NW: Eagle Point Saturday summary

COWIE, RUCKMAN LEAD WINNERS AT CHAMPION RACEWAY'S LUCAS OIL SERIES RACE

EAGLE POINT, Ore. -- Racers in 13 categories took to the strip today at Champion Raceway in the OnlineAuction.com Northwest Challenge, a round of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, which is the last of six events slated in NHRA's Northwest division. In the end, Top Alcohol Dragster driver Joey Severance, Spanaway, Wash., increased his lead in the division point standings with a win while Top Alcohol Funny Car pilot Terry Ruckman, Grand Junction, Colo., helped his own cause in the Pacific division standings by scoring the win.

Severance, who consistently made 5.4-second passes all weekend, beat Medford's Mike Austin, who slowed to a 7.638-second lap at 117.82 mph, in the first round. In the final, he squared off against the event's No. 1 qualifier Shawn Cowie of Richmond, B.C. Severance ran 5.414 seconds at 261.93 mph to Cowie's 5.428-second, 264.18 mph pass. This is Severance's second win of the season to go with two runner-up finishes.

Ruckman carried his No. 1 qualifying effort all the way to the winner's circle. He made his best lap of the weekend in the final against reigning division champion Brian Hough of Junction City, Ore. Ruckman outpaced Hough with a 5.698-second, 250.78 mph to Hough's 5.848-second pass at 252.85 mph. For Ruckman this was his fourth final-round appearance in five races and his third win.

Doug Lambeck, Northridge, Calif., earned the win in Comp Eliminator while Jimmy DeFrank, Chatsworth, Calif., rolled over the competition in Super Stock. Stock Eliminator No. 1 qualifier Hal Sorensen, Vancouver, Wash., got the win over his brother Joe who resides in Woodburn, Ore. The Super Comp win went to Brandon Yoder of Gresham, Ore., and veteran racer Mike Ferderer, Buckley, Wash., won in Super Gas. Dudley Gee, Canby, Ore., earned the win in Super Street; Daryl Hemley, Burley, Wash., took home the Top Sportsman hardware; and Stefan Kondolay, Chilliwack, B.C., won the Top Dragster crown. In Sportsman Motorcycle, Craig Rych, North Bend, Ore., scored the win and Medford racer Jeff Schultz won in Super Pro. It was a hometown hero final in Pro as Klamath Falls resident Paul Breedlove ousted Medford's Dan Nikodym.

This was the last of six events on the NHRA Northwest division calendar but racers may still earn points toward division and national championships at out-of-division races. The final NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event of the year is scheduled November 6-9 in Las Vegas.

The following are Saturday's final results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Northwest Division OnlineAuction.com Northwest Challenge at Champion Raceway:

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER

Round 1
1) Shawn Cowie, Richmond, B.C., 5.436, 266.11 def. 8) Brandon Johnson, Shelton, Wash., 6.000, 245.00

2) Joey Severance, Spanaway, Wash., 5.412, 258.91 def. 7) Mike Austin, Medford, Ore., 7.638, 117.82

3) Bobby Mirizio, Riverside, Calif., 5.504, 255.34 def. 6) Kevin Wayman, South Jordan, Utah, 5.635, 245.72

5) Randy Eakins, Carson City, Nev., 5.450, 260.31 def. 4) Justin Davis, Murrieta, Calif., 5.457, 260.61

Semifinals
Severance, 5.457, 258.67 def. Mirizio, 5.543, 255.48
Cowie, 5.386, 266.06 def. Eakins, 5.576, 249.67

Final
Severance, 5.414, 261.93 def. Cowie, 5.428, 264.18

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR

Round 1
1) Terry Ruckman, Grand Junction, Colo., '01 Firebird, 5.743, 250.37 def. 8) Tim Nemeth, Chilliwack, B.C., '02 Camaro, 5.949, 243.28

7) Brian Thiel, Pleasant Grove, Calif., '02 Camaro, 5.920, 243.99 def. 2) Sean O'Bannon, Ontario, Calif., '06 Monte Carlo, 9.610, 90.48

3) Brian Hough, Junction City, Ore., '06 Monte Carlo, 5.796, 247.70 def. 6) Russ Parker, Salem, Ore., '04 Firebird, 5.953, 241.63

5) Doug Gordon, Paso Robles, Calif., '06 Monte Carlo, 5.822, 250.13 def. 4) Clint Thompson, Klamath Falls, Ore., '06 Monte Carlo, 12.750, 89.28

Semifinals
Hough, 5.864, 243.68 def. Thiel, 6.097, 240.64
Ruckman, 5.732, 250.78 def. Gordon, 5.848, 252.85

Final
Ruckman, 5.698, 250.78 def. Hough, 5.889, 247.02

COMP ELIMINATOR

Doug Lambeck, Northridge, Calif., '06 Sunfire, D/SMA, 8.590, 132.87 def. J.D. Zink, Chico, Calif., dragster, A/ND, foul

SUPER STOCK

Jimmy DeFrank, Chatsworth, Calif., '08 Cobalt, SS/BS, 13.542, 90.84 def. Rick Pike, Langley, B.C., '56 Chevy, SS/PA, foul

STOCK ELIMINATOR

Hal Sorensen, Vancouver, Wash., '69 Camaro, J/SA, 13.699, 73.79 def. Joe Sorensen, Woodburn, Ore., '69 Camaro, B/SA, foul

SUPER COMP

Brandon Yoder, Gresham, Ore., dragster, 9.004, 145.22 def. Dana Keniry, Hawthorne, Calif., '93 Lumina, 8.884, 156.84

SUPER GAS

Mike Ferderer, Buckley, Wash., '05 Grand Am, 9.885, 164.83 def. Terry Wilcox, Lake Tapps, Wash., '67 Mustang, 9.883, 140.47

SUPER STREET

Dudley Gee, Canby, Ore., '66 Mustang, 10.887, 132.54 def. Tom Brown, Sedro Wolley, Wash., '66 Nova, 10.853, 143.72

TOP SPORTSMAN

Daryl Hemley, Burley, Wash., '02 Cavalier, 7.590, 180.52 def. Gary Ross, Trabuco, Calif., '05 Grand Am, 7.035, 195.79

TOP DRAGSTER

Stefan Kondolay, Chilliwack, B.C., dragster, 7.742, 169.74 def. Marc Heritage, Spanaway, Wash., dragster, 7.541, 177.70

SPORTSMAN MOTORCYCLE

Craig Rych, North Bend, Ore., '76 Kawasaki, 9.823, 131.31 def. Leeland King, Shelton, Wash., '90 Kawasaki, 8.091, 155.56

SUPER PRO

Jeff Schultz, Medford, Ore., '72 Chevy, 10.390, 124.82 def. Tom Jarvis, '63 Plymouth, Myrtle Point, Ore., 11.355, 112.09

PRO

Paul Breedlove, '05 Dodge, Truck Klamath Falls, Ore., 11.380, 119.80 def. Dan Nikodym, '67 Chevy II, Medford, Ore., foul

-credit: nhra