News 2
Race Results:
Lucas Oil Division 6
Woodburn Dragstrip
Woodburn, Oregon
June 25-27, 2010
Well, we thought last year's Lucas Oil race was "the best ever", but 2010's Lucas Oil race here at Woodburn Dragstrip just might top the list. At last year's event the team ran their quickest and fastest pass to date to qualify 3rd, bettering those who came up from Division 7, but ultimately lost a close first round match up. So what made this years better?
At the last event, the Fire and Thunder, the team spun and shook the tires pretty wickedly on their last attempt Sunday. What we had thought was an overpowering issue that day clearly was not the case as the same thing happened twice during qualifying for this event. During Q1 Friday Jeff spun the tires pretty good and got the car out of shape just past 600 feet. It's always great to showcase your sponsors, just not heading sideways from the starting line! We clicked off the timers on that run with an unimpressive 13.46 and 59.62 mph which placed the team 5th overall. That doesn't sound too bad but considering only 7 cars made the trek to Woodburn and only 5 made Q1, the team was not pleased with whatever gremlin has gotten a hold of the Napa Mustang that placed them at the bottom of the qualifying sheet.
For Q2 on Saturday things did not improve as again the car spun the tires and got real loose out there around 300 feet. We technically improved with a 9.89 at 103.44 mph but that still placed us last with one more qualifying shot to go. The team towed back to the pits determined to rectify this issue. I wasn't there so I don't know how, but our great crew chief Norm Christensen figured out what the problem was and the end result for Q3 was a 5.811 at 244.49 mph which placed Jeff 2nd overall behind Brian Hough. Jeff had said he was a tad unsure before the run of what was going to happen but once he had gotten past "the shake zone" it was smooth sailing from there. With only 7 cars on the premise we knew we were going to qualify but our main goal for Q3 was to just get down the track and that they did.
For me personally, I couldn't wait for eliminations to start. I so wanted the team to get their first ever win light and I felt we had as good a chance to do it today as anybody. Our first round opponent was Dave Germain. Dave is someone to never take lightly as he could slap a number on the board on any given run. Germain had a slight jump at the 'tree but Jeff was able to overtake him by the finish line winning the round with a 5.845 at 243.83 to Germain's quickest run of the weekend, a 5.919 at 242.
Ashwell Racing was pumped after that. Our second round opponent was Division 7's Larry Miner out of northern California. Larry is another one of those guys who can run with the best of them and when he's on his game, watch out. But it wasn't to be his day. Miner got the jump at the start but then started to overpower the track around 600 feet out. Jeff on the other hand was "hauling Ash" straight down track to a 5.827 at 243.30 mph win light over Miner's 5.916 at 248 mph to cruise into the final round.
What an awesome feeling that was. Our first ever win light and now our first ever final round at our home track. Needless to say we had our work cut out for us as our opponent was the reigning Division 6 champion Brian Hough who had the field covered by a tenth and a half. With a short turn-a-round time slated the team raced back to the pits to begin the normal maintenance of the race car while a small crowd gathered to watch.
Win or lose, Ashwell Racing had a fantastic time at this year's Lucas Oil Division race but we really wanted to win. Jeff was definitely on his game and cut a great 0.032 light to Brian's 0.095 but it was not enough to hold him where it counted the most. With our 5.858 to Hough's 5.703 the margin of difference was only 0.0921, or roughly 33 feet. Jeff did his job at the start and the crew gave him all that we could but nonetheless came up just a little bit short.
Overall Ashwell Racing had their best outing to date. Even though there was a lot of thrashing with short turn-a-round times in the hot sun, no one complained and the team kept a positive attitude throughout the weekend. In Jeff's closing words he said it was "an awesome feeling" to finally get that proverbial monkey of his back to get his first round win and then get to the final. His goals for the upcoming NHRA Northwest Nationals is to keep the car consistent and to be able to run competitive with the best of them. "Once we got our issue corrected we have been able to get down hot race tracks and we have a great crew that is able to work well under pressure in hot weather conditions. I'm very excited to get to Seattle." As always, we would love to thank our wonderful loyal sponsors Tony, Jerry, and Eric from Wilson's Napa Auto, Doug and Mike Gatchet from G & S Machine, Dave and Marsha from Walery's Pizza, NGK, Sunbelt, Valvoline, and our newest sponsor: Covanta Energy.
