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Third Final of the Year for Ahten at Seattle Regional

Kent, WA – Johnny Ahten’s performance statement at the LODRS Regional speaks volumes. Johnny not only had low ET of the Johnny Ahten - Courtesy of Costabile Productionsevent, but he reset the Pacific Raceways A-Fuel track record. He then parlayed his #1 qualifying performance into the final round, which was his third of the year. See a trend here? Even though Ahten fell to CleanBoost Performance Oil teammate Chris Demke in the final, the numerical threat the Island Renovations / Combust Filters Dragster displayed was more than enough to make it a memorable outing.

“I am very happy with our performance, “said Johnny Ahten. “The Stump Puller was a monster and we ran on the edge the whole time. I am so proud of my guys the way we came back from a first round loss at the Seattle National event. It’s tough to lose, but it’s not so bad when it’s to the team leading the points. This was our third final of the year and Ahten Racing is confident going into the end of the year.”

Ahten’s Seattle Regional adventure began with a test session on Friday. The plan was to run to 1000ft and shut it off. Johnny got a great start, motored down the track, and pulled the chutes early. The scoreboard flashed an expectedly slow 237 mph, but when the 5.22 ET lit up, it made people take notice. Saturday’s first qualifying effort was dashed in a cloud of smoke as the Stump Puller was flexing some muscle. In Q2, a clean start netted a 5.26@269 pass that would hold up for the #1 qualifying spot. In the last qualifying session, the cooler temperatures had the Ahten Racing team looking for glory, but it was not to be as the track was unable to hold the power.

Sunday’s first round of eliminations began with a match-up with Jeff Ashwell. Johnny blasted off the line first and rocketed to a 5.202@269.73 to defeat Ashwell’s 6.022@179.59 effort. The run ended up being low of the event and reset the track record. It was also one of the quickest A-Fuel passes of the season. Second round was a battle with fellow A-Fuel racer Garrett Bateman. Here Johnny’s 5.273@267.85 dispatched a tire-smoking Bateman and it was on to the finals. Laying in wait was Chris Demke. Crew Chief Al Ahten and team partner Howard Katano backed down the tune-up and Bob Ahten, Chuck Costabile, and Kevin Covlell got the car ready. The record setting monster was ready to attack. All was well until one second into the run, when smoke poured from the tires of the Stump Puller. Just a toe over the edge of traction was enough to hand the victory to Demke.

Johnny Ahten and the team will feed off of their Seattle Regional performance and ride the monster all the way to the finals at Pomona. Ahten Racing’ next outing will be the LODRS Regional race September 5-7 at Mission Raceway in British Colombia, Canada. To stay informed visit: www.facebook.com/JohnnyAhtenRacing

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