The Medford Mail Tribune has a poll on their website asking people whether they feel the county should fund improvements to the race track (there is also a copy of the recent newspaper article if you haven't seen it).
We encourage all of you to get online and vote now -- it's important for the future of the track. Here's the link to the Mail Tribune's site: http://www.mailtribune.com/.. The poll is towards the bottom of the page.
Two of Champion's racers have won Division 6 Land of the Leader honors this year. Congratulations to Jeremy McGee in Super Pro and Eric Barker in Sportsman. (Charlie Allin won in Sportsman in 2006).
For those of you who aren't familiar with how this works, all ET racers (who are NHRA members) from all Divison 6 tracks accumulate points based on their round wins in each of the track's 4 designated Land of the Leader racers. The racer with the most points overall wins.
Winners will be recognized at Division 6's banquet in December, receive a Wally and a jacket.
Congratulations Jeremy & Eric !!!!!!!
October 13th brought a close to Champion's racing season with the opportunity for racers to win a NHRA Wally in the National Dragster Challenge. The morning started with out with heavy fog in the valley, a moist race track, and antsy racers. By 10:00 it was starting to show signs of lifting, and by 11:00 the sun was shining brightly and racing was underway!
In addition to all the regular ET racing classes, we were exciting to have the West Coast Top Sportsman on hand with a field of 12 cars, and 3 jet cars to entertain the spectators.
With many tight races, and Wally's on the line, competition was fierce but friendly. Congratulations to all our winners!!
Paul Nero, from Eugene, took home the top prize in Super Pro, with a 7.908 @ 162.18 MPH on a 7.90 dial against Lyle Hood's 11.065 on an 11.02 dial.
In Pro, local favorite Jim Alcorn's 11.519 @ 118.28 on a 11.39 dial beat out Chris Plankenhorn's closer 10.333 @ 131.42 on a 10.23 dial due to a starting line advantage.
Sportsman pitted two of the perennial top competitors Chuck Herndon and Michael Wescom. Chuck took home the honors when Mike broke out by a mere 2 thousandths. Chuck ran 12.723 @ 106.90 on a 12.70 dial against Mike's 12.448 @ 106.69 on a 12.45 dial.
In motorcycle Jerry Stinson beat Tracy Bailey, from Coos Bay, with his 8.997 @ 135.58 on a 8.95 dial versus 9.877 @ 121.57 on a 9.78 dial. This was after Jerry wrapped up the motorcycle championship in our Friday Night Drag program the night before.
West Coast Top Sportsman finished out the day with Mark Lawson, Atwater, CA, beating Dave Matson, Grass Valley, CA. Dave actually had the starting line advantage, but Mark made up for it at the finish line. Dave won with a 7.908 @ 170.00 on a 7.87 dial against Mark's 7.826 @ 178.78 on a 7.70 dial.
We also had two Jr. Dragsters in attendance, with Jason Brunelle beating Jesse Lauener.
Friday, October 12th brought a close to the Friday Night Drag series, and the crowning of our 2007 Champions. Several of the classes had the lead going back and forth throughout the year, while others jumped out in front and never looked back.
Congratulations to all our 2007 Champions!!
Sport Compact -- Jim Blazer
Street DOT -- Chuck Herndon
Hot Rod -- Jeff Schulz
Motorcycle -- Jerry Stinson
Quads -- Bob Wilson
High School -- McKenzie Heisner
Jr. Dragster -- Forrest Angwin
On September 22nd and 23rd, Champion Raceway held their 4th Annual Northwest Reunion event, under sunny skies and excellent racing conditions. Along with the great racing, an awesome barbeque was held for all the racers and their teams, followed by music by Hot Gossip. The event was sponsored by Profile Grinding & Machine and River City RV.
In AA/Supercharged Gary Reinero, Merced, CA, took the win with a 6.983 @ 199.17 over local favorite Dave Thompson’s 7.461 @ 183.89. Even though he went out in the first round, Mitch Chamberlin from Orting, WA wrapped up the AA/Supercharged Association’s championship.
In Dragster/Roadster class Mat Clum, Eagle Point, OR, beat John Eskelson, Auburn, CA, with a 8.840 @ 149.61 on a 8.78 dial against a 9.714 @ 138.78 on a 9.60 dial. Nostalgia Eliminator found Dee Morris, Snohomish, WA, taking the win over Denny Gilliland, Medford, OR, when Denny red lit by a mere one thousandth.
A large field of Inliner/Flathead/Slant6 racers graced the track, showing everyone how much fun it is to make one run after another! The win went to Aric Erickson of Chico, CA, when he beat Richard Bjerklund of Euguene, OR, after his red light. Aric ran a 12.619 @ 103.65 on his 12.57 dial.
Gassers had a repeat winner from the Hot Rod Gasser event in June, when Mike Rice, Puyallup, WA, beat Ray Robb, Halsey, OR, with a 10.692 @ 121.56 on a 10.57 dial against a breakout 10.174 @ 131.56 ON A 10.23 dial.
