Northern Challenge Results/Photos

[HoleShot Photography]

Northern Challenge Results
With rain showers falling all night Saturday and dark blue clouds on Sunday morning the weather forecast for the Northern Challenge #1 located in Radford, VA was not looking good. A few racers and spectators opted to stay home, but for the ones that made the trip to Motor Mile Dragway got a real treat. Shortly after 9:00am the clouds cleared way for bright sunshine and a cool breeze that never went away. This track is not only 100% concrete but it also houses a world class speedway directly next to the drag strip and rumors are speculating that this will soon be a ¼ mile track within the next 2 years.

After the final round of qualifying was complete the 8 quickest cars in super pro had a chance to earn some extra money running in a Quick 8 style match up. In the end it was (2) Virginia boys going head to head, Bruce Ridgeway was paired up against the low 5 second dragster driven by David Grayson. At the stripes it was David Grayson taking the win and earning some much needed gas money as he made the long haul from Middleburg, VA. After the completion of the Quick 8 race David Grayson then went on to advance further into the Super Pro class. David would meet his match in the final round of Super Pro when he would face Clint Woolard. Clint dialed in a 7.35et against David’s 5.15et; Clint was off of the line with a .017 reaction time as David left with a .042. As David caught him on the top end and blew by him going 130.05mph it was just too fast as he broke out with a 5.132et on a 5.15 dial in. Clint however ran a 7.417/90.96mph on his 7.35 dial in. Congratulations go out to Clint and his father as they battled clutch problems throughout the day but managed to get it right when it really counted.

In the Pro Category it was yet again Mel Shealy with his 3rd win in a row in the SEVWA championship. Mel had no easy task in the final round as he was paired up against Larry Tucker. This particular race was one to watch and Mel squeaked out a win with only .050 separating the two drivers. Mel ran an 8.153/76.77mph on an 8.14 dial in against Larry’s 9.019/70.26mph on his 8.99 dial in. Mel is looking to repeat as the SEVWA Pro champion and has a very good chance with just 3 races left in the season. In the Sportsman class it was Rick Laws paired up against Mark Williams in the final round. Rick dialed in a 12.08 and ran a 12.119/54.60mph against Mark’s 9.747/68.65mph on his 9.68 dial in.

Also making a test and tune appearance was Vw Pro Stocker Denis Elliot. After pulling the motor and some grinding, polishing, tightening, and tweaking the car was ready to go. With the help of Kevin Shull, Ollie Frey, and Mike Martin Denis hopped in the car and ran a 6.25/106mph. With some of his previous problems solved it was time to turn the car loose and see what kind of times this JayCee powered motor can really produce. In a flurry of passes Dennis clocked a 6.172/105mph, and then backed that up with a 6.153/104mph, and his final pass ran through with a blistering 6.146/106mph. After going through 4 transmissions last year and numerous gremlins throughout the car Denis and his hard working staff now have one bad ass hot rod that has proven itself to the community. Denis will be displaying his car in 2 weeks at the Vw Invasion on June 25th at Mooresville Dragway.

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VRN Stephen
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