Once again, Bill Evans won the Top Alcohol Dragster competition before rain washed out most of the 29th annual Citrus Nationals' final rounds Sunday at Palm Beach International Raceway.

Evans, who won the Citrus Nationals' most prestigious category for the third consecutive year, collected the $4,000 top prize for outrunning Robin Samsel of Marion, Ind., in the final heat by less than a half-second.

Evans crossed the finish line of the quarter-mile dragstrip going 266.48 mph in his 2008 Spitzer, which runs on injected nitromethane fuel. In his semifinal win over Don Fiorelli of Palm Bay, Evans exceeded 284 mph.

In 2008, the Miramar resident also beat Samsel for the top prize before rain cut short the rest of the Citrus Nationals.

In the only other event completed before the rain, Darius Poitier of Pompano Beach took the Super Gas title in his1968 Camaro when Mike Corry of Lake Worth broke out, completing the quarter-mile run faster than his predicted time.

"I knew he (Corry) was going too fast, so I dumped him hard (backed off his accelerator) and he broke out," said Poitier, who won $600.

Two of the other nine events — Pro Bikes and Juniors -- will be completed Dec. 18, along with the previously scheduled Amateur Challenge Series, an event for novice racers in street cars.

In the Pro Bike competition, four Palm Beach County racers will vie for the $400 top prize. In the Juniors competition for racers ages 8 to 17, Samantha Leavy of Cooper City and Anthony Gallo of Loxahatchee will race for an IHRA trophy.

In the other seven categories, the remaining competitors opted to split the purse.

In the Pro Mod event, the other event with a $4,000 first prize, Jimmy Marino of Palm Beach Gardens and Frank Corsosimo of Lehigh Acres each collected $2,875.

Twenty racers remaining in the Top Eliminator category received $200.

Paul Schultz of Lake Worth said, "I wanted to come back and race it, but I think I was the only one."

Eight racers in the Super Eliminator event got $236 each.

In Super Comp, Tim Hunt of Boynton Beach and Gene Kish of West Palm Beach received $900.

David Lindsay of Fort Pierce and Manny Sosa of Bradenton each collected $1,050 as the finalists in the Stock/Super Stock category.

The three remaining racers in the Super Street category received $583 each, and the two finalists in the Street Bike category earned $100 each.

-"Rain washes out most of final rounds at Citrus Nationals drag races" Courtesy Paul Ivice, Palm Beach Post