Hunter Entering Northwest Nationals with Improved ExactAir Dragster

Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion
Photo courtesy of David Smith/PSA

SEATTLE, Wash. (July 31, 2013) – ExactAir Compliance Systems Top Alcohol Dragster driver Greg Hunter enters this weekend’s O’Reilly NHRA Northwest Nationals with an improved tune-up in his Kenny Gilmour-owned blown alcohol car. The ExactAir dragster previously reached the finals at the team’s last race, but the Canadian group decided to make some adjustments to prepare for the Seattle national event.

“After racing in Denver we found some things that we wanted to improve. We made the improvements and went testing back home in Alberta. We tested at Medicine Hat, where I first started racing years ago. It was awesome to run the alcohol car in front of our friends from the early days of my racing career. We also test at Edmonton, where we got to see some family and friends. It was a lot of fun but testing didn’t go as planned, so we went back and made some more improvements. Now we’re ready to go to Seattle,” Hunter said.

Only twelve dragsters are entered for the Northwest Nationals so Hunter will receive a guaranteed spot in the field as long as he makes a pass down the track. This will give Gilmour and the crew a chance to tune the car up without worrying about making it into the qualified field.

“It’s nice that we don’t have to worry about making it in the show,” Greg claimed. “We know we’re in the field so we can take a chance or two in qualifying. Just like any race, we’re going to Seattle trying to go as fast as we can. It looks like the conditions will be right, too.”

The field’s quality makes up for the low quantity. Some of the nation’s top cars are entered, including blown alcohol stars Chris Demke, Ray Martin, and Shawn Cowie, who recently returned from a twe-year motorcycle accident recovery.

“It’s really cool to see Shawn Cowie racing again. Shawn coming back and winning his first race back is very impressive. We love racing the fast cars like that because those are the guys that we’re trying to run with. Having them all on the property gives us motivation to work towards their level,” Greg said of his Seattle competition.

Top Alcohol Dragster qualifying at the O’Reilly Northwest Nationals is scheduled for 2:15 and 4:45 PM on Friday, August 2nd. Final round of qualifying is set for 11:30 AM on Saturday, followed by first round of eliminations at 4 PM.

ExactAir Compliance Systems is a company that supplies compliance, maintenance, and control systems for the Natural Gas Compression industry. For more information on ExactAir’s state of the art technology, visit them on the web at: http://www.exactairsystems.com

Greg Hunter and Kenny Gilmour Motorsports partner with some of the finest companies in their industries, including ExactAir Compliance Systems, Omega 2000 Cribbing, Goodyear Tire, NGK Spark Plugs, Lucas Oil, Dark Side Racing, Oasis Emission Consultants, Mopac Auto Supply, Rock Bit Industries, GRP Connecting Rods, Winberg Crankshafts, National Transmission, Paron Paint & Body, Mechanix Wear, Berube Custom Tanks, Peter Vaughn Custom Glass, Koolsville Golf Carts & Accessories, VP Fuels USA, and Top Gun Coatings.

For more information on Greg Hunter and the Kenny Gilmour Motorsports team, please visit www.kennygilmourmotorsports.com

VIDEO: Demke Set to Defend Northwest Nationals Title

Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion
Photo courtesy of Maddern Racing

SEATTLE, Wash. (July 31, 2013) – Top Alcohol Dragster points leader Chris Demke returns to Seattle’s Pacific Raceways this weekend to defend his O’Reilly Northwest Nationals title. Chris won last year’s event in one of the sport’s most bizarre final rounds, where he defeated rival Jim Whiteley in an 11.37 to 11.76 race – a few seconds slower than their typical 5.2-second elapsed times.

“I guess that’s a final round that will go down in history. Jim and I both crossed the finish line at over eleven seconds with our parachutes out. It was a very helpless feeling. I knew my motor blew up. Typically when that happens you just watch the other guy go by you to take the win. As I coasted down the track,  I felt the parachutes blossom I and pushed in the clutch. I realized that Jim wasn’t going by me. The motor blew up at three seconds into the run so that means I coasted for eight seconds. That was eight of the longest seconds of my life. I crossed the finish line and saw my win light come on, and then just exploded into laughter. I had no idea what happened but I won the race and that’s all that mattered at that point,” Chris recalled.

