Some people just have too much money! 🙂
After years of competing in the increasingly tough and highly competitive Super Pro category, Chris has decided to move the Chevelle to Pro Bracket in 2013.
Gone will be the delay box and the air shifter will be controlled by Chris with a button on the steering wheel.
The biggest challenge will be making the mental switch from activating the delay box on the top bulb, to leaving on the bottom bulb.
October 7th 2012 Update:
Chris took the wagon out to Pacific Raceways this date and entered in the no-box Gambler race to end the season and to see how he might do in Pro Bracket. On his 2nd hit he ran a 10.40 with a .015 reaction time (video below) and is very encouraged and looking forward to 2013. Unfortunately after his 2nd hit he picked up a piece of sheetmetal in one of his slicks which ended his day.
The big news of the day was that Torri drove her Tempest in the same bracket and made it to the 4th round before being eliminated! Congratulations Torri!! – Roger
This was the BIG bracket race of 2012 with Pacific Raceways hosting the Division 6 E.T. Finals. The top Sportsman bracket racers throughout Division 6 came together under one “roof” to battle it out for the top dog honors throughout the long, 3-day event which featured over 500 entries!
On Friday was the Gambler Race, Saturday began the Race of Champions featuring the very best in the division racing for a shot to go to Pomona (this race was not completed until Sunday afternoon), and Sunday featured all entires running in their respectiive brackets to collect points for their track for the Track Championship.
Courtesy of the Seattle Times, here’s the final round results from the Track Championship in which Pacific Raceways finished in 5th place:
Super Pro Finals:
Rob Asbury (Yakima) 11.218 @ 119.01 mph defeated Gary Erickson (Portland) red light.
Pro Finals:
Scott Lang (Beaverton, Or.) 12.133 @ 104.42 defeated Nicholas Shepherd (Tigard, Or.) 10.669 @ 116.01.
Sportsman Finals:
Jerry Durrant Jr. (Oregon City, Or.) 13.966 @ 86.11 mph defeated Karl Hart (Woodburn, Or.) 13.436 @ 94.61 mph.
Motorcycle/Sled Finals:
Jon Jenkins (Richmond, B.C.) 8.727 @ 145.38 mph defeated Jake Havens (Mill Creek) 8.902 @ 144.09 mph.
Woodburn won the Team Championship!
Race of Champions Final Round Results
Super Pro Finals:
Larry DeYoung (Livingston, Mont.) 9.237 @ 150.80 defeated Greg Rollin (Portland, Or.) 11.251 @ 114.36 mph.
Pro Finals:
Robert Steffen (Olympia) 10.559 @ 126.18 mph defeated Mark Kidd (Twin Falls, Idaho) 9.189 @ 135.13 mph.
Sportsman Finals:
Derrick Jackson (McMinnville, Or.) 12.851 @ 96.97 mph defeated Duston Wurtz (Meridian, Idaho) 11.995 @ 109.79 mph.
More coverage:
Sportsman Stars Shine in E.T. Finals – Pacific Raceways – September 3, 2012
DeYoung, Steffen, Jackson and Havens Heading to Pomona for National Championship – Bracket Racing Northwest – September 4, 2012
WOODBURN TAKES TEAM TITLE; FOUR HEADING TO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP – CompetitionPlus – September 5, 2012
Initial Report from Paul in Sportsman:
Friday Gambler Race:
Ran 12.52 @ 106.36 – 1218 density altitude with a slight bog that I didn’t really notice but Chris & Dad did so thanks for catching that guys.
Round 1: Ran 12.524 on 12.56 dial @ 102.75 – 1582 density altitude, just took too much stripe when I had a .035 rt advantage. This was a rookie mistake that I truly learned from I tell you that.
Saturday Race of Champions:
Ran 12.553 @ 106.35 – 965 density altitude, I was in high gear way early probably due to tire spin as we expected a mid 12.40 pass.
Round 1: Ran 12.649 on 12.49 dial @ 96.23 – 1518 density altitude, I had a stellar .008 rt which led me to catch my opponent really early and then just stayed out on them by a fender or so as I wasn’t going to make the same mistake this time!
