The single most prestigious NHRA event for Canada each season, Mission Raceway’s LODRS/Lordco BC Nationals went down last weekend……

The event featured some impressive wins by Canadian-based machines as well as a couple of very significant “double-up” victories.

The Lordco BC Nationals Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Regional race at Mission Raceway Park this past weekend had to overcome a couple of circumstances that didn’t work in its favour, including 30C heat, but in the end, it turned out to be a good weekend of racing, particularly for two racers.

It has become a habit to lament the short fields in the two alcohol classes, plus Comp, at the Mission race, and fans will just have to learn to accept that the days of over 20 alky cars in the pits are long gone. This year, there were eight – five in TAD, three in TAFC, same as last year – and what they lacked in numbers, they made up for with quality and strong performance, for the most part.

The baddest blown alcohol car in the land has to be that of Joey Severance from Oregon in Jim Whiteley’s former car, and he was in control of things, but not without pressure from behind. A wicked 5.27 at 270 in the heat paced qualifying, but Megan McKernan was right behind at 5.28/273 in her A/FD. Kenny Gilmour from Calgary is back with his car after a year off, and Ray Martin drove it to a good 5.38, while local hero Shawn Cowie could muster only a 5.43, ahead of Greg Sereda’s 5.75.

Joey Severence defeated Megan McKernan in the TAD championship round

With a 5.28 and 5.31 (the latter dispatching Cowie’s 5.46), Severance found himself in the final against McKernan, with 5.30 and 5.33 runs to her credit. It figured to be good, and was, until she went into a six-foot powerstand at half track, and set the car down so she could see Severance motoring off to a winning 5.30.

Ray Martin was at the wheel of the now returning Calgary-based Gilmour Motorsports TAD

TAFC had three good cars, including national hitters Brian Hough and Shane Westerfield, the latter of whom had the three quickest runs in qualifying. But it was Geoff Goodwin’s familiar Synoil Energy Services/Exact Air car from Red Deer Alberta that stepped up on Sunday, as Wyoming-based driver Greg Hunter beat Hough 5.70-5.72 in Round 1, and repeated the 5.70 to beat Westerfield’s 5.75 in the final, to win for the second year running.

For the second year in a row – Geoff Goodwin’s Synoil-sponsored TAFC with Greg Hunter at the controls – won the Lordco BC Nationals

So, while those two drivers were no doubt very happy, they weren’t the ones who had the best weekend. No, those would have to be the two drivers who each took home two Wally trophies, something we would be surprised to hear had ever happened before in an NHRA race. One was Jody Lang from Washington, who won both Super Stock and Stock, and the other was Canada’s own Mike Shannon from Kelowna, B.C., who mowed down two tough fields in Super Comp and Super Gas.

Prolific central BC based racer Mike Shannon (in far lane top – near lane bottom) won in both Super Comp and Super Gas!

(We’ll have a bit more on Mike Shannon’s exploits in a separate post – coming soon to DragRaceCanada) but we should mention that the final four in SC were all Canadians, and the only four Canucks left after Round 1. Paul Booth and Andrew Scheu lost in the semis, and Scott Taylor, from Alberta like the other two, lost in the final when he had his worst leave of the day, and then broke out beside Shannon .

If the traditional faster NHRA classes at the LODRS level are suffering, including a flurry of protests in the Comp pits and one team leaving before Round 1, there was certainly no shortage of entries in the Top Dragster and Top Sportsman classes, 33 and 18 respectively, and it is pretty clear where the growth is in the sportsman ranks. In TS, Darryn O’Connor from Fort St. John, B.C. emerged victorious in his Chevy Cavalier, with a 7.25 on his 7.22 dial-in.

Darryn O’Conner earned his 2nd LODRS win of the season in Top Sportsman

Post by: Gerry Frechette

Photos by:  Gerry Frechette and Blair Alderton

The following are the final results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Mission Raceway:

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER
Joey Severance, Woodburn, Ore., 5.304, 269.54 def. Megan McKernan, Sierra Madre, Calif., 5.973, 176.57.

