Team Thompson Racing Update 09/17/2013
The sport of drag racing regardless of the category is never easy and every season has its ups and downs for any driver daring to drive a 3500 horsepower machine. Additionally, every track surface has its own personality a racer must deal with. A good example is the unpredictable year that Clint Thompson is having. It's been a great season on the road but track gremlins have also stopped Clint during eliminations at his home track, Woodburn Dragstrip.
A Great but Late Start
After a late start to the season due to a herniated disc in his back, the likable Top Alcohol Funny Car racer along with his wife Danette came out of nowhere to qualify number one at the NHRA Woodburn Regional event in July. Qualifying on the pole was a phenomenal way to start the year but Clint then went up in smoke at the hit in the first round. Thompson explained "We came out and made three test runs before the event on Thursday and ran a 5.58 in the right lane so we felt pretty good about the track. We struggled in the left lane in the first round of qualifying. We had the right lane for Q2 and put the same tune up from Thursdays testing in the car which got us a 5.604 at 261 that held up for number one. The track looked great on Sunday and I felt confident the same setup would make another good run in the right lane, but it smoked the tires about 100 feet out and I ended up losing to Jay Payne. Ironically all four top qualifiers ended up losing in the first round and Jay ended up losing in the final to John Lombardo who qualified number seven."
Another National Event Win in Seattle
Clint's team moved on to the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle, a place where Thompson had scored previous National event wins in 2005 and 2007 along with a regional win and runner up. Feeling confident with the tune up they had used in Woodburn, the team rolled up as the first car in qualifying and ran a stout 5.57 at 255 qualifying them number 3 and setting the pace for a great weekend. In the first round of eliminations Thompson ran a consistent 5.58 to turn back Dave Germain followed by a stout 5.56 against Terry Ruckman’s close 5.60. “I needed every bit of that ‘.56”, Thompson admitted, “Terry had a great .047 light and made a real close race of it”. In the semi finals Clint faced the always tough Jay Payne and took a bit of a withdrawal from the luck bank when he smoked the tires after Payne red lighted. “I reacted to him leaving early”, stated Thompson, “I released the brake and then swapped feet causing the clutch to not slip properly which made it spin the tires”. In the final Thompson would face up with Sean Bellemeur who was looking for his first National event victory. It was not to be as Clint ran a consistent 5.59 to Sean’s game 5.63 to win his third Seattle National and fifth National event of his career. “It feels really great to win another big Wally” said Thompson, “The crew did an outstanding job and gave me a consistent car. I feel for Sean because I know how badly they want to win a big one, and their day is coming soon I’m sure” Thompson thanked his wife, Danette and crew; Ronn Boehlke, Chuck Rarrick and Dan Hix as well as engine builder Bob Miner for their help.
The Seattle Regional
A few weeks later Clint Thompson and company traveled back to Pacific Raceways for the NHRA Regional event feeling confident they could pick up right where they left off. In the first round of qualifying the team put up a stout 5.615 which was number one for the session, but by the end of qualifying they were in the fourth spot which earned Clint a first round match with Jason Rupert. Thompson ran his third 5.61 of the event to win over Rupert’s 5.68 setting up a semi final match up against Shane Westerfield. In past matchups Thompson and Westerfield were split at two wins each and with the consistent times Clint had been running he was favored in this match as Westerfield had run a 5.76 in round one. When they pulled to the line, Clint lit the stage light first and then left too soon when he got distracted. “Shane is real good on the tree and I went up there knowing I needed to be on my game,” said Thompson, I staged first and noticed he wasn’t in yet, then reacted when his yellow stage light lit up. Red lighting is one of the toughest ways to lose, I always feel like I’ve really let the team down, probably only thing worse is losing on a hole shot I guess.”
Back to Woodburn
This past weekend, the team was back in Woodburn for the second regional event. With rain threatening for Sunday and just 8 cars entered in the two Top Alcohol classes, NHRA officials decided to reduce qualifying from three rounds to just two and contest the first round of eliminations on Saturday evening. In Q1 Thompson’s mount shook the tires and he pedaled the throttle to manage a 5.81, placing him in the number five spot. During between rounds maintenance, the crew found a broken lifter and had to swap engines. The extra time required caused them to miss the final qualifying session. When qualifying was done they had been bumped to the number 6 spot which set up a rematch of the Seattle National event final with Sean Bellemeur. This time the outcome would be in favor of Bellemeur as Thompson’s blue Monte Carlo again shook the tires hard about 60 feet out causing him to have to pedal it. “I got back on the throttle and chased him most of the way just in case he had a problem” Thompson said. “We might have had a different outcome if we would have gotten three qualifying runs" Clint said as he was loading up the trailer. "I love Woodburn, they have the best fans and this is the track I raced my first funny car at. A lot of the same fans have been coming since we started and have watched us evolve into the team we are today. It’s a great place to race, but the track surface itself has been very challenging at times and difficult to figure out the right tune up".
Looking Ahead
Clint now looks to the final NHRA events on the west coast to end the season. He will race back to back at the national and regional events in Las Vegas, and then finish out the year at the Auto Club Finals in Pomona. Looking forward to the last three races of the season, Clint said, "There is nothing like competing in NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car. The competition is at a very high level, and we really enjoy hanging out with our fellow racing friends at the track as well as the fans.
