AHDRA

SALEM HARLEY-DAVIDSON NORTHWEST NATIONALS PRESENTED BY KRESTO

WOODBURN DRAGSTRIP

AUGUST 23^RD & 24^TH

Elimination Day

In a race against incoming rain showers, the Salem Harley-Davidson Northwest Nationals came to a successful finish! Stephanie has all the numbers posted on the ladder pages for you! Check them out.

We’ll see you later in the month at the S & S Jim McClure Nationals from Virginia Motorsports Park!

Good night from Woodburn Dragstrip.

The finals are coming up..stay tuned for the final results on the ladder pages! I’m headed down to the starting line to catch the action and then to the winner’s circle for the reactions from today’s winners.

2:44pm

We are headed into our semi final rounds here at the Salem Harley-Davidson Northwest Nationals. In some classes, the finalists were determined after the opening round including the SSC 124 class which will bring out Mike Roberts and Jeff Farnum for a the final. In Cutter’s Foam Street Pro, G.T. Tonglet will go for his 2^nd consecutive win when he takes on Dave Thew.

Greg Krenik will secure a 2008 No. 1 plate when he races Russ Rockwell in the K & K Marine Pro Modified final and Stan Sheppard will race Tim Johnson in the Rush Pro Gas final.

More from the semis:

Screamin’ Eagle Top Fuel:

John Breckenridge will race in his first Top Fuel final after upsetting the No. 1 qualifier, Phil Schmidt. Breckenridge will race Joe Timmons in the final after he upset Doug Vancil. In a side-by-side match, Vancil hazed the tire slightly and it was enough for Timmons to get the win light.

S & S Pro Stock

Eddie Lee will compete in his fifth final of the 2008 season and get closer to Shaun Reno in the standings after advancing over a redlight from his opponent, Greg Krenik. Lee will race Bruce Beltramini who will also appear in his fifth final of the season. Beltramini advanced on a bye.

Rush Pro Fuel

Douglas Horne is headed to his third consecutive final after defeating Toni Froehling in the semi. Horne who is closer to his first National Championship title will race David Poague who got by Chris Streeter by just two thousandths of a second. This is the 2^nd time Horne and Poague have met in the finals this year. While Horne looks for a national championship, Poague woud be happy to get his first win in fuel competition.

Kresto Pro Drag

The No. 1 qualifier, Rod Anderson advances on a bye in the semis. Anderson got the semi bye after his opponent Bear Broock was DQ’d for failing to report to the scales after his earlier win. Will Simplot advanced on a legal bye and will race Anderson in today’s final round match.

Bison Racing Eagle H-D Super Gas

Scott Martin goes red and the 2-time champion; Bob Drapp goes to the final today. He will race Derek Robinette who advanced on a semi-final round bye.

Screamin’ Eagle V-Rod

Jack Stubbs leaves early at the tree and the No. 1 qualifier, Jim Sweet advances to the finals. Mike Roberts will miss out on a free ride to the finals after losing fire and Sweet will have a bye in today’s finale.

S & S Super Sport

Danny Harvey defeated Danny Boyer in the semis and it will be Boyer against Sam Lowery in today’s final round. Lowery defeated Glen Welchko in a identical double break out semi.

Pingel Super Eliminator

The defending champion, Dean Druschel will have a shot for a first win of the season and repeating a Woodburn win from 2007 after defeating Sue Bistline in the semis. Druschel will race Danny Boyer who advanced on a double break out against Kelly Queensberg.

DragMaster’s Hot Street

Sergio Zenobi advances to the final over Bruce Barker to race Cooper Stubbs who advanced on a semi final bye run.

Screamin’ Eagle Performance

Stan Sheppard wins a double breakout match with Kevin Winters in the semi and Randy Rockafellow defeats a break out from Donnie Huffman. It will be Sheppard and Rockafellow in the final.

Screamin’ Eagle Destroyer

The battle for No. 1 continues as points leader, Nick Gonatas,Jr. heads to the final on a bye win to race the No. 1 qualifier, L.E. Tonglet.

Syn 3 ET

James Rasmussen advanced over Allon McBee and will race in the ET final against Edward Golson, who advanced over Jesse Lopez.

