2015 Woodburn Rose Festival Day One Results and Photos

ROSE FESTIVAL DAY ONE SEES EXHILARATING ACTION

With Day One complete for the Sunbelt Rentals/Bi-Mart Rose Festival Drags, Day Two promises to be one of the most exciting in recent memory! With a slew of Nostalgia BB/Funny Cars, 10.5 Outlaw, Pro Nostalgia, and the fire-breathing Jet Cars, Saturday’s excitement was almost too much to bear! Individual class winners in today’s activities were named in Gary Wargnier (Super Pro), Rochelle Pappel (Pro), Robert Glafka (Sportsman), Nick Kroske (ET Motorcycle), Tyler Baker (Harley Eliminator), Kacee Pitts (Dragster/Roadster Gambler), and Scott Nuciforo (Run Tuff).

For the Super Pro category, a pair of racers lined up in the final round that could really use round wins in order to make the 16-time Woodburn Dragstrip team. Gary Wargnier, who came into the race ranked 9th, defeated Scott Nuciforo, Mike McManus, Kirby Olmsted, and Denton Hollifield to reach the finals. With his Ranch Hills Golf Course machine set to kill, it was final round opponent Devon Hilton who would stand in the way. Unfortunately for Hilton, the race was over before it even began when a red light start meant that Wargnier was racing his way into the Winner’s Circle. Wild Bill McNeal was the number one qualifier with a .002 reaction time, and Boise IDs Victory Clark won the A-1 Performance Trans and Converters Package for the Points/Abbys Pizza Gift Certificate with a stellar .013 overall run.

Pro bracket eliminations set the stage for excitement with a pair of ladies doing battle in the finals. Former Jr Dragster Western Conference Champion and number one qualifier Rochelle Pappel shot through Matt Kielman, Ron Wirostek, Steve Kelly, a single, and Dom Andreotti. In the finals, it was number two qualifier Martha Brett who would be Pappel’s opponent. Sadly, the race was again decided on a red light when Brett’s anxiousness left her high and dry. Pappel’s .010 earned her the number one qualifier award. While Paul Warner took home a slew of prizes: winning the Package for the Points/Pico Wiring Kit with a .030 AND a perfect light, entering him into the Perfect Light Club and earning a t-shirt and two decals courtesy of Northwest Wholesale/Hilton Racing, the suppliers of Goodyear, Hoosier, and Mickey Thompson Race Tires.

In Sportsman, an exciting day of racing came down to Robert Glafka and Billy King. Glafka trounced through Lee Ennis, Tony Bombara, Jim Lamkin, and Derrick Jackson to reach the finals. In a final round that finally didn’t host a red light start, the advantage was in favor of Glafka by .032. Racing down the Quality Concrete all-concrete quarter mile, Glafka stayed in front by a nose, taking the stripe by .024, and earning his second win of the season. Karl Hart, who had a perfect reaction time, was your number one qualifier, and Gresham Transmission’s Harry Cole earned the Package for the Points/Lucas Oil kit with a .005.

Final round of eliminations in the ET Motorcycle category came down to Nick Kroske and Cory Wayne. Kroske, who had four reaction times better than a .030, downed Michael Gosselin, Don Trafford, Stacy Hesch, and Don DePeel to reach the last round of eliminations. In the finals, a red light start by Wayne of .005 ended the race prematurely, and the win light turned on for Kroske. Mike Graver was the number one qualifier with a .001, and Eric Johns won the A-1 Performance Trans and Converters Package for the Points/Lucas Products with a .050.

In the Olympic Iron Works Harley Eliminator category, Tyler Baker and Mike Graver faced off in the finals of eliminations. Baker, from Rainer WA, defeated John Plaster in the opening round to earn the semi-final round single, while number one qualifier Graver, Aloha OR, eliminator Gary Tokos in the semi-final round. In the finals, Baker left with an incredible .006 reaction time, running a 12.287 on his 12.18 dial in. Graver’s .033 earned number one qualifier honors.

Dragster/Roadster featured a special gamblers race Saturday in anticipation of their points event Sunday. Kacee Pitts, in the ’27 Roadster, defeated John Hamilton and Steve Marcus to reach the final round, while Michael Marcus, in the ’68 Digger, downed Gary Hogansen and Jeff Lewis. In the finals, Pitts left with a stellar .004 reaction time and went down to run right on her 9.85 dial-in with a 9.859, earning her the win off of a .013 package. Marcus also had a great run, cutting a .036 light and running 9.335 on his 9.32, but wasn’t in the same ballpark as Pitts.

