying a new-type Powerglide in the car and a different converter than I usually use for Montgomery,” Ronnie Davis said. “It was very hot, the track was over 140 degrees at times, so I ran a smaller tune-up here and it worked well.”
Still, he said he was prepared to step on that tune-up for the third qualifying session after North Port, FL’s Russ Crump stepped up to the number-one position with a 4.356-seconds blast in his second attempt. A brief rain shower accompanied by high winds pre-empted the third round of qualifying, however, so Davis had to settle for second on the qualifying list with a 4.422-seconds effort.
Russ Crump, owner of North Port Auto Body in North Port, FL, secured the number-one starting position, but lost in round one when a battery cable broke during his burnout, rendering his ’63 split-window Corvette lifeless on the line.
It may have foiled Davis’ plans, but by the time elimination rounds began, the rain delay also brought welcome relief from the 100-plus-degree heat that racers battled all day. In the first pair out, Crump’s ’63 ‘Vette lost all electrical power at the end of the burnout for his race against number-eight qualifier Rick Davis. Crump, a two-time APMA winner, later discovered a broken battery cable. “Oh well, we’ve had pretty good luck lately,” he said. “At least it’s all still in one piece. We’ll get it fixed and be back for the next one.”