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR
Greg Hunter, Sheridan, Wyo., ’06 Monte Carlo, 5.709, 256.55  def. Shane Westerfield, Anaheim, Calif., ’06 Monte Carlo, 5.754, 257.21.

COMPETITION ELIMINATOR
Dan Barton, Post Falls, Idaho, ’05 Cavalier, F/SMA, 8.676, 155.89 def. Brian Hyerstay, Springfield, Ore., dragster, G/D, foul.

SUPER STOCK
Jody Lang, Puyallup, Wash., ’81 Malibu, GT/IA, 11.251, 91.92 def. Brian Weber, Black Diamond, Wash., ’86 Camaro, GT/EA, 10.698, 129.21.

STOCK ELIMINATOR
Jody Lang, Puyallup, Wash., ’81 Malibu, M/SA, 12.168, 102.02  def. David Rastad, Maple Ridge, B.C., ’80 Malibu, L/SA, 12.086, 107.19.

Jody Lang doubled in in both Stock & Super Stock with his Chevy cars.

SUPER COMP
Mike Shannon, Kelowna, B.C., dragster, 8.919, 171.55 def. Scott Taylor, St. Isidore, Alb., dragster, 8.878, 180.86.

SUPER GAS
Mike Shannon, Kelowna, B.C., ’57 Corvette, 9.902, 147.56 def. George Scott, Graham, Wash., ’09 Colbalt, 9.919, 168.60.

SUPER STREET
Todd Simms, Puyallup, Wash., ’66 Nova, 10.897, 138.71 def. Tom Manfred, Liberty Lake, Wash., ’81 Mustang, 10.869, 140.36.

TOP SPORTSMAN
Darryn O’Connor, Fort St. John, B.C., ’11 Racecraft, 7.257, 179.82 def. Shawn Herbst, Selah, Wash., ’63 Corvette, 7.608, 181.56.

TOP DRAGSTER
Andy Morris, Olympia, Wash., ’10 Mullis, 14.023, 67.71 def. Paul Nero, Eugene, Ore., ’14 Undercover, foul.

SPORTSMAN MOTORCYCLE PRESENTED BY HARLEY DAVIDSON
Cody Cumpton, Vancouver, Wash., ’95 Suzuki, 8.614, 140.31  def. Jake Havens, Edmonds, Wash., ’08 Hayabusa, 8.526, 155.65.

SUPER COMP SHOOTOUT
Michael Dalrymple, Sunnyside, Wash., ’09 Mullis, 8.902, 174.92  def. Dale Hrenko, Port Orchard, Wash., ’03 Undercover, 8.896, 166.45.

SUPER GAS SHOOTOUT
John Dalrymple, Sunnyside, Wash., ’04 Corvette, 9.913, 156.11  def. Steve Laskowske, Tigard, Ore., ’63 Corvette, 9.887, 166.05.

SUPERSTREET SHOOTOUT
Joshua Dalrymple, Sunnyside, Wash., ’67 Camaro, 10.858, 141.53  def. Warren Jacobson, Abbotsford, B.C., ’67 Chev II, foul.

BOX GAMBLER
Jon Riedel, Arlington, Wash., dragster, 7.099, 188.63  def. Trevor Ritchie, Sherwood, B.C., dragster, 6.797, 198.28.

NO BOX GAMBLER
Ted Miller, Cloverdale, Wash., ’70 Nova, 11.562, 96.67 def. Tyson Lowe, Langley, B.C., ’75 Nova, foul.

SUPER PRO
Lorne Ridley, Mission, B.C., ’80 Monte Carlo, 9.528, 138.93 def. Jim Behnke, , , ’67 Cuda, 10.236, 129.79.

PRO
Craig Johnson, ’79 Malibu, 12.615, 98.57 def. Ted Miller, Cloverdale, Wash., ’70 Nova, 11.214, 118.92.