Beast Mode Propels Ahten to Seattle Semifinals

KENT, WA – “It’s a beast,” proclaimed Johnny Ahten in reference to his Island Renovations / Combust Filters dragster following the Seattle Regional event at Pacific Raceways. Ahten advanced to the semifinals and nearly went to the finals with a return to performance mode in Seattle.

Ahten’s first qualifying run on Friday served notice that the Ahten Racing dragster, known as the Stump Puller, was ready to burst through the line. A 5.346/266.64 run put Ahten in the number three position for the day. Saturday’s first qualifying session produced a 5.393/260.41, with room for improvement. The plan for the final qualifying session was to go quicker, so the wick was turned up. “It was either going to go number one, or smoke the tires,” added Ahten. A 10.532/90.73 pass answered that question. Ahten remained in the number three slot moving into Sunday eliminations and a match-up with Kim Parker.

Sunday saw a break from the warm weather conditions. Ahten took a slight starting line advantage and a 5.369/252.80 effort conquered Parker’s 5.396/262.64. This set a semifinal meeting with Megan McKernan. When the tree came down, Ahten got off the line first and was leading the race until the 300ft mark when the rear tires knocked loose. A couple of quick pedals resulted in two lost cylinders and a 5.837/221.96 defeat to McKernan’s 5.652/262.33.

“Even though we lost a close one in the semis, I am very happy about the way the Stump Puller performed at Pacific Raceways,” said Ahten. “It was great having a full crew around to make things go smoothly. My guys gave me a great racecar and we are all excited about the upcoming Regional at Woodburn, and then on to Vegas and the finals at Pomona.

Johnny Ahten and the Stump Puller will be at Woodburn Raceways September 16-18th. The usual strong contingent of west coast hitters will be there, and Ahten is anxious to let the Stump Puller feast. Stay in touch with Johnny and Ahten Racing at facebook.com/JohnnyAhtenRacing, and on Twitter and Instagram at: @Ahtenracing and on Pinterest at pinterest.com/ahten