Napa Auto Parts Raceway Named Team Champions at the WDRA Summit Northwest Bracket Finals
Northern Lights Raceway hosted the second WDRA Summit Northwest Bracket Finals.
The WDRA racers and member tracks north of the border converged at Northern Lights Raceway to compete during the Summit Northwest Bracket Finals presented by Laris Motorsports Insurance. NAPA Auto Parts Raceway claimed the Team Championship with 33 points while having an impressive seven out of ten main event finalists. The host facility finished in second place with 30 points, followed by Nitro Motorsports Park with 17 points and with 4 points.
Following a test and tune session, the on-track action warmed up with the Fuel Factory Race of Champions, where the top representatives from each track faced off in a free event for the ultimate bragging rights. Marlin Chase from NAPA Auto Parts Raceway used a .006 reaction time to earn the Box class win over James Rutherford from Northern Lights. In the No Box class, Tony Wiebe turned a .029 starting line advantage into a win light for Nitro Motorsports Park beside Steve Breitkreuz from NAPA. Nitro nabbed another victory when Alicia Wiebe ran closer to her dial-in to get the win over Vinny Roy, who was representing Northern Lights in the Sportsman class. It was an all-Northern Lights and Svisdahl family final round as Connor had a better light and ran closer to the dial-in to secure his Junior Dragster win over Jayden. Darren Gavin from NAPA Auto Parts Raceway earned the Fuel Factory Race of Champions win in the Motorcycle class.
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James Rutherford – WDRA 2025 Box Champion
Marlin Chase – WDRA 2025 No Box Champion
Saturday’s Main Event would not only fill the racer’s pockets with cash and the WDRA Champion card as they hoist the WDRA Rod trophy into the air but also send eligible winners to the WDRA Summit World Championships presented by SunCoast Performance next month. James Rutherford (Northern Lights) redeemed his recent runner-up finish by becoming the Box Champion when his .015 total package left Northwest Regional’s Clint Dalla Vecchia, who was the champion at last year’s event. NAPA had two representatives in the final round when Jesse Stevens went .003 red beside Andy Closkey, who was .008 green, to become the No Box Champion. Shawn Hagen ran dead on his 9.86 dial-in to earn the Sportsman Champion title over Cliff Rupertus, with both drivers hailing from NAPA Auto Parts Raceway. Both Junior Dragster drivers ran dead on their respective dial-ins, but Alina Morgan (Northern Lights) had the better reaction time to seal the deal over Nathan Prendergast (NAPA). Stop if you’ve heard this before, but two more NAPA racers squared off in the Motorcycle final round, where Darren Gavin earned his second victory of the weekend over Duane Vayro during a double breakout race.
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Alina Morgan – WDRA 2025 Junior Dragster Champion
The close racing action continued on Sunday with a Gamblers Race for every class aside from the two-wheel riders. Nitro Motorsports Park returned to the winner’s circle when Foji Dhanshaw earned the .002 margin of victory over Ethan Power (NAPA) in the Box class. It was a repeat of the Fuel Factory Race of Champions No Box final, except this time Steve Breitkreuz (NAPA) snagged the win over Tony Wiebe (Nitro). The .006 reaction time propelled Dallen Patterson from Northern Lights into the Sportsman winner’s circle over Rebecca Standeven from Nitro. Only one thousandth separated the Junior Dragster pair on the starting line, but Kali Wiebe (Nitro) ran closer to the dial-in to secure the win over Alina Morgan from Northern Lights.
Dallen Patterson – WDRA 2024 No Box Champion
Darren Gavin – WDRA 2025 Motorcycle Champion
There was no shortage of beautiful rides as Lane DeRose (Northern Lights) earned the Best Appearing Open Bodied car award, Dave Kowalski (Northern Lights) was wheeling the Best Appearing Full Bodied car, and Zach Standeven (Nitro) took home the Best Appearing Junior Dragster award. Just like the fuel, Nitro Motorsports Park kept everyone going all weekend and secured the Best Team Spirit award. Northern Lights Raceway mirrored its namesake’s aura by winning the Best Appearing Team, and NAPA Auto Parts Raceway had a full supply of materials to become the Best Decorated Grandstand.