Good afternoon from Woodburn Dragstrip. We are off to a busy and fast paced race day so far and I’m just now getting over to the keyboard to check in. The skies are partly cloudy and the temperatures are pleasant and expected to barely reach 80 degrees today.

The opening ceremonies got off to a sentimental start today when two-time High Stakes Shoot Out winner, Dan Norlin dropped to one knee on the starting line in a surprise proposal to his girlfriend of 2 years, Susie.

The two met here at Woodburn Dragstrip and have been together ever since. By the way..she said YES. Congrats Dan and Susie.

Following the No. 1 qualifier intro’s, the Screamin’ Eagle Top Fuel Nitro Harley’s fired up and we are a few moments away from wrapping up today’s opening session. The online ladders are being updated round after round all day and as always, we will jump back in here with any breaking news or delays to tell you about.

Today’s outcome will undoubtedly have a huge impact on the current standings, so stay tuned for the final results later today!!

That’s a wrap from the Salem Harley-Davidson Northwest Nationals after three exciting rounds on the quarter-mile! Tune into tomorrow when we fire em’ up 9:00am!

5:00pm

Qualifying Wrap Up from Woodburn Dragstrip

Screamin’ Eagle Top Fuel

Phil Schmidt of Orangevale, CA takes his 2^nd top qualifying spot of the season with a 6.47 at 219mph in a wild three rounds of Top Fuel today. Steve Dorn finished the day No. 2 with a 6.64 at 208mph and Ron Houniet grabs the No. 3 spot on his V-60-196ci ride with a 6.64/200mph lap. Breckenridge, Sternotti, Vancil. Timmons and Griz Robinson make up the rest of the 8-bike field for tomorrow’s show. Vancil left everyone on the edge of his or her seat for the 2^nd time this year with a do-or-die third round finale. Vancil was not qualified when he came out for his final shot of the day, and as expected, the Vancil’s found what they needed to get in and clocked a 6.84 at 212mph to finish the day No. 6.

With that said, Mark Conner, if you are watching from home…Tak Shigematsu failed to qualify here today. Shigematsu struggled all day and could only come up with a 7.12 at 203mph, which wasn’t enough. Shigematsu misses a chance to take over No. 1 in the standings with just 58-points separating him from the leader Conner. His only chance is if a couple of riders are unable to compete from the field tomorrow. Shigematsu is the No. 2 alternate while Chicago Joe sits in the first alternate spot. Tony and Steve Ruggiero are the 4^th and 5^th alternates. So..the door is open for Doug Vancil to move into the top spot in the championship standings here this weekend. Be sure to follow the action in this one tomorrow!!

S & S Pro Stock

Eddie Lee of Winston, GA was hot today with an 8.18 at 158mph for the No. 1 qualifying spot that stayed best all day. The remaining order stayed the same for all three rounds with Bruce Beltramini taking the No. 2 spot (8.33/156mph), Greg Krenik is third (8.38/154mph), John Schaber is No. 4 (8.80/149mph) and Big Dave Brill is the fifth qualifier with a 9.42 at 147mph.

Rush Pro Fuel

Point’s leader, Douglas Horne earns his 2^nd top qualifying spot of the season progresses towards his third Pro Fuel win of the year and a possible national championship title.

Horne opened up the day with a 6.58 at 209mph and it will stay in tact for the No. 1 qualifying number. David Poague, the No. 1 qualifier from the past two outings of competition will finish the day in the 2^nd spot with a nice 6.59 at 212mph. Chris Streeter will finish third with his 6.96 at 196mph while Dana Meeks of Seattle, WA has earned his Fuel license and qualified No. 4 in the field with a 7.04 at 187mph. Washington rider, Toni Froehling is fifth (7.20/180mph), Pat Fenderson of Kimberly, ID finished the day sixth (7.46/155mph), and Washington riders, John Breckenridge and Steve Heidner make up the 7^th and 8^th spots after troubled runs today.

Rush Pro Gas

Stan Sheppard earned his first No. 1 qualifying spot of the year with an 8.222 at 157mph in today’s first round. Tim Johnson of Concord, CA finished the day at No. 2 with an 8.71 at 145mph best and Matt Spencer of Salt Lake City, UT is third at the end of the day with a 9.76/136mph best. Scotty Pollacheck who is pulling pilot duty on the Pro Gasser and qualified No. 4 is also here running exhibition passes on the KillaCycle-The world’s quickest electric motorcycle. Pollacheck’s best pass on the ride is in the 7-second zone, but so far today, his best pass on the crowd pleaser has been an 8.04.

