For the second race in a row Clint Thompson made it to the final round of an NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event, this time in Spokane, Washington. It was déjà vu all over again as the race in Spokane unfolded similarly to the last division event held a month ago in Mission, Canada.
The Spokane race was plagued by rain and as a result qualifying and the final eliminations were completed in just one day. Thompson was once again the top qualifier by ripping off a 5.70 at 251 MPH in the one and only qualifying session. "Fortunately we tested on Friday", said Thompson, "although we didn't post a good time due to the supercharger lifting around half track, the incremental numbers were good and it gave us a direction to go when we were faced with the one shot qualifying situation. Having run good here last year (Thompson won the race last year and set the track record at 5.61) was also helpful in deciding how to tune the car for the high altitude conditions."
In the first round, Thompson faced Washington racer Dave Germain. At the hit Germain was out first, but Germain’s lead wouldn’t last as Thompson blew by Germain before half track and never looked back. Thompson stopped the clock with a 5.80 at 245 MPH to Germain’s 6.19 at 202 MPH. "The track got better and my car shook pretty hard about 150 feet out, luckily I was able to drive through it to get around Dave. I got distracted at the line when he took a little longer to stage and I really dodged a bullet there"
Due to the short field Thompson received a semi final bye run just as he had in Mission and it turned out to be a good thing as he lost traction and chattered the tires right off the line. Thompson then idled the rest of the way down the track for a free trip to the finals. "We were trying a different setup to make the car smooth, but a failure in the fuel management system caused the car to be way down on power in the semis, that resulted in tire shake very early in the run", said Thompson. "Even though we won the round, we lost lane choice for the final and I really didn't know if the tune up changes I made would smooth the car out. All I could do was trust my gut and go back up with the same tune up for the finals."
In the final round, Thompson took on Steve Gasparrelli whom he faced in the finals at Mission so Thompson had a chance to even the score. At the hit, Gasparrelli was out of the gate first with an 0.069 to Thompson’s close 0.078. Thompson powered by Gasparelli by the sixty foot mark and was well ahead until mid track when the car's safety shut off box activated, turning off the engine and releasing the parachutes before half track which allowed Gasparrelli to charge ahead and score the victory. Gasparrelli recorded a 5.82 at 244 MPH to Thompson’s 6.77 at 123 MPH. " The safety shut off box is wired into the fire extinguisher system", said Thompson " the left side fire bottle went off apparently due to vibration which automatically activated the safety shut off box. At first I didn't know what happened, I was in the lead, shifted into second gear and at 3.31 seconds the car went silent and Steve sailed by me."
"All in all I guess It was still a good weekend. We got the race done and scored another runner up. Two number one qualifying spots in a row shows we really have a good race car, now we just need a little racing luck to go our way. The team is doing a great job, the new car is working very good, so I am confident we will win races" , Thompson said. "Winning the Division Six championship this year is our ultimate goal and we are gonna go after it hard." The next outing for team Thompson Racing is the LODRS race in Woodburn, Oregon on July 15 - 17, where the team will face not only the best of the Northwest but also several top racers from Division Seven who plan on attending. "A win at Woodburn would be like winning Indy to me", said Thompson. "I've raced there for over twenty years and haven't won the NHRA race there yet. We've got a lot of great fans there and would be very pleased to get a win for them next month."
The Spokane race was plagued by rain and as a result qualifying and the final eliminations were completed in just one day. Thompson was once again the top qualifier by ripping off a 5.70 at 251 MPH in the one and only qualifying session. "Fortunately we tested on Friday", said Thompson, "although we didn't post a good time due to the supercharger lifting around half track, the incremental numbers were good and it gave us a direction to go when we were faced with the one shot qualifying situation. Having run good here last year (Thompson won the race last year and set the track record at 5.61) was also helpful in deciding how to tune the car for the high altitude conditions."
In the first round, Thompson faced Washington racer Dave Germain. At the hit Germain was out first, but Germain’s lead wouldn’t last as Thompson blew by Germain before half track and never looked back. Thompson stopped the clock with a 5.80 at 245 MPH to Germain’s 6.19 at 202 MPH. "The track got better and my car shook pretty hard about 150 feet out, luckily I was able to drive through it to get around Dave. I got distracted at the line when he took a little longer to stage and I really dodged a bullet there"
Due to the short field Thompson received a semi final bye run just as he had in Mission and it turned out to be a good thing as he lost traction and chattered the tires right off the line. Thompson then idled the rest of the way down the track for a free trip to the finals. "We were trying a different setup to make the car smooth, but a failure in the fuel management system caused the car to be way down on power in the semis, that resulted in tire shake very early in the run", said Thompson. "Even though we won the round, we lost lane choice for the final and I really didn't know if the tune up changes I made would smooth the car out. All I could do was trust my gut and go back up with the same tune up for the finals."
In the final round, Thompson took on Steve Gasparrelli whom he faced in the finals at Mission so Thompson had a chance to even the score. At the hit, Gasparrelli was out of the gate first with an 0.069 to Thompson’s close 0.078. Thompson powered by Gasparelli by the sixty foot mark and was well ahead until mid track when the car's safety shut off box activated, turning off the engine and releasing the parachutes before half track which allowed Gasparrelli to charge ahead and score the victory. Gasparrelli recorded a 5.82 at 244 MPH to Thompson’s 6.77 at 123 MPH. " The safety shut off box is wired into the fire extinguisher system", said Thompson " the left side fire bottle went off apparently due to vibration which automatically activated the safety shut off box. At first I didn't know what happened, I was in the lead, shifted into second gear and at 3.31 seconds the car went silent and Steve sailed by me."
"All in all I guess It was still a good weekend. We got the race done and scored another runner up. Two number one qualifying spots in a row shows we really have a good race car, now we just need a little racing luck to go our way. The team is doing a great job, the new car is working very good, so I am confident we will win races" , Thompson said. "Winning the Division Six championship this year is our ultimate goal and we are gonna go after it hard." The next outing for team Thompson Racing is the LODRS race in Woodburn, Oregon on July 15 - 17, where the team will face not only the best of the Northwest but also several top racers from Division Seven who plan on attending. "A win at Woodburn would be like winning Indy to me", said Thompson. "I've raced there for over twenty years and haven't won the NHRA race there yet. We've got a lot of great fans there and would be very pleased to get a win for them next month."
