NHRA O'REILLY AUTO PARTS JR. DRAG RACING LEAGUE WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS BANDIMERE SPEEDWAY
JULY 30, 2004 Winners crowned at O'Reilly Auto Parts Jr. Finals at Bandimere DENVER - The 5th 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, crowned in eight eliminator categories. With more than 500 drivers, representing 41 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 the California Dragway in Fontana, Calif. They earned 31 points to take title. Finishing in second was Firebird Raceway, Chandler, Ariz., with 28 points. Individual event honors went to A.J. Fernandez, Katelyn Whynaught, Cameron Fulfer, Garrett Speck, Brittny Blakely, David Myhre, Katrina Billings and Todd Cooper. In the 8-9 year old category, California Dragway's A.J. Fernandez of Harbor City, Calif., emerged victorious when he took out TSM Raceway's Taylor Ewing of Highlands Ranch, Colo. Firebird Int'l Raceway's Katelyn Whynaught of Oceanside, Calif., took home the 10 year-old crown when she defeated Woodburn Dragstrip's Travis Hilton of Vancouver, Wash. In the 11-year old category, the title went to Texas Raceway's representative Cameron Fulfer of Weatherford, Texas, who won over Julesburg Dragstrip competitor, Chelsee Schoen of Brighton, Colo. Taking home the victory in the 12-year-old category was Garrett Speck of Fort Worth, Texas, racing for the team from Texas Raceway. In the final, he defeated Lubbock Dragway runner Briana Canady of Odessa, Texas Chalking up the win for Southwestern Int'l Raceway was last years 12 year old category runner-up Brittny Blakely of Anthony, N.M. In the final, Blakely defeated TSM Raceway's Matt Dotson Lakewood, Colo. Representing Sacramento Raceway, David Myhre of Sheridan, Calif., conquered the 14 year-old category when he defeated Firebird Int'l Raceway's Ty Sanders of Las Vegas. In the 15-year old category, Best Appearing Car recipient Katrina Billings of Kansas City, Mo., took the win home for Kansas City Int'l Raceway, when she defeated Bandimere Speedway Cale Crispe of Lakewood, Colo. Last year, Katrina's brother, Mark, was the winner in the 16-17 year old category. The 16-17 year old category, it was Los Angeles County Raceway's Todd Cooper of Yuba City, Calif., taking home the win. In the final, he defeated California Dragway runner Jacob Tosti of Bakersfield, 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 Woodburn Dragstrip in Woodburn, Ore. 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 A.J. Fernandez, Harbor City, Calif., .116 reaction time, 13.813 seconds, 47.18 mph def. Tylor Ewing, Highland Ranch, Colo., .051, 13.121, 53.76 10-year-old Category Katelyn Whynaught, Oceanside, Calif., .151 reaction time, 9.251 seconds, 70.23 mph def. Travis Hilton, Vancouver, Wash., foul, 9.213, 72.21 11-year-old Category Cameron Fulfer, Weatherford, Texas, .041 reaction time, 10.961 seconds, 59.42 mph def. Chelsee Schoen, Brighton, Colo., foul, 9.777, 54.38 12-Year-Old Category Garrett Speck, Fort Worth, Texas, .081 reaction time, 9.719 seconds, 66.52 mph def. Briana Canady, Odessa, Texas .049, 8.802, 73.81 13-year old Category Brittny Blakely, Anthony, N.M., .081 reaction time, 8.121 seconds, 76.25 mph def. Matt Dotson, Lakewood, Colo., .077, 8.215, 79.32 14-year-old category David Myhre, Sheridan, Calif., .004 reaction time, 8.982 seconds, 73.98 mph def. Ty Sander, Las Vegas, .083, 8.137, 75.15 15-year-old Category Katrina Billings, Kansas City, Mo., .007 reaction time, 8.234 seconds, 79.07 mph def. Cale Crispe, Lakewood, Colo., .110, 8.214, 79.78 16-17 year-old Category Todd Cooper, Yuba City, Calif., .042 reaction time, 8.301 seconds, 79.07 mph def. Jacob Tosti, Bakersfield, Calif., .013, 8.256, 79.92