Kresto Pro Drag

Rod Anderson of Snohomish, WA led off Pro Drag qualifying with a 7.37 at 173mph and the run held on as the best of the day for the top qualifying spot. Will Simplot of Boise, ID stayed in the No.2 spot all day with a 7.41 at 173mph while Dustin Long of Rocklin, CA bettered his earlier number in the final (7.903/161mph) and stayed third. Bear Broock is the No. 4 qualifier and Terry Stewart of Anaheim, CA clocked a 8.01 at 164mph in the first round to qualify No. 5 before a fuel leak later that forced him to push it back in round two.

Stewart did not make a pass in the final round.

K & K Marine Pro Modified

Greg Krenik appears to be closer than ever to clinching a championship title after securing his eighth No. 1 qualifying spot (7^th consecutive) of the year in Pro Modified racing.

Krenik started the day with an 8.61 at 152mph and finished today’s qualifying session with his best pass of the day-8.600 at 153mph. As for Borho, the defending champ, his troubles have been plenty today. After two wounded passes earlier in the day, Borho had to abort his final run when a fuel leak forced him to back it off the starting line in the third round.

Borho is qualified 4^th in the field with an 11.06 at 96mph. Russ Rockwell of Oakville, WA and Bear McClellan of Rosburg, WA make up the No. 2 and No. 3 qualifiers in the field.

Cutter’s Foam/Team Nila Street Pro

Coming off of his first win in AHDRA competition in Bristol, TN, the No. 1 qualifier at the end of the day is G.T. Tonglet. Tonglet led the day off with an 8.94 at 151mph on the Dick Fish/Bison Racing ride and bettered the number with an 8.933 at 151mph to secure the top spot. Tonglet will join his younger brother L.E. for top qualifier honors in tomorrow’s opening ceremonies.

Sportsman Qualifying

Syn 3 ET

James Rasmussen of Mt. Angel, OR hit a .007 reaction this morning and held the No. 1 qualifying spot until Jon Torres from right here in Woodburn, OR hit a triple zero in the third and final round to take the top qualifying honors.

Screamin’ Eagle Destroyer

Tonglet, Gonatas and Horne stay one, two & three all day with a 9.13 from Tonglet, a 9.160 from Gonatas and a 9.165 from Horne.

SEP

Donnie Huffman of Lakeland, FL came off the trailer with an 11.507 in the 11.50 index class this morning in the opening round before Danny Harvey of Farmington, NM matched it and earned the top spot with the better MPH. Harvey was No. 1 for a pair of rounds but in the final round of the day Kevin Winters of Richmond, IL bettered the 11.507 by .003 and wins the top spot with his 11.504.

DragMasters Hot Street

The order stays the same in all three rounds. Sergio Zenobi of San Jose, CA clocked a 10.38 at 128mph to lead things off and he keeps his No. 1 spot. Cooper Stubbs of Truckee, CA follows for the 2^nd spot (10.56/124mph), Dan Norlin is third (10.80/127mph), Bruce Barker is fourth with an 11.80/116mph and Ed Biaggi rounds out the field in the fifth spot with a 12.8 at 97mph.

Pingel Super Eliminator

The 10.90 index class changed leaders in all three rounds. Reggie Mackay of Lemon Grove, CA held the spot first with a 10.94 before Rick Baldwin of Carver, OR bettered that number with a 10.92 to take over in round two. In the third and final round, Jay Wagner of Warsaw, IN was just .004 off of perfection with a 10.919 and takes the top qualifying position heading into tomorrow’s elimination’s. It is a first time top qualifying spot for Wagner who has earned one win and one runner-up in the class for the season and is currently in the No. 2 spot of the standings-39 points behind the leader, Kevin Winters.

S & S Super Sport/Bison Racing-Eagle H-D Super Gas

Bob Drapp started things off with a 10.313 in Super Sport qualifying against a 10.30 index.

