NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

In the hunt for national championships in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car, Shawn Cowie and Chris Marshall helped themselves with a pair of wins at the Magic Dry Organic Absorbent NHRA Northwest Nationals at Seattle’s Pacific Raceways. The two Alcohol champions were joined by Kyle Rizzoli, who nearly doubled up with a win in Super Stock and a runner-up finish in Stock. The rest of the winners included Bryan Hyerstay (Comp), Andy Morris (Stock), Randy Beck (Super Comp), Michael Dalrymple (Super Gas), Matt Kielman (Super Street), Jeff Havens (Top Dragster), and Doug Bracey (Top Sportsman).

Cowie is now leading the Top Alcohol Dragster standings after winning his seventh event of the season in Seattle. The Canadian racer, a runner-up last season to four-time champ Joey Severance, qualified No. 1 and then ran the table, including a 6.349 to 5.387 win against Russ Parker in the final round. Cowie also topped Kim Parker and Garrett Bateman in eliminations and had low e.t. of the event at 5.218. [video]

Marshall still has work to do if he’s going to dethrone current Top Alcohol Funny Car champ Sean Bellemeur, but his latest win certainly didn’t hurt. After qualifying No. 4, Marshall drove to the final, where he beat Doug Gordon, 5.610 to a coasting 8.65. Marshall, the defending Seattle champ, beat Tyson Parker, Jay Payne, and Todd Swinford to reach the final round. [video]

Hyerstay has now won Comp at his home event in Seattle the last three seasons. Driving his Volkswagen-powered G/Dragster, Hyerstay earned the fifth national event title of his career when he stopped Doug Lambeck in the Comp final round. Hyerstay left first and drove to a (-.483) 8.637 to hold off Lambeck’s (-.481) 8.359 in his D/SMA Pontiac. [video]

Following a win in Sonoma a week ago, Rizzoli doubled down with a second Super Stock title in Seattle, and he nearly added a third with a runner-up in Stock. Rizzoli won in Super Stock when he beat Tommy Gaynor in the final round, and he came within four-thousandths of another victory before dropping the Stock final to Morris. [video]

Morris, a previous Seattle winner in Top Dragster and a runner-up in Super Comp, drove his FS/A COPO Camaro to a 9.381 on his 9.37 dial to knock off Rizzoli, who was close behind with a 10.323 on his 10.31 dial. Morris made it to the Stock final following wins against Greg Marshall, Gaynor, Joe Sorensen, and Kelly Thomas. [video] 

Two years after winning his first national event title, Beck claimed another Super Comp victory when he stopped James Warden in the final. Beck sealed the deal with an almost-perfect 8.901 to hold off Warden’s competitive 8.915. Beck started the season with three straight round-one losses, but he’s currently ranked in the top 10 nationally following his latest win. Beck was razor sharp in the semifinals with a .003 light and an 8.908 against Brian Preszler. [video] 

Dalrymple earned the Super Comp title in Seattle in 2009 and now has a pair of Wallys after driving to the Super Gas win against Rod Sousa. Dalrymple’s win over Sousa featured a margin of victory of just a thousandth of a second. Dalrymple also won the Super Gas title at the Division 6 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series race in Woodburn, Ore., just three weeks earlier. Dalrymple earned his spot in the final by beating John Mellof while Sousa topped George Scott on a holeshot to reach his second career Seattle final. [video]

Super Street winner Kielman earned his first national event title by stopping Chris Cannon on a holeshot in the final round. Keilman, in his ’70 Nova, won with a 10.922 to Cannon’s 10.911. Earlier in the event, Kielman was impressive with a perfect .000 reaction time in his win against Larry Chase. Kielman’s semifinal race against Brad Plourd will long be remembered as the closest race of the weekend, regardless of class, with a final margin of victory of just .0001-second. [video]

Top Dragster presented by Racing RVs also featured a first-time winner in Havens, who secured the title after Thomas Bayer fouled by two-thousandths of a second in the final round. Havens would have been tough to beat regardless thanks to a .011 light and a 6.898 on his 6.88 prediction. Havens enjoyed a solid tune-up for his home race in Seattle after he reached the final of the Division 7 Lucas Oil Series event in Sonoma two weeks earlier. [video]

Bracey won a pair of national events in Super Gas in the 1990s, including the 1991 Pomona season opener, and he now has a third title after winning Top Sportsman presented by Racing RVs in Seattle. Bracy, in his Chevy Cavalier, picked up the win in the final with a competitive 7.211 on his 7.21 dial after opponent Shawn Herbst broke out by three-thousandths of a second. [video]