NHRA FMDRS: Pat 'Flintstone' Austin wins a sqeaker at Mission, BC
26 June 2000
MISSION, B.C. - Wishing he could pedal his car like cartoon icon Fred Flintstone, Tacoma, Wash.'s Pat Austin barely edged rival John Hyland to claim the Pepsi Racing Challenge title at Mission Raceway Park. Trailing Springfield, Ore's Hyland all the way downtrack in the final, Austin edged into the lead in the last few feet of racetrack to win, 5.787 seconds to 5.789 seconds, the third of six events in the NHRA Northwest Division Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series. "I saw him all the way downtrack," said Austin. "At about half track I was wishing I could put my feet on the ground and pedal [the car], like Fred Flintstone, to get past him." Austin had run as quick as 5.68 seconds in the quarterfinals, but lost a tenth-of-a-second in performance in the semifinals and final as the car shook the rear tires. The loss of acceleration gave Hyland the opening he was looking for. "I was beginning to think I'd got him," said Hyland. "I couldn't see Pat beside me and then, at the finish line, he came blowing by me. I was going 246 mph and Pat was going 253 mph, so he came by me pretty fast. "When we got to the end of the track neither of us knew who had won," Hyland continued. "Then one of the officials gave Pat the thumbs up and I knew it was his race." Olympia, Wash.'s Dale Carlson claimed the Federal-Mogul when final-round opponent Paul Jones, of Stockton, Calif., was unable to repair his engine and make it to the starting line. - 30 - The following are the final results from the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event at Mission Raceway Park: FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER Quarterfinals 1) Duane Shields, Las Vegas, Nev., 5.595 seconds, 250.90 miles per hour def. 8) Bob Haffner, Mission, B.C., 8.460, 85.59 7) Paul Jones, Stockton, Calif., 5.782, 243.63 def. 2) Mark Hentges, Federal Way, Wash., 6.783, 137.48 6) Kim Parker, Graham, Wash., 5.854, 236.71 def. 3) Steve Faria, Tipton, Calif., 10.315, 87.11 4) Dale Carlson, Olympia, Wash., 5.630, 259.29 def. 5) Steve Federlin, Oregon City, Ore., 9.455, 82.78 Semifinals Carlson, 5.952, 250.83 def. Shields, 6.698, 141.88 Jones, 6.131, 180.72 def. Parker, 9.830, 84.84 Final Carlson, 5.579, 256.48 def. Jones, broke FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR Quarterfinals 1) Pat Austin, Tacoma, Wash., '99 Firebird, 5.681 seconds, 257.21 mph, def. 8) Lloyd Bandle, Jacksonville, Ore., '96 Firebird, 6.099, 243.04 2) Russ Parker, Salem, Ore., '00 Avenger, 5.809, 245.76 def. 7) Mike Giuliani, Abbotsford, B.C., '96 Achieva, 5.971, 234.68 3) John Hyland, Springfield, Ore., '00 Camaro, 5.897, 242.58 def. 6) Dan McGlone, Oregon City, Ore., '99 Camaro, 12.394, 72.46 4) Bucky Austin, Fife, Wash., '00 Camaro, 5.785, 249.65 def. Roger Bateman, Calgary, Alb., '97 Firebird, 6.489, 242.26 Semifinals P. Austin, 5.781, 253.59 def. B. Austin, 5.822, 248.20 Hyland, 5.870, 243.96 def. Parker, 12.176, 74.98 Final P. Austin, 5.787, 253.95 def. Hyland, 5.789, 246.77 COMPETITION Quarterfinals 5) John Edwards, Claremont, Calif., C/EA '96 Avenger, 8.460 seconds, 141.26 miles per hour def. 18) Howie Stevens, North Vancouver, B.C., C/A '90 Probe, 25.333, 28.90 2) Rob Robinson, Palm Springs, Calif., C/SM '89 Pontiac, 18.252, 50.31 bye 3) Jeff Lane, North Bend, Wash., B/SR '34 Chevrolet, 8.182, 155.57 def. 7) Jim Warter, Graham, Wash., C/SM '92 Camaro, 9.189, 148.02 Semifinals Edwards, 9.445, 107.13 def. Robinson, 12.847, 69.18 (foul start) Lane, 22.537, 62.84 bye run Final Lane, 8.373, 135.05 def. Edwards, 11.824, 72.67 (foul start) SUPER STOCK Bill Stewart, Marysville, Wash., SS/KA '74 Barracuda, 10.806, 116.21 def. Don Thomas, Spruce Grove, Alb., GT/DA '89 Camaro, 9.946, 134.67 (breakout) STOCK Kevin Cour, Hackettstown, N.J., D/SA '67 Camaro, 11.038, 118.26 def. Bill Bushmaker, Auburn, Wash., I/SA '76 Plymouth, 12.010, 107.25 (breakout) SUPER COMP Terry Giese, Milwaukie, Ore., dragster, 8.910, 161.11 def. Mike Ferderer, Buckley, Wash., dragster, 8.910, 163.28 SUPER GAS Mark Cavar, Puyallup, Wash., '85 Oldsmobile, 9.875, 152.36 def. Dan Earp, Edmonds, Wash., '27-T Ford, 9.873, 137.40 (breakout) SUPER STREET Tom Williams, Yakima, Wash., '70 Nova, 10.902, 125.71 def. Jim Buell, Federal Way, Wash., '68 Camaro, 10.870, 126.29 (breakout) TOP COMP Wes Garvin III, Kennewick, Wash., '23-T Ford, 7.718, 166.63 def. John Preston, Nine Mile Falls, Wash., '94 Thunderbird, 8.014, 167.75 PRO SPORTSMAN MOTORCYCLE Mike Fordice, Woodburn, Ore., '84 Suzuki, 9.449, 137.84 def. Wayne Stebing, Marysville, Wash., '78 Kawasaki, 9.140, 146.12 (breakout) PRO Jim Behnke, Port Coquitlam, B.C., '67 Plymouth, 10.317, 125.82 def. Cory Thompson, Langley, B.C., '56 Ford, 11.370, 115.99 JUNIOR DRAGSTER LIGHTNING Brandon Yoder, Gresham, Ore., 8.911, 69.19 def. Justin Janssens, Sandy, Ore., 9.127, 69.95 JUNIOR DRAGSTER THUNDER Rachel Trujillo, Boring, Ore., 12.729, 47.99 def. Julianne Mellof, Maple Ridge, B.C., 15.883, 39.07 NHRA NORTHEAST DIVISION FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAG RACING SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP (after three of six events) Federal-Mogul Dragster 1. Mark Hentges 220 points 2. Dale Carlson 192 3. Duane Shields 171 4. Steve Federlin 105 5. Brandon Henkelman 80 Federal-Mogul Funny Car 1. Pat Austin 230 points 2. John Hyland 150 3. Russ Parker 150 4. Dan McGlone 149 5. Bucky Austin 137 - 30 -