Smith & Whitlock Take Top Honors

Travis Whitlock

This weekend marked the opening round for the 2006 Racer X / Suzuki N.A.H.A. Hillclimb Series. More than 10,000 spectators showed up in Tracy, California to watch hundreds of pro and amateur racers battle for king of the hill honors and a portion of the $30,000 prize money. This climb was also the field’s first chance to see what they are up against this year and, with the onslaught of exotic fuels and racing engines, the roar emanating from the Manteca Trailer & Camper Championship Hill was frightfully impressive. A mere 3.3 seconds was the difference between taking home the win and coming in 10th place! Travis Whitlock, Dusty Beer, Jason Smith and Jeff Thomas slugged it out for top honors in both the 0-700cc and Open classes. Travis Whitlock brought the crowd to their feet with his 15.616 run in the Open Exhibition class run, only to be bested by the up and coming Jason Smith’s blazing 15.024 run minutes later! In the end Travis Whitlock took home the win in the 700cc class with Dusty Beer and Jason Smith trailing in second and third. Jason Smith took top honors in the wild Open Exhibition class with Whitlock and Jeff Thomas rounding out the podium. The season opener was an exciting foray into the world of hillclimbing and goes to show that this season is going to be hotly contested all the way to the end.

For more information visit www.Pro-Hillclimbers.org.

Upcoming 2006 N.A.H.A. Events

Date/City

June 17-18 Columbus, MT
July 15-16 New Plymouth, ID
Aug. 9-10 Sturgis, SD
Oct. 21-22 Carnegie, CA

There are also two affiliate events posting over $60,000 in additional prize money:

July 1-2 Decazeville, France
Sept. 30 – Oct. 1 Nashville, IN