FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hentges, Austin gain valuable points in championship chase

Yakima, Wash. -- On the final day of competition from Renegade Raceways, Federal-Mogul Dragster driver Mark Hentges and Federal-Mogul Funny Car driver Pat Austin took home the top honors.

In a race that might prove to be critical in the chase for the NHRA Federal-Mogul Dragster championship, Hentges, of Federal Way, Wash., took out defending Federal-Mogul Dragster champion Rick Santos, of Brentwood, Calif. Clocking a 5.555-second pass at 254.23, Hentges blistered by Santos, who recorded an 8.521 at 96.05 mph.

"It looked to me like Rick shook pretty hard and, about half-track, threw off the [blower] belt," Hentges said. "Luckily, I was able to go around him and get the win. This was a very important win for us."

Santos, who has won the NHRA Federal-Mogul Dragster national title for the past four years, is Hentges' closest competitor in the battle for the 2001 championship.

In Federal-Mogul Funny Car, defending NHRA Northwest Division champion Pat Austin, of Tacoma, Wash., faced off against his uncle, Bucky Austin, of Fife, Wash. -- a sight which has become rather common on the NHRA Northwest Division circuit. So far this year, Pat and Bucky have met twice in Northwest Division finals, with each taking one win. This time it would be Pat getting the victory with a 5.934-second pass at 243.57 mph to Bucky's 6.044-second run at 239.42 mph.

Winners in other categories were Brian Hyerstay (Eugene, Ore.) in Comp; Stewart Everest (Burlington, Wash.) in Super Stock; Jody Lang (Puyallup, Wash.) in Stock; Ty Anderson (Vancouver, Wash.) in Super Comp; Todd Sims (Puyallup, Wash.) in Super Gas; and Jim Buell (Federal Way, Wash.) in Super Street.

Following are final results from the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event at Renegade Raceways in Yakima, Wash.:

FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER
Round 1
Rick Santos, Brentwood, Calif., 5.551 seconds, 253.16 mph def. Mike Cofini (broke)
Duane Shields, Las Vegas, Nev., 5.768, 245.23 def. Bernie Plourd, Covington, Wash., 6.464, 177.37
Mark Hentges, Federal Way, Wash., 5.603, 251.11 def. Kim Parker, Graham, Wash., 13.595, 58.16
Brian Hough, Eugene, Ore., 5.576, 252.73 def. Bill Edwards Jr., Sumas, Wash., 7.566, 122.21
Semifinals
Rick Santos, 5.548, 254.88 def. Brian Hough, 5.663, 251.95
Mark Hentges, 5.628, 251.60 def. Duane Shields, 6.343, 171.36
Final
Mark Hentges, 5.555, 254.23 def. Rick Santos, 8.521, 96.05

FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR
Round 1
Pat Austin, Tacoma, Wash., '01 Firebird, 6.075 seconds, 241.15 mph def. BYE
Roger Bateman, Calgary, Alberta, '97 Firebird, 6.081, 235.78 def. Randy Parker, Graham, Wash.,'99 Avenger, 10.354, 87.16
Bucky Austin, Fife, Wash., '01 Camaro, 6.035, 239.68 def. Dave Germain, Toledo, Wash., '99 Avenger, 6.627, 208.71
Matt Goss, Junction City, Ore., 6.333, 224.43 def. Bob Hurley, Ledger, Mont., '95 Mustang, 6.488, 212.96
Semifinals
Pat Austin, 5.978, 240.32 def. Matt Goss, 7.956, 121.52
Bucky Austin, 6.020, 239.17 def. Roger Bateman, 6.043, 236.28
Final
Pat Austin 5.934, 243.57 def. Bucky Austin 6.044, 239.42

COMP
Brian Hyerstay, Eugene, Ore., G/D, '97 Dragster, 9.425 seconds, 132.68 mph def. Andy Manna Jr., Laguna Nigel, Calif., D/EA, '90 Trans Am, 8.457, 157.92

SUPER STOCK
Stewart Everest, Burlington, Wash., GT/AA, '84 Camaro, 10.072 seconds, 133.13 mph def. Mark Faul, Tacoma Wash., GT/IA, '98 Grand Am, 10.967, 118.70

STOCK
Jody Lang, Puyallup, Wash., M/SA, '79 Malibu, 12.930 seconds, 96.50 mph def. Mark Faul, Tacoma, Wash. J/SA, '90 Camaro, 12.213, 112.93

SUPER COMP
Ty Anderson, Vancouver, Wash., '97 Yancer, 8.930, 160.94 def. Bill Evans, New Westminster, British Columbia, '94 H&H, 8.909, 152.85