He held the top position for two rounds before Edward Golson of Pine, CO hit a 10.306 and snatched the No. 1 spot. Golson is after Drapp today apparently. Not only did he grab his top spot in Super Sport, but Golson took Drapp’s earlier No. 1 position in the Super Gas field. Drapp opened the day with a 9.709, just .009 from the 9.70 number before Golson clocked a 9.704 in the 2^nd round to take his second number one qualifying spot of the weekend. The Colorado rider was a double category winner at AHDRA’s Sturgis event several weeks ago and he’s dialed in for the action this weekend!

S & S 124 Challenge

Mike Roberts starts and finishes the day No. 1. Roberts started off with a 9.577 at 142mph before bettering the number in the 2^nd round (9.243 at 144mph). Roberts was near his record numbers of 9.206 at 145.17.

Jeff Farnum of San Jose, CA was the No. 2 qualifier at the end of the day with a 9.76 at 136mph and Grover Inks of Angels Camp, CA was third with a 9.978 at 134mph.

Screamin’ Eagle V-Rod

Jim Sweet of Osceola, IN held the No. 1 spot all day. Sweet who is celebrating his 24^th wedding anniversary this weekend started off with a 9.400 at 144mph and bettered it with a 9.39 at 145mph in the third and final round to stay No.1.

Good morning from Woodburn Dragstrip and the Salem Harley-Davidson Northwest Nationals! The weather is picture-perfect with sunny skies and temperatures forecasted at a high of 81 degrees. Qualifying is currently underway for the sportsman categories and at 11:00am we will head into the pro categories opening rounds.

The big story here this weekend is the arrival of an east coast entourage to compete here at Woodburn Dragstrip. Many of the racers who traveled from as far away as Ohio, Florida and everywhere in between may not have had Oregon on their menu at the beginning of the season, but as a result of the tight competition and the points standings being separated in some classes by as few as three points…the race is on for the national championships! There are only three more races to go and in some classes, the championship title is up for grabs!

The buzz in the Screamin’ Eagle Top Fuel pits is an absent Mark Conner.

Conner, out of St. Louis, MO is the current points leader and with only 58 points separating him from the No. 2 spot holder, many were surprised that he is not competing this weekend.

Sitting in that No. 2 spot and ready to take over that lead spot is Tak Shigematsu. Shigematsu moved from the No.5 position all the way to No.2 after a stellar weekend at Bristol Dragway earlier in the month. Shigematsu defeated Joey Sternotti in the final to win his 2^nd event of the season. Ironically, Shigematsu and Sternotti were the finalists here at Woodburn Dragstrip in 2007 with Shigematsu earning the win.

There’s another contender standing by for a chance at the national title here this weekend. It’s the defending champion, Doug Vancil. He’s only 83 points out of the lead spot, and a win could put him at the top.

In Rush Pro Fuel competition, it’s a pair of East Coasters battling it out for the crown here at the start of the “final three”. Douglas Horne of Aberdeen, MD is coming off back-to-back victories and he currently has a 132 lead over 2^nd place-Chris Streeter.

Streeter made the trip here from Cleveland, OH and he’s been walking the track all morning and doing his homework for today’s opening qualifying session.

The Rush Pro Gas class is anybody’s race this weekend with the top points contenders choosing to sit this one out. Dale Raudenbush holds a 140-point advantage over Mike Lozano in this one and both the No.1 and No.2 guys are watching the action from home today.

Rick Moore has all but clinched a third consecutive Kresto Pro Drag title. His lead is currently 346 marks over his teammate and No.2 spot holder, Chuck Jones. Moore and the Mid-Continent team are back on the east coast and preparing for Virginia and the October season finale in Rockingham.

There are a handful of Pro Drag contenders here though, including Boise, ID’s, Will Simplot, Californian, Terry Stewart and more. Stay tuned for some good numbers out of that class today.

In S & S Pro Stock, Shaun Reno has a 92-point lead over Georgia’s Eddie Lee.

So far, I haven’t seen Reno on the roster, but Eddie Lee is teched in and ready to race here in Woodburn. Sitting in third place and just 97 points out of first place is the Desert Dawg-Greg Krenik and he’s also teched in and ready for racing.

Krenik is sitting in a great spot for the Pro Modified title heading into today’s qualifying. Krenik is 164 points in front of the defending champion and Oregon hometowner-Randy Borho. There’s a real good chance you’ll see these two in tomorrow’s final round.

