Adkinson wins Stock Atlanta LODRS!
Submitted by Luke Bogacki

Jeff Adkinson claims sixth victory of his career

Miller County, Georgia peanut farmer Jeff Adkinson claimed the sixth NHRA Lucas Oil Division Series victory of his career, and first in nearly 19 years last Sunday, October 7, at Atlanta Dragway when he earned the Stock Eliminator victory in his C/SA '69 Camaro.

"That sounds so horrible," laughed Adkinson. "Yea, I haven't won one of these since 1988, but I was out of racing for awhile, and I bracket raced exclusively for nearly a decade. So it's really just been a three or four year dry spell--I haven't been getting my butt kicked for two decades!"

Class racing enthusiasts may remember Adkinson and his father Fred with their two-car Super Stock team in the 1980's. The Georgia duo combined to form a prolific Division 2 team, with several divisional victories, top points finishes, and national records between them. Fred Adkinson was killed in a freak racing accident at a local facility in 1999.

"I took a break from class racing to focus on business and start a family. I bracket raced locally throughout the '90's. In '99 when Dad was killed, I took a step back from the sport completely and weighed my priorities. A few years later I got into big money bracket racing, and we had decent success (Adkinson picked up a $15,000 triumph at Atlanta in 2003 among several smaller victories). I've always loved class racing, and got the itch to do it again- -we debuted this Camaro at the beginning of last season and have been tinkering in Stock since."

Adkinson's road to victory at Atlanta was a tough one. After winning the opening two rounds of competition, Adkinson squared off with 2007 championship contender Michael Iacono in a heads-up C/SA tilt. Adkinson won easily when Iacono had traction problems and was forced to shut off early. That victory set up another headsup bout in the quarterfinals opposite Brenda Grubbs. In that match-up, both drivers left the starting line with great reaction times: Grubbs taking a small edge with a .011 to Adkinson's .014. Adkinson's horsepower would come through, however, with a winning 10.55 to Grubbs' 10.59. After winning both C/SA battles, Adkinson defeated bracket racing veteran Clarence Woodham in the semi-finals when Woodham red lighted. Adkinson's final round opponent was the D/SA entry of Bill Harris. There, Adkinson took a .040 to .054 starting line advantage and held on for a tight victory as his 10.680 (10.62 dial) beat Harris' 10.979 (10.93 dial) by a mere .003.

"The heads-up races were key," noted Adkinson. "The combination of our Camaro and Jeff Taylor horsepower is one of the fastest C/SA cars out there. I didn't know how fast Iacono could run, but I didn't want to take any chances--we set everything up on kill. That made preparation for the next round with Brenda a little easier. I know she's fast, but I still felt like we had the edge. I actually shut off a little early on that run, but that was close to all we had."

Adkinson said the final was much too close for comfort. "When the front end set down, it seemed like I caught him almost immediately. I rolled up to him, and starting ripping the throttle. I didn't realize that he ran nearly as much mile per hour as I do. I was back on the floor for about the last 100 feet, and just got lucky to stay ahead--nearly screwed that one up!"

"I've been back in Stock now for nearly two seasons," said Adkinson. "And I feel like I've driven really well at several events. This weekend, I really didn't drive well at all, but things fell into place. I guess that's payback for all the good runs I've made that didn't turn on the win light!"

Adkinson, who also competes in Super Comp, thanked Jeff Taylor Performance, Race Tech Race Cars, Huntsville Engine, and his wife Amy and daughter Kaitlyn for their support.