The first rounds of qualifying at The Olympics of Drag Racing, a round of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, at Pacific Raceways were delayed by rain.  Racing finally got under way late in the day prompting NHRA and track officials to cut qualifying runs to one per class. In Top Alcohol Dragster, Shawn Cowie, Delta, B.C., grabbed the No. 1 spot and Steve Gasparrelli, West Covina, Calif., set the pace in Top Alcohol Funny Car.

Cowie outran the field with a 5.389-second, 268.12 pass that was just enough to put him ahead of No. 2 qualifier Joey Severance.  Severance ran 5.401 seconds at 264.70 mph.  Currently there are 10 Top Alcohol Dragsters vying for a spot in the eight-car elimination field.

RAIN PLAGUES FIRST DAY OF QUALIFYING AT PACIFIC RACEWAYS’ NHRA LUCAS OIL SERIES EVENT

The first rounds of qualifying at The Olympics of Drag Racing, a round of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, at Pacific Raceways were delayed by rain.  Racing finally got under way late in the day prompting NHRA and track officials to cut qualifying runs to one per class. In Top Alcohol Dragster, Shawn Cowie, Delta, B.C., grabbed the No. 1 spot and Steve Gasparrelli, West Covina, Calif., set the pace in Top Alcohol Funny Car.

Cowie outran the field with a 5.389-second, 268.12 pass that was just enough to put him ahead of No. 2 qualifier Joey Severance.  Severance ran 5.401 seconds at 264.70 mph.  Currently there are 10 Top Alcohol Dragsters vying for a spot in the eight-car elimination field.

Gasparrelli laid down a 5.651-second run at 255.63 mph.  The pass was good enough to keep him ahead of Clint Thompson of Klamath Falls, Ore.  Thompson made a 5.667-second, 254.14 mph pass.  There are 12 Top Alcohol Funny Car competitors running for a spot in the eight-car eliminations field.

All other classes will continue running until each racer has one qualifying pass or time trial.

Racing continues Saturday and Sunday at Pacific Raceways.  Gates open at 8 a.m. both days.  Qualifying and time trials will start at 10 a.m.  Racers in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car will have one more qualifying run on Saturday, at 11 a.m., before running all three rounds of eliminations starting at 1 p.m.  Eliminations for all other classes will start Sunday at 9:30 a.m.


The following are Friday’s qualifying results for Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Pacific Raceways:

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER
1) Shawn Cowie, Delta, B.C., 5.389 seconds, 268.12 mph
2) Joey Severance, Spanaway, Wash., 5.401, 264.70
3) Dale Carlson, Olympia, Wash., 5.414, 264.70
4) Steve Federlin, Oregon City, Ore., 5.430, 264.18
5) Doug Hegge, Vancouver, Wash., 5.481, 259.86
6) Bradnon Johnson, Shelton, Wash., 5.571, 257.58
7) Mike Austin, Medford, Ore., 5.587, 256.55
8) Gregg Lawrence, Salem, Ore., 5.785, 248.93
Not Qualified
9) Ashley Bart, High River, Alb., 8.574, 93.70
10) Bill Edwards Jr., Sumas, Wash., no time
 
TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR
1) Steve Gasparrelli, West Covina, Calif., 5.651, 255.63 mph
2) Clint Thompson, Klamath Falls, Ore., 5.667, 254.14
3) John Lombardo, Jr., Brea, Calif., 5.726, 234.45
4) John Evanchuk, Edmonton, Alb., 5.735, 248.89
5) Sean Bellameur, Tustin, Calif., 5.800, 245.40
6) Jason Rupert, Yorba Linda, Calif., 5.875, 245.90
7) Brian Hough, Junction City, Ore., 5.900, 251.63
8) Dave Germain, Toledo, Wash., 5.949, 241.63
Not Qualified
9) Ken Webster, Red Deer, Alb., 6.008, 201.73
10) Brian Thiel, Pleasant Grove, Calif., 6.316, 236.55
11) Keeter Ray, Newport Beach, Calif., 6.732, 144.94
12) Dennis Taylor, Anaheim Hills, Calif., 8.054, 101.13

 

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