Rierson and Rankin Win Team, McWhorter Takes Grand Prix Individual

Cliff Rierson and Bob Rankin with Travis McWhorter

     At the Annual BBQ Tournament held at Jimmy Clay on October 24th, Cliff Rierson and Bob Rankin were awarded the Grand Prix Team Championship plaque having set a new points standard for future teams. The Grand Prix Individual Championship Award went to Travis McWhorter as his persistence and consistency kept him at the top of the standings throughout the year.
     McWhorter waged a year-long battle with Frank Segura, finally edging out his chief rival with good showings in the last two tournaments of the year. McWhorter finished the season with 157.5 points while Segura took second place with 146.5 points.
     Gary Prott finished third with 127.4 points with Ken "Gunner" Garrett (118.5) taking fourth followed by Lawrence Noble (111.5) in fifth place.
Jack Slayton, a former Grand Prix champion, captured sixth (106) beating out Paul Redden (102.5) while Bobby Johnson (100) edged out David Galindo (98.5) for the number eight spot. Rounding out the top ten was last year's Annual Tournament Champion, Don Pratt (98).
     In the Team Championship, the only real race was for the second place position. John Hirsch and Terence Donovan scored a razor-thin victory by a half-point margin, 121 to 120.5, over Dale French and Terry Rodriguez. Rodriquez is a former Individual Champion as well.  McWhorter, the 2017 Individual Champion, teamed with Don Visness (116.5) to take fourth place over Chester Burks and Dehart McMillan (111.5). Don Theiss and Robert Sebring (108.5) finished sixth, Domingo Santos and Gary Prott (104) took seventh, while Jim Abercrombie and Kenneth Lauber (101) claimed eighth. Lawrence Noble and Mike Bieck beat out the two teams, Charles Kelley and Waymon McLamb (92.5) and Alton Stewart and Barkley Edwards (92.5) for ninth place.