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CANADIAN RON HOUNIET EDGES CLOSER TO THE JIMS TOP FUEL CHAMPIONSHIP WITH CONISISTENT 6.80'S AT THE AHDRA NORTHWEST NATIONALS PRESENTED BY LATUS HARLEY-DAVIDSON

Winston-Salem, N.C., September 12, 2002-The 2002 AHDRA National points series moved another step closer to "all the marbles" after completing the Northwest Nationals presented by Latus Harley-Davidson in Woodburn, Oregon on September 7th & 8th.

Mission City B.C.'s Ron Houniet says he thought he was getting the same time slip repeatedly after completing seven consecutive passes in the 6.8's in JIMS Top Fuel competition. "The consistency won the race for us", an elated Houniet commented. "We were worried about having to travel to Delaware, which is way too far. With this win, we've edged closer in the points and we can hold off until Rockingham and then Vegas and hopefully win it all", he added. Houniet was the #1 qualifyer with a 6.801 at 206.04 miles-per-hour, the top speed of the weekend. He breezed through the 16- bike field to face fellow Canadian, Jim Gauthier in the finals. Gauthier had problems early, and Houniet finished the show with a 6.810 at 201.20 miles-per-hour and celebrated with a return ride down the track.
In H-D Afterparts.com Pro Fuel, Langley, B.C.'s, Chris Gartman went head-to-head with Champion Tim Kerrigan on the only rear engine bike in AHDRA competition. Gartman's 150 cubic inch eye -catching machine caught Kerrigan's Red Line Oil bike after a better .476 reaction time and a 7.233/172.21 to Kerrigan's .486 start and 7.459/174.38 mph pass. Kerrigan entered eliminations in the #1 qualifying spot with a 7.251. Kristine Becker of Everett, WA celebrated her personal best and the weekend's top speed of 180.90 miles-per-hour in Pro Fuel competition.
A bitter-sweet victory in the Pro Stock action after Dan Baisley returned to competition with bike owner and crew chief, Bill Hannon. Baisley, of Portland, OR says the Hannon Racing team was hoping for better numbers, but pleased to get the win for the hometown crowd. "We did well, but we were struggling", Baisley commented. "It feels good to be back". The #1 qualifying spot belonged to Baisley with a 7.588, along with the top speed of 170.03 miles-per-hour. Baisley faced Dale Raudenbush of old Zionsville, PA in the final for a 7.689/167.00mph win over Raudenbush's 7.812/165.38mph finish. The Baisley-Hannon supporters turned out in big numbers for the winner's circle celebration. Hannon, absent from the racing circuit after an early season illness, reports he is in full recovery. He sends his sincere appreciation to the team and all of his fans and family for the cards, letters and prayers.
"Never look back" could be the understatement of the weekend after a bizarre set of circumstances in the Kresto Pro Drag final. Steve Dorn says the team has struggled all year on the "Black Attack Racing" machine owned by Mark Elam of All American Cycle. "We blew a hole in the head in the first round of qualifying", Dorn explained. "We didn't think we could fix it". The local Oregon team did fix it, and advanced to the finals after upsetting top contender, Scott Truett in Round Two. He faced Steve Cromb of Langley, BC in the final. Cromb had the better tree with a .479 to Dorn's .547, but Dorn made the difference with a 7.567/167.37 to Cromb's, 7.888/168.22 for what should have been a win for the hometown team. The excitement of winning cost Dorn after he cleared the eyes and turned to see where his opponent was, causing him to drift over the center line. The AHDRA rules and regulations do not allow competitors to cross track boundaries on any portion of the track (in the interest of safety) and the infraction resulted in a disqualification of Dorn's win. Steve Cromb was awarded the win and Dorn was forced to settle for the 2nd place finish.
Jesse Mahon was the winner over Dave Boss in the Pro Gas ranks. Mahon of Carmichale, CA says his bike ran the same all weekend. In round one he advanced easily after Mark Biernbaum broke sending him to face #1 qualifyer, Rick Maney in round two. Mahon got the holeshot giving him the win with a .473/8.695 over Maney's .525/8.651. In the final, Mahon scored the better tree again, giving him the win with an 8.741/142.78 over Dave Boss's 8.757/110.09.
In Joker Machine Pro Modified, Cliff Dwy celebrated back-to-back wins and four consecutive #1 qualifying finishes. Dwy faced Darren Mauldin of Mesa, AZ in the final and although Maudlin left early and got the red bulb, Dwy's numbers still led him to the winner's circle with a better 8.440/152.46 over Mauldin's 8.930/148.44.
Earl Burley (#2 qualifyer) of Ridgecrest, CA faced #1 qualifyer Steve Stute in the Spyke Street Pro final for the win with an impressive 9.949/132.52 over Stute's 10.155 at 134.69 miles-per-hour. Burley took low E.T. honors with the 9.949 and Stute had the top speed of 135.50 miles-per-hour.
Shawn Vantucci made the trip from Frederick, MD to compete in the Rivera-Primo Super Gas competition and made the long haul worthwhile with a win over Russ Rockwell in the final. Vanutucci's teammate, B.R. Nalley narrowly missed the winner's circle in Nonpareil Super Sport competition. It was Jeff Konnoff of Santa Rosa, CA taking the win over Nalley.
Another east coast competitor rewarded for the long trip was Joe Perry of Kingsport, TN, taking the Performance Corner Super Eliminator win. Perry faced yet another east coaster, Willie Herschberger of Bradenton, FL for the win.
More from the east coast when Screamin' Eagle Performance champion, John Henderson competed in Woodburn. He faced Julian Seamon in the final with Seamon taking the win.
In the Andrew's ET action, local Pat Williford took the win over WA's Randy Rockafellow.

Junior-Senior Winner

Junior-Junior Winner

Sunny skies, safe competition and full grandstands made this year's Northwest Nationals presented by Latus Harley-Davidson a successful event. The AHDRA extends appreciation to the entire staff of Latus Harley-Davidson for supporting the 2002 Northwest Nationals. The next stop for the AHDRA National Points series is U.S. 13 Dragway, Delmar, DE.

For more information on the 2002 AHDRA National Points Series, log on to www.ahdra.com.

Photo credits Claude F. McKee