Davis Brings Sportsman Championship Back Home

Brad Davis was able to see the irony.

The 45-year-old Mississippi driver won the Sportsman championship at the IHRA SuperSeries World Finals last Saturday at Alabama International Dragway. It came after his home track, Holly Springs Motorsports, had hosted the World Finals the last three years.

Davis was glad to travel the extra 200 miles to be able to take the champion’s prize package back to Mississippi. It included a record $20,000 big check for the Sportsman class, a special IHRA World Champion Ironman trophy, and an IHRA Gold Card.

“This means everything to me. It doesn’t even seem real,” Davis said. “I was in the World Finals last year and didn’t do any good. I felt like today, if I could win the first round, I could win the whole race. I got past the first round and everything fell into place.”

It certainly did fall into place. His first-round opponent, Clay Gossett, fouled at the start by a heartbreaking -.001 margin. He beat another Texan, Robert Schoemer, in round two before winning on a holeshot against Ohio racer Mitch Williams in round three.

Davis took it to another level in the quarterfinals with a perfect start to beat Kentucky racer Toby Daniels. He earned a bye in the semifinals and then bested 2020 IHRA Sportsman World Champion Joe Tharp Jr. in a final when he again gained another advantage at the tree.

He posted an 8.369-second pass at 79.95 mph along with a .015 reaction time. Tharp, who races out of Quaker City Motorsports Park, went 7.482 seconds at 87.63 mph after a .025 start.

Away from the track, Davis works at a copper tube plant where his primary job is a crane operator. He fills in where needed, a jack-of-all-trades with skills that translate perfectly to racing. His home track provides plenty of competition against Buddy Ferrell and Sammy Ferrell, along with his son and crew chief, both of whom are some of his racing heroes.

Davis drives a Ford Mustang that has a 302 cubic-inch engine. Despite qualifying for the IHRA SuperSeries World Finals by winning the track championship at Holly Springs, Davis had been disappointed in the car’s performance much of the season.

“It’s an H-box body, and it’s kind of let me down until now,” he said. “It finally started working right. I’ve been racing 15 years, but this is the best thing I’ve ever won in my life.”

Stay tuned as more IHRA SuperSeries World Champions and runner-up finishers are featured at IHRA.com and our social media pages.

Photos by: Hobbie Lee ProPhotography