Bob Olmstead Memorial Race, 5/10/09
Before we start, a
history inquiry: a fan
wrote our website,
curious about the
retired race car in her
barn. She says it's a
'33 Chrysler coupe named
The Teacher. While you
work on that one, here's
results from the May
10th race...
Tight, tight racing that would have thrilled the late, beloved man named for the event, the Bob Olmstead Memorial Race was one surprise after another. Bob died of a heart attack, October 30th, friends and family knew the perfect way to celebrate his life.
The
dragsters were on it
early
time trials.
previous top qualifier
Ricky Ellsworth, Jr.'s
straight 8.34 in Session
1 was followed by Tom
Brazil's Hemi-powered
8.32 at 159 mph. Session
2 saw Dennis Ellsworth,
Jr. with an 8.24 also at
159 mph, entering
eliminations as top
qualifier.
The
quickest bike continues
to be
Pro Stock Motorcycle
pilot James Surber, who
had Competition
Eliminator's fastest run
of 8.37, and Session 1
of the Memorial Race saw
a streak of Harley
Orange with his 8.22 e.t.
Top qualifer - what
bikers define as best
reaction time -
was Mike Pettit, Sr.'s
.004 on a .400 starting
tree. His son Mike, Jr.,
would later beat veteran
John Widdman in
eliminations, due in
part to a much better
reaction time. Rookie
Jr. then raced Sr. in
the semi-finals in a
close Skidoo snowmobile
dual - Jr. in the 12's,
Dad in the 11's -, Sr.
would go to the final
round against James
Fish. Garberville biker
Fish had only one full
practice run, his chain
popped in a Session 2
start. Surber red-lit
against Fish in the
semi's, both Fish and
Pettit, Sr. would
breakout in the final
(i.e., going faster than
your dial-in), Pettit's
lesser-offense 11.68 on
a 11.70 dial to Fish's
10.44 on a 10.55 dial
taking 1st place.
Breakouts were
everywhere that Sunday,
along with close-to-dial
in runs. In Round 1, Ray
Rapp ran his Super Pro
Vega one-thousandth of a
second above his 10.15
dial against Ricky
Ellsworth, Jr., who ran
8.249 on an 8.26
dial. Rapp then faced
Mike Scoggin in a close
double-breakout race,
head to head about 60
feet into it, with
Scoggin's lesser
breakout leading his
1946 Chevy truck to the
Super Pro semi finals
against Tom Brazil.
Another extremely close
race for Scoggin, his
purple street rod edging
out a win over the
dragster with a .017
reaction time to
Brazil's .020 on a .500
starting tree.
Remember, these are with
a 'handicapped' tree,
meaning the slower
dialed-in contestant
gets an official first
green light. Imagine a
long dragster or
drag bike
catching up to your
hatchback or Skidoo.
Scoggin raced a second
dragster in the Super
Pro final - rookie Jake
Morris, who just earlier
had the only perfect
reaction time - .000 -
of the day. Morris used
it to beat Jim Toledo in
the semi's, though would
breakout against Scoggin,
the truck running
one-thousandth of a
second above his 11.11
dial, taking 1st place.
This is Morris' second
consecutive final in his
first year in a
dragster.
McCrea Nissan-Subaru of
Eureka attracted throngs
of racers in their
special import class -
some doing double duty
in Sportman or Pro. Host
Mike Shapiro,
also of the Redwood
Sports Car Club,
had fun in an '05
Nissan 350Z track
model (only 522 built),
though not officially
competing. Adam Moore
tuned his Mitsubishi to
run 11's in Pro and 12's
in Import. He raced Drew
Duncan's '03 Mitsubishi
Evolution in the Import
final, 12.42 to Duncan's
13.37 for 1st place.
Look
for an upcoming one-time
Mustang class, hosted by
Arcata Transmissions in
the annual
King of the Hill
meet, Sunday June 20th.
Sportsman was an
especially big field
that day, a tall
ladder for Josh Rapp and
Kim Ponci to climb to
the final, Rapp's '63
Falcon taking the win
over Ponci's '93 Dodge
Ram.
In
the Pro Pacific Auto
Repair
Junior Dragster
series, Kevin Will and
Austin Petersen met in
their second consecutive
final. Will grabbed a
repeat 1st place win
over Petersen, 8.67
[1/8-mile] at 75 mph
over Petersen's 9.24 at
69 mph. Much thanks to
Sports World for
sponsoring the Juniors
that day, as Will's
brother Austin took the
Consolation win against
K.C. Mela, his 8.98 at
72 mph to her 10.36 at
62 mph. Young Mela, by
the way, joined adult
racers Stan Freeman and
Greg Crone in having
.002
reaction times
(note: Harlan Tucker had
a .001 RT).
The
starting tree can be a
harsh mistress. Jerry
Toledo, for one, has
struggled with not
getting a start as red
as his Pro '72 Ford
Maverick (i.e., under
.500 reaction time).
Toledo evaded that red
bulb all the way to the
Pro final, facing Nick
Purcell. Purcell's '75
Ford Torino
brokeout
seven-thousandths of a
second under his 11.83
dial-in, as Toledo took
1st place running 11.18
on a 11.17
dial-in.
Back
to the mystery
drag car. Having
announced about it at
the Samoa 'Strip that
Sunday, a few racers
added some peices: the
Teacher is a '33
Chrysler five-window
coupe, is/was painted
gold, powered by a big
block Chevy, might've
run 10's in the 1960s or
'70s. It was owned and
driven by the Owenby
brothers. If you have
info to add, drop me a
line at
tnthotrods@yahoo.com.
We've got to keep the
machines and memories of
yesteryear alive and
well. Bob Olmstead is no
exception, so thank you
to Mrs. Bob Olmstead and
family for hosting an
exciting, memorable race
day.
Looking forward to
seeing you at the Samoa
Dragstrip for more
quarter mile magic
Saturday June 6 for the
Budweiser Racing Street
Legal Series, free
heads-up racing and
fence-leaning beginning
at 5:30 PM, and Sunday
June 7 for the Boss
Eliminator, time
trials for an
ever-unpredictable
season beginning at 9:30
AM.
See
you at the Samoa 'Strip
for more history made,
--
Tim O'Brien
Track
Announcer
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