PAC: Somona final summary

WHITELEY, SMITH LEAD WINNERS AT INFINEON RACEWAY'S LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING EVENT

SONOMA, Calif. -- Racers in NHRA's Pacific division completed the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event presented by Korbel at Infineon Raceway today. The three-day race kicked off with qualifying on Friday and Saturday and eliminations were today. In the end, Top Alcohol Dragster pilot Jim Whiteley, who won the NHRA national event here a week ago, went to the winner's circle again while Von Smith wheeled his Top Alcohol Funny Car to the win.

Whiteley, a resident of Grand Junction, Colo., qualified in the No. 1 spot and made his best run of the weekend in the opening round of eliminations where he took out Carson City, Nev., racer Randy Eakins with a 5.309-second, 273.16 mph pass. In the semis he squared off against Phoenix's Mark Niver who was runner-up to Whiteley at the national event. In the final round, Whiteley took on No. 3 qualifier Del Cox Jr. Whiteley's 5.314-second, 273.11 mph pass was more than enough to cover the Downey, Calif., resident's 5.471-second, 245.94 mph lap. For Whiteley, the win marks his third straight in division competition.

Oakridge, Tenn., racer Smith was also the top qualifier in his class. In the first round of eliminations he laid down a 5.594-second, 258.62 mph pass, his best of the weekend, against Bret Williamson of Campbell, Calif. In the semis he beat the reigning Northwest division champion, Brian Hough of Junction City, Ore., and then in the final round he beat Ron August Jr., Pleasanton, Calif. Smith ran 5.606 seconds at 259.16 m ph to August's 5.639-second run at 256.55 mph. It was Smith's first win of the year.

Dan Fletcher of Churchville, N.Y., joined Whiteley in the winner's circle for the second week in a row when he scored the win in Comp Eliminator. Fletcher beat Steve Graham, South San Francisco, Calif., for his third division-level win in the class. Fletcher was also runner-up this weekend in Stock Eliminator. He was beaten out by Puyallup, Wash., resident Jody Lang who drove his '81 Malibu to a win in the class for the second time this season. (Last week, at the national event, Fletcher was runner-up in Super Stock as well.) Super Stock racer Greg Luneack, Vista, Calif., won his second race of the season when he ousted Keri Angeles, Fountain Valley, Calif., in the final. Rich Camou, Redondo Beach, Calif., earned his first win of the year in Super Comp when he beat Bart Hiatt, Fallon, Nev., and the Super Gas win went to Val Torres Jr., Valinda, Calif., who outpaced Mike Ferderer, Buckley, Wash. In Super Street, Scott Allen, Grand Junction, Colo., got the win over Dwight Downing of Glendale, Ariz. Top Sportsman racer Joe Roubicek, Westlake Village, Calif., beat Travis Broguiere Wildomar, Calif., in the final and, in Top Dragster, Tom Koenen, North Bend, Ore., grabbed the win over Randy Pressel, Colton, Ore. Tom Medlin, La Mirada, Calif., rode to the win in Sportsman Motorcycle, beating Don Tankage of Huntington Beach, Calif.

NHRA Pacific division racers head to Auto Club Famoso Raceway for the next NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event. The Bakersfield, Calif., facility will play host, September 12-13.

The following are the final results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event presented by Korbel at Infineon Raceway:

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER

Round 1
1) Jim Whiteley, Grand Junction, Colo., 5.309, 273.16 def. 8) Randy Eakins, Carson City, Nev., 11.895, 84.30

7) Justin Davis, Murrieta, Calif., 6.020, 167.38 def. 2) Brandon Johnson, Shelton, Wash., 9.343, 121.26

3) Del Cox Jr., Downey, Calif., 5.326, 270.43 def. 6) Chris Demke, Sunland, Calif., 5.362, 265.01

4) Mark Niver, Phoenix, 7.499, 252.71 def. 5) Duane Shields, Boulder City, Nev., 8.157, 154.88

Semifinals
Cox Jr., 5.474, 266.90 def. Davis, 6.305, 163.00

Whiteley, 5.342, 271.41 def. Niver, 9.896, 124.80

FINALS
Whiteley, 5.314, 273.11 def. Cox Jr., 5.471, 245.94

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR

Round 1
1) Von Smith, Oak Ridge, Tenn., '08 Mustang, 5.594, 258.62 def. 8) Bret Williamson, Campbell, Calif., '01 Corvette, 5.677, 256.16

2) Dennis Taylor, Anaheim, Calif., '05 Camaro, 5.559, 259.61 def. 7) Alexis De Joria, Venice, Calif., '08 Charger, 5.758, 254.38

6) Ron August Jr., Pleasanton, Calif., '08 Mustang, 5.611, 257.19 def. 3) Larry Miner, Lodi, Calif., '06 Monte Carlo, 5.658, 255.29

4) Brian Hough, Junction City, Ore., '05 Monte Carlo, 5.595, 258.37 def.

5) Doug Gordon, Paso Robles, Calif., '06 Monte Carlo, 5.654, 255.29

Semifinals
V. Smith, 5.607, 257.04 def. Hough, 11.969, 81.86
August Jr., 5.756, 254.95 def. Taylor, 10.946, 72.18

Final
V. Smith, 5.606, 259.16 def. August Jr., 5.639, 256.55

COMP ELIMINATOR
Dan Fletcher, Churchville, N.Y., '08 Cobalt, C/EA, 8.129, 157.15 def. Steve Graham, S. San Francisco, Calif., '04 Grand Am, C/A, 7.429, 182.48

SUPER STOCK
Greg Luneack, Vista, Calif., '65 Nova Wagon, SS/KA, 10.836, 118.99 def. Keri Angeles, Fountain Valley, Calif., '69 Firebird, SS/FA, 9.913, 134.28

STOCK ELIMINATOR
Jody Lang, Puyallup, Wash., '81 Malibu, M/SA, 12.353, 105.67 def. Dan Fletcher, Churchville, N.Y., '69 Camaro, AA/SA, 10.475, 113.99

SUPER COMP
Rich Camou, Redondo Beach, Calif., dragster, 8.880, 166.21 def. Bart Hiatt, Fallon, Nev., dragster, 8.858, 176.51

SUPER GAS
Val Torres Jr., Valinda, Calif., '98 Firebird, 9.923, 155.67 def. Mike Ferderer, Buckley, Wash., '05 Grand Am, 9.896, 167.95

SUPER STREET
Scott Allen, Grand Junction, Colo., '70 Challenger, 10.892, 138.60 def. Dwight Downing, Glendale, Ariz., '79 Arrow, 10.880, 134.43

TOP SPORTSMAN
Joe Roubicek, Westlake Village, Calif., '63 Corvette, 7.165, 178.73 def. Travis Broguiere, Wildomar, Calif., '63 Corvette, 7.859, 175.34.

TOP DRAGSTER
Tom Koenen, North Bend, Ore., dragster, 6.956, 182.82 def. Randy Pressel, Colton, Ore., dragster, 7.247, 186.15

SPORTSMAN MOTORCYCLE
Tom Medlin, La Mirada, Calif., '86 GSXR, 8.754, 137.98 def. Don Tankage, Huntington Beach, Calif., '00 Kawasaki, 19.208, no speed

-credit: nhra