Mon, 27 Feb 2012, 11:16 AM Megan McKernan and John Lombardo Jr. Win the First Western Regional Race

By Rick Green Photo copyright 2012 Bob Johnson Photography Hartford, Smith, Burton, Bayer, Lewis, Greco, Medlin, Slatten and Gillette also Win

CHANDELR, Ariz. --

Front row: Thomas Bayer, SC; Tom Medlin, (SMC), Joe Greco, (SST); Jimmy Lewis, (SG). Standing: Scott Burton, (Stk); Matt Hartford, (Comp); George Slatten, (TD); Megan McKernan, (TAD); John Lombardo Jr., (TAFC); Staci Smith, (SS); Jeff Gillette, (TS).

Megan McKernan, John Lombardo Jr. won the first Western Regional event of the year. Matt Hartford, Staci Smith, Scott Burton, Thomas Bayer, Jimmy Lewis. Joseph Greco, Tom Medlin, George Slatten and Jeffrey Gillette won the second Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event of the weekend in NHRA's first double-header this weekend.

Megan McKernan won her first Top Alcohol dragster event in her second Divisional final. She ran her quickest and fastest pass of the weekend with 5.371 seconds at 269.78 mph to defeat Joey Severance' pass of 5.486 seconds at 261.57 mph. McKernan qualified in the number three position with a 5.406 second pass at 247.16 mph. In round one she defeated Johnny Ahten and the got the easy pass into the final when Don St. Arnaud didn't make the call. Severance upset No. 1 qualifier Chris Demke in round one and he too got the freebie into the final when James Butler's engine went silent in the burnout box.

John Lombardo Jr., the 2011 Division Seven Top Alcohol Funny Car champion, opened the defense of his title with a win. The final was a great match-up of the number one and two qualifiers, Payne and Lombardo Jr. actually had identical E.T.s of 5.615 seconds in qualifying, but Payne got the No. 1 spot based on his faster speed. Lombardo Jr. defeated Mark Woznichak and Brian Hough on his way to final while Payne defeated Steve Griboski and Doug Gordon. In the final Payne was first off the line, but Lombardo Jr. had the lead by the Christmas tree and won by about a car-length and a half. This was Lombardo Jr.'s fourth Divisional event win.

Matt Hartford won his first Divisional event in Competition Eliminator and his second overall, the other coming in Top Sportsman at the 2008 Phoenix divisional. Hartford qualified his B/DA Spitzer dragster in the number one spot with a 6.770 second pass, 0.620 seconds under the 7.39 index. Hartford defeated Scott McClay in round one, Jeff Lane in round two and then defeated Dan Fletcher to get the bye into the final. In the final he faced Alan Ellis in his A/AA and got the easy win when Ellis went red (-0.006) on the Christmas tree.

Staci Smith won her first Divisional event Wally in her '93 Daytona, GT/DA Super Stocker defeating Michael Wesolowski in the final. Scott Burton won his second Divisional event Stock title, driving his '70 Formula, B/SA past Michael Brand II in an all-Colorado final.

Thomas Bayer won his fifth Divisional Super Comp title and his 11th overall Divisional win defeating Val Torres in the final. Jimmy Lewis from Forney, Texas defeated Gary Mignacca to collect his tenth Super Gas Wally and that makes a total of 14 Divisional event wins. Joseph Greco won his second Divisional Super Street event and first since the 2006 Medford event, he defeated Al Alguire in the final.

2011 Sportsman Motorcycle Division champion Tom Medlin started the defense of his title with a runner-up finish in Friday's first Divisional race and followed up with a win here defeating Travis Patridge in the final. George Slatten won his first Divisional race defeating George Clark in the Top Dragster final. Jeff Gillette won his first Top Sportsman Divisional title and his fifth overall Divisional title. He defeated John Baker for the win.

NHRA Pacific division racers head to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway March 23-25 for their next Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event which will be followed by the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series the following weekend March 30-April 1.

