Lawrence Surprises in TAD, Payne Takes TAFC at Woodburn
WOODBURN, Ore. – At the Les Schwab Challenge West Regional event at Woodburn Dragstrip, Gregg Lawrence came from the last spot in the field to take down championship contenders Joey Severance and Chris Demke for Top Alcohol Dragster honors, and all-time great Jay Payne outlasted a top-flight field of Top Alcohol Funny Cars for his second victory of the season and passed idle Frank Manzo for second place in the national standings.
Lawrence upset Severance, the two-time defending event champion and pre-race favorite, in the opening round with a steady 5.55. Severance, a co-owner of the track, shook the tires off the starting line and slowed to an 8.57 after the chutes deployed. Lawrence soloed in the semifinals and met Demke, who set the track record (5.32) in qualifying, in the final.
Demke, who ran a 5.33 in the first round and a 5.35 in a semifinal win over Megan McKernan, coasted to a 17.96 after a wire to the six-shooter became disconnected when the car rattled the tires in low gear. Lawrence, who got quicker and quicker in every round, scooped up the win with his best run of the weekend, 5.53.
"I saw his nose out there for a split second, and then he was gone," Lawrence said. "Like Bob Frey always says, that's why they don't run these things on paper. I expected to run a 5.40-something – that's what we were running last year, and we probably could have done it again. But it wasn't going to run a 5.30, so why go up in smoke trying? If Chris ran what he'd been running, there's nothing we could have done. But if he stumbled, a 6.0 would have been enough anyway. We had a long time to sit there and think about it, but we left things pretty much alone, and it all worked out."
It was Lawrence's third divisional/regional victory and his first in nine years. All three have come at Woodburn, his home track. Lawrence, who lives just 15 minutes from Woodburn in Salem, Ore., defeated Darren Nicholson in the 2002 final and Severance in 2003.
"This meant so much more to me and my team than it probably would have to Demke or Severance," Lawrence said. "Those guys are so good and have won so many times, it would have been just another win for them. Who knows how many more races they'll both win before this year is over, but to us, this weekend meant everything."
Alcohol Funny Car distilled to a fitting final between the drivers who tied for No. 1 in qualifying with matching 5.661s: Steve Gasparrelli, who got the top spot on the basis of his faster speed, 259.59 mph to 255.31, and Payne.
Low e.t. was reestablished three times in eliminations, first by Brian Hough, who ran a 5.63 to beat Jason Rupert's 5.79 in the opening round. Payne followed two pair later with a track-record 5.61 in a come-from-behind win over Sean Bellemeur, who was out first with a .004 reaction time.
Payne outdid himself in the semifinals with Woodburn's first 5.50, a 5.599 opposite Hough's game 5.65. Gasparrelli, who won the Mission event in his most recent regional appearance, defeated Shane Westerfield in the other semi, 5.67 to 5.73, and anything close to that would have been enough to win the final, where both drivers made their worst runs all weekend.
After leaving almost simultaneously with .060 lights, Payne got the best of a wild race, 5.76 to 5.80, leading by a full tenth at the 330-foot mark but by just four-hundredths at the stripe. Payne, who had raced just once since he edged Gasparrelli in the Houston final, has reached at least the semifinals in every outing this year and now trails leader Tony Bartone by just 20 points in the national standings.
The Comp Eliminator trophy went to Brandon Huhtala, Puyallup, Wash., and his ’09 GXP running 7.325 seconds at 176.47 mph to defeat Aaron Strong out of Auburn, Wash, while home state racer Ross Childers, Gladstone, Ore., took the win in Super Gas. Childers drove his ’84 Thunderbird to victory over Steve Apted, Medford, Ore., after running several 9.90’s on the 9.90 index in eliminations.
Brad Burton took another step closer to the NHRA Lucas Oil Stock National Championship with a win over Dave Barcelon. This is Burton’s fifth win of the year increasing his points lead to more than 200. Mark Faul moved himself into the Top Five in the Super Stock National points chase with his first win of the year as he beat defending Northwest Division Stock Champion Jody Lang.
The Sportsman Motorcycle Series presented by Harley Davidson pitted two former division champions against each other with Jeff Havens, Yakima, Wash., coming out on top of Al Omond, Surrey, B.C. who fouled at the starting line with a red-light start.
Other winners this weekend were Larry Miner with his first win of the year in Super Street against Arron Spitzer; Gerald Devenpeck won his first ever over Andy Morris in Top Dragster; Mike Shannon won by about 12 inches in Super Comp over Mike Hiatt; Shane Molinari fell to Robert Strohm taking the win in Top Sportsman; Dave Sattem won in Super Pro; and Steve Stuart, Estacade, Ore., beat Grace Presser, Salem, Ore., in Pro.