Lucas Oil Division 6
Woodburn Dragstrip
Woodburn, Oregon
June 25-27, 2010
Well, we thought last year's Lucas Oil race was "the best ever", but 2010's Lucas Oil race here at Woodburn Dragstrip just might top the list. At last year's event the team ran their quickest and fastest pass to date to qualify 3rd, bettering those who came up from Division 7, but ultimately lost a close first round match up. So what made this years better?
At the last event, the Fire and Thunder, the team spun and shook the tires pretty wickedly on their last attempt Sunday. What we had thought was an overpowering issue that day clearly was not the case as the same thing happened twice during qualifying for this event. During Q1 Friday Jeff spun the tires pretty good and got the car out of shape just past 600 feet. It's always great to showcase your sponsors, just not heading sideways from the starting line! We clicked off the timers on that run with an unimpressive 13.46 and 59.62 mph which placed the team 5th overall. That doesn't sound too bad but considering only 7 cars made the trek to Woodburn and only 5 made Q1, the team was not pleased with whatever gremlin has gotten a hold of the Napa Mustang that placed them at the bottom of the qualifying sheet.
For Q2 on Saturday things did not improve as again the car spun the tires and got real loose out there around 300 feet. We technically improved with a 9.89 at 103.44 mph but that still placed us last with one more qualifying shot to go. The team towed back to the pits determined to rectify this issue. I wasn't there so I don't know how, but our great crew chief Norm Christensen figured out what the problem was and the end result for Q3 was a 5.811 at 244.49 mph which placed Jeff 2nd overall behind Brian Hough. Jeff had said he was a tad unsure before the run of what was going to happen but once he had gotten past "the shake zone" it was smooth sailing from there. With only 7 cars on the premise we knew we were going to qualify but our main goal for Q3 was to just get down the track and that they did.
For me personally, I couldn't wait for eliminations to start. I so wanted the team to get their first ever win light and I felt we had as good a chance to do it today as anybody. Our first round opponent was Dave Germain. Dave is someone to never take lightly as he could slap a number on the board on any given run. Germain had a slight jump at the 'tree but Jeff was able to overtake him by the finish line winning the round with a 5.845 at 243.83 to Germain's quickest run of the weekend, a 5.919 at 242.
Ashwell Racing was pumped after that. Our second round opponent was Division 7's Larry Miner out of northern California. Larry is another one of those guys who can run with the best of them and when he's on his game, watch out. But it wasn't to be his day. Miner got the jump at the start but then started to overpower the track around 600 feet out. Jeff on the other hand was "hauling Ash" straight down track to a 5.827 at 243.30 mph win light over Miner's 5.916 at 248 mph to cruise into the final round.
What an awesome feeling that was. Our first ever win light and now our first ever final round at our home track. Needless to say we had our work cut out for us as our opponent was the reigning Division 6 champion Brian Hough who had the field covered by a tenth and a half. With a short turn-a-round time slated the team raced back to the pits to begin the normal maintenance of the race car while a small crowd gathered to watch.
Win or lose, Ashwell Racing had a fantastic time at this year's Lucas Oil Division race but we really wanted to win. Jeff was definitely on his game and cut a great 0.032 light to Brian's 0.095 but it was not enough to hold him where it counted the most. With our 5.858 to Hough's 5.703 the margin of difference was only 0.0921, or roughly 33 feet. Jeff did his job at the start and the crew gave him all that we could but nonetheless came up just a little bit short.
Overall Ashwell Racing had their best outing to date. Even though there was a lot of thrashing with short turn-a-round times in the hot sun, no one complained and the team kept a positive attitude throughout the weekend. In Jeff's closing words he said it was "an awesome feeling" to finally get that proverbial monkey of his back to get his first round win and then get to the final. His goals for the upcoming NHRA Northwest Nationals is to keep the car consistent and to be able to run competitive with the best of them. "Once we got our issue corrected we have been able to get down hot race tracks and we have a great crew that is able to work well under pressure in hot weather conditions. I'm very excited to get to Seattle." As always, we would love to thank our wonderful loyal sponsors Tony, Jerry, and Eric from Wilson's Napa Auto, Doug and Mike Gatchet from G & S Machine, Dave and Marsha from Walery's Pizza, NGK, Sunbelt, Valvoline, and our newest sponsor: Covanta Energy.
Copyright . Todd Ashwell. All rights reserved.