Super Rod pitted a couple local racers against each other in the final, with Tom Brooks taking the win over Bob Crow with a 10.07 @ 123.42 on a 10.03 dial against Bob’s 22.729 when he coasted through after botching his launch at the starting line. Bracket 1 had Jim Sutherland, Eugene, OR, beating Tony Cabler, Medford, OR, after Tony left way early.
We had our biggest field ever of Jr. Dragsters, after a group from California drove up for the race. It was great having them all here and we hope they’ll be back next year. The win went to Patrick Downs of Elk Grove, CA, after Krystyna Lintern of Volcano, CA, broke out. Patrick ran a 8.184 @ 74.22 on a 8.16 dial against Krystyna’s 8.110 on a 8.12 dial.
Congratulations to Jeremy McGee and his team for taking "King of the Track" honors on Saturday. The King of the Track competition pits the top 2 racers in each class (8 total) in a run-off to see who rises to the top of the heap. We had several repeat competitors this year, including last year's winner, Chuck Herndon.
In Round 1 Michael Wescom beat Robin Harris with a 4 hundredths margin; Chuck Herndon beat Craig Rych when he red-lit; Phil Greer had a 3 hundredths advantage over Jerry Stinson; and Jeremy McGee beat Dan Holscher with a 5 hundredths starting line advantage.
Round 2 brought Jeremy McGee and Mike Wescom up to the line with Mike breaking out by only 2 hundredths. Then Chuck Herndon prevailed over Phil Greer when he broke out by a mere 8 thousandths.
That left Jeremy and Chuck to fight it out in the final, where Jeremy won by the smallest of margins when he took the stripe only 5 ten thousandths ahead of Chuck. What an awesome performance by both! Congratulations Jeremy !!!
Here's the details for Champion's 2007 Year End Banquet
Date: November 3, 2007
Place: Red Lion Inn (200 N Riverside Ave, Medford)
Time: 5:30 pm - reception (no host bar); 7:00 pm - dinner; 8:30 pm
- awards presentation
Cost: $25 per adult, $12 per child 6-10 years old, children
5 & under free
Menu: Buffet including salmon, pork, prime roast, salad, vegetables,
fruit, desert, coffee, & ice tea
All tickets for the event will be PRE SOLD this year. You can buy your tickets at the ticket booth at the track. Or, you can mail a check to Champion Raceway, P.O. Box 168, Colton, OR 97017. You must include your name, address, and # tickets desired along with your check. Your tickets will then be mailed back to you.
Tickets must be purchased by October 26th. Everyone is Welcome.
Our ET Finals team is now finalized. Click on the link below to see the team roster. 2007 ET Finals Team
Click on the link below to read/print the event information summary for the ET Finals. All racers attending the event should review this information so you are adequately prepared for competing in the event.
07 Summit ET Finals Info Sheet
With the completion of our 8th and final ET Championship Series points race on August 11th, Champion Raceway is pleased to announce our 2007 Champions!!! They are:
Super Pro - Phil Greer
Pro - Dan Holscher
Sportsman - Chuck Herndon
Motorcycle - Craig Rych
High School - McKenzie Heisner
Jr. Dragster - Aaron Frei
Congratulations to all !!!!!!
At the suggestion of some of our racers, we are going to add a "Cash Bash" class to our Friday Night Drags program. The program will work like this:
Racers pay normal car/driver entry fee ($23) when coming through gate
When signing waiver and getting wrist band, you can sign up to run in cash bash and pay $20 fee (all of which gets paid back out to winner/runner-up)
A separate lane will be assigned for cash bash participants. Normal time trials/eliminations will take place
A minimum of 8 cars must be signed up for class to be run
Winner and runner-up will split the purse 75% to winner - 25% to runner-up
Larry McFarland, our special events photographer, has available for sale a "Best of Champion Raceway" DVD which includes pictures from events over the last couple years at the track. The DVD's include hundreds of pictures, from TAD, TAFC, AA/Supercharged, A/Fuel, motorcycles, jet cars, and many other classes. The DVD is $20, and can be purchased directly from Larry. Contact him at larmcf@comcast.net or 541-928-4061.
Gail and Dennis Vollmar have available for sale DVDs of the 2006 Div 6 ET Finals and Race of Champions, along with the 2005 Lucas Oil Divisional and the 2005 Hot Rod Gasser Nationals. Each DVD is approximately an hour long, and the cost is $25 each. Contact Gail or Dennis at the track, or email them at dvollmar@charter.net if you are interested in purchasing any of the DVDs.
By:
Eric Lotz
Director, Field Marketing
In the final results
from Champion Raceway and the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Northwest
Championship it was Thomas Bayer taking his second win of his rookie season in
Top Alcohol Dragster. The
In Comp Eliminator it was one vs.. two with the No. 2 qualifier Doug Lambeck taking the win over J.D. Zink with a 9.434 second pass. Zink gave away the win when he left early with a red-light.
