Woodburn OR - Eliminations for the delayed NHRA Divisional event which was postponed in July was run in conjunction with the Fall Classic on Friday, September 16. Clint Thompson returned to Woodburn needing a win to make up some ground to points leader Steve Gasparrelli and almost won the event but lost to Sean Bellemeur in the final round.
In the first round, Thompson fortunately got a bye run as he spun the tires off of the line after making a test pass the day before trying to avoid traction problems on race day. “We struggling with our clutch adjustment so we were lucky to get a bye in the first round” Thompson said.
In round two, Clint faced Washington's Dave Germain. Thompson was able to get around Germain who got an early lead. But both drivers lost traction which lead to a pedalfest. “That was the highlight of the weekend beating Germain in that pedalfest” Thompson said. He got by Germain with a 6.27 at 240 MPH to Germain’s 6.76 at 231 MPH.
In the final, Clint took on Sean Bellemeur, who was celebrating his 30th birthday. It was a close race from start to finish but Clint had to pedal at mid track. Meanwhile, Bellemeur sailed to victory taking the stripe with a 5.72 at 252 MPH to Thompson’s 5.83 at 252 MPH. “It’s Sean’s 30th birthday so we gave him a birthday present. I had to pedal and Sean had a clean run. The Mastercam team is a great group of people and I’m happy for them” Thompson said.
Thompson wanted to thank the Woodburn fans who have come out to support the Thompson Racing team throughout the season. The team now moves into national event competition starting in Dallas TX this coming weekend before moving on to Reading PA.
In the first round, Thompson fortunately got a bye run as he spun the tires off of the line after making a test pass the day before trying to avoid traction problems on race day. “We struggling with our clutch adjustment so we were lucky to get a bye in the first round” Thompson said.
In round two, Clint faced Washington's Dave Germain. Thompson was able to get around Germain who got an early lead. But both drivers lost traction which lead to a pedalfest. “That was the highlight of the weekend beating Germain in that pedalfest” Thompson said. He got by Germain with a 6.27 at 240 MPH to Germain’s 6.76 at 231 MPH.
In the final, Clint took on Sean Bellemeur, who was celebrating his 30th birthday. It was a close race from start to finish but Clint had to pedal at mid track. Meanwhile, Bellemeur sailed to victory taking the stripe with a 5.72 at 252 MPH to Thompson’s 5.83 at 252 MPH. “It’s Sean’s 30th birthday so we gave him a birthday present. I had to pedal and Sean had a clean run. The Mastercam team is a great group of people and I’m happy for them” Thompson said.
Thompson wanted to thank the Woodburn fans who have come out to support the Thompson Racing team throughout the season. The team now moves into national event competition starting in Dallas TX this coming weekend before moving on to Reading PA.
