Strong Woodburn Outing for Ahten

Woodburn, OR – A strong 5.370/261.24 qualifying effort garnered Johnny Ahten the number two qualifying position at last weekend’s NHRA West Regional race at Woodburn Dragstrip. That was the good news. The not so good news was the first round red light. On the other hand, the 5.33/267.37 Johnny posted after a .005 foul showed the power of the Stump Puller and Ahten Racing’s tune-up.

“After the burnout I went to stage, and I had trouble holding it in the lights. I yanked on the brake handle but it just wouldn’t hold,” said Ahten. “In retrospect, I could have of dragged the brakes harder during the burnout. My Dad and the crew gave me a great racecar and it stinks I went red. It was on a run too. I carried the wheels for 1.8 seconds and picked them up two more times in route to that 5.33 run. The weather was crazy all weekend. The rain with thunder and lightning was really something. Joey Severance and the people at Woodburn Dragstrip really worked their tails off and gave us a great racing surface. This was my first time racing here and I was really impressed,” acknowledged Ahten.

“Our first qualifying pass was a planned check-out run that netted 5.502/252.80. That put us #4 and we were ready for more. Our second qualifying pass was later in the day on a 136° track. The Island Renovations / Combust Filters dragster motored right down there to a 5.370/261.24. That launched us up to the #2 spot. In the third round of qualifying no one really stepped up so the decision was made to sit it out to save on parts. Our first round opponent was CleanBoost Oil teammate Garrett Bateman. It would have been a great race if I could have held it in the lights. Now it’s on to the next race. We have a bad hot rod and I owe it all to my guys. The power of the Stump Puller will thunder again on August 1st in Seattle for the national event,” concluded Ahten.  Keep in touch with Ahten Racing at: www.facebook.com/JohnnyAhtenRacing