05 May 2017 Kent, WA – The annual All High School Drags, Burnout and Tug-O-War got underday with the Burnout and Tug-O-War action on Friday. The dreaded “R”ain moved the drag racing over to Saturday, but the very popular Burnout and Tug-O-War were held on Friday.
Winner of the Burnout Contest was Abbie Hagen, Kelli Temeyosa won the Tug-O-War.
Click here for the photos of the Burnout Contest & Tug-O-War.
Click here for the photos of the High School Drag Racing held on Saturday.
30 April 2017 Kent, WA – The first of three visits to Pacific Raceways for 2017, SOVREN started off with their Spring Sprints event at Pacific Raceways.
It Began Friday with a practice day for all and a Novice instruction session. Saturday brought qualifying in the morning and race number one for all classes. There was just a couple short of 90 entries for the weekend of racing with nearly 30 in group 2. With twenty minute sessions for each group everyone gets two races in before the 5:00pm cutoff.
Sunday brought racing all day. Running thru the pits and starting area counted over 35 makes and models of “vintage” race cars that could be seen and heard reliving the heyday of these fine race cars.
They will be back the end of June so make some plans to come out and enjoy some fine racing.
15 Apr 2017 Kent, WA – Try as we may, beating “mother nature” is no easy task. The forces of nature will say at times “beat this issue”. Such was the case for the Swift Tool and High School races today. Hours spent drying the track surface by the Pacific Raceways drag crew became like wiping your brow on a hot day, wiped dry and not long later, more moisture. With the sun going in and out of the clouds it became a battle of wills.
Either all sun or all clouds would dry the track in a few hours. With winter hour’s still in effect it became apparent that time would not allow the race to be completed so it was “rained out” and the last few hours turned into a “test-n-tune for those that wanted to wait until the track dried for a couple “hits”.
As all of this drying and waiting the Hagen twins Abbie and Angie with parents Steve and Kim put on an 18th birthday party for their “girls”. The “tax-day twins” as the track announcer calls them were in “dual” mode as they also take part in the high school portion of the Swift Tool Series. Although the “series” race was rained out they did get to make a TnT pass showing their family and friends what their “sport” is all about.
Images are now available – click here to go to the photo album.
09 Apr 2017 Kent, WA – Filling the grounds with cars and people at Pacific Raceways normally comes the first week in August. Coming in second and growing bigger each year is the HondaFest NW. The trio of a car show, lead/follow and drag racing bring the people and vendors to this annual event.
Rows and rows of all kinds of show cars and most all of them daily drivers filled the paddock area as SpeedFactory set up in their favorite spot next to the staging lanes.
Leading off the day on the 2.25 mile track instructors from ProFormance Racing School do what is called “lead/follow” with a group of three to seven cars. It is 100% follow the leader but that “leader” knows the fastest way around the track. No fooling around here as the last car in line has a radio and you can’t out run it. You get out of the spirit of the day you will be booted out of line, Safety First.
For those that follow the “drivers” meeting rules you get to push your car a little more than “normal” driving and doing it “safely”. This part of the day is also growing as near 50 drivers took part with a few doubling up.
All this time the “drag crew” is prepping the drag strip for the afternoon of side by side running of all kinds of cars and trucks.
Leading off the action the ultra- fast Honda’s from SpeedFactory in a mix of testing and checking the latest setup put down some impressive numbers as noted by the crowd and crew reactions.
A great day put together by NWMotiv and Pacific Raceways will again look to grow the program so make a date for next year’s event.
02 Apr 2017 Kent, WA – Kicking off the drag racing season in the northwest spring can bring a host of weather conditions. The overnight downpour left a big task to the drag crew drying and prepping the track. Beat the water they did but a later than normal start finally got things underway.
Two hits for all to start the day then into racing for real. A brief light shower both brought about no racing and pushed the “Sunday” curfew to the limits. Try as they did when “Mother Nature” dictates what you can do you just do your “best”.
So close they came, finishing three of the six classes leaving two “finals” and one “semi” to run.
The three class winners are in Jr. Lightning Josh Schmanke grabbed the trophy while also licensing for a Super Comp ride. In Jr. Lightning Ryan Warnke came out on top while Brian Thompson put his Mustang in the Sportsman Class “Winners Circle”.
Images are now available – click here to go to the photo album.
This habit that is called “drag racing” grabbed me in the early seventies. Since then, I have met thousands of stars that take part in the sport.
As any photographer that covers motorsports will tell you, the people you meet and their background can cover the full spectrum of life. As the photographer for Pacific Raceways, I cover a variety of different forms of motorsports, from Drag Racing, Motocross, Road Racing and Go Karts, and they all share one thing in common, Family.
All, of these families have their stories. When an unusual “story” presents itself, I like to focus on it…
An unusual or unique story in drag racing at Pacific Raceways are twins Abbie and Angie Hagen. As high school seniors they will once again compete in the Air Force Reserve High School Drag Racing Series. The twins hope to improve on their 3rd and 4th place finishes last season.
Their attraction to drag racing stems from father Steve who came to the track to watch the 1978 Fall Nationals. In the mid 90’s when looking to buy their first house Steve and wife Kim found a home just a few blocks from the track.