The Run Tuff category is for racers who have the misfortune of losing in the first round of competition. Scott Nuciforo was Earl Eberly competed in the finals to see who would be the ‘best of the losers’. Nuciforo, who defeated other unfortunates like Dave Sattem, Ramsey DeCoite, Richard Beyea, and a single, did the same in the finals when his .024 reaction time and 9.027 on the 9.02 dial defeated a breakout finishing Eberly.

Listed below are qualifying results for the feature car categories.

NOSTALGIA BB/FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING

1. Don Harter, Wenatchee WA, 6.672 @ 185.07mph
2. Royce Tayler, St. John WA, 6.699 @ 213.42
3. Todd Swinford, Keizer OR, 6.723@ 207.61
4. Jess Welch, Wenatchee WA, 6.742 @ 210.32
5. Kim Parker, Graham WA, 6.759 @ 203.61
6. Marty Stewart, Wilsonville OR, 6.767 @ 211.31
7. Russ Parker, Salem OR, 6.777 @ 208.62
8. Ron Huegli, Wilsonville OR, 6.806 @ 201.88
9. Mark Tarabochia, Astoria OR, 6.816 @ 205.38
10. Greg Howland, Wenatchee WA, 6.822 @ 203.52
11. Justin Taylor, Spokane WA, 6.833 @ 209.05

10.5 OUTLAW presented by KILLER KUSTOMS

1. Lee Smith, Salem OR, 4.388 @ 177.65
2. Tim Robards, Vancouver WA, 5.184 @ 145.89
3. Frank Acosta, Portland OR, 5.239 @ 135.93
4. Trevor Holland, Spokane WA, 5.349 @ 139.31
5. Jeff Bush, Washougal WA, 5.420 @ 123.16
6. David Biancalana, Springfield OR, 5.463 @ 127.64
7. Justin Maine, Winlock WA, 5.674 @ 131.50
8. KJ Glennon, Salem OR, 5.720 @ 132.10
9. Gary Main, Castle Rock WA, 6.059 @ 113.52

PRO NOSTALGIA

1. Todd Miller, Boring OR, 6.855 @ 200.26
2. Spud Miller, Albany OR, 6.875 @ 200.17
3. Lloyd Hamilton, Forest Grove OR, 6.939 @ 195.60
4. Dewayne Sanders, Albany OR, 6.953 @ 198.80
5. Paul New, Boring OR, 6.963 @ 202.52
6. Ralph Fox, LaCenter WA, 7.502 @ 177.44
7. Peter Farrell, West Linn OR, 7.745 @ 181.01
8. Nick Pruett, Eagle Creek OR, 7.774 @ 174.11

JET DRAGSTER

Richard Smith, Devastator, 5.904 @ 273.55mph

Listed below are final round results, in order of driver name, hometown, (vehicle year/model), [reaction time], elapsed time, miles per hour, and (dial-in).

Super Pro
W: Gary Wargnier (’67 Chevelle) – 8.677, 157.34 (8.70 dial).
R/U: Devon Hilton (’52 Henry J) – foul.
Semi’s: Ken Sweo; Denton Hollifield.

Pro
W: Rochelle Pappel (’27 Roadster) – 9.820, 135.48 (9.83 dial).
R/U: Martha Brett (’69 Dodge) – 12.628, 108.04 (12.58 dial).
Semi’s: Dom Andreotti.

Sportsman
W: Robert Glafka (’70 Torino) – 12.217, 108.51 (12.18 dial).
R/U: Billy King (’97 Toyota PU) – 12.049, 111.92 (12.02 dial).
Semi’s: Karl Hart; Derrick Jackson.

ET Motorcycle
W: Nick Kroske (’94 Suzuki) – 8.415, 156.35 (8.37 dial).
R/U: Cory Wayne – 8.930, 144.55 (8.90 dial).
Semi’s: Don DePeel.

Harley Eliminator
W: Tyler Baker (’04 Buell) – 12.287, 102.26 (12.18 dial).
R/U: Mike Graver (’00 Sportster) – 11.035, 118.51 (10.94 dial).
Semi’s: Gary Tokos.

Dragster/Roadster
W: Kacee Pitts (’27 Roadster) – 9.859, 131.57 (9.85 dial).
R/U: Michael Marcus (’68 FED) – 9.335, 142.97 (9.32 dial).
Semi’s: Steve Marcus; Jeff Lewis.

Run Tuff
W: Scott Nuciforo (’80 Monza) – 9.027, 149.92 (9.02 dial).
R/U: Earl Eberly (’88 Chevy S10) – 12.258, 108.98 (12.30 dial).
Semi’s: John Maul.

By Travis Hilton