NHRA FMDRS: Santos and Pat Austin score first Northwest Division wins of 2001
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
June 25, 2001MISSION, B.C., Canada - As the final pair of cars went down Mission Raceway Park on Sunday at the Mopac Auto Supply Summer Classic the perfect racing weather turned wet as rain began to fall. Federal-Mogul Dragster pilot, Rick Santos of Brentwood, Calif. and Federal-Mogul Funny Car driver, Pat Austin of Tacoma, Wash. didn't let the wet weather dampen their winners circle as they collected their first NHRA Northwest Division Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series "Wally's" of the 2001 season.
Defending Federal-Mogul Dragster National Champion, Santos, who moved up to compete in the NHRA Northwest Division Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series in 2001, has experienced some rare losses in the first two events of the season at Firebird Raceway in Boise, Idaho and the first Mission Raceway Park event in May. Santos and his Oakwood Homes dragster racing team got back on track this weekend, so to speak, running three consecutive 5.4 seconds passes in Sunday's eliminations on his way to the Mission Raceway Park championship. Santos' biggest race of the day came in the semifinals against current NHRA Federal-Mogul Dragster national points leader, Mark Hentges of Federal Way, Wash. Santos took the win over Hentges in one of the closest races of the day, winning by only 62-thousands of a second to advance to the finals to meet Duane Shields of Las Vegas, Nev. Shields, the only Federal-Mogul Dragster consistently quicker than Santos on Sunday, was quicker yet again in the final with a pass of 5.380 seconds at 262.85 mph to Santos' pass of 5.380 seconds at 264.31 mph. But, Santos gets the win light by 88-thousands of a second with a stellar reaction time of .476 to Shields' .587.
In Federal-Mogul Funny Car, Pat Austin, collected his third championship in two years at Mission Raceway Park with a win over his uncle, Bucky Austin of Fife, Wash. Pat and Bucky Austin met in the finals at the May Mission Raceway Park event with Bucky taking home the trophy. Pat Austin took the rematch with a pass of 5.751 seconds to Bucky Austin's pass of 5.843 seconds at 245.36 mph.
"This is by far my favorite track we race at in the Northwest Division," said Pat Austin with a smile. "The track, spectators, and track operators are what make this a wonderful place to race--and it makes it even better when we can take the win."
Text provided by FMDRS
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