Record Books Take a Beating at G

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2007 NHRA NATIONAL EVENT SCHEDULE

Listen to Trackside Interviews with Champions, Drivers and Crew Chiefs

Robert Hight

Hillary Will

Bob Vandergriff

Dave Connolly

Ed Iskenderian

Cory McClenathan

Robert Hight

Jim Yates

Tony Bartone
Hillary Will

Whit Bazemore

Byron Hines

2005 Interviews

Record Books Take a Beating at Goodguys 1st Northwest Nostalgia Nationals

Kent, WA - The Goodguys 1st Northwest Nationals will be forever known as the “race for the record book.” Final eliminations closed today with four new national vintage drag racing performance records, following yesterday’s action which saw five new records established. It was indeed a very quick and very fast weekend here at Pacific Raceways, some 20 miles south of Seattle.

Though he missed the last race on the Goodguys/VRA West Coast Series in Pomona due to a prior commitment, Goodguys top fuel rookie Brett Harris of Kayesville, Utah showed everyone that he belongs behind the wheel of a front-engined top fuel dragster. The “Deputy” as he’s known, took his bright red “Nitro Thunder” entry through no less than seven 5-second runs over the three day event. Harris never ran slower than 5.978 and set Low ET and top speed of the meet, blasting to a 5.836 @ 258.96 in a semi-final victory over Jim Murphy who trailed with a close 5.914 @ 252.52. In the Top Fuel final round, Harris defeated Goodguys Series points leader Rick McGee, posting a 5.944 @ 251.06 to the runner up’s 5.988 @ 251.81.

In Funny Car competition, Dan Horan Jr turned back points leader Larry Petit in the semi-finals with a 6.049 @ 233.64 to defeat Petit’s 6.116 @ 233.08. Horan had what you could call a “clean sweep” here this weekend, running low elapsed time of the event and setting a new class ET record at 6.012. In the final, Horan proved vulnerable, logging his slowest time of the weekend at 6.556 @ 228.19, but his competition, Tucson’s Mike Savage, had his hands full getting out of the groove which resulted in an aborted run. With the win, Horan’s second of the season, he’s now taken over the points lead and appears primed to win his first-ever Goodguys Championship Title.

The records continued to fall today in both AA/GAS and A/Fuel.

In AA/GAS, Chris Abbey chopped almost a tenth of a second off yesterday’s new class ET record set by Sean Renteria. Abbey posted an unbeleiveable 6.562 @ 210.90 in his semi-final win over a red-lighting Steve Woods, a time which prompted several Goodguys officials to gasp “could that time on the boards be right?” It was indeed. The ballistic time established both ends of the new class ET and MPH record. In the final however, Abbey, the overwhelming favorite to win the event, spun the rear tires and lost to Ed Moss, driving his TCI-sponsored 1937 Ford. Moss clicked off his best run of the weekend in the final, posting a 6.727 @ 204.57 to beat Abbey’s slip-sliding 6.949 @ 197.59.

A pair of record-setting injected nitro dragsters faced off for the A/Fuel final. Dr. Kin Bates faced his teammate Claude LaVoie for the trophy and the two didn’t disappoint, Bates coming out on the winning end of a 6.266 @ 224.88 to 6.278 @ 226.51 affair. Earlier in the race, LaVoie got both ends of the class record with a 6.228 ET and a top speed record of 226.51.

NHRA Competition Eliminator World Champion Dean Carter, who doubles in the Junior Fuel class on the Goodguys/VRA circuit was unopposed in the Junior Fuel final, when series points leader Scott Parks lost fire after his burnout.

The final record established here today came in Junior Fuel B when class kingpin John Rasmussen soloed a 7.163 to take the event crown.

Other Goodguys 1st Northwest Nostalgia Nationals winners were Mark Mahood (A/GAS), Jim Schwartz (B/GAS), Jessie Wooten (C/GAS), Ed Carey (D/GAS), Ronnie Lennon (Nostalgia Eliminator), Dave Burr (Nostalgia II), Craig Wallace (Nostalgia III) and “Papa” Joe Furiani (Hot Rod Elimninator).

The next and final stop of the 2005 Goodguys/VRA West Coast Championship Series is October 27-29 at Bakersfield’s Famoso Raceway for the 7th Fuel & Gas Finals.

The Reinhart Report