Demke’s Peen Rite/Operational Solutions team has a history of success at this event, reaching at least the semifinals in their last four appearances at the Northwest Nationals, including wins in 2010 and 2012, and a runner-up in 2009.

Chris enters this year’s Northwest Nationals with four 2013 national event final rounds under his belt, including a win at Maddern Racing’s most recent national event, the Route 66 Nationals in Chicago. That record coupled with runner-up finishes at the recent Jegs Allstars and Woodburn regional events give Demke confidence.

“I think we’ve done well at national events this year. Looking at our recent performance I think we can continue that this weekend. I haven’t looked at the forecast yet but if the weather and track are good I think this Peen Rite/OSI/Cleanboost Oil car can thunder. I’m looking forward to making some fast laps and coming home with the Wally,” said the fan-favorite blown alcohol dragster driver.

Though his results at this race will affect his national points battle with Jim Whiteley, Chris says the team generally doesn’t let the points situation determine how the team runs their race.

“It’s hard not to look at the points, but it’s a little deceiving how the sportsman points are tallied. Though I have more points than Jim, I’m also counting one more race than Jim and the other drivers behind me. I’m leading points but my points per counted race are lower than Jim’s. We try not to look at the points. If I’m on top, that’s great. We try not to let it affect our tune-up – we just go out there, try to have a good time, and win.”

Top Alcohol Dragster qualifying at the O’Reilly Northwest Nationals is scheduled for 2:15 and 4:45 PM on Friday, August 2^nd. Final round of qualifying is set for 11:30 AM on Saturday, followed by first round of eliminations at 4 PM. 

Maddern Racing, celebrating 20 years of competition in 2013, is a family-owned and operated NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster team based in Southern California. The Chris Demke-driven Peen Rite/OSI/Cleanboost Oil dragster is owned by Jerry Maddern and crewed by Adam Rhoades, Kevin Watson, Mike Demke, and Ron Mann. For more information on Maddern Racing, please visit www.MaddernRacing.com.

Maddern Racing receives support from the following companies: Peen Rite Inc., Operational Solutions Inc., Cleanboost Oil, A1 Technologies, Boninfante Friction Inc., and Hoosier Racing Tire.

 

Westerfield Having a Career Year in 2013

Courtesy of Todd Veney

Coming off a career-best season in 2012, when he finished in the Top 10 for the first time in his young career, Top Alcohol Funny Car racer Shane Westerfield has been even better this year, with a first career victory and already nearly as many round-wins at midseason as he had in all of 2012. 

Westerfield, who won the Houston Lucas Oil Series event with a string of 5.50s and a holeshot final-round win over John Lombardo, has a 13-6 win-loss mark so far this year. The 25-year-old is in the Top 5 in the national standings and his CP-Carrillo/Bullet Series Monte Carlo hasn't lost in the first round all year.

"After making the Top 10 last year, our goal for this season was to be in the top 7, and so far we're right on track," said Westerfield, of Lake Forest, Calif., who acknowledged sponsors CP-Carrillo, Fluid Sealing Products, Blake Bros. Racing, Lucas Oil, Coeste Design, Goodyear, and A1 Technologies. "Crew chief Bob DeVour and the entire team are doing a fantastic job, and we want to have a second half just like the first half."

TAN Driver Blog - Johnny Ahten - TAD

As I write this I’m at the fire station in the evening after we finished cleaning up from dinner.  We live at the fire station 1/3 of our lives; we cook, eat, exercise, train and fight fire together.  It is my family away from home. In a lot of ways it is similar to the crews in drag racing.  They always say there has to be chemistry on a drag racing team and it’s no different here with my fire brothers. 

I have been completely overwhelmed preparing for the Seattle national and regional events.  My dad, as usual is busy in the shop, and Shark and I have been super busy servicing the Freightliner toter for our road trip.  We overhauled the wiring, serviced the engine, cooling, A/C, bathroom, etc.  And you know I had to keep my wife happy while I’ll be gone so we installed new granite counters this past week too.  I really wanted to bring mama and the kids with me, but the timing just didn’t work out.  We usually bring the motor home with the family to Sonoma and stay at the track.  It is my wife’s favorite track to visit.  The kids love to go to Discovery Kingdom on Monday too!  It’s a bummer that there isn’t one regional race for an Alcohol car in the home state of the NHRA!  What’s up with that?  When I started Alcohol dragster in 2004 we attended Sacramento, Bakersfield, Fontana, and Sonoma.

