NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Sportsman champions crowned at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals featured everything from a 77-year-old veteran to an 18-year-old newcomer, both of whom celebrated their first national event victories. The veteran is Ralph Van Paepeghem, who finally reached the winner’s circle in Comp after five runner-up finishes, and the newcomer is Shelby Williams, who scored in Stock in her second national event appearance.

Van Paepeghem and Williams shared the spotlight in Sonoma with Mike Loge (Super Stock), Marko Perivolaris (Super Comp), Kevin Griffiths (Super Gas), John Richardson (Top Dragster presented by Vortech Superchargers), and Dan Borg (Top Sportsman presented by Vortech Superchargers). 

Van Paepeghem won his first Lucas Oil Series divisional event in Bremerton, Wash., in 1973 but didn’t make it to his first national event Comp final until the fall Las Vegas event in 2013. He lost that final and his next four but finally found the winner’s circle at a national event after Tony Mandella was a no-show in the Sonoma final. Driving his A/EA ’32 Bantam, Van Paepeghem tallied wins against Chuck Moore, John Edwards, and Doug Lambeck to reach the Comp final. His best run came against Moore with a .008 light and a (-.574) 7.81. [video]

Loge also came into the Sonoma Super Stock final with a wealth of experience, including wins in his three most previous national event finals dating back to 1986. Loge, in his California Missile Barracuda, ran his record to a perfect 4-0 in national event finals after a great side-by-side final-round race against Dennis Paz’s El Camino. Both drivers were nearly perfect off the starting line, and Loge got to the finish line first with an 11.154 on his 11.12 dial. Paz was just a few feet behind with an 11.432 on his 11.38 prediction. Loge also put together a remarkable run in the quarterfinals with a perfect .000 light and an 11.005 on his 11.00 dial to freeze out five-time world champion Justin Lamb. [video] 

Competing in her second national event and fourth Stock eliminator race overall, Williams found the winner’s circle after driving her K&N Filters Camaro to a win against Lamb in the final round. Williams, the daughter of former Super Comp world champ Steve Williams, was competitive on both ends of the track with a .014 light and a perfect 10.580 on her 10.58 dial. Ironically, Williams was driving the same car that was previously owned and raced by Lamb. Williams got to the final after a tough semifinal battle against Leo Glasbrenner. As for Lamb, he’s now lost just 14 of 41 career final rounds. [video]

Perivolaris now has five NHRA national event Wallys following his win in the Sonoma Super Comp final. Leaving first against opponent Phil Nagel, Perivolaris got the best of an 8.896 to 8.863 double breakout. Perivolaris immediately dedicated the win to his longtime friend and mentor, former Sonoma Raceway track manager Kyle Seipel. On his way to the victory, Perivolaris was exceptionally sharp on the starting line with reaction times of .000, .004, .005, .013, .012, and a .016 in the final round. [video] 

There was also a first-time winner in Super Gas after Griffiths claimed a victory against Ryan Giacone in the final round. Griffiths used a .007 light and an 8.899 to trip the win light in a double-breakout with Giacone missing the index by a hundredth with a 9.890. Griffiths also topped Super Gas pioneer Ted Seipel in the quarterfinal round to earn a bye into his first national event final. [video] 

Driving one of the quickest cars in Top Dragster presented by Vortech Superchargers, Richardson emerged as the winner for the first time. With a 6.10 dial on his dragster, Richardson had to wait nearly a second for opponent Paul Nero in the final round but responded with a great .003 light and a 6.119 for the victory. Nero, the former Top Dragster champ, was solid with a .015 light but broke out by .004-second to end the match. Richardson’s path to the final included wins against Terry White and Brian Hough. [video]

San Francisco’s Borg made the short drive home from Sonoma with his first national event Wally thanks to a victory in Top Sportsman presented by Vortech Superchargers. Borg wheeled his Monte Carlo to a win against Ed Olpin in the final round. Borg used a 6.813 on his 6.78 dial to get the job done by just .011-second over Olpin’s Camaro. Borg reached the final round with wins against Mike Hiatt and Dean Hall. [video]