Pomona, CA – Johnny Ahten and the Island Renovations / Combust Filters Dragster advanced to the second round at the 51st Annual Auto Club NHRA Finals last weekend at the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. After qualifying with a 5.338 /265.48, Ahten entered the final race of the year in the number twelve position, won their first round match-up with 2014 World Champion Chris Demke, and finished the year in the number five position in Regional points.

“I feel good that we qualified and got a round win over the champ,” said Ahten. “The new chassis turned us into detectives, and now we have to follow the clues. We will go over the car, look at the data, and prepare for a strong campaign in 2016.”

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Pomona, CA – The battle that was the Vegas Regional has now moved to Johnny Ahten’s backyard. Pomona is Johnny’s home track, and he is not taking any chances. The full Ahten Racing Team has been assembled from around the country. This weekend’s 51st Annual Auto Club NHRA Finals at the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona has twenty-five entries in the Top Alcohol Dragster class and reinforcements were necessary.

“We are expecting a dogfight, and we have a full regiment ready,” said Johnny Ahten. “We have my dad and Crew Chief Al Ahten who, along with Team Partner Howard Katano, will be our Generals. Our nitro commandos include Bob Ahten, Kevin “Shark” Colvell, Chuck Costabile, Todd “Rocky” Rockwell, and John Rogers. Pomona is our home, so there are plenty of distractions. Family, friends, and the desire go rounds and capture the flag. Our A-Team will give the strength to continue the battle we fought in Vegas. We qualified for a tough Vegas Regional field last weekend and we are bringing that positive home.

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Las Vegas, NV – The Regional race this weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is unlike other Regional races. It just so happens last weekend was the Toyota Nationals and most teams have stuck around to try and qualify for an eight car field. All the heavy hitters will be there, and Johnny Ahten and the Island Renovations / Combust Filters dragster are ready to rumble.

“The Vegas Regional is our default all-star Top Alcohol race,” said Ahten. “The teams that raced the National event have a score to settle with the track, and fellow racers. Regional points are still in play and we all want to move up. The toughest part is the eight car field. We are going to have to make sure every qualifying run counts. That is why we are testing on Thursday. The Toyota Nationals didn’t quite go the way we wanted, but we are encouraged by the data,” added Ahten.

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Las Vegas, NV – As Johnny Ahten and his dad Al pulled into the gates at the Strip at Las Motor Speedway for this weekend’s Toyota Nationals there was a small amount of relief. The last few weeks have been filled with long hours in the shop preparing for this race, next weekend’s Regional, and the Pomona finals. Now all they have to do is qualify, go rounds, and enjoy.

“I am happy to be here in Vegas and we are ready to go fast,” said Johnny Ahten. “The Vegas nightlife is not a big deal for our team. The only bright lights and big show we want to see is at the track. It is a huge task preparing for three weekends in row of racing. The day before we left I ran a ton of last minute errands, and even with the car in the trailer, my dad was still prepping cylinder heads. We have to be ready because there are plenty of heavy hitters at this race. We have done well here, and we are looking to return to the performance we have shown in the past,” added Ahten.

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Woodburn, OR – No, Johnny Ahten is not switching to a Nitromethane powered outlaw sprint car. What Ahten did do at the second NHRA LODRS Regional race at Woodburn Dragstrip last weekend was qualify in the number five position with 5.392/268.73. A difficult but satisfying first round victory followed. In the second round battle with Joey Severance, the Stump Puller experienced some tire shake and that concluded the weekend’s festivities.

“We were happy with the Island Renovation / Combust Filters dragster’s performance, but we know there is more,” said Ahten. “We are creeping up on the right combination.”

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Woodburn, OR – The Ahten Racing team with driver Johnny Ahten is returning to Woodburn Dragstrip for the second LODRS Regional race of the year with the renewed energy. Just going to a race usually does the trick, but Johnny’s added bounce is attributed to the fact that the Island Renovations / Combust Filters dragster is making progress. The plan for this weekend’s race is to once again qualify strong and continue where they left off.

“The 5.32 we ran in Seattle has us feeling confident,” said Ahten. “We went to the semifinals here at Woodburn and lost after smoking the tires at 1.8 seconds. We have a better handle on the new car now, and making the Stump Puller improve in the middle of the run is our goal. I’m very happy with the progress we have been making, but I’m still cautious. It’s going to be a slug-fest with some fast cars in attendance. The cooler air and track temps plays well into our A/Fuel combination. I am eager to make more runs,” added Ahten.

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KENT, WA – The Seattle Regional Race at Pacific Raceways this past weekend was to be a charm for Johnny Ahten. For the past two years he has made it to the final round. This year, Ahten may not have advanced that far, but he did achieve some performance progress.

“We went back to what we know and softened it up a bit more, and I’m pleased with the progress,” said Ahten. “We have a hot rod again and now all we need is a little luck.“

The Island Renovations / Combust Filters dragster started Friday qualifying with a fine 5.399/262.90 to go to the number four slot. The next two qualifying attempts were treated like a test session, and a few tweaks were planned. Those adjustments proved that the Stump Puller can make power, but getting it to the pavement is a tricky application. Ahten ended up in the number six position after final qualifying. A match up with last year’s champ Chris Demke in the first round was the next challenge.

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KENT, WA – It has been said that the third time is a charm. At the last two LODRS Regional races at Pacific Racways, Johnny Ahten made an appearance in the final round. This year he is looking to capture a charm called Wally.

“Last year we qualified number one and went to the final round. The year before that we also went to the finals. This year with a new car and some new tuning data we hope to continue that, with a better outcome,” said Johnny Ahten. “We are looking to pick up where we left off at the National event here, and that 5.35 run sure felt good. We were happy with how the car got off the line and charged to the line. In Woodburn, the car matched our previous top mph at 270. Now we are looking to make our middle times better. We only have about ten runs on the car and I think we are close,” added Ahten.

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KENT, WA – Shinny bits of metal are great when they are jingling in your pocked as coins. They are less desirable when they are inside the block of your racing motor. That’s just what Johnny Ahten had after his first qualifying run at the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways last weekend. A wrist pin broke near the finish line under power and the number five cylinder became a disaster zone.

“Our 5.474/250.04 in the first session put us in the fourth position, but it was costly,” said Johnny Ahten. “The wrist pin failure meant we had to change motors between rounds, and the thrash was on. When they called Alcohol Funny Cars to the lanes we still had yet to put the magnetos on. Luckily, there was oil down and it gave us time to complete the motor change. The plan was to go to a thousand feet with the backup motor. The run went well with a 5.459/245.23, making me wish I had kept my foot in it. That put us in the number five spot after Friday qualifying. It was a positive sign after the destruction of the first session. ”

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KENT, WA – Almost thirty years ago there was a music revolution that came out of the Washington area called the Seattle sound or Grunge It featured a high level of distortion, fuzz and feedback effects. Johnny Ahten and his Island Renovations/Combust Filters A/Fuel dragster are planning on their own unique brand of nitro noise this weekend at the 28th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways.

“I’m really excited to get back to a national event,” said Johnny Ahten. “We have run well here in the past. In fact, our quickest pass of 2014 was here. We are chipping away at the set up on our new chassis. We are happy with the progress we made at our last race at the Woodburn Regional. “

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