Terry Rosberg (left lane) and Dawn Perdue (right lane) race their jet dragsters at Rockingham Dragway Saturday.
Contributed Photo
Jones Repeats in Charger Shootout; Rosberg Wins Jet Dragster Exhibition Race
ROCKINGHAM — Joshua Jones of Kannapolis repeated in the Charger Shootout, Clifton Keith of Ruby, S.C., was the winner in the companion Challenger Shootout, James Brantley Jr. of Richburg, S.C., prevailed in the Top ET/Footbrake bracket and Sanford’s Kevin Locklear won the Trophy class during Rockingham Dragway’s 30th annual MOPARS at The Rock event presented by Griffin Motors.
Jason Sisk of Culpepper, Va., drove his 1968 hemi-Barracuda to an eighth-mile best of 5.292 seconds at 132.88 miles per hour to emerge as the unofficial winner of the Super Stock Hemi Exhibition and Rockingham’s “Turbine Terry” Rosberg used a starting line advantage to get the best of Dawn Perdue and “Wicked Sinsations” in the winner-take-all jet car exhibition.
Although Perdue had the quickest quarter mile time of the event at 5.347 seconds, Rosberg won the feature while pushing his “American Thunder entry to top speed of the meet at 290.82 miles per hour.
Defending champion Barry Nall of Eagle Springs was ousted in the third round of the Combo bracket event in which Top ET and Footbrake cars ran separately until only eight drivers remained in competition. Brantley ultimately hoisted to winner’s check due in no small part to his starting line expertise.
His reaction times in the final five rounds were .036, .015, .016, .013. and .015 although he got a free ride in the final round when Kerry Booth of Creedmoor was guilty of a .005 of a second foul start.
Driving the same 2019 Charger in which he won a year ago, Jones this time prevailed in a double breakout final with Charlotte’s Greg Donaldson who squandered a sizeable starting line advantage when he went under his target number by .058 on a second. Jones also was under his target, but by only .011.
Keith drove his 2018 Challenger past the 2019 Hellcat of Mike Brice of Mt. Holly in the other Shootout finale after Brice had taken out defending champ Joshua Gibson of McColl, S.C., in the previous round.