Rick Wilkin wins second world championship
Lead Summary
By
Rory Ryan-hcpress@cinci.rr.com
History was equaled in Ringgold, Ga., this past weekend as Allensburg's Rick Wilkin became only the second person to win the Beat the Heat World Championship for a second time.
Wilkin, racing his 1991 DARE Chevrolet Camaro with a 540-cubic-inch engine, defeated Jose Ayala in the Pro Cop finals and bested Modifiers champ Mike Carroll for the championship on Saturday, Sept. 10.
Ayala finished as the Top Cop runner-up and Gerald Cooley Jr. was the Modifieds runner-up.
The 2011 Beat the Heat World Championship race was held at the Brainerd Optimist Dragway, a 1/8th-mile track located just a few miles from the city limits of Chattanooga, Tenn., near Interstate 75 in north Georgia.
Wilkin was presented with his second world championship trophy, after winning the competition in 2000 in Bowling Green, Ky.
The only other driver to capture the world title twice is Tom Brown, the president of Beat the Heat, Inc.
"There were five rounds of racing and 25 cars from all over the country this year," Wilkin said. "They had cars from Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Tennessee, and other states."
Detective Marty Dunn of the Hamilton County (Tenn.) Sheriff's Office was the host for this year's race.
According to its website, Beat the Heat is a national non-profit organization comprised of police officers and firefighters who conduct educational programs using marked emergency vehicle drag cars to gain the interest of the public. Members develop programs and activities to serve their individual communities using the goals of Beat the Heat, Inc. as a guide. Those goals include:
• To educate the young people about the problems of illegal drug and alcohol use and the horrors of impaired and distracted driving;
• To encourage young people to stay in school and be an achiever in life;
• To promote a better understanding between the police and the communities they serve; and,
* To educate the general public about the sport of drag racing, and encourage everyone to race on the dragstrip – not on the streets and highways.
Wilkin works with Highland County DARE Officer Bobby Stroop, from the Highland County Sheriff's Office, to help promote local educational programs.
"We took the car to DARE Fest this year and whenever Bobby wants us to attend an event, we try to," Wilkin said. Wilkin has been working with the local DARE program with the Camaro since he built it 20 years ago.
Wilkin said he hopes to defend his world title at next year's Beat the Heat in Gainesville, Fla. The 2013 event could be held at National Trail Raceway near Columbus, he said.[[In-content Ad]]
Wilkin, racing his 1991 DARE Chevrolet Camaro with a 540-cubic-inch engine, defeated Jose Ayala in the Pro Cop finals and bested Modifiers champ Mike Carroll for the championship on Saturday, Sept. 10.
Ayala finished as the Top Cop runner-up and Gerald Cooley Jr. was the Modifieds runner-up.
The 2011 Beat the Heat World Championship race was held at the Brainerd Optimist Dragway, a 1/8th-mile track located just a few miles from the city limits of Chattanooga, Tenn., near Interstate 75 in north Georgia.
Wilkin was presented with his second world championship trophy, after winning the competition in 2000 in Bowling Green, Ky.
The only other driver to capture the world title twice is Tom Brown, the president of Beat the Heat, Inc.
"There were five rounds of racing and 25 cars from all over the country this year," Wilkin said. "They had cars from Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Tennessee, and other states."
Detective Marty Dunn of the Hamilton County (Tenn.) Sheriff's Office was the host for this year's race.
According to its website, Beat the Heat is a national non-profit organization comprised of police officers and firefighters who conduct educational programs using marked emergency vehicle drag cars to gain the interest of the public. Members develop programs and activities to serve their individual communities using the goals of Beat the Heat, Inc. as a guide. Those goals include:
• To educate the young people about the problems of illegal drug and alcohol use and the horrors of impaired and distracted driving;
• To encourage young people to stay in school and be an achiever in life;
• To promote a better understanding between the police and the communities they serve; and,
* To educate the general public about the sport of drag racing, and encourage everyone to race on the dragstrip – not on the streets and highways.
Wilkin works with Highland County DARE Officer Bobby Stroop, from the Highland County Sheriff's Office, to help promote local educational programs.
"We took the car to DARE Fest this year and whenever Bobby wants us to attend an event, we try to," Wilkin said. Wilkin has been working with the local DARE program with the Camaro since he built it 20 years ago.
Wilkin said he hopes to defend his world title at next year's Beat the Heat in Gainesville, Fla. The 2013 event could be held at National Trail Raceway near Columbus, he said.[[In-content Ad]]