A few years later the twins were born and raised just blocks from the sounds of the race track. Abbie was the first to hit the track though not what you may expect. As a sophomore, she entered her father’s Dodge Challenger in the high school burnout contest. Abbie in the driver’s seat and Angie sitting on the passenger side, the track announcer asked her if her Dad knew you were burning the hides off his car? Without hesitation Abbie replies “Yes, he is in the back seat”.
Twin sister Angie was not really into Drag Racing, she kind of fell into it at her sister’s request. Abbie was fighting for points in the high school class. So, Angie jumped into her sister’s car hoping to do well. Angie had so much fun she decided that she should have a Challenger too. Then the Hagen’s became a three Challenger family as Abbie found one very close to her sisters.
With dad Steve running in the Sportsman class and the girls in the High School class, it is easy to spot them in the pits with the White, Red and Green Challengers lined up in a row.
This time together earned both girls a trip to the “winners circle” for trophy and pictures and enough points for Abbie to earn a prestigious spot on the E.T. Finals Team and a trip to Canada to race at Mission Raceway. Not bad for their first season of racing!
Seeing the fun that Abbie had last season, a bit of a sibling rivalry has formed! Angie is forgoing softball this season to put all her energy into racing in her effort to make it to the E.T. Finals and of course Abbie will try to re-peat her ET Finals performance.
If these two-college bound young ladies go at racing with the same energy as they do for school, the competition should be a bit worried!!
April 15th is race number one for the Air Force Reserve High School Series this season and should one of them win this special day to begin with would really be “frosting on the birthday cake”. Good luck to both of you this season.
26 Mar 2017 Kent, WA – For the dozen plus folks who took part in the ProFormance Racing School this day the weather played a big part. Choosing the date to go to school you hope for a great weather day, but this is the northwest in spring time and the weather is a crapshoot, with the record rain thru late winter into early spring today it just continued.
Bringing out the bumper-shoots that under normal use here shades the drivers from the sun reared back to their original use, to keep the rain off. To ProFormance Racing School and its instructors the weather makes no difference on the program and how they instruct the students.
Looking at the exercises, there are four of them, going thru them I believe it would be worth taking the class twice if possible, in the rain and in the sunshine. What you feel in the seat of your pants will be two very distinct sensations. Once you feel the difference in wet to dry you will come away a better driver in the northwest.
Important enough to parents to put their children thru the class to teach what is not in drivers training and to a husband and wife today with their personal plates sharing the experience together.
Images are now available – click here to go to the photo album.
Check out this program on the ProFormance web site for your date to better driving.
19 Mar 2017 Kent, WA – As more and more parents see their children go thru drivers training and what they are learn they are coming to driving schools for the skills that will better prepare them for driving on the hi-ways and bi-ways.
Seeing parents weather by their pushing or their kids choosing going thru the stages that ProFormance Racing School and their instructors teach is every bit a recordable moment. Deep in parents minds and spoken, this is the best bang for your buck to be found for young drivers.
This also you see on the faces of the students as they gather after the first go round and how fun it is to learn what your car is telling you when you tell it to do something. Then of course at the end of the school day the confidence that the students now show truly shows the impact of going thru the school.
Over 300 images are now available online – click here to go to the photo album.
For info on upcoming dates go to the ProFormance Racing School web site or their Facebook page.
11 Mar 2017 Kent, WA – Going thru a driving course in nice weather can be a challenge but when you put Mother Nature and the “Northwet” it does add a new dimension to what you are trying to accomplish.
As explained by instructor Mirko the rainy weather will help you feel in your backside what your car is doing when you put input to it. Steering, braking and peddle control is brought to the forefront going thru the four coned stations.
Seems simple enough, though once behind the wheel the focus gets intense as you want to complete the task as instructed as a dozen or more teachers watch your every move, then de-brief, good or bad what you just did.
Then take those instructions and get in line and do it again. It is truly a do it and you will get it right and become a better driver because of it. Anytime you get the chance to take a driving course like ProFormance Racing School, Doug Herbert’s “Brakes” or a Teen driving class you will come out of them a better driver for it. Do yourself or a loved one a big favor and check into a program near you and go thru it.
11 Feb 2017 Kent, WA – Back for the first time this year the AM Skills class brought in sixteen students for classroom and on track learning. No matter your age or gender you start in the classroom eyes intent on what Don Kitch is telling you. It is the start of what ProFormance Racing School is all about.
What you gain from the in classroom and the four coned stages will show you and let your body feels and what input you need to do to your car in case you need to do so. Being prepared for anything when you are driving is the awareness you will also gain. Just about everything that is taught in the class is not given in drivers training.
This fact brought out a young lady just about ready to get her driving life underway. With no prompting from her parents the choice to take the class was her own, pretty smart on her part. As per requirements all teen drivers are instructed to bring their “daily driver” to class. This young lady rolled up in a full size Chevy truck, something I have not seen run thru the program, all makes and models of cars but no trucks. The shiny smile, I say that because she does wear braces would be hard pressed to remove at the end of the day and also saying “I will be back” to the track to learn even more.
Follow this teen driver’s lead and contact ProFormance Racing School for info on upcoming dates to do the same for yourself as this wise beyond her years young lady did for herself.
