NHRA O'REILLY AUTO PARTS JR. DRAG RACING LEAGUE WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS BANDIMERE SPEEDWAY
AUGUST 2, 2003 Girl Power- All-Girl Team from Sacramento Raceway Park Wins Team Title DENVER - The 4th Annual NHRA O'Reilly Auto Parts Jr. Drag Racing League Western Conference Finals concluded today at Bandimere Speedway with champions, ranging in ages from 8 to 17 years-old, being crowned in eight eliminator categories. With more than 500 drivers, representing 43 NHRA member tracks, competing for honors the action was furious throughout the day, with the young racers skills translating into event victories. A large part of the event was the team competition, in which drivers earned points for each round of racing completed. The coveted Team Championship went to an all-girl team from Sacramento Raceway Park in Sacramento, Calif. They earned 37 points to take title. Finishing in second was Texas Raceway, Kennedale, Texas, with 34 points. Taking third with 28 points was Rocky Mountain Raceways, West Valley City, Utah. Individual event honors went to Jacob Burrow, Grant Snedeker, Ricky Menditto, Amber Cherry, Brittany Johnson, Casey DePeel, Amber Lockman and Mark Billings. In the 8-9-year-old category, Texas Raceway's Jacob Burrow of Garland, Texas, emerged victorious when he took out TSM's Brianna Bergh of Lakewood, Colo. Thunder Valley Raceway Park's Grant Snedeker of Chickasha, Okla., took home the 10-year-old crown when he defeated Wichita, Kan., runner Bryant Stock, racing for Heartland Park Topeka. In the 11-year-old category, the title went to No Problem Raceway representative Ricky Menditto of Lakeland, Fla., who won over Thunder Valley Raceway Park competitor, Michael Jolly of Red Oak, Okla. Taking home the victory in the 12-year-old category was Amber Cherry of Bakersfield, Calif., racing for the all-girl team from Sacramento Raceway. In the final, she defeated Southwestern Int'l Raceway runner Brittny Blakely of Anthony, N.M. Chalking up another win for the Sacramento Team was 13-year-old racer Brittany Johnson of Palm Desert, Calif. In the final, Johnson defeated fellow Sacramento racer Kristie Thompson of Wildomar, Calif. Representing Woodburn Dragstrip, Casey DePeel of Gladstone, Ore., conquered the 14-year-old category when he defeated No Problem Raceway's Dana Birch of Kentwood, La. In the 15-year-old category, hometown runner Amber Lockman of Wellington, Colo., took the win home for TSM Raceway, when she defeated Vincent Shaw of Oklahoma City, Okla., racing for Thunder Valley Raceway Park. While in the 16-17-year-old category, it was Kansas City Int'l Raceway's Mark Billings of Kansas City, Mo., taking home the win. In the final, he defeated Inyokern Drag Strip runner Reann Wiltse of Colton, Calif. In addition to competing for team and individual honors an award was also presented to the Western Conference Finals team with the most "spirit." This year the Team Spirit Award was presented to TSM Raceway in Mead, Colo. The NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League was founded a decade ago by late Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, Englishtown, N.J., track operator Vinnie Napp. The NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League allows kids ages 8-17 to race half-scale dragsters on eight-mile drag strips throughout North America. The following are Saturday's final round results from the NHRA O'Reilly Auto Parts Jr. Drag Racing League Western Conference Finals event at Bandimere Speedway: 8-9 year-old Category Jacob Burrow, Garland, Texas, .563 reaction time, 14.042 seconds, 44.51 mph def. Brianna Bergh, Lakewood, Colo., .595, 13.018, 52.59 10-year-old Category Grant Snedeker, Chickasha, Okla., .534 reaction time, 9.307 seconds, 63.35 mph def. Bryant Stock, Wichita, Kan., .718, 11.840, 53.05 11-year-old Category Ricky Menditto, Lakeland, Fla., .661 reaction time, 9.421 seconds, 70.84 mph def. Michael Jolly, Red Oak, Okla., .589, 9.409, 68.26 12-Year-Old Category Amber Cherry, Bakersfield, Calif., .589 reaction time, 9.015 seconds, 72.50 mph def. Brittny Blakely, Anthony, N.M, .612, 8.854, 76.88 13-year old Category Brittany Johnson, Palm Desert, Calif., .528 reaction time, 8.244 seconds, 78.64 mph def. Kristie Thompson, Wildomar, Calif., .602, 8.003, 78.57 14-year-old category Casey DePeel, Gladstone, Ore., .568 reaction time, 9.408 seconds, 69.01 mph def. Dana Birch, Kentwood, La., .573, 8.165, 78.22 15-year-old Category Amber Lockman, Wellington, Colo., .546 reaction time, 9.356 seconds, 68.14 mph def. Vincent Shaw, Oklahoma City, Okla., .445 (foul), 8.266, 72.38 16-17 year-old Category Mark Billings, Kansas City, Mo., .558 reaction time, 8.417 seconds, 76.12 mph def. Reann Wiltse, Colton, Calif., .627, 10.175, 62.16