The sport of drag racing regardless of the category is never easy and every season has its ups and downs for any driver daring to drive a 3500 horsepower machine. Additionally, every track surface has its own personality a racer must deal with. A good example is the unpredictable year that Clint Thompson is having. It's been a great season on the road but track gremlins have also stopped Clint during eliminations at his home track, Woodburn Dragstrip.
A Great but Late Start
After a late start to the season due to a herniated disc in his back, the likable Top Alcohol Funny Car racer along with his wife Danette came out of nowhere to qualify number one at the NHRA Woodburn Regional event in July. Qualifying on the pole was a phenomenal way to start the year but Clint then went up in smoke at the hit in the first round. Thompson explained "We came out and made three test runs before the event on Thursday and ran a 5.58 in the right lane so we felt pretty good about the track. We struggled in the left lane in the first round of qualifying. We had the right lane for Q2 and put the same tune up from Thursdays testing in the car which got us a 5.604 at 261 that held up for number one. The track looked great on Sunday and I felt confident the same setup would make another good run in the right lane, but it smoked the tires about 100 feet out and I ended up losing to Jay Payne. Ironically all four top qualifiers ended up losing in the first round and Jay ended up losing in the final to John Lombardo who qualified number seven."
Another National Event Win in Seattle
Clint's team moved on to the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle, a place where Thompson had scored previous National event wins in 2005 and 2007 along with a regional win and runner up. Feeling confident with the tune up they had used in Woodburn, the team rolled up as the first car in qualifying and ran a stout 5.57 at 255 qualifying them number 3 and setting the pace for a great weekend. In the first round of eliminations Thompson ran a consistent 5.58 to turn back Dave Germain followed by a stout 5.56 against Terry Ruckman’s close 5.60. “I needed every bit of that ‘.56”, Thompson admitted, “Terry had a great .047 light and made a real close race of it”. In the semi finals Clint faced the always tough Jay Payne and took a bit of a withdrawal from the luck bank when he smoked the tires after Payne red lighted. “I reacted to him leaving early”, stated Thompson, “I released the brake and then swapped feet causing the clutch to not slip properly which made it spin the tires”. In the final Thompson would face up with Sean Bellemeur who was looking for his first National event victory. It was not to be as Clint ran a consistent 5.59 to Sean’s game 5.63 to win his third Seattle National and fifth National event of his career. “It feels really great to win another big Wally” said Thompson, “The crew did an outstanding job and gave me a consistent car. I feel for Sean because I know how badly they want to win a big one, and their day is coming soon I’m sure” Thompson thanked his wife, Danette and crew; Ronn Boehlke, Chuck Rarrick and Dan Hix as well as engine builder Bob Miner for their help.
The Seattle Regional
A few weeks later Clint Thompson and company traveled back to Pacific Raceways for the NHRA Regional event feeling confident they could pick up right where they left off. In the first round of qualifying the team put up a stout 5.615 which was number one for the session, but by the end of qualifying they were in the fourth spot which earned Clint a first round match with Jason Rupert. Thompson ran his third 5.61 of the event to win over Rupert’s 5.68 setting up a semi final match up against Shane Westerfield. In past matchups Thompson and Westerfield were split at two wins each and with the consistent times Clint had been running he was favored in this match as Westerfield had run a 5.76 in round one. When they pulled to the line, Clint lit the stage light first and then left too soon when he got distracted. “Shane is real good on the tree and I went up there knowing I needed to be on my game,” said Thompson, I staged first and noticed he wasn’t in yet, then reacted when his yellow stage light lit up. Red lighting is one of the toughest ways to lose, I always feel like I’ve really let the team down, probably only thing worse is losing on a hole shot I guess.”
Back to Woodburn
This past weekend, the team was back in Woodburn for the second regional event. With rain threatening for Sunday and just 8 cars entered in the two Top Alcohol classes, NHRA officials decided to reduce qualifying from three rounds to just two and contest the first round of eliminations on Saturday evening. In Q1 Thompson’s mount shook the tires and he pedaled the throttle to manage a 5.81, placing him in the number five spot. During between rounds maintenance, the crew found a broken lifter and had to swap engines. The extra time required caused them to miss the final qualifying session. When qualifying was done they had been bumped to the number 6 spot which set up a rematch of the Seattle National event final with Sean Bellemeur. This time the outcome would be in favor of Bellemeur as Thompson’s blue Monte Carlo again shook the tires hard about 60 feet out causing him to have to pedal it. “I got back on the throttle and chased him most of the way just in case he had a problem” Thompson said. “We might have had a different outcome if we would have gotten three qualifying runs" Clint said as he was loading up the trailer. "I love Woodburn, they have the best fans and this is the track I raced my first funny car at. A lot of the same fans have been coming since we started and have watched us evolve into the team we are today. It’s a great place to race, but the track surface itself has been very challenging at times and difficult to figure out the right tune up".
Looking Ahead
Clint now looks to the final NHRA events on the west coast to end the season. He will race back to back at the national and regional events in Las Vegas, and then finish out the year at the Auto Club Finals in Pomona. Looking forward to the last three races of the season, Clint said, "There is nothing like competing in NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car. The competition is at a very high level, and we really enjoy hanging out with our fellow racing friends at the track as well as the fans.
