Home Track Advantage Not Enough For Thompson
Medford OR - One of the NHRA Lucas Oil Series events that Clint Thompson looks forward to each season is the stop at Champion Raceway, his home track. It's the event where friends and family get a chance to see Clint in action. This race was also an important one as the NHRA Northwest Division 6title was on the line.
On Friday, Thompson qualified for what turned out to be one of the toughest fields all season as sixteen funny cars were fighting to get into an eight car field. Thompson made the show with a 5.949 at 243 MPH which was good for the fifth position. Going into the first round, Thompson had his work cut out for him as he would face Brain Hough. This race had more on the line then just going on to the next round as it would determine the Northwest Division Champion had Hough won, otherwise, Thompson would keep his title hopes alive. Unfortunately, Thompson had an electrical problem which shut the motor off just after the launch, giving Hough the round win and the Northwest Division title. "Brian ran a stout 5.75, which would have been tough to beat, but we sure would have rather gave him a race" admitted
Thompson.
Rather than dwell on the painful loss, Thompson was back in Hough's pit helping him prepare for the next round. "Brian's transmission had broken on the run against us, so myself and several members of other teams went and helped them fix it for the next round", said Thompson. "For some reason we just haven't had luck on our side at this race the past few years, maybe next year will be our chance", he added.
Clint would like to thank his friends and family and the local fans who came out to support him, as well as Cascade Auto Group for thier support of his efforts. Next stop for the team is the Division 7 LODRS race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway the first weekend of November, then on to the season ending NHRA Finals at Pomona, CA.
