STURGIS - Elapsed-time drag racing is one of the few motorsports where races can be won at the start, and that's what Bill Konst, of Rapid City, did in the Super Pro division Saturday at Sturgis Dragway.
Konst got the advantage of a quicker jump at the start, called a hole-shot in racing lingo, over his final round opponent Terry Henrikson of Rapid City.
Konst's reaction time, measured as the difference between the time that the "Christmas tree" starting light goes green and the time a car leaves the line, was .042. Henrikson's reaction time was .068.
"I think it was the hole-shot," said Konst. "I treed him."
Henrikson tried to make up the difference with a charge at the end of the eighth-mile, but then had to brake at the end to avoid exceeding his qualifying "dial" time.
"I got on the brakes too hard and he drove around me," Henrikson said.
Braking was the least of concerns for Dave Newton, of Laurel, Mont., who was making exhibition passes with his top-alcohol rail dragster in an attempt to better the Dragway's existing track record elapsed time of 4.63 seconds set during an appearance of the Midwest Wild Bunch drag-racing tour last year.
Newton made four passes during the day with his ground-pounding rail, but his best time was 4.68 at a top speed of 147 miles per hour.
"The record was attainable," said Newton, an oil field worker in Alaska when he is not racing at his home track in Acton, Mont. "The moon and the stars were not in line for us today.
"I'd love to come back here later this year and try it again," he said.
Tony Dargatz of Sturgis shrugged of some teething pains with a new engine in his Arctic Cat snowmobile to win the bike-sled division final over Matthew Finbraten of Rapid City.
"It's a new motor, so we're struggling," said Dargatz, who won the 2006 and 2007 class championships at the track. His snowmobile is equipped with rollers replacing the front skis for running on asphalt.
"It's a matter of figuring out the clutch, gearing and the pipes, a lot of little things. We'll get it worked out," he said.
In the Pro division, Lee Phillips of Owanka defeated Josh Olson of Sturgis in the finals. Brad Adami of Black Hawk outran Lori Konst of Sturgis in the Street class finals.
Junior dragster Bonnie Fuchs outraced Carly Jo Ellingson, of Rapid City, in the finals.
The weekend of National Hot Rod Racing Association-sanctioned action continues today at the dragway, three miles east of Sturgis on Highway 34 and a mile north on Highway 79. Time trials start at about 10 a.m., with eliminations underway at 1 p.m.
