Bateman Wins TAD, Gasparrelli Takes TAFC at Woodburn

 Courtesy of Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association

Overdue Garrett Bateman won Top Alcohol Dragster and many-time Division 7 champion Steve Gasparrelli took Top Alcohol Funny Car at the second of two West Region Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series events at historic Woodburn Dragstrip outside Portland.

Bateman won the final over snake-bitten Chris Demke, who fell for the seventh time in nine 2013 finals when his car dropped a valve in low gear. Bateman, at the wheel of the HipLink A/Fuel Dragster, pounded out a final-round 5.45 at 261 mph, by far his best run of eliminations, to take down Demke's hamstrung 5.63 at 241.

Demke had a decided edge to that point, with low e.t. of both the first round and the semifinals. He dropped Gregg Lawrence, who won one of the Woodburn events last season, in the first round with a 5.38 – two-tenths of a second better than the next-quickest car.

Bateman ran a 5.58 in that round to turn back track co-owner Joey Severance's slowing 6.11 at 161 mph. Jeff Ashwell and Megan McKernan easily advanced to the semifinals with wins over Shawn Bowie, who won the first Woodburn event this season, and Norwalk runner-up Ray Martin, respectively.

In the semifinals, both Bateman and Demke moved on when Ashwell and McKernan, driver of Jerry Darien's A/Fueler, had problems. Bateman improved from his first-round 5.58 to a 5.54, and Demke also picked up four-hundredths with a 5.34 at 264 mph, good for low e.t. and top speed of eliminations. In the final, Bateman made his best run of eliminations, 5.45, to cover Demke's slowing 5.63.

In Top Alcohol Funny Car, Gasparrelli, who won division championships in 2001, 2002, 2005, and 2010, won his third regional event title of the season and put himself in position for another divisional/regional championship with a final-round win over Brian Hough. Gasparrelli laid down low e.t. of eliminations, a 5.65, to hold off Hough's right-there 5.67.

Gasparrelli, who also qualified No. 1, took an easy first-round win over Russ Parker with a 5.73. Sean Bellemeur ran low e.t. of the first round, 5.70, to avenge his final-round loss to Clint Thompson at the recent Northwest Nationals. Last year's Northwest Nationals winner, John Evanchuk, beat Topeka winner Jirka Kaplan on a holeshot, 5.76 to 5.75, and Hough won the final pair of the opening round with a slowing 5.92 at just 210 mph against Randy Parker's 5.98, 234.

Hough, who got quicker in every round of eliminations, beat Bellemeur in the semifinals, 5.69 to 5.82, and Gasparrelli nipped Evanchuk in the other semi in one of the best races of the event, 5.668 to 5.699, before topping Hough in an equally close final-round battle, 5.65 to 5.67.

Demke Pads TAD Lead, Gasparrelli Wins TAFC

Courtesy of Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association

At the West Regional at Pacific Raceways, Chris Demke picked up his second win of the season to strengthen his tenuous lead in the most wide-open Top Alcohol Dragster points race in years, and in Alcohol Funny Car, Steve Gasparrelli conquered a deep and talented field for his latest win at Seattle, where he does better than at any other track.

In the most consistent performance of his career, Demke qualified No. 1 with a 5.32 at 267 mph and ran three straight 5.32s at 268 in eliminations for his second win in eight 2013 finals. "Over the years we've been pretty consistent, but not that consistent," he said. "No way have I ever run the same e.t. in every single round of a race until this weekend."

Demke's 5.321 covered Megan McKernan's 5.55 in the first round, and a 5.325 in the semifinals eliminated Ray Martin, who red-lighted by just one-thousandth of a second en route to a 5.39. Johnny Ahten came up with low e.t. of the meet, 5.313, in the other semifinal to take out Shawn Cowie, who had won the Northwest Nationals at this track two weeks earlier. Ahten ended a streak of 12 consecutive round-wins for Cowie, who won the 2011 SummitRacing.com Nationals in his last start before the horrific motorcycle accident that sidelined him for two years, then the Woodburn regional last month, and then the Northwest Nationals.

