Woodburn Dragstrip Hosts Day Four of Redwood Rally – Can the Class Leaders Hang On?
With the midpoint of the event in the rear view mirror, Redwood Rally continued north in a combination of coastal miles, as well as making tracks east within the state of Oregon.
Day four would bring the competitors a total of 211 miles to its northernmost point of the week, Woodburn Dragstrip, to see what classes would have leader shake-ups, and which would solidify their class title chances.
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After slowing a bit on day three, the quickest car on the tour, Shayne Propst, got back into the 4-second range at Woodburn Dragstrip. The driver of the ’67 Chevrolet Nova posted his second-quickest pass of the week, a 4.534 at 172.43 mph on day four, giving him a 4.658 average and solid control of the class.
Taking over the lead in the Slight Unlimited class on day two, AJ Jennen continued to strengthen that position with his ’72 Chevy Vega wagon. A best of the week 5.396 at 134.75 mph pass at Woodburn lowered his average to a 5.551.
Another competitor that laid down their best pass of the week at Woodburn Dragstrip was Jaden Shelton. The frontman of the small tire Redwood Radials class wheeled the unique Volvo to a 5.573 at 127.57 lap on day four, resulting in a 5.722 average and the lead with one track to go.
Jared McMorrow stayed solid on his stick-shifting skills, remaining at the front of the 3 Pedal class. The 2001 Ford Mustang delivered a 9.039 at 153.04 mph pass on day four, giving McMorrow a 33.502 total.
Three of the four American Graffiti classes saw the day three leaders continue to stay in front on day four, and two of the three posted their best performances of the week at Woodburn Dragstrip.
Ryan Saiki kept his ’72 Corvette at the top of the American Graffiti Power-Adder class, wheeling the turbocharged ride to a 5.444 at 135.44 mph pass and a 5.532 average.
The American Graffiti Naturally-Aspirated class had Micky Buerger’s 1968 Chevrolet Camaro dipping into the 6.2-second range for the first time during the event, with a 6.29 at 110.92 mph blast moving his four-day average to 6.416.
The Hard Tire version of American Graffiti had the ’99 Silverado of Jason Rellinger in front for the fourth day, with a 6.772 at 104.79 mph pass giving him a 6.779 average.
The Mind Over Matter class came into day four with two drivers, Jordan Pierce and Bean Garner, carrying .074 of-a-second totals above their base elapsed times from day one. Pierce took the lead on day four, running just .011 off his base, for an .085 of-a-second total. Bean is right behind him in second with a .090 total, and Kelli Eyra in third with a .120 total.
Eyra’s efforts had her third in Mind Over Matter, and in control of the new Speed Queens class. Her ’94 Lightning racked up four runs a combined .120 of-a-second total above her base elapsed time from day one for the lead.
Brady Davis and his 2000 Chevy Silverado stayed at the front of the Tailgate Racers class, recovering from his 6.08 at 123 mph pass on day three to a 5.683 at 130.68 mph in Woodburn. That moved his average down to a 5.78 to remain the leader of the new class.
The Glory Days Gassers continued to have Walt Hooker and his ’65 Ford Falcon leading the way, as he nearly matched his best pass of the week with a 10.929 at 121.57 mph on day four. That gave Hooker a 39.729 total, and although Chase Fouts made the best run of the class with a 10.73, Hooker stayed at the front of the class.
Eleven of the thirteen classes saw the incoming leaders from day three remain at the front of their classes, but two classes had shake ups on the leader board, and in both cases, it was a former leader that returned to the number one spot.
In Junior Street, Dylan Ellsworth led the class for the first two days, only to surrender the lead on day three to Austin Allsup. But on day four, the two competitors switched places again, as Allsup’s Mustang was only able to get within .050 of-a-second of his base e.t., moving his total to .295 of-a-second.
That, combined with a .029 of-a-second off the base pass for Ellsworth, put his 2011 Crown Victoria back on top with a .275 of-a-second off the base total for the week.
The American Graffiti Magnum class is a tight one, with just a couple thousandths of-a-second separating the top two cars with one track date left. Tyler Koranda as in front for the first two days with his ’69 Camaro, but on day three, a 5.701 at 128.81 mph from Koranda moved his average to 5.583.
That gave Will Rusca’s 5.579 average from his ’70 Plymouth Satellite just enough room to move into the top spot. The two laid down their best passes of the week at Woodburn Dragstrip, with a 5.364 at 137.68 mph from Koranda getting the better of Rusca’s 5.387 at 132.91 mph pass.
The resulting averages would be 5.529 for Koranda, back in the leader spot by just .002 of-a-second over the 5.531 average from Rusca.
One day remains, as Redwood Rally will depart Woodburn Dragstrip and return to the track where everything started, Medford Dragstrip, to crown class champions.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and Redwood Rally, Robert Mumford, Nate Curran, Jaden Shelton, Ryan Saiki, Brady Davis.
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