Northwest Division racers will join the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series at Pacific Raceways August 3-5, for the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals before their next NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Pacific Raceways, August 17-18.
The following are the final results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Les Schwab Tires event at Woodburn Dragstrip:
TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER:
Round 1
1) Chris Demke, Sunland, Calif., 5.338, 265.87 was unopposed
5) Gregg Lawrence, Salem, Ore., 5.553, 260.34 def. 2) Joey Severance, Woodburn, Ore., 8.573, 84.23
4) Megan McKernan, Sierra Madre, Calif., 5.479, 263.54 def. 3) Ray Martin, Anchorage, Alaska, 5.571, 261.24
Semifinals
Lawrence, 5.536, 261.47 was unopposed
Demke, 5.350, 267.45 def. McKernan, 5.396, 266.42
Final
Lawrence, 5.530, 260.19 def. Demke, 17.969, 34.48
TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR:
Round 1
4) Shane Westerfield, Lake Forest, Calif., '06 Monte Carlo, 5.690, 250.97 def. 5) John Lombardo Jr., Brea, Calif., '06 Monte Carlo, 5.708, 258.10
3) Brian Hough, Junction City, Ore., '09 Mustang, 5.631, 253.09 def. 6) Jason Rupert, Yorba Linda, Calif., '06 Monte Carlo, 5.793, 249.16
1) Steve Gasparrelli, W. Covina, Calif., '06 Monte Carlo, 5.645, 260.41 def. 8) Jim Peters, Molalla, Ore., '09 Impala, 5.929, 236.15
2) Jay Payne, Claremont, Calif., '09 Mustang, 5.615, 258.76 def. 7) Sean Bellemeur, Tustin, Calif., '02 Camaro, 5.821, 253.73
Semifinals
Gasparrelli, 5.674, 259.66 def. Westerfield, 5.731, 253.59
Payne, 5.599, 260.86 def. Hough, 5.654, 254.95
Final
Payne, 5.760, 256.99 def. Gasparrelli, 5.802, 259.14
COMP ELIMINATOR
Brandon Huhtala, Puyallup, Wash., '09 GXP, C/A, 7.325, 176.47 def. Arron Strong, Auburn, Wash., '05
Cavalier, G/A, 8.378, 158.87
SUPER STOCK
Mark Faul, Tacoma, Wash., '98 Grand Am, GT/HA, 10.719, 121.24 def. Jody Lang, Puyallup, Wash., '81
Malibu, GT/KA, 10.845, 117.38
STOCK ELIMINATOR
Brad Burton, Kirkland, Wash., '72 Formula, E/SA, 11.019, 114.95 def. Dave Barcelon, Bremerton, Wash.,
'69 Camaro, G/SA, 11.204, 115.48
SUPER COMP
Mike Shannon, Kelowna, B.C., dragster, 8.962, 171.49 def. Mike Hiatt, Fallon, Nev., dragster, 8.959,
165.99
SUPER GAS
Ross Childers, Gladstone, Ore., '84 Thunderbird, 9.913, 148.34 def. Steve Apted, Medford, Ore., '67
Corvette, 9.942, 160.51
SUPER STREET
Larry Miner, Sedro-Wolley, Wash., '69 Camaro, 10.913, 130.51 def. Arron Spitzer, Arlington, Wash., '66
Chevy II, 10.969, 143.88
SPORTSMAN MOTORCYCLE SERIES PRESENTED BY HARLEY DAVIDSON
Jeff Havens, Yakima, Wash., '95 Suzuki, 8.022, 154.37 def. Al Omond, Surrey, B.C., '97 Kawasaki, foul
TOP SPORTSMAN
Robert Strohm, Seattle, Wash., '00 Mustang, 7.840, 163.22 def. Shane Molinari, Battleground, Wash.,
'68 Le Mans, 7.509, 182.18
TOP DRAGSTER
Gerald Devenpeck, Gig Harbor, Wash., dragster, 7.372, 179.06 def. Andy Morris, Olympia, Wash.,
dragster, 7.315, 176.15
SUPER PRO
Dave Sattem, Camas, Wash., dragster, 7.793, 167.50 def. Mike Hilsendager, Springfield, Ore., dragster,
7.523, 177.47
PRO ET
Steve Stuart, Estacada, Ore., '66 Chevelle, 9.380, 129.34 def. Grace Presser, Salem, Ore., dragster,
10.371, 125.00