Round 2: Ran 12.568 on 12.54 dial @ 105.05 – 1805 density altitude, I had another good .034 rt but my opponent had a .033 rt and just couldn’t catch him as he ran 12.891 on a 12.890 dial. I truly thought I had this race too as I believe he pedaled before the stripe to keep from breaking out.
Sunday, Track Champion Race:
Round 1: Ran 12.742 on 12.47 dial @ 96.03 – 622 density altitude, I had a huge rt advantage once again so I caught my opponent early once again and just paced them.
Round 2: Ran 12.619 on 12.50 dial @ 97.87 – 1600 density altitude, I had a great .024 rt but low & behold my opponent cut a perfect .000 rt but just couldn’t run his number so I caught him early and paced him like in previous races.
Round 3: Ran 12.497 on 12.54 dial @ 105.94 – 1632 density altitude, I went red by -.017 and my opponent had a great .018 rt
Final Analysis:
I think overall I was pretty happy in how I drove on day 2 & 3 but would love to have day 1 back as I think I could’ve gone quite a few rounds. You learn a thing or two at races like this as I need to work on my top end finishes and reducing my red lights as much as possible as you can’t win if you go red. I think we are heading in the right direction with me trying to focus on the bottom bulb once staged as if I continue to do that I should theoretically never go red.
Thank you to Torri for letting me race her car this year once again and thank you to my crew chiefs Chris & Dad for getting me a good setup for the season. Also, I would like to thank Barry Hobson, Justin Jung, Mom, my wife Melodie and everyone else that helped this year as it was a true team effort! – Paul
Chris in Super Pro:
Here’s the results of the Gambler Race on Friday, and Sunday’s Track Championship Race.
On Friday Chris lost to John Ermish in the Gambler Race when we broke out running a 10.445 on a 10.47. Chris went down in the 1st round on Sunday running a 10.409 on a 10.40 dial-in but turned the tree red with a so close -.002 light! Chris was disappointed in the results this weekend but Super Pro is BRUTAL!! You have to swing for the fence on every pass!
Justin & Paul did an excellent job picking the dial-in as we had to dial-in and run from the data we had with no qualifying hits this day. Our fellow racers from PR did an excellent job in Super Pro until the 3rd round where the team went down in flames to the tough competition from the other tracks.
I’m very proud of my sons, Chris & Paul for having an excellent season and here’s a few pictures from the event – Roger
August 25th was the last points race at Pacific Raceways this year and basically a tune-up race for the Division 6 E.T. Finals at PR this coming weekend.
Chris did well in Super Pro putting together two excellent packages to defeat Fred Hoffman in the first round and Randy Brown in the second. Against Hoffman, Chris ran a 10.441 on a 10.44 with a .011 light. Against Brown, Chris ran a 10.426 on a 10.42 with a .002 light.
Then we were paired with Rick Hindrichs in his hard-charging Nova and Rick cut the perfect .000 reaction time to Chris’ solid .016 giving Hindrichs the win. But an outstanding night by Chris with the help of Paul picking the dial-ins. Chris came on strong in the latter half of the season and finished 9th in the Super Pro points this season collecting 233 points. Mark Cavar earned the Super Pro 2012 Track Championship running away with it gathering 411 points!
Paul is having a difficult time becoming simpatico with the tree in the latter part of the 2012 season turning the tree red in the 1st round in Sportsman. No one is more disappointed then Paul but we’ll put this behind us and move forward!! However, Paul finished in 4th place in the points which is VERY respectable collecting 289 points! Gene Furman won the 2012 Sportsman Track Championship with 362 points!
