The setting was supposed to be perfect, coming into the last race of the year, the Pennsylvania Dutch Classic, we had the points lead and a chance to win not one but two "NHRA Wally's". We were supposed to race the Cecil County Final which was being made up from August due to the tracks curfew. This was suppose to take place on thursday and then we were to continue with the scheduled Dutch Classic Friday through Sunday. As with almost every race this season, mother nature was not willing to cooperate. It rained from Wednesday to Saturday morning straight with 30mph winds which would eventually force us to race 1/8th mile only.

Saturday Morning.......

We made one qualifying run in which we ran a 4.388 @ 160mph and then waited all day to make the second qualifying run which was going to be the make up final. They call us to the lanes at 7:30pm in the cold, dark, windy and dewy weather. We get all strapped in and ready to go and the cars just in front of us couldnt get down the track so they sent us back to the trailers. TALK ABOUT STRESS! We have waited two months to finish this race and now it has been delayed yet again! This would mean that the entire season would come down to a single day of racing. Oh did I forget to mention that the person we were racing in the final was Ron Proctor who just happened to be in second in points and if he beats us he would take the points lead? Well that was the scenerio. Couldnt have written the script in a more dramatic fashion.

Sunday Morning........

"Top Sportsman to the lanes" came over the FM radio frequency and we were off. Was it really going to happen? Would we finally finish this race from Cecil County? YES! We stage up, and....... DEAD LATE! NO! I would say being a little too relaxed going into that final would have been the understatement of the year! Needless to say my Congratulations goes out to Ron Proctor for teaching me a valuable lesson that morning that would come in handy later on that day. When someone beats you that bad it leaves an awful taste in your mouth. One I never wanted to taste again. My team and I towed back to the trailer and reflected on what had just happened and I went into the motorhome to clear my head. Not only did I need to recover quickly, I had to recover and win the race inorder to win the championship now. NO PRESSURE

Beggining of Eliminations for the Dutch Classic.......

Round One was against Mike Cerro, I had to go right back into the lane I just had a horrible reaction time in and get the job done. My team was counting on me, I couldnt let them down two times in one weekend. I Staged Up, released the button and my win light came on. Cerro went red. Phewwww, thats one down. My reaction time was a .011 which made all my doubts go away. The anticipation didnt last long as Ron Proctor won right behind me. Second Round was against Drake Hooke a very experienced bracket racer. Same lane, same amount on the line, win or lose the championship that I have held the lead in the entire season. Got by another one, having a .010 reaction time and getting the win. Once again Ron Proctor wins right behind me.

3rd Round..........

3rd round matched me up against a friendly competitor in Don Bean Jr. Don was coming off a .009 thousanths package the round before and was not going to be easy. Keeping with the aggressive approach I took .003 out of the delay box and confidently let go of the button to a .004 reaction time and dead on the dial-in 4.392 for a .006 thoudanths package. This was the best package I had all year and what better time to have it then Now! Now the team and I are really pumped. As we are towing over the scales I hear the announcer say " and now we have Ron Proctor and Mike Kaufman" my stomach was in knots, what was going to happen? Mike Kaufman throws down a .007 thousanths package to take out Proctor and we were back to Tied in the points standings. We were excited but knew there was a few more rounds to go.

Semi-Finals......

Now we have to race Mike Kaufman who just took out the points leader and had a .007 thousanths package. This was not going to be an easy task. We stage up and go, I catch Mike early and I realize I must of had a good light or im really fast so I pump the throttle a few times to kill some E.T and the win light comes on. "This cant be happening" is going through my mind. We just took the Points lead back to win the championship! My reaction time was .006. One round to go for the ultimate ending.

Final Round.....

The final round was against a fellow Massachusetts racer, Dennis Gaboriault. It was going to be heads up, 4.40 to 4.40! How exciting! Fortunately for me Dennis accidentally deep staged and pushed through the beams handing me the win. This would cap off the most amazing weekend ever!

Special Thanks

I want to thank all my Crew, Family, Friends and sponsors for the continued support of this race team. It means alot to all of us and each and every week we go out there to represent you as best we can. Back to Back Championships have never been won in Division One Top Sportsman History, it is because of your support that this is all possible.

Thank you for Reading

Ryan

October 19, 2011