With a 284-point lead over Danny Worth, the Cutter’s Foam Street Pro point’s leader, Andy Simon is taking a break from the action this weekend. Bristol finalist, G.T. Tonglet is among those here to compete in the category this weekend along with local racer and Sturgis winner, Verl “Smitty” Smith.

The Screamin’ Eagle Destroyer competition is the class to watch in the sportsman categories! There is just three points separating first place holder-Nick Gonatas Jr. from the 2^nd place man-L.E. Tonglet. They are both here and running good in this morning’s first session as is third place holder-Douglas Horne.

Mike Roberts of Clinton, OH is here to gain ground on Indiana competitor, Lou Gerencer who is not competing this weekend. Reports are that Roberts barely got his ride ready for this weekend’s event, but he made the deadline and he’s here to extend his lead in the SSC 124 category and hold on to his national championship status. Roberts leads Gerencer by 109 points in the class, but in the Screamin’ Eagle V-Rod class, it’s Gerencer with a hefty lead over Roberts with 279 points separating the No.1 and No.2 spots.

West coasters, Dan Norlin, Cooper Stubbs, Sergio Zenobi, Bruce Barker and Ed Biaggi are among those here to compete in the Drag Masters Hot Street class this weekend while the leader in the standings, Bruce Croneberger takes a break with a comfortable 267 point lead over 2^nd place rider, John Burdynski and 333 points ahead of the defending champion, Charlie Douglass, in third.

The Bison Racing Super Gas competition has already taken an interesting turn this weekend before the race ever began. Turning heads in sportsman competition this season and leading the pack in the race for the Super Gas championship is York, PA’s Wanda Poff. You better believe she’s here and ready to compete this weekend. Poff has only 19 points separating her from 2^nd place holder-Jeff Stevens. Stevens is teched in, but word came last night that Steven’s is broke and will not be able to compete after making the long trip from Indiana to Oregon. At least one competitor so far (Jim Sweet) has offered up his ride to Stevens, and a thankful Stevens declined. So there’s no word on whether Stevens will change his mind or head back home as he told me he planned to do last night.

Dean Druschel of Swanton, OH says his goal is to win here this weekend. Druschel who has a runner-up finish for the season in S & S Super Sport racing is the current points leader in the class. He’s 134 points in front of Danny Boyer at No. 2.

Boyer is signed up as well for the competition this weekend.

Kevin Winters of Richmond, IL is looking for his first AHDRA Championship this year. He’s sitting out front in the Pingel Super Eliminator class with just 39 points separating him from Jay Wagner of Warsaw, IN-who is also racing this weekend. With one hundred plus some change away in the standings is Danny Boyer of York, PA who will try to gain some marks this weekend at Woodburn Dragstrip.

After back-to-back wins in the SEP category, Nate Carnahan is taking a rest back east this weekend after moving 33 points ahead for the lead spot in the standings. Carnahan can rest a little easy as the No. 2 and No. 3 guys stayed home too. Keith Carper is the 2^nd placeholder followed by two-time winner for the season, Greg Best.

There’s plenty of competition in the class here this weekend though with the defending champion, Dan Norlin of Aurora, CO and fellow Colorado rider, Dale Nilles, along with a pack of California racers with Donnie Huffman and Kevin Winters among the east coast guys going for it in the 11.50 index this weekend.

In the Syn 3 ET competition, just over fifty bikes made a pass in this morning’s opening session, including the current points leader, Donnie Huffman who is 39 points ahead of the defending champion, Bob Drapp in the 2^nd spot. Drapp, from Winterhaven, FL is already making waves here this weekend by leading the qualifying order in two classes after this mornings opening session.

That’s a look at where the competition stands as we head into a full weekend of exciting racing. Stay tuned for all the action as Stephanie Druschel brings you the results round after round and I’ll check back in here with any breaking news or let you know of any lengthy delays. The Pro’s are on the track for their first lap of the day, so stay tuned to the result pages for the latest numbers!

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

Saturday, August 23^RD

Sportsman Qualifying begins 9:00am

Pro Qualifying begins 11:00am

Sunday, August 24^TH

Sportsman Elimination’s begin at 9:00am

(as needed to narrow the fields to 16 or less)

12:15pm Opening Ceremonies

12:30pm Pro Elimination’s begin