NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series - Preliminary Qualifying Result s from Friday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NHRA LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES - NORTHWEST DIVISION RENEGADE RACEWAYS FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2002 JOHNSON & AUSTIN TOP QUALIFIERS AFTER TWO SESSIONS Yakima, Wash. - After the second session of qualifying at Renegade Raceways, Brandon Johnson in Top Alcohol Dragster and Bucky Austin in Top Alcohol Funny Car are leading their fields. Fresh off a win last week in Calgary, Atla., Johnson will be looking to earn his first career event win outside of Canada this weekend. With the win last Sunday, the rookie Top Alcohol Dragster racer also elevated himself atop of the Top Alcohol Dragster points standings in the Northwest Division. He has competed in seven races this year and has won two events. Johnson's other win came on June 22 at Mission Raceway Park in Mission, B.C. The Shelton, Wash., resident also entered eliminations last Sunday as the top qualifier for the first time in his short career. He is currently leading his field again after making a 5.737 second, 247.84 mph pass. Austin of Fife, Wash., made a 5.975 second, 244.47 mph run to become the top qualifier in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class. Currently qualified number two is Roger Bateman of Calgary, Alta., who also earned a win last week in front of his hometown crowd at Race City Motorsport Park. Top qualifiers in other categories are Tom Tucker of Bend, Ore., in Comp; Byron Setters of Red Deer, Atla., in Super Stock; and Don Wann of Modesto, Calif., in Stock. Both Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car are scheduled to run one more session before the end of the night. A second release, incorporating results from the third session will be distributed at the conclusion of Friday night's racing action. This release will also include first round pairings for Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car, as well as top ten qualifier results in Comp, Super Stock, and Stock. Friday's final results will be released at approximately 10:30 P.M. The following are preliminary results in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Renegade Raceways: TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER 1) Brandon Johnson, Shelton, Wash., 5.737 seconds, 247.84 mph 2) Michael Cofini, Spokane, Wash., 5.772, 248.89 3) Mark Hentges, Federal Way, Wash., 5.774, 246.35 4) Mitch Myers, Hermiston, Ore., 6.043, 213.37 5) Mike Austin, Phoenix, Ore., 6.097, 235.56 6) Joey Severance, Spanaway, Wash., 6.148, 184.32 7) Bill Edwards Jr., Sumas, Wash., 6.405, 223.58 8) Gregg Lawrence, Salem, Ore., 19.054, 58.03 TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR 1) Bucky Austin, Fife, Wash., '02 Firebird, 5.975 seconds, 244.47 mph 2) Roger Bateman, Calgary, Alta., '97 Firebird, 6.155, 240.08 3) Jason Rupert, Yorba Linda, Calif., '02 Camaro, 6.241, 234.00 4) Clint Thompson, Klamath Falls, Ore., '97 Camaro, 6.266, 232.63 5) John Evanchuk, Edmonton, Alta., '01 Firebird, 6.360, 226.81 6) Matt Goss, Junction City, Ore., '00 Firebird, 6.399, 223.58 7) John Knox, Lacey, Wash., '97 Mustang, 6.963, 181.91 8) Forrest LeBlanc, Kent, Wash., '00 Daytona, 8.034, 130.15 -- 30 --