Alan Falcone beat out Mike Blackstone in the final of Super Stock with a lap of 9.755 seconds at 135.16 mph and Tommy Gaynor won in Stock Eliminator over Mark Faul with an 11.466, 116.60 mph run. Dave Morgan narrowly won in Top Dragster over Stan Leerkamp with a 7.245 second lap to Leerkamp’s 7.295.
Randy Johnson held off No. 1 qualifier Kurtis Tamez in the
Top Sportsman class running 7.679 seconds at 177.39 mph while Carl Hagen won
over former division champion Jeff Jackson in
Other winner’s this weekend included Michael Dalrymple beating Mike Henderson in Super Comp; Mike Coltrin won over Greg Zucco in Super Gas; and Leeland King took the trophy in the Sportsman Motorcycle class presented by Harley Davidson with an 8.734 second pass at 152.02 mph.
Northwest Division racers head to Woodburn Dragstrip for the next NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event, July 6-8.
The following are the final results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Northwest Championship:
TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER:
Round 1
1) Thomas Bayer,
3) Joey Severance,
2) Shawn Cowie,
4) Mike Austin,
Semi-finals
Bayer, 5.603, 256.99 def.
Severance, 5.536, 255.97 def. Cowie, 5.560, 260.21
Final
Bayer, 7.009, 13.23 def. Severance, broke
TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR:
Round 1
5) Clint Thompson,
1) Hank Coolidge, Sunburst,
2) Brian Hough,
6) Russ Parker,
Semi-finals
Hough, 5.821, 245.49 def. Parker, 5.947, 243.68
Coolidge, 5.929, 243.15 def. Thompson, 5.948, 243.81
Final
Hough, 5.942, 245.40 def. Coolidge, 5.835, 244.07, foul
COMP ELIMINATOR
Doug Lambeck,
SUPER STOCK
Alan Falcone,
STOCK ELIMINATOR
Tommy Gaynor,
SUPER COMP
Michael Dalrymple,
SUPER GAS
Mike Coltrin,
SUPER STREET
Carl Hagen,
SPORTSMAN MOTORCYCLE
Leeland King, Shelton, Wash., '99 Kawasaki, 8.734, 152.09 def. Jeff Havens, Yakima, Wash., '95 Suzuki, 7.944, 163.04.
TOP DRAGSTER
Dave Morgan,
TOP SPORTSMAN
Randy Johnson,
With some gorgeous weather, and a lot of spring fever in the air, we had a banner start to the new season!! Cascade Block's Friday Night Drags drew 107 cars and 588 spectators, followed by 45 cars and 119 spectators on Saturday's test and tune.
We thank everyone for coming out, and hope to see you all back soon. For those of you who were first time racers, we encourage you to review the information found under the "Track Rules" and "Racing Classes" buttons.
Results and points have been updated -- click on buttons on the left.
The test and tune sessions on April 28th and May 5th will run from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Also, remember there will be an NHRA chassis certification on the 28th as well.
We've posted a lot of updates to the site. Here's a brief recap of what you'll find, and we encourage you to take some time to check out all the changes. As before, feedback is always welcome.
Two new navigation buttons have been added -- one for Prices and one for Event Info. This should make it easier for everyone to find all the admission prices and details on each of the events (schedule, racing classes, prices, etc).
Some prices have been increased for 2007. Primarily these changes affect the entry fees for the ET Championship Series, and sets them back to what they were two years ago. While the increases were necessary to reduce the amount of losses at the track, we also wanted to increase the payout levels. So, a portion of the increase has gone directly into increasing the payout levels in all classes. (You can find the details on this under the Event Info tab, then click on the ET Championship Series link.
Various updates have been made to the Track Rules and Racing Classes. We encourage all of our racers to review this information. Of particular note is a change to how points will be kept for the Friday Night Drags series. You will now have to sign up for points if you want to compete for the yearly championship (same as for the ET Championship series).
For the Summit E.T. Series Finals this year (to be held at Woodburn), Division 6 will be adding 2 positions to each team for Sport Compact competitors. For Champion's team we will fill these 2 positions based on the highest Sports Compact point earners from our Friday Night Drags program. As with the rest of the team these racers will have to be NHRA members, and have a NHRA competition number.
We still have some work to do on the site -- archive 2006 information, move all the pictures to the photo gallery page, general clean-up, update sponsor info, etc. But we wanted to get this information out first, and we'll keep working on keeping the site clean and informative.
Are you getting anxious to get out to the track and start racing again??!! Well, how about coming out to the track to help get everything ready for the new season?? Every Saturday in April Jim will be out at the track doing just that, and invites any of you to come out and help. There's plenty to be done, so you if have a few extra hours, come on out and give a hand. The gates will be open from 9:00 to 3:00. Here's some of the tasks we'll be working on: track scraping, raking leaves, painting, hanging signs, grounds clean up, etc.
The 2007 schedule has been updated. Click on "2007 Schedule" button to the left to view.
© copyright 2006, 2007, 2008 Champion Raceway