"Ahten ran right ahead of me, and I was plenty concerned about him after that 5.31," Demke said. "Those guys have really stepped up their program this year, and more people than I even want to think about have gotten their first win over me, so I was plenty nervous going into the final. I figured I might have to leave on him to win." He did, with a .049, and leaped ahead in the mid-range when Ahten's A/Fueler rattled the tires for a 5.320 to 5.56 win that opened his lead on reigning national champ Jim Whiteley in the national standings.

"We should have been able to run a high 5.20-something here – we just did at the national event – but we never veered to far from our original tune-up," Demke said. "It was consistent and pretty fast the way it was, and it worked – we won. We'll have the points lead going into Indy, but the championship is still a long shot if you ask me. We've left too many points on the table with runner-ups, and I still consider Whiteley the favorite."

Gasparrelli was nearly as consistent in Top Alcohol Funny Car as Demke was in Top Alcohol Dragster. The many-time Division 7 champ, who has been in five national event finals and four divisional finals at Seattle, won this one going away when Shane Westerfield struck the tires right off the starting line after cutting the best light of the entire event, .022. Gasparrelli won with a third straight .070 light and 5.6 pass, a 5.64 at 258 mph.

Westerfield, who got his first win earlier this season in Houston, paced the field in qualifying and reached the final with wins over the last two Seattle national event champs, John Evanchuk (2012) and Clint Thompson (2013). A 5.76 erased Evanchuk's close 5.79 in the first round, and only a 9.77 was necessary in the semi's when Thompson red-lighted.

Gasparrelli duplicated his 5.61 qualifying time in a first-round win over 2008 Division 7 champ Terry Ruckman, who slowed to a 6.11. In the semifinals, Gasparrelli's 5.66 was more than enough when friend Doug Gordon, who'd nipped Sean Bellemeur in the opening round, smoked the tires off the starting line.

 

Gasparrelli Stars in Mission Regional Victory

Courtesy of THR5 Communications

Mission, B.C. -- Every now and again the Drag Racing stars are all in alignment. For Steve Gasparrelli and his 801 Racing sponsored Top Alcohol Funny Car, last weekend the stars were not only lined up, but they were blazing. Gasparrelli not only won the race, but in the first round, he re-set both ends of the track record from the number one qualifying position. To top if off, Gasparrelli won this race last year, so add back-to-back to the prize total. Star power indeed.

"Winning the race was a real thrill," said Gasparrelli. "We went back-to-back and set low ET and MPH records, which is even better. I believe it is because we have a feeling for this track. With all the changing weather and track conditions, it's a testament to our team. It was cool, then hot, and then cool again, but we stayed hot all weekend."

Gasparrelli qualified in the number one position with a 5.596/261.32, and faced Dave Germain in round one. Germain lost traction but Gasparrelli streaked down the quarter mile to a record setting 5.574 elapsed time at 261.83 miles per hour. Second round saw a 5.593/260.16 bye run in which Gasparrelli continued his bracket-like consistency. The finals saw Brian Hough in the other lane. When the lights came down, the two cars left almost simultaneously, but Hough went into tire shake limbo and had to lift. Gasparrelli continued his good fortune with a 5.638/260.91 to take the win.

"The great crowd we had on hand really made it special," added Gasparrelli. "The turn-out was great for this Regional event, and I can't wait to go back next year and defend my title. My team stepped up and I really want to thank those who support us. The 801 Racing 70Wt Racing Oil we have been running gave us an advantage and the parts look great after a run. I also would like to thank our other sponsors EndroComponent Solutions, Oceanus Plumbing, M7 Performance, CoColor, MBR Engines, and Midnight Expressions. They share in this record setting victory."

Will the stars stay in alignment for Gasparrelli? With consistency in his favor, it sure looks that way. Now the focus is to build upon his great weekend of racing. It will carry the team through the coming weeks until the next race. But don't be surprised if just before he climbs into his racecar in the staging lanes, you see Steve Gasparrelli gaze into the sky. He's just setting the alignment of the stars.

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