Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke joined other dignitaries for a fast ride down the quarter-mile strip – courtesy of the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School – at Pacific Raceways on Wednesday afternoon.
Cooke got a ride in a super comp dragster driven by NHRA Funny Car pro “Fast” Jack Beckman.
The event – the inaugural Pacific Raceways Rainier Cup – was a prelude to this weekend’s 25th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals Presented by Super Start Batteries at the historic Kent track.
Qualifying begins Friday, with racing Saturday and Sunday. The entire event will be broadcast on ESPN2. Gates open at Pacific Raceways each day at 7:30 a.m.
Wednesday’s invite-only race featured guest rides in a two-seat, 160-mile-per-hour super comp dragster and a super gas car from the Hawley school.
In conjunction with Operation Ward 57, the event honored a wounded soldier from Joint Base Lewis-McCord in Tacoma.
Epic Seats, Griot’s Garage, Columbia River Advisors, Parker Paint, AAA Washington, Scarff Ford, and Roundup Media sponsored the event.
Pacific Raceways is the 15th stop on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, the only major auto racing series to run in the Pacific Northwest. It is also the third race in a grueling three-week western swing that included stops in Denver and Sonoma, Calif.
The Full Throttle race features professional classes of Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and six sportsman categories.
To learn more, visit www.pacificraceways.com or www.nhra.com.
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