Jeff Pittman doesn’t mince words when he says he didn’t care for Ronnie Davis the first time they met. In time, the Hickory, NC-based trailer dealer, and Top Sportsman racer said the two eventually bonded into best friends. 

Pittman had plenty of time to reflect on his fallen friend Tuesday afternoon as Davis was laid to rest in a funeral held in DeCatur, Georgia. 

Davis was a party animal when they first met, Pittman recalled, and with a personality one had to acquire a taste for; at least this was the case for Pittman.

Calvin Pittman, Alan’s father, immediately took a liking to Davis.

Calvin would travel to the races with his son, and when they had completed the process of establishing their pit space, would often seek out Davis for a “bonding session.”

“I believe in a lot of ways they were alike,” admitted Pittman. “Ronnie would say stuff to people just to see their reaction.  My dad was the same way.  

“We’d unload all of the race stuff, and he’d say, ‘I’ve got to check on Ronnie and his soul, I’m worried about him.;”

No one checked on Davis’ soul more than Calvin. 

Calvin and Davis used thier time together to build a relationship. The time spent together led Davis to become a Christian and for Jeff Pittman’s sake, mellow out a bit.   

“I got to know Ronnie better, and he still was not an easy person to like,” Pittman recalled. “Ronnie was a relationship that you had to work continually on; you had to want to be there.”

Pittman likened Davis’ personality to an onion; there were many layers and each one he peeled back revealed the kind of person many would love to have as a friend. 

“He was so abrasive especially at first impressions that I would say I’m not messing with that guy,” Pittman remembered of their pre-friend days. “People like to take the easy road, and Ronnie was not an easy road kind of guy.  Once you stripped away that crust and figured out who Ronnie really was, and I believe he didn’t really want you to figure out who he was, he just wanted to be that guy that was burly and mean.  Once you stripped all that stuff away and got in there, he was a really good person with a heart of gold that would do anything in the world for you.”

The more Calvin and Ronnie spent together, the more they bonded. As Jeff Pittman said, it was as if he had an adopted brother. 

“One thing about Ronnie is that he was very passionate,” Jeff Pittman said.   “Whatever he did it was 125%, and he believed in it.  You can’t have passion without some sort of emotion coming across the wrong way.”

Davis was passionate about winning, and his stats showed it. 

Davis’ nickname was “The King,” a moniker he rightfully earned because of his domination at the old Atlanta Speed Shop Dragway. He won five IHRA series championships and last season’s PDRA Top Sportsman title. He also captured NHRA Division 2 Top Sportsman titles in 2007 and 2010. 

For Jeff Pittman, it was the 2010 title won by Davis which sticks in his mind the most. 

While Calvin battled cancer, Davis and Jeff fought it out for the NHRA Top Sportsman crown. Each wanted to win the crown for Calvin.

Davis was in the catbird seat with an advantageous full claim race headed into the final event in Reynolds, Ga. If he won the race, he was the champion. 

Jeff lost in the second round and Davis drove his way to the winner’s circle. 

“I didn’t know at the time, but my dad was down to living less than a week,” Pittman recalled. “He’d be talking to Ronnie on the phone, and he’d be talking to me on the phone and a couple of times all three of us talked at one time.  It was a pretty emotional deal.”

Davis won the race and immediately made a beeline to the tower where he pleaded with NHRA officials to make Jeff the champion instead. The NHRA couldn’t honor his request for obvious reasons. 

Davis dedicated the title in Calvin’s memory. Calvin’s last words to either were in telling them how proud he was. 

In a twist of irony,Jeff Pittman was scheduled to drive a second car for Davis at the same PDRA Spring Nationals where the horrific crash transpired. Davis lost control of his 1963 Corvette and crashed during the final round of qualifying. His 4.13 elapsed time failed to make the field. 

Pittman was not surprised Davis crashed on a run as he was desperately trying to qualify.

“He was in 110-percent,” Pittman said. “He was going to do whatever it took.  I don’t know what was going through his mind; I can assume when he went through that finish line at 4.13 and glanced up I’m sure that he was not a happy man.  It made no difference what he was doing; it was going to be his way, and it was his way.

“But, that was just Ronnie. He raced hard and wouldn’t give up.”

On this day, Pittman was glad he and his dad never gave up on Davis.