So it is on to the E.T. Finals during the Labor Day weekend and team Pacific Raceways has a strong team!! Should be fun! – Roger
2012 Pacific Raceways Track Champions:
Super Pro – Mark Cavar, Pro – Scott Lewsley, Sportsman – Gene Furman, Motorcycle – Joe Lind, Jr. Dragster Lightning – Amber Arthur, Jr. Dragster Thunder – Katie Kapler, PRDC – Jacob Havens
Cavar Nets Super Pro Crown; Lewsley Pro Champ – Pacific Raceways – August 27, 2012
Looking for information on oil pump relief valve springs? What color spring denotes a certain pressure? Perhaps this will help:
This was the last points race at Pacific Raceways that would set their team for the upcoming Division 6 E.T. Finals on Labor Day weekend.
Paul entered this race in a very respectable 4th place in the Sportsman standings and Chris was in 17th place in the very tough Super Pro bracket. An important evening for Chris as the top 16 from Super Pro make the team and the top 10 from Sportsman, and a vital points race for Paul to have a shot at defending his Pacific Raceways 2011 Sportsman Track Championship and to qualify for the Race of Champions at the E.T. Finals. Both entered this race very much in control of their own destiny.
The WCSA quickest doorslammers here in the Northwest were also running their Bad Dog Shootout at Pacific this weekend. In a Friday night qualifying session, Joe Loch ran the left lane after an oil down and the track somehow forgot to pick up some cones at approximately the 1,000-foot mark causing damage to the nose of his car. Saturday morning Barry Hobson & Chris were hard at work to make emergency repairs so Joe could run eliminations.
More updates as the evening unfolds! – Roger
6:51 pm update:
The 60′ times are off tonight in the heat of the day. Paul reports because of the low car count the track has decided to give everyone two qualifying hits. Track conditions should improve as the sun begins to set behind the trees.
1st Round:
First up is Pro bracket, then Super Pro followed by Sportsman, then Motorcycle.
Chris won the 1st round in Super Pro with a 10.487 on a 10.48 dial to defeat Steve Beggerly. Steve was in 12th place in the points going into this race and with this win Chris just went around Steve in the standings.
Paul won his 1st round in Sportsman running a 12.66 on a 12.60 dial. The guys are off to a great start this evening.
2nd Round:
Chris won this round running a 10.464 on a 10.46. That’s 31 very valuable points in his column so far tonight.
Paul lost in the 2nd round with a – .001 red light! He ran it thru running a 12.589 on a 12.61 dial. We’ll need to wait and see where he stands in the Sportsman points when they are posted next week but he should certainly make the team. We’re hoping he has earned enough points to make the Race of Champions.
3rd Round:
Chris lost in this round when he broke out running a 10.409 on 10.45. Like Paul, we’ll need to wait for the points update to see where he stands.
Once again our thanks to Justin Jung for all his help this evening! We appreciate the assistance!
I will update this post when Pacific Raceways updates the points. – Roger
UPDATE AUGUST 14th 2012:
Edwards & Young has TWO cars in the E.T. Finals!
Chris is currently tied for 11th place in Super Pro with 200 points and made the Pacific Raceways team for the E.T. Finals.
Paul is currently in 4th place in Sportsman and eligible for the Race of Champions at the E.T. Finals. This will be the 2nd consecutive year Paul has qualified for the Race of Champions.