The following are Sunday's final results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Pacific Division event at Firebird International Raceway:

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER:

ROUND ONE
7) Don St. Arnaud, Edmonton, Alb., 5.552, 258.81 def.
2) Cody Perkins, Bluffdale, Utah, 5.811, 196.33

3) Megan McKernan, Sierra Madre, Calif., 5.393, 262.74 def.
6) Johnny Ahten, Santa Clarita, Calif., 5.729, 213.57

8) Joey Severance, Woodburn, Ore., 5.435, 259.66 def.
1) Chris Demke, Sunland, Calif., 5.443, 270.05

4) James Butler, Prescott, Ariz., 5.394, 264.86 def.
5) Larry Miersch, Huntington Beach, Calif., 5.538, 257.87

SEMI-FINALS
McKernan, 5.442, 256.75 def. St. Arnaud, broke
Severance, 12.046, 87.11 def. Butler, broke

FINALS
McKernan, 5.371, 269.78 def. Severance, 5.486, 261.57.

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE
3) Brian Hough, Junction City, Ore., '09 Mustang, 5.941, 252.00 def.
6) Shane Westerfield, Lake Forest, Calif., '06 Monte Carlo, 6.037, 235.47

5) Doug Gordon, Paso Robles, Calif., '06 Monte Carlo, 5.699, 253.61 def.
4) Annie Whiteley, Grand Junction, Colo., '09 Mustang, 5.963, 244.56

2) John Lombardo Jr., Brea, Calif., '06 Monte Carlo, 5.645, 255.15 def.
7) Mark Woznichak, Ontario, Calif., '06 Monte Carlo, 5.687, 254.42

1) Jay Payne, Claremont, Calif., '09 Mustang, 5.612, 258.96 def.
8) Steve Griboski, Aurora, Colo., '04 Firebird, foul

SEMI-FINALS
Lombardo Jr., 5.654, 256.02 def. Hough, 5.787, 245.72
Payne, 5.641, 258.27 def. Gordon, 5.708, 254.86

FINALS
Lombardo Jr., 5.711, 257.58 def. Payne, 5.805, 252.19

COMPETITION ELIMINATOR
Matt Hartford, Phoenix, Ariz., Spitzer, B/DA, 7.204, 146.61 def. Alan Ellis, Mapleton, Utah, '23 roadster, A/AA, foul.

SUPER STOCK
Staci Smith, Landcaster, Calif., '93 Daytona, GT/DA, 9.842, 129.17 def. Michael Wesolowski, Mesa, Ariz., '12 Mustang, SSA/A, 8.784, 157.28.

STOCK ELIMINATOR
Scott Burton, Golden, Colo., '70 Formula, B/SA, 10.371, 122.11 def. Michael Brand II, Thornton, Colo., '73 Firebird, F/SA, 10.957, 114.62.

SUPER COMP
Thomas Bayer, Fontana, Calif., dragster, 8.921, 162.78 def. Val Torres, Valinda, Calif., dragster, 8.938, 167.59.

SUPER GAS
Jimmy Lewis, Forney, Texas, '58 Corvette, 9.931, 153.23 def. Gary Mignacca, Lawndale, Calif., '27 roadster, 9.929, 140.83.

SUPER STREET
Joseph Greco, San Jose, Calif., '69 AMX, 10.924, 143.60 def. Al Alguire, Las Vegas, Nev., '68 Baracuda, broke.

SPORTSMAN MOTORCYCLE
Tom Medlin, La Mirada, Calif., '93 Suzuki, 8.354, 157.50 def. Travis Patridge, Kennewick, Wash., '90 Suzuki, 8.642, 146.16.

TOP DRAGSTER
George Slatten, Santa Fe, N.M., dragster, 7.084, 166.89 def. George Clark, Phoenix, Ariz., dragster, foul.

TOP SPORTSMAN
Jeffrey Gillette, Benicia, Calif., '96 Firebird, 7.080, 174.01 def. John Baker, Grand Junction, Colo., '08 Cobalt, 16.867, 44.67.