Drag Illustrated Issue 140, January 2019 | Page 85

THE CHAMPIONS ISSUE NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster Joey Severance J oey Severance’s demeanor doesn’t quite match up with his accom- plishments. Soft-spoken and incredibly humble, the Woodburn, Oregon, resident and track owner/manager of Woodburn Dragstrip doesn’t come across as a savage competitor. He lets his scorecard do the talking. In 2018, Severance locked down a fourth consecutive championship as he piloted the Jim and Annie Whiteley-backed J&A Service blown Top Alcohol Dragster to four national event wins, two regional victories, and a total of nine final rounds on the season in NHRA’s Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. “We’ve been lucky and blessed, but we also had a lot of help,” says Severance, who became just the fourth driver in class history to win four championships in a row. Although it ended well for Severance, the season was not one of total dominance. In fact, it got off to a troubled start with a first-round loss at the Winternationals, while fellow Division 6 racer Shawn Cowie was victorious at the season-opener. The two squared off in the Phoenix divisional final soon after, and Cowie took the win, setting the tone for a familiar season-long rivalry. Severance was in the game after a successful pair of weekends at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he won the national event and then triumphed at the divisional seven days later. Stars and skills were aligned for J&A Service team at Route 66 Raceway in Chicago. There, Severance socked away the JEGS Allstars victory on Saturday and followed up with a main- event win on Sunday for his first double. He was No. 1 qualifier with low elapsed time of each round en route to the trophy at the di- vision race at Bandimere Speedway, was runner-up at the Seattle national, and defeated Cowie in the semifinals before winning the national at Texas Motorplex. Invigorated with the realization that they had a shot, the crew hauled east for a runner-up at the Carolina Nationals, then sewed up the championship by winning the Las Vegas national. “This is a family deal, and I’m happy they were there with me,” adds Severance, referring to parents Joe and Sandy, wife Cherie, and daughters Preslie and Kinzley. “It makes it worth it. Win or lose, you’re with your family, and that’s a great thing. Winning is just the extra icing on top.” – KELLY WADE DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI NHRA Factory Stock Showdown Leah Pritchett D riving the Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak for Don Schumacher Racing, Leah Pritch- ett clinched the 2018 NHRA Factory Stock Showdown cham- pionship during the NHRA Fall- Nationals near Dallas. She then raced to her third consecutive win of the season, her first full year in the class. The NHRA Factory Stock Showdown title is the third for Pritchett, who also captured the 2000-2001 Jr. Dragster Division 7 champion- ships and the 2010 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series Championship in the Nostalgia Funny Car class. Pritchett entered competition at the Texas Motorplex facility coming off victories at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in early September and at the NHRA Midwest Nationals, where she be- came the first NHRA driver in the Factory Stock Showdown class to make a pass in the seven-sec- ond range. “This championship ranks at the top of the list,” Pritchett says. “I might be holding this Wally right now, but 100 percent this is Dodge and Mopar and the technology they pour into this class. I just get to drive the car. For (crew chief ) Kevin Helms, Terry Snyder, all of Don Schumacher Racing, this is absolutely incredible. “We came in with a chance to win the cham- pionship, but our mentality was one round, one burnout, one line at a time and that’s what it took, so thank you to everyone that made this happen. I know I probably speak for the whole class, but a huge thank you to SAM Tech for sponsoring the Factory Stock Showdown Series. It’s really be- come one of the most exciting, grassroots classes out here. I get to hold it, but this Wally is defi- nitely going home to Mopar.” - DARREN JACOBS DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DENNIS DIMITROV ASPHALT WARS OPEN BODY // FRANK ARAGONA JR. NHRA COMPETITION ELIMINATOR Ja n u a r y 2 0 1 9 DragIllustrated.com | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | 85