NHRA Drag Racing, Federal-Mogul Series, Woodburn race notes
12 July 1999
Duane Shields had the misfortune to lose a front wheel on his Whodunit Plastering Federal-Mogul Dragster during first-round qualifying, causing the car to swing hard right and slap the guardwall, bending the chassis on impact. "I thought the tire shake caused the wheel to break off, but once we got back to the pits and reviewed the videotape of the run, you can see the wheel came off first. It looks like it broke the spindle." The Las Vegas, Nev., team sent the car to Brad Hadman's Seattle workshop for repairs and is planning on returning to competition at the Prolong Northwest Nationals at Seattle International Raceway July 30. Marc Peterson of the Albany Democrat Herald newspaper won the Woodburn Dragstrip media challenge Friday, defeating Adam Pushkas of Portland's NRK-FM radio for the title. Peterson was paired with Super Stock standout Tony DeFrank, who served as Peterson's coach/passenger in the pro-am event. Another Super Stock racer, Jeff Lane, coached Pushkas to the runner-up finish. Kennewick, Wash.'s Brian Hudson rode his Suzuki to the inaugural King of the Coast motorcycle challenge Saturday. An invitation-only event open to the eight best riders (based on points scored) from the NHRA Northwest and NHRA Pacific Divisions, the final came down to a Northwest versus Pacific duel. Representing the Southerners was Las Vegas, Nev.'s Gary Oaks, whose Kawasaki broke out (9.83 seconds on a 9.91 dial) handing Hudson's 9.03 on a 9.08 dial the victory. Easily the biggest upset of the event came Saturday evening when Pete Swayne's 6.07 in the Goodwin & Swayne/Team Chevrolet Federal-Mogul Funny Car failed to crack the eight-car field. (It took a 6.05 or better to make the show.) "I feel dreadful," grumbled Swayne. "It's a long way to come [from Orange County, Calif.] to not make the show; I've let down my crew and the fans. We were really hoping to run good here, but it obviously wasn't meant to be." Upset of the day in Federal-Mogul Dragster came in round one when unheralded Gary Ormsby Jr. drove the Edgecomb Racing Dodge B-1-powered dragster to the win over Melanie Troxel. Troxel's In-N-Out Burger machine spun the rear tires away from the starting line, allowing Ormsby to sprint into an unassailable lead. "I kept waiting for her to come by me," said Ormsby. "You normally can hear them (A/Fuel Dragsters) coming up on you, but it never happened. I could feel my engine begin to nose over so I shut off, but she never came by." When Dale Carlson broke the burst panel on his Federal-Mogul Dragster during the burnout prior to his semifinal race with Mark Hentges, he effectively removed himself from the NHRA Northwest Divisional title chase and kept Hentges in the hunt. Both drivers were chasing Melanie Troxel for the championship, who could have locked the title with an event victory, but kept the chase open when she smoked the tires opposite Gary Ormsby Jr. in the first round. Had Carlson won the semifinal heat he would have eliminated Hentges from the chase and kept his own slim hopes alive. Should Hentges, runner-up at Woodburn, win the final event in the Northwest Division, at Renegade Raceways in Yakima, Wash., Aug. 27-28, he will trail Troxel by just 33 points with one event left to claim. -- 30 --