GREAT JOB GUYS!! – Dad
NORTHWEST NATIONALS TIDBITS:
Full Throttle Series Heads North to Kent – Pacific Raceways – July 30, 2012
Wilkerson looking forward to Pacific Raceways visit – NHRA – July 31st 2012
Northwest Nationals Team Reports – NHRA
High-profile rookies DeJoria, Force excited to return to Pacific Raceways – NHRA – August 1, 2012
Gov. Gregoire Kicks off Rainier Cup – Pacific Raceways – August 2, 2012
We don’t expect track conditions to be all that conducive to record runs this weekend as the forecast indicates mid 80’s to 90’s at Kent this weekend. Track temps will be well over 110 and present a challenge for the crews to get down the track. – Edwards & Young Racing – August 2, 2012
Schumacher and Seattle’s Pacific Raceways a powerful match – NHRA – August 2, 2012
Brown, Johnson head to Seattle with chance to sweep Western Swing – NHRA – August 3, 2012
FRIDAY SEATTLE NHRA NORTHWEST NATIONALS QUALIFYING COMPLETED – CompetitionPlus – August 3, 2012
NHRA Northwest Nationals: Allen Johnson eyes Western Swing Sweep – Seattle Times – August 3, 2012
Massey, Capps, Johnson lead final Seattle fields – NHRA – August 4, 2012
Allen Johnson takes another step toward impressive sweep – Seattle Times – August 4, 2012
2012 NHRA NORTHWEST NATS – EVENT NOTEBOOK – Susan Wade of CompetitionPlus – August 5, 2012
In the staging lanes during eliminations at the Northwest Nationals
Chris Young photo
Jason Line’s Camaro in the staging lanes at the Northwest Nationals
Chris Young photo
Pro Stock finals at the Northwest Nationals. Enders vs Line
Chris Young photo
Courtney Force scores first Pro win; Enders, Torrence also shine in Seattle – NHRA – August 5, 2012
Courtney Force, Erica Enders make history at Northwest Nationals – Seattle Times – August 5, 2012
PLOURD’S DOUBLE HEADLINES NHRA NORTHWEST NATS SPORTSMAN WINNERS – CompetitionPlus – August 7, 2012
The Sportsman Report – DragRacingOnline – August 8, 2012
Comment: I think it is a real tribute to Pacific Raceways, their entire staff, and the NHRA crew that maintained the track under very hot conditions. Track temps reached or exceeded 130-degrees on Saturday & Sunday and the surface held up well under such adverse conditions.
Paving to the 330-mark earlier this season definitely improved the track and the Pros in NHRA should be grateful to Jason Fiorito for making the investment and the local racers that gave up several weeks of racing to make it all possible. – Roger
After the last race, we heard a “clicking” sound in the motor when cranking that was in rhythm with the valve train. To be safe we decided to pull the old motor and take a look.
Thanks to Chris & Paul, today we got the 331 out of the ’57 and torn completely down. We found a bad lifter bore in the front of the engine that was damaged since the motor was put together 12 runs back. We have three lifter bores that need to be bushed and we’ll get the engine back together to race again in 2013!
My profound thanks to my sons & Pam for all your very hard work today on a HOT day! – Roger
Update: September 26th 2012
Thanks to DG Machine, we have the lifter bores repaired and the engine back together! We removed the restrictors to the lifter galleys and increased the oil pressure slightly. Hopefully the problem is resolved.
We are also replacing our old Moroso stud girdle with the stronger Shafiroff double-bar stud girdle that we have been using on the 406. – Roger
Rolling ‘EZ’ with ISKY Cams – Drag Racing Online – Posted September 27, 2012
Update: October 21, 2012
Chris, Pam and I got the engine back in the ’57 on Saturday. Chris also got the transmission and driveline back in the car. On Sunday Chris repaired the cracked 3-4 shifter rod and we got the shifter installed and adjusted. Don’t ask me how you fracture a 7/16″ heat-treated shifter rod but it was.
Earlier in the week I reinstalled our MSD Timing Control which will give us more flexibility for the starting line conditions we face. We can also advance the timing in high humidity conditions to help compensate for the loss in horsepower.
Now we’re basically down to installing the carbs, headers, radiator and the engine will be ready to fire. – Roger
Update: October 25, 2012
We now have the headers, and radiator installed. I had to replace the primary fuel bowl in the front carburetor due to the threads pulling on the banjo fitting which is not uncommon. Just add some fuel, coolant & connect the battery and it is ready to fire and set the timing!
Update – October 27, 2012:
Today we fired the ’57 and set the ignition timing. All systems look good! We’ll pull the rockers off while it sits during the winter. New shoulder harness in the early Spring and we should be good for 2013!
Taking a look at the long history of our ’57 from the early 70’s when we were running F/Modified Production to 2012.
None of this would have been possible without the many years of support and hard work from my entire family. It has been a fun ride!
Enjoy the video! – Roger
New video produced in August 2012: