WCHRA crowns champs at West Coast Finals
(10-13-2009) MCFARLAND, CA – The West Coast Hot Rod Association rolled into AAA Auto Club Famoso Raceway in McFarland, Calif. for SCE GASKETS Inc. “West Coast Finals”, to say the heat was on for the racers would be an understatement!. With temps reaching 102*(20 degrees above normal) ,Class Championships on the line and Television Coverage by Inside Drag Racing thrown in for added pressure, the racers would definitely earn it on this tough weekend. The Famoso crew did an awesome job keeping on top of starting line and track conditions making sure that the lanes stayed even despite the high track temps.
The racers were up to the task, when it was all said and done, there were 4 WCHRA Records reset, some of the quickest and fastest runs too date and a few championships that came down to the Final runs of the season. It’s been a great year and we would like to thank everyone involved in any way with the WCHRA and look forward to seeing you all next Season!
Pro Street Qualifying:
With the Championship on the line between Clint Hairston and Randy Walker, every point would count and none of the racers were backing down, despite the hot track temps , we saw some quick times, crazy speeds and some serious tire shake. Unfortunately, the Hairston Team was a victim of this said “Tire Shake”, in round 3 the GTO suffered severe tire shake and sheared the wheel studs off the left rear causing the wheel and tire to leave the vehicle and tear up the body in the process. The Hairston Team was holding a 26 point lead going into the Final Event and after these turn of events, would need an early loss by the Walker Team to hold on to the Championship.
I just want to thank all the racers for racing hard and especially the Walker and Hairston Teams for the great sportsmanship showed by all involved under the unfortunate circumstances!
In round 1 of qualifying Rod Burbage showed he wasn’t going to let the heat slow him down, Rod and his Spec-Rite Converters 58 Corvette ripped off a potential record 6.254 at 218.65! , this would be enough to hold the #1 spot in Qualifying. In the #2 spot was Randy Walker in his Stealth Black, Walker Auto works, El Camino with a nice 6.350 at 220.37, followed by the Hairston Motorsports GTO 6.359 at a potential seed record of 231.24!
The #4 spot would be Brett Williamsons 6.369 at 227.27, followed by the Con-Quest Firebird of Tim Henry with a nice 6.443 at 219.13, Bob Bunker Jr. 6.499 at 216.86, Alan Bessant 6.764 at 207.85 and in the final spot was Rich Zehring in his GTO with a 7.239 at 197.32 (I wanted to note that Zehring was running in PRO with 10.5 tires and in ADRL XTF trim).
Pro Street Eliminations:
Round 1
#1 Qualifier Rod Burbage would line up with the GTO of Zehring, Burbage was on a mission to set the e.t. record, with the temps soaring this would prove to be a tough task, Zehring would leave first .028 to .093, Zehring would run a nice 7.028 at 206.65 but it wasn’t enough to hold off Rods 6.370 at 220.04. Next pair on the ladder would be Brett Williamson in the Blown 55 Chevy known as “The Beast” against Tim Henry in his N2o powered Firebird , this was definitely a race that could go either way , when the tree flashed it was Tim away first , both cars made clean passes and when the boards flashed Bretts.115 6.315 at 228.65 wasn’t enough to cover Tim’s .049 6.349 at 223.10 , another holeshot win for the Con-Quest driver!
Next pair would be the 68 Camaro of Allen Bessant against Randy Walker, Walker needs the round win to have a chance at the Championship!, when the tree flashed it was Bessant away too quick with a -.082 redlight!, Randy would make another nice run clocking a .090 6.395 at 220.42, this would advance Walker to the Semis still 6 points behind Hairston!
The final pair on the ladder was to be the Hairston Motorsports GTO against Bob Bunker Jr. , Unfortunately the Hairston Team couldn’t make the repairs needed to compete on Sunday , the Bunker crew would take the single and the win with a lifting 11.801 at 74 mph to earn there spot in the semis.
Round 2
First pair out would be Rod Burbage and Tim Henry , unfortunately the Burbage Team decided to call it a day after finding some engine issues between rounds , Tim Henry would advance to the finals with another nice run , .093 6.414 at 221.67.
In the other semi it was Randy Walker and Bob Bunker Jr. , this was the season for Walker , it all comes down to this run, win and you are the Champion, lose and Hairston gets the title with 6 points to spare!. As they pulled in the water you could see the pressure on the faces of the Walker Crew, on the other side, the Bunker Team seemed to welcome the position they had been put in, both cars made routine burnouts, checked wheelie bars and slowly brought there drivers to the line, both drivers seemed ready to race and no games would be played here. When the ambers flashed it was Walker away first .058 to Bunkers .100, Walker would take this advantage and carry it to the finish line for the win 6.374 at 220.80 to Bunkers 6.654 at 214.43, the round win would give the Walker Autoworks Team a spot in the final round and more importantly, the 2009 PRO STREET CHAMPIONSHIP!
Final Round
The final round would pit the two quickest Nitrous cars in the WCHRA, and arguably, the two most consistent cars all season. Tim Henry and Randy Walker, after winning the Championship the round prior, the Walker crew was looking to finish off the season by running the table, on the other side Tim Henry and Crew were looking to derail the Walker Train. As these two cars pulled to the line I couldn’t help but wonder, with this event being covered by Inside Drag Racing, who would be the first PRO STREET team on the West Coast to win a televised event?. With the camera rolling and everyone focused on the final run of the 2009 WCHRA Season, both drivers staged and waited for the amber lights to flash, it was Walker away first .047 to Tim’s .070, at half track Walker had a car length lead on the Con-Quest Firebird, shortly after the El Camino moved around a bit giving up the advantage, that seemed to be the difference in the race, when the boards flashed it was Tim Henry getting the WIN over Randy Walker,6.441 at 218.39 to Walkers 6.581 at 216.86!
Congrats to Tim Henry and Crew/Family on your WIN! And to the Walker Team…Congrats on your 1st WCHRA CHAMPIONSHIP…You earned it!
Allen Bessant, far lane, against Randy Walker in the near lane
Brett Williamson, far lane versus Tim Henry
Pro Street #1 Qualifier Rod Burbage
Bob Bunker Jr.
Pro Street Final
The Tim Henry crew goes wild
Pro Street Winner's Circle
2009 WCHRA Pro Street Champion Randy Walker
With WCHRA Points leader & Record Holder, Doug Sikora, and `08 Champ Rich Zehring missing from the OUTLAW field, the title was decided before we ever began Qualifying, Congrats to the Sikora Team on there `09 Championship!
With only 3 cars making it out to the SCE GASKETS Inc. Finals, first time WCHRA racer Greg-Seth Hunter would find himself on top of the Qualifying sheet with a nice 4.632 at 168.19 in his Twin Turbo SBC 1970 Nova, in the #2 spot would be Chris Alston Jr. in his Pro-Charged BBC Chevy II with a 4.771 and in the 3rd spot was John Wall in his Twin Turbo SBF Mustang, 5.132 at 150.02.
Outlaw 10.5 Eliminations:
Round 1
Seth-Hunters Nova would get the competition single and turn a nice 4.621 at 167.62 to move to the final round.
The other side of the ladder would be Alston against Wall, Chris would take a slight advantage at the tree .036 to .047, this advantage was short lived however when, Alston spun the tire and Wall took advantage and took the win 4.953 at 154.37 to Alston’s 6.125 at 85 mph.
Final Round
In the final it would be the two Twin Turbo entries, one Chevy, one Ford. All weekend Seth-Hunter and Crew had the Nova running like a bracket Car and had put them in the position of the car to beat , On the other side was John Wall , his crew was making small steps forward and picking up E.T. a little at a time. One thing for sure was there would be a first time WCHRA winner in OUTLAW 10.5, when the tree flashed the Mustang jumped out on Hunters Nova and never looked back clocking a 5.057 at 152.05 to Greg-Seth Hunters 5.290 at 162.01, unfortunately for John Wall and Crew they had left too early with a -.008 Red-light!, Congrats to Greg and team on their win!
First time WCHRA racer Greg Seth-Hunter
Outlaw 10.5 Final Round. John Wall near lane and Greg Seth-Hunter.
Greg Seth-Hunter and crew celebrate in the Winner's Circle
Congrats go out to Rich Hoyle and Team on their Back 2 Back True 10.5 Championships! (Hoyle was crowned Champion as soon as he passed Tech)
In qualifying, the Holder Air Conditioning and Heating Nova of Roger Holder would nail down the #1 spot with a 5.055 @ 147.39 just edging out Rich Hoyles 5.059 at 143.86! The number 3 spot would be filled by the Blown SBC/1970 Chevelle of Jalil Jaber 5.302 at 126.33, followed by Lance Clontz 5.412, Ron McSwain 5.468 at 134.38, Rob Barrios 5.482 at 140.42, Mark Washington 5.485 at 129.90, Richard Gabel 5.624 at 125.94 and Slim Zeniaty with a 6.729 at 78 mph.
True 10.5 Eliminations:
Round 1
Roger Holder in the Holders A/C & Heating 68 Nova would get the competition bye first round and lay down a nice 5.116 at 146.53 to advance to the second round.
Next pair out would be the Deeds Performance, Twin Turbo,71 Camaro of Ron McSwain against Rob Barrios and “Team WE” , Barrios would leave first .087 to 138 and never look back , advancing to the next round 5.305 at 140.97 to 11.201 at 41 mph.
Next out would be Rich Hoyle and Slim Zeniaty, with Slims car capable of stepping up at any time, the Hoyle crew wasn’t going to take him lightly, Hoyle would get the advantage on the tree, .069 to Slims .089, Slim was right with Hoyle until the 400ft mark when he had a backfire and had to lift, Hoyle sped to the win with the quickest TT5 run of the event, 4.984 at 143.56.
Next pair was to be Richard Gabel in his 66 Impala and the Blown SBC Powered, Reef Racing Engines, Big-O Tire, Supreme Interiors, Chevelle of Jalil Jaber; unfortunately Jalil couldn’t make the call do to mechanical problems, so Gabel would single for the win with a 7.759 @ 61 mph.
The final pair of round 1 would be Clontz against Washington, as the cars staged the Mustang of Mark Washington shut-off, they tried to re-fire but it wasn’t to be (Later found to be a bad Fuse), Lance would take the single and advance to round 2 with a 5.441 at 132.43.
Round 2
1st pair would be Roger Holder and Rob Barrios , Roger would take a slight holeshot advantage and never give it up taking the win .053 5.161 at 146.36 over Robbie’s .079 5.429 at 139.62.
Rich Hoyle would receive the competition bye in round two, Hoyle would lay down another nice run, .091 5.027 at 144.11 to advance to the semi final round.
The final pair was to be Lance Clontz and Richard Gabel , Gabel couldn’t make the call for round 2 and Lance would advance to the semis with a .083 5.436 at 133.96
Round 3
The first pair in the semi would be Roger Holder in his Holder Air Conditioning and Heating Nova and Rich Hoyle in his Chevy II, The 2 quickest cars of the weekend and the only 2 Champions the WCHRA has had in the True 10.5 Class!
Both drivers were ready for this one; Holder would get a slight holeshot .004 to Hoyles .015! , this was definitely a close one and at the stripe it was Holder getting there first 5.128 at 147.88 to Rich’s 5.131 at 142.26!
Lance Clontz would be the beneficiary of the 9 car ladder getting the competition bye into the final, .049 8.533 at 70 mph.
Final
In the final it would be the veteran Roger Holder against newcomer Lance Clontz, Lance would take the advantage on the tree .044 to Rogers .075, it didn’t take Holder long to make up the difference and go around Lance, the Holder Team had a little too much for the newcomer on this day taking the win with a 5.140 at 146.19 to a 5.487 133.96 for Clontz.
True 10.5 #1 Qualifier Roger Holder
True 10.5 final round, Lance Clontz vs. Roger Holder
Gina Hoyle and crew member Mike Rigby
True 10.5 Winner's Circle
Going into the Finals we anticipated a battle in Drag Radial , with Dave Bowman and Dee Pfnister in a close battle for the Championship, unfortunately Dee couldn’t make it to the event conceding the Championship, Congrats to Dave Bowman and TEAM for Back 2 Back CHAMPIONSHIPS!
In Qualifying Dave Bowman continued to improve just as he has done all year , he took the #1 spot with a potential e.t. record 5.027 at a Record setting 151.71!..In the #2 spot was the 57 Chevy of Armen Maghdessian 5.379 at 127.98, Chico Coleman 5.465 at 133.49, Derrol Hubbards 5.727 at 134.24 and Bob Kopp who had mechanical problems.
Drag Radial Eliminations:
Round 1
First pair out would be the Enterprise Motorsports & Differentials, Daves Engine & Machine, DCB Motorsports, Lil Bri Motorsports, Precision TurboNRL systems, Chiseled Performance, Tial, Vic Hubbard Auto Supply, Orme Bros. Inc., Twin Turbo SBC 4th Gen Camaro with the competition bye run, it seemed the Bowman crew was going to see how much the hot track could take, the track was fine and after a couple wheel stands Dave would coast down for the win 6.676 at 86 mph.
Next pair out would be the BEP, Mikes Transmission, NANO System sponsored,
BBC/N2o Powered Nova of Derrol Hubbard taking on Chico Coleman in his new Cutlass, Chico took a slight advantage on the tree .059 to Hubbard’s .066, but shortly after Coleman spun the tires and Derrol took the win 5.420 at 135.82 to Chicos 7.248 at 90 mph.
The final pair was to be Armen Maghdessian in his Accu Chrome, WestCoast Rotor, AES, Hot Rod Perf., Ron Lummus Racing, Briggs paint, BBC/N2o powered '57 Chevy against the Kopps Speed Shop/TEC Services '69 Camaro of Bob Kopp, and unfortunately Bob couldn’t make the needed repairs in time to make the call. Armen would take full advantage of this with his personal best E.T. 5.217 at 140.09 to advance to the semis.
Round 2
Out first would be Bowman taking on Hubbard, both cars would leave the line virtually even, Bowman’s .083 to Darrel’s .074, Bowman made up that slight advantage quickly taking the win 5.170 at 151.13 to Hubbard’s 5.723 at 126.15.
Armens luck definitely changed after spinning the big 57 out at Fridays t-n-t, what a difference a couple days make!, Armen would get the competition bye into the Final round .114 5.467 at 129.14.
Finals
With track temps as high as they had been all weekend and the fact that these cars have big horsepower and little 275 Drag Radial tires, this one could go either way, Bowman would take the advantage at the tree .065 to Armens .098 , both cars left good but it wasn’t long till Armen experienced tire spin and had to pedal the Big Block '57 Chevy, in the other lane Dave was hooked up and gone on another smooth run, the Bowman Crew would take the victory 5.204 at 150.45 to Armens 6.56 at 85 mph.
Congrats to the Bowman Team on the Victory and the Championship! And to Armen, congrats on the personal bests, ¼ and 1/8 mile, this season, the big '57 is moving!
Drag Radial #1 Qualifier Dave Bowman
Drag Radial final round, Armen Maghdessian vs. Dave Bowman
Drag Radial Winner's Circle
The new for 2009 LIMITED 10.5 Class has already become one of the most popular classes in the WCHRA, with car counts climbing,e.t.'s falling and the fact that some of the toughest drivers have joined the battle in Lim. 10.5, this first season has proven to be a serious battle for the Championship!. Case in point would be the battle between points leader George Raygoza in the Vantol/Raygoza '64 Chevelle and Mike Saiki in his Big Block Camaro, these two past Champions goes into the final event hoping to bring home the championship. George needs to go rounds and the Title is his, Mike on the other hand, has to hope that George goes out early and that he can win the event!
In qualifying Mike Saiki showed that there was no quit in his team, he picked up 2 points on the Vantol/Raygoza Team and also set the first leg of a speed record that could add 10 more points to his total. When qualifying was over, neither one of the front runners was on top, that honor went to the SBF/N2o Mustang of Tony Politano with an 8.665 at 158.64, followed by Mike Saiki 8.759 at 163.54, Mike Orban 8.851 at 155.25, George Raygoza 8.911 at 157.37, Gordon Saiki 8.975 at 154.71, Taro Martinez 9.148 at 148.58, Kevin Keller 9.428 at 150.65, Jeff Wilson 9.708 at 157.37, Sean Cagle 10.009 at 145.18, Norm Bartlett 10.234 at 135.3 and Caleb Hunter.
Limited 10.5 Eliminations:
Round 1
First car out in round 1 would be the #1 Qualifier Tony Politano with the competition bye; Tony would advance to round 2 with an 8.940 at 151.51.
Next out would be Taro Martinez against Kevin Keller, unfortunately Taro would leave before the tree was activated, and Kevin would advance to round 2 with a 9.44 at 151.97.
Mike Orban and Norm Bartlett would be up next with Orban taking the win .115 10.324 at 124.25 over Norms .684 10.443 at 133.78.
George Raygoza in his T&D Dairy, NGK Spark Plugs, AES & Johns Tire sponsored 64 Chevelle would be up next against Sean Cagle , Cagle took a big advantage at the tree .049 to .200 but couldn’t hold off Raygoza ,George would advance to round 2 9.143 at 156.22 over Cagles 10.093 at 146.57.
Mike Saiki and Caleb Hunter would be the next pair, after hurting the car during qualifying Caleb was unable to make the call. Mike would try and take advantage of the single run and gain points on Raygoza, to do that he needed to set a record because Raygoza had already advance to round 2, the Camaro left the line hard and charged to an 8.686 at 163.33 record speeds, if this holds up it will be 10 points.
The final pair would be Gordon Saiki (Mikes Father) in his Camaro against Jeff Wilsons 6 cyl/Turbo/N2o, JAWS Gear and Axle sponsored Toyota Supra, Jeff would take a slight advantage on the tree .088 to .095, but Gordon pulled away for the win 9.289 at 153.06 over Jeffs 10.387 at 155.25.
Round 2
First pair would be Politano vs. Keller; Tony would leave first by a bunch .088 to Kevin’s .211 and take the victory 8.700 at 159.26 to 12.408 at 134.97. Next up was Mike Orban and George Raygoza , with a win this round George would be just 1 round from the Championship, George took a nice advantage at the tree .085 to .126 , but then had some trouble and Mike Orban would get the win light, but with lots of smoke on the top end, 9.248 at 148.98 over Raygozas 10.671 at 108.09 , this would open the door for Mike Saiki and his Championship hopes, bad luck for Orban turned out to be good luck for George, apparently Mike blew up his engine and didn’t scale his car as required by WCHRA rule, George did go over the scales and was re-instated , keeping his Championship run alive!
The Final pair would be Mike and Gordon Saiki, father and son in there matching Camaros, two beautiful cars I might add! When the lights flashed it was Mike away first
.141 to .461 ,Mike just took that advantage and pulled away for the win with the quickest and fastest Lim 10.5 run to date 8.553 at 163.93 mph!..Mike had kept his Championship hopes alive with that pass!
Round 3
First out would match up George Raygoza against Tony Politano, with a win, George could secure the Championship! It was George away first .061 to Tonys .098, but George would have problems shortly there after and Politano would drive away for the win 8.736 at 159.63 over a slowing 13.498 at 79 mph.
Mike Saiki would be out next and get the competition bye into the Final; Mike would have to win the race and back up the E.T. record to win the Championship!
With no more than two runs left, Mike would take a shot at the record on the bye run, the car left good and appeared to be on strong pass, 8.730 at 159.85, not enough for a record but good enough to get to the final.
Finals
It comes down to one last run, could Tony take out Mike like he took out George? Would he end the Championship run for Saiki? This was shaping up to be a great Final!
When the cars left the line it was Tony away first with a big advantage off the line .068 to Mikes .141, at the 1/8 Tony still had Mike by nearly a car length, but, Mike was starting to pull on Tony and at 1000ft he had pulled to within .04, at the stripe it was Mike getting the win light AND the record! 8.652 at 163.54 to Tonys 8.737 at 156.00, margin of victory .012! The Championship goes to the Saiki camp, awesome job Mike!
Limited 10.5 second round Mike Saiki far lane vs. his father Gordon
Limited 10.5 final round, Tony Politano near lane vs. Mike Saiki
Mike Saiki
With the Modified Production and Pro Stock classes going away after this season, do to lack of participation, the question was who would go out as the final Champion in each of these classes?. On the Modified Production side of things, last years Champion, Glen Walton Racing was crowned once they passed tech inspection, congrats on Back 2 Back Championships!
On the PRO STOCK side of things, Mike Pritchard and Anthony Valentino are only 22 points apart, with minimal rounds to work with; Anthony needs out qualify Mike and go one round further.
In qualifying it was the `08 Champion Mike Pritchard taking the #1 spot with a 8.382 at a potential record 164.83 mph , Anthony Valentino was #2 8.501 at 160.48 and #3 was Tim Rigby/Glen Walton Racing 9.924 at 143.83.
M/P-P/S Combo Eliminations:
Round 1
Mike Pritchard would be out first and would receive the competition single, Mike spun the tires but still managed an 8.804 at 164.47, this would be enough to back up his speed record and put the pressure on Valentino, If Anthony didn’t win the race AND reset the MPH record, and Mike would be your Champion!
Next on the ladder would be the Jones Engine Development, Hickok Race Cars, Pettis Perf., Pro-Trans, Bob Book Carbs, R&E Racing, Hoosier Tire, Wilson Manifolds, Redline Oil, REF sponsored, 393 c.i. SBF powered 64 Falcon of Glen Walton Racing against Anthony Valentino in his Camaro, unfortunately the Falcon couldn’t make the call after having valve train failure during qualifying. Anthony would take the single run 12.364 at 69 mph ,unfortunately with only one round remaining he would not be able to set the mph record and the Championship was now Pritchard’s.
Final
So the final round would pit the two PRO STOCK cars against each other, the two cars left together .031 to .036 with Mike Pritchard holding the slight advantage, as the cars approached the tree Anthony made a hard left and he just did keep it off of the centerline, but this cost him any chance at a win as Mike Pritchard was on a good run, Mike took the win with a 8.534 at 164.95(Resetting the mph record) over Anthony’s 9.862 at 110 mph.
Congrats on your Back 2 Back Championships!
I just want to thank ALL the M/P and P/S racers that did support these classes over the 3 years; I wish you guy’s good luck in your new classes!
Congrats to all the Winners, Runner-Ups & CHAMPIONS! In the following Index/Bracket Classes:
OPEN COMP
Nick Alvarado .158 9.61 D.I. 9.700 WINNER
Alan Ross .011 10.64 " 10.638 R/U
ALAN ROSS ***2009 CHAMPION***
A/GAS
Bruce Sanders .065 7.60 7.655 WINNER
Del Perkins .079 7.60 7.665 R/U
Del Perkins ***2009 CHAMPION***
B/GAS
Doug Hampton .014 8.60 8.632 WINNER
Rodney George .018 8.60 8.560 R/U
JEREMY GRIFFIE ***2009 CHAMPION***
C/GAS
Larry Burnitzki .031 9.60 9.644 WINNER
David Stage .052 9.60 9.697 R/U
AL WHITE ***2009 CHAMPION***
D/GAS
Josh Conrad .018 10.60 10.581 WINNER
C. Kurtis .026 10.60 10.578 R/U
ALAN ROSS ***2009 CHAMPION***
E/GAS
Dustin Lee .051 11.60 11.671 WINNER
Billy Teague .127 11.60 11.620 R/U
DUSTIN LEE ***2009 CHAMPION***
SPORTSMAN
Eric Hulsey .104 9.09 D.I. 9.236 WINNER
Steve Bunch -.017 11.62 D.I. 11.646 R/U
GREG DREHER ***2009 CHAMPION***
Story by Tim Rigby
Photos by Paul Schmitz - Reflections Of... Motorsports Photography - www.reflectionsofmotorsports.com
Linear Mode