We attended the Nitro Night of Fire in Bakersfield as a test session and that place was packed!  It was the maiden voyage for our newer truck and trailer and we have been working on resolving some tire shake issues.  Things went well, so I hope we can continue progressing in Seattle. Well, look for us in Seattle. Come by and say hi!  Check us out on instagram - ahtenracing, and Facebook, Johnny Ahten Racing.

Johnny

Johnny Ahten is the driver of the Island Renovations/Fireman's Brew A/Fuel Dragster. Find Johnny and the Ahten Racing team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

Booher Wins Third In a Row, Bohl Second of 2013

Courtesy of Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association
Photos courtesy of Steve Fuhrman

At National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Brandon Booher collected his third straight victory and took a commanding lead for the 2013 North Central championship in Top Alcohol Dragster and Andy Bohl won for the second time this season and assumed the favorite's role for the North Central Top Alcohol Funny Car title.

Booher, who never won a race until last month, padded his lead with a close final-round decision over Marty Thacker, who now has three final-round appearances this year. Thacker delivered by far his best run of the weekend, 5.48, and Booher his slowest, 5.46, but Booher's 5-mph better speed, 266 to 261, made for a car-length lead at the finish line.

"I had no shift light that time and got on the limiter a little bit on the 1-2 shift," Booher said. "For a second there, I was thinking, 'Where's the light? Where's the light?' but I guess I still ran good enough to win."

Booher qualified No. 2 (5.42) behind defending event champ Bill Reichert (5.38), who was upset by No. 8 qualifier Jared Dreher, 5.46 to 5.47, for what surprisingly was his third straight first-round loss in the North Central region. Thacker put away Cordova runner-up Robin Samsel in that round, 5.51 to 5.62, and Booher eliminated Norwalk national event winner Dave Hirata, 5.42 to 5.57.

Booher made his best run of the weekend, 5.41, to take out Ken Perry in one semifinal match, and Thacker won the other on a holeshot over Dreher, 5.58 to 5.51, which left him at a considerable disadvantage for the final. Thacker, who won Columbus four times in the 2000s, picked up a tenth but fell just short, 5.46 to 5.48.

"Last month, I had nothing but bills and computers on my desk, and now I've got three Wallys sitting there," Booher said. "I'm really getting used to winning. People keep telling me they thought I'd be more excited after I won, but I always saw the potential in this torque converter. It's not like, 'OMG.' It's more like 'finally.' I'm not going to say I always thought this would happen, but I'm competitive to the nth degree, so maybe I did. The way I look at it, we could have won the first two [Indy and Norwalk], too."

Booher now is a prohibitive favorite for the North Central Top Alcohol Dragster crown, and with his latest win, Bohl moved into a tie with yearlong leader Chris Foster in Top Alcohol Funny Car and with fewer races claimed and more in-division points has the upper hand.

Bohl, who opened the regional season with a victory at Indy, qualified No. 1 and won the final with a 5.78 over Brian Harvanek, who shut off to a 7.49. "That's the first time I've ever run the table – No. 1 qualifier, low e.t., and top speed," said Bohl, who had low e.t. and top speed not just of the event but of every round.

Bohl paced the field in qualifying with a 5.736, just thousandths ahead of Harvanek's nearly identical 5.739, and made the only run all weekend in the 5.60s, a 5.68, on a first-round single. "Having nobody in the other lane gave me a chance to go for it," he said. "It also gave me lane choice for the semifinals, and at this race that was really important because it was absolutely a one-lane racetrack."

Harvanek won the first round over Steve Franke, who was making his first appearance of the season, and the semifinals over Lance Van Hauen, who has gone rounds at his last several events, with a 5.719. Bohl beat Foster in the other semi in a race crucial to the North Central standings, 5.710 to 5.76, closing the gap on Foster and gaining lane choice for the final.

Harvanek, who has been to at least one final for four consecutive years, produced the best reaction time of the entire event in the final, but veered toward both the centerline and the wall and had to lift. "I saw him out there and just hoped he couldn't make it stick in that lane," said Bohl, who drove through shake for the 5.78 win. "You hate to just leave the car alone, but sometimes that's the smartest thing you can do and it won me the race."