Inaugural Summer Showdown Sizzles at Woodburn Dragstrip; Nass, Roberson, Kelly and Clark Claim Victory

Sean Clark, Steve Kelly, Henry Roberson, and Stephanie Nass captured wins at the Woodburn Dragstrip Inaugural Summer Showdown.

WOODBURN, OR- Woodburn Dragstrip hosted the Inaugural Summer Showdown on September 6 & 7 in Woodburn, Oregon and by all accounts, it was a resounding success. With limited time on the track schedule, the event played out over Friday and Saturday with 32-car shootouts in Electronics and Non-Electronics on Friday with the main events on Saturday for $10K to win Electronics and $5K to win Non-Electronics. The event was also somewhat historic as it was the first time that Woodburn Dragstrip has ever hosted a stand-alone big money bracket race.

Up against a Wally race just to the North, an NHRA National Open within a day’s drive and another $10K race just a few hours down the road, (and just a week after the Division 6 ET Finals and Labor Day weekend) it seemed like the odds may have been stacked against the Woodburn crew to successfully launch a new event. Those worries evaporated on Friday morning when the race team saw trailers stacked at the gate all the way out onto the road. Racers from across the Pacific Northwest and California claimed their spots and the action got underway after a 3-hour open test session for the racers.

Friday Gamblers

With plenty of time runs under their belt, and temperatures soaring into the mid-90s, the racers dialed ‘em up for the sold out Gamblers. The Summer Showdown was underway and the racers were throwing down from the very first pair. Round by round, the field was cut in half until the stage was set for the finals.

In Non-Electronics it was Sean Clark in his super clean Malibu facing off against Rick Sales and his gorgeous GMC pickup. Sales had been nasty on the tree all afternoon and Sean had been driving the stripe like a machine, having just taken the semifinal stripe by .0003. With a ten-thousandths advantage at the hit in the final, Clark kept it tight to take .002 and put it dead-7 for the win.

In Electronics, it was a battle between two local hitters. The young gun Jiovanni Collecchi in his El Camino and former World Champ Steve Kelly in his wheelstanding 67 Camaro. It was absolutely filthy up front with .002 between them as they headed for the stripe. They both dropped the nose but Kelly scrubbed just the right amount to squeeze ahead of Collecchi for an .018 stripe to put it dead-on-zero and .011 total to claim the custom trophy and the bragging rights.

After it was all over, a big crowd headed over to a practice tree race at Jimmy’s Wheelie Bar and the fun continued well into the night.

Saturday Main Events

As cars continued to pull through the gates, racers scrambled to the tower to grab their double entries and their lane assignments. Things ran smoothly, the energy was high and the air was thick with anticipation (and humidity and wildfire smoke). The fields were split and each racer got two time hits for every entry.

Non-Electronics kicked things off and the racers came out swinging, once again. This time, taking shots they might not have otherwise taken with the safety of a true buyback straight into round 2. The field eclipsed the minimum car count for the purse guarantee and the chase was on for $5,000. As the afternoon turned to early evening, there were just two left. Local racer Frank Pettit had quietly worked his way through the rounds to bring his Malibu to the finals and face Henry Roberson. Henry and his pops drove through the night on Friday from California to make Saturday’s main event and Henry went to work in typical fashion to earn his spot in the final. Pettit had the advantage on the hit by .008 but took a little too much at the stripe as Roberson chopped the throttle and brushed the brakes. Pettit was .002 under the dial taking a .023 stripe and the electricity came on for Henry. This was Roberson’s first win at Woodburn.

The attention then shifted to Electronics. The field came up just shy of the minimum count but they were still racing for $7,500 to win. At 11 cars, Don Sefton and Logan Scrivner were still doubled and making a bid to run themselves in the final. At 4 cars, Scrivner was still doubled but Stephanie “Bustin” Nass was waiting for him. Nass had been solid as a rock all day long and may as well have painted her 5.00 dial on the side of her Tabor Machine-powered dragster and she turned on the winlight to close the door on Scrivner. Logan was able to work his way through the other side, however, and made his way into the final round for a rematch against Nass. As the tree fired, Nass grabbed a .019 advantage from Scrivner and never let go. Stephanie crossed the line .026 ahead of Scrivner to post a 5.013 on the 5.00 dial. Both racers walked away with a nice payday but Stephanie got the big check and the custom trophy.

The event wasn’t perfect, but it was really, really good. Over $4,000 in prizes were handed out throughout the weekend and the buzz around the pits was overwhelmingly positive. Drag Champ Pro was on board all weekend as a partner and gained two new members in Alan Snyder and Henry Roberson thanks to the prize pot! The Woodburn team is already looking at the schedule for 2025 and brainstorming additions and improvements to the format. It’s safe to say that big money bracket racing has a home in the Pacific Northwest.

Congratulations to Sean Clark, Steve Kelly, Henry Roberson and Stephanie Nass for your wins at the Inaugural Summer Showdown!

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