NHRA FMDRS: Rain halts fast day of qualifying at Mission Raceway Park
23 July 2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NHRA MOPAC MISSION CANADIAN NATIONAL OPEN
MISSION RACEWAY PARK
SATURDAY, JULY 22, 2000
RAIN HALTS A FAST DAY OF QUALIFYING AT MISSION RACEWAY PARK
MISSION, B.C.- After dodging small rain showers all day the skies
finally opened for good at 3:45 p.m. and washed out what was a fast day of
racing. Five-time NHRA Pro Stock champion, Warren Johnson, gave the crowd
a thrill with three near six-second runs and Federal-Mogul Dragster and
Funny Cars also got one round of qualifying in before the rains.
Johnson of Buford, Ga. brought his GM Goodwrench Service Plus Pro
Stock Pontiac Firebird to Mission Raceway Park for the second consecutive
year to test some parts and tires before next week's Prolong Super
Lubricants Nationals at Seattle Int'l Raceway. After winning seven races
in 1999, Johnson has only managed one win (Mac Tools Gatornationals) in
2000. Johnson gave the crowd a good show but just missed hitting the
elusive six-second mark on all three runs. His best run of the day was
7.027 seconds at 197.97 mph in his second pass. Johnson will be making
passes on Sunday and is determined to run a sub-seven second run before he
makes the trip south to Seattle.
In Federal-Mogul Dragster, Dale Carlson of Olympia, Wash. made the
quickest and fasted run of the first qualifying session with a pass of
5.526 seconds at 257.21 mph. Carlson, fresh off his win here in the
Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event back in June, had a little tire
shake off the line but drove through it to take the No. 1 qualifying
position after one round. Local favorites, Bob Haffner of Mission, B.C.
and Leo Grocock of Mission, B.C. drove their Federal-Mogul Dragsters to
third and fifth qualifying positions respectively.
Northwest Division Heavy Hitter, Bucky Austin of Fife, Wash. drove
his '00 Chevrolet Camaro to the only five second run of the first
qualifying session with a pass of 5.878 seconds at 242.26 mph. Austin's
Funny Car started pushing hard towards the center line about mid-track and
needed some great driving by Austin to keep the car from entering the
opposite lane. Austin got the car back in the groove and still had enough
to take the No. 1 qualifing position. Former Northwest Division Champion,
Roger Bateman of Calgary, Alb. made the fastest run of the day while
claiming the No. 2 qualifying position with a run of 6.008 seconds at
249.37 mph.
Other top qualifiers after Saturday's abbreviated qualifying
include: Rick Duda of Surrey, B.C. in Super Comp, George Scott of Tacoma,
Wash. in Super Gas, and Brian Murphy of Kelowna, B.C. in Super Street.
The Mopac Mission Canadian National Open at Mission Raceway Park
continues Sunday with qualifying resuming at 8 a.m. and eliminations
beginning at 11 a.m. Pro Stock, Federal-Mogul Dragsters and Federal-Mogul
Funny Cars will begin first round of eliminations at 12 noon.
The following are Saturday's qualifying results from the Mopac Mission
Canadian National Open at Mission Raceway Park:
FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER
1) Dale Carlson, Olympia, Wash., 5.526 seconds, 257.21 mph
2) Mark Hentges, Federal Way, Wash., 5.953, 231.89
3) Bob Haffner, Mission, B.C., 6.051, 226.30
4) Bill Edwards Jr., Sumas, Wash., 6.246, 211.76
5) Leo Grocock, Mission, B.C., 6.674, 206.65
FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR
1) Bucky Austin, Fife, Wash., '00 Chevrolet Camaro, 5.878 Seconds, 242.26
mph
2) Roger Bateman, Calgary, Alberta, '97 Pontiac Firebird, 6.008, 249.37
3) Randy Parker, Graham, Wash., '00 Dodge Avenger, 6.501, 217.97
4) John Evanchur, Edmonton, Alb., '97 Achieva, 6.759, 228.71
5) Rod Clough, Abbottsford, B.C., '96 Oldsmobile Achieva, 7.280, 191.28
SUPER STOCK/STOCK COMBO
1. Bruce Flodin, Abbottsford, B.C., '95 Dodge, CT/SA, 12.036 seconds
(1.314-seconds under Index)
2. Fred Deuchar, Brush Prairie, Wash., '65 Chevrolet Malibu, K/S, 11.872
(-0.978)
3. Burke Taylor, Edmonton, Alb., '69 Chevrolet, C/SA, 10.885 (-0.815)
4. Bill Stewart, Marysville, Wash, '74 Plymouth, SS/KA, 10.768 (-0.782)
5. Jim Isherwood, Port Alberni, B.C., '66 Plymouth, SS/EA, 9.970 (-0.680)
6. Dave Wren, Lynden, Wash., '64 Plymouth, SS/BA, 9.344 (-0.656)
7. Ray Grossmith, Vancouver Island, B.C., '89 Chevrolet Camaro, GT/DA,
10.148 (-0.652)
8. Rick McKinney, Richmond, B.C., '84 Oldsmobile Achieva, SS/KA, 10.910
(-0.640)
9. Terry Wiens, Maple Ridge, B.C., '78 Pontiac Firebird, L/SA, 12.378
(-0.622)
10. Dave Hall, Surrey, B.C., '69 Chevrolet Nova, D/SA, 11.242 (-0.608)
TOP COMP
1. Marty Zazula, Surry, B.C., '89 Dragster, 7.047 seconds, 194.67 mph
2. Terry Cameron, Calmar, Alb., '92 Dragster, 7.370, 183.44
3. Brian Barling, White Rock, B.C., '69 Woody Gilmore, 7.601, 179.17
4. Ken Kennedy, Port Coquitlam, B.C., '93 Dragster, 7.624, 182.88
5. Wes Garvin III, Kennewick, Wash., '23 Ford T, 7.692, 171.00
6. Richard Vaughn, Bellingham, Wash., '94 Dragster, 7.707, 174.04
7. Dale Giroux, Canyon Creek, Alb., '91 Chevrolet Cavalier, 7.709, 174.96
8. Kim Brynn, Tacoma, Wash., '97 Dragster, 7.771, 174.21
9. Mark Campbell, Spruce Grove, Alb., 7.803, 170.61
10. Steve Flasha, Whitecourt, Alb., 7.971, 170.71