SUPER GAS
Todd Sims, Puyallup, Wash., '76 Vega, 9.894, 149.10 def. Don Rhyne, Boring Ore., '27 Roadster, 9.878, 151.10

SUPER STREET
Jim Buell, Federal Way, Wash., '68 Camaro, 10.909, 119.77 def. Tony Brothers, Graham, Wash., '68 Cougar, 10.881, 133.70

TOP COMP
Tom Elliot, Mountain Home, Idaho, '99 Soran, 7.528, 174.55 def. Richard Proebstel, Portland, Ore., '01 Chevy S-10, 7.729, 170.97

SUPER PRO
Joe Payne, Yakima, Wash., '95 Chevy, 11.670, 114.50 def. Jamie Drzayich, Auburn, Wash., '79 Seville, 11.622, 115.69

SPORTSMAN MOTORCYCLE
Mike Fordice, Woodburn Ore., '84 Suzuki, 9.270, 140.71 def. Danny Partridge, Kennewick, Wash., '89 Suzuki, 8.778, 150.47

JR. DRAGSTER
Julianne Mellof, Maple Ridge, British Columbia, 8.824, 73.00 def. Stephanie Parker, Graham, Wash., 13.907, 44.59

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Santos, Austin top Friday qualifying in Yakima

Yakima, Wash. -- In the final rounds of qualifying at Renegade Raceways, defending NHRA Federal-Mogul Dragster champion Rick Santos and defending Northwest Division Federal-Mogul Funny Car champion Pat Austin lead their respective fields after three rounds of qualifying.

In Federal-Mogul Dragster, Santos, of Brentwood, Calif., took the top spot with a 5.476-second pass at 256.17 mph. Coming in just behind Santos in the second spot is Duane Shields, of Las Vegas, Nev. Shields ran 5.488 seconds at 258.32 mph.

Austin, of Tacoma, Wash., stunned the field with an impressive 5.863-second run at 245.23 mph to capture the top spot in Federal-Mogul Funny Car. In the No. 2 spot is Roger Bateman, of Calgary, Alta. Bateman ran a 6.004-second pass at 237.52 mph to capture the second spot.

Top qualifiers in other classes are Brian Hyerstay, of Eugene, Ore, in Comp; Bill Blakeney, of Bell, Calif., in Super Stock; and Tommy Gaynor, of Vancouver, Wash., in Stock.

Gates open tomorrow at 9 am. Eliminations begin Saturday at 2 p.m. for Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Gas, Super Comp and Super Street. Federal-Mogul Funny Car and Federal-Mogul Dragster eliminations begin at 5 p.m.

Following are Friday's qualifying results from the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event at Renegade Raceways, and first-round pairings in Federal-Mogul Dragster and Federal-Mogul Funny Car:

FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER 
1.	Rick Santos, Brentwood, Calif., 5.476, 255.71 
2.	Duane Shields, Las Vegas, Nev., 5.488, 258.32 
3.	Mark Hentges, Federal Way, Wash., 5.496, 257.14 
4.	Brian Hough, Eugene, Ore., 5.542, 260.34 
5.	Bill Edwards Jr., Sumas, Wash., 5.780, 239.23 
6.	Kim Parker, Graham, Wash., 5.876, 239.68 
7.	Bernie Plourd, Covington, Wash., 6.119, 218.97 
8.	Mike Cofini, Spokane, Wash., 6.193, 226.01 
Not qualified: Greg Tacke, Great Falls, Mont., 6.266, 234.19 

First-round pairings 
1) Rick Santos, Brentwood, Calif., 5.476, 255.71 vs. 8) Mike Cofini, Spokane, Wash., 6.193, 226.01 
2) Duane Shields, Las Vegas, Nev., 5.488, 258.32 vs. 7) Bernie Plourd, Covington, Wash., 6.119, 218.97 
3) Mark Hentges, Federal Way, Wash., 5.496, 257.14 vs. 6) Kim Parker, Graham, Wash., 5.876, 239.68 
4) Brian Hough, Eugene, Ore., 5.542, 260.34  vs. 5) Bill Edwards Jr., Sumas, Wash., 5.780, 239.23 

FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR 
1.	Pat Austin, Tacoma, Wash., '01 Firebird, 5.863, 245.23 
2.	Roger Bateman, Calgary, Alta., '97 Firebird, 6.004, 238.53. 
3.	Bucky Austin, Fife, Wash., '01 Camaro, 6.017, 239.68 
4.	Matt Goss, Junction City, Ore., 6.379, 223.93 
5.	Bob Hurley, Ledger, Mont., '95 Mustang, 6.578, 215.36 
6.	Dave Germain, Toledo, Wash., '99 Avenger, 6.630, 209.01 
7.	Randy Parker, Graham, Wash.,'99 Avenger, 7.413, 137.97 

First-round pairings 
1) Pat Austin, Tacoma, Wash., '01 Firebird, 5.863, 245.23 vs. bye 
2) Roger Bateman, Calgary, Alta., '97 Firebird, 6.004, 238.53 vs. 7) Randy Parker, Graham, Wash.,'99 Avenger, 7.413, 137.97
3) Bucky Austin, Fife, Wash., '01 Camaro, 6.017, 239.68 vs. 6) Dave Germain, Toledo, Wash., '99 Avenger, 6.630, 209.01 
4) Matt Goss, Junction City, Ore., 6.379, 223.93 vs. 5) Bob Hurley, Ledger, Mont., '95 Mustang, 6.578, 215.36 

COMP 
1.	Brian Hyerstay, Eugene, Ore., G/D, '97 Dragster, 9.376, -0.684 (under index) 
2.	Andy Manna Jr., Laguna Nigel, Calif., D/EA, '90 Trans Am, 8.464, -0.566 
3.	Adam Bowdish, Lake Oswego, Ore., C/SM, '89 Trans Am, 9.048, -0.562 
4.	Jeff Lane, North Bend, Wash., B/SR, '34 Chevrolet, 8.189, -0.561 
5.	Mike Pessemier, Graham, Wash., B/D, '99 Dragster, 6.960, -0.530 
6.	Michele Costa, Freehold, N.J., G/D, '01 Dragster, 9.508, -0.552 
7.	Jim Warter, Fox Island, Wash., B/SM, 8.827, -0.513 
8.	Clint Sallee, Glendive, Mont., '01 Dragster, B/D, 6.983, -0.507 
9.	Tom Tucker, Bend, Ore., '98 Lumina, E/A, 8.411, -0.489 
10.	Bruce Perkin, Maple Ridge, B.C., '87 Trans Am, C/SM, 9.142, -0.468 
SUPER STOCK 
1.	Bill Blakeney, Bell, Calif., '68 Camaro, SS/HA, 10.044 seconds, -0.856(under index) 
2.	Art Congdon, Calgary, Alta., '91 Calais, GT/CA, 9.912, -0.788 
3.	Jeff Lane, North Bend, Wash., '01 Grand Am, SS/CM, 9.144, -0.756 
4.	Rich Pinoski, Sacramento, Calif., '66 Nova, SS/LA, 11.003, -0.747 
5.	Byron Setters, Red Deer, Alta., '94 Camaro, GT/DA, 10.060, -0.740 
6.	Bill Stewart, Marysville, Wash., '74 Barracuda, SS/KA, 10.815, 0.735 
7.	Alan Falcone, Normandy Park, Wash., '91 Calais, GT/CA, 9.972, -0.728 
8.	James Caughlin, Woodburn, Ore., '78 Pinto, SS/CC, 12.527, -0.723 
9.	Don Thomas, Spruce Grove, Alta, '89 Camaro, GT/EA, 10.286,-0.664 
10.	Rick Pike, Langley, B.C., '56 Chevrolet, SS/NA, 11.799, -0.651 
STOCK 
1.	Tommy Gaynor, Vancouver, Wash., '96 Firebird, E/SA, 10.929 seconds, -1.071 under index 
2.	Gary Harper, San Jose, Calif., '81 Dodge, ET/SA, 12.368, -0.932 
3.	Don Elgin, Des Moines, Wash., '74 Grand Am, N/SA, 12.392, -0908 
4.	Michael Lewis, Sumner, Wash., '86 Camaro, K/SA, 12.045, -0.905 
5.	Tim Lisson, Canby, Ore., '72 Camaro, H/SA, 11.561, -0.889 
6.	Sean Cour, Brush Prairie, Wash., '97 Camaro, E/SA, 11.115, -0.885 
7.	Janis Leatherman, Moses Lake, Wash., '69 Nova, I/SA, 11.759, -0.841 
8.	Bill Kost, Renton, Wash., '77 Cutlass, L/SA, 12.171, -0.829 
9.	Jackie Alley, Eagle, Idaho., '69 Camaro, F/SA, 11.354, 0.796 
10.	 Stan Hawes, Gresham, Ore., '69 El Camino, H/SA, 11.656, -0.794