Team News and Archived Stories:
Clint Thompson: 2007 in Review
Clint Thompson began the year with qualifying third at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona. He then lasted until the second round where he fell victim to fellow Oregon racer, Brian Hough. Next it was on to Vegas where Thompson just made the tough field but lost in the first round to national powerhouse Jay Payne. The next weekend he competed in a divisional event also held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This time, Thompson showed some improvement but still had an early exit.

From the Southwest it was on to Canada where Thompson scored his first big win with Dutch Bros backing, defending his victory at this race last year.. Thompson qualified third and reached the finals where he dispatched number one qualifier Brian Hough convincingly. Next, it was on to Seattle where heavy rain spoiled much of the show, but the race still took place. Thompson qualified second but during eliminations was unable to replicate his success in Mission. Next, it was on to his home track, Champion Raceway in Medford where the "Dutch Mafia Hit Man" posted a semifinal finish. Thompson then headed north to the NHRA divisional event in Woodburn which is one of the toughest places to win. Thompson qualified third but spun the tire at the start and had to peddle the car in the first round against red-hot Hank Coolidge, of Sunburst Montana. While Thompson was disappointed, he was still in good spirits as the car continues to qualify in the top half of the field.

Thompson's patience for a win was rewarded two weeks later in Seattle where he won the Schucks Auto Supply NHRA Nationals. In the final round, Thompson faced number two qualifier, Dennis Taylor. At the hit, Taylor managed to get the lead to about half track but Thompson was able to turn on the horsepower and put the "cement clogs" on Taylor with a 5.65 at 253 MPH to collect his second Seattle national event title. Thompson then went on to Sonoma in hope of a second national event victory in as many weeks but his chance for back to back wins were dashed by smoking the tires in the first round.

Thompson then went to Montana to compete at the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Yellow Stone Dragstrip, the final Division 6 race of the year. Thompson qualified second but had ignition troubles in the first round, ending his day early. Thompson finished third over all in the NHRA Lucas Oil Divisional Series for Division 6, the Northwest region.

Next, it was on to Dallas for a first time appearance at the Texas Motorplex. Thompson qualified fourteenth and made it to the second round where ignition problems again slowed the car and he narrowly lost to Sean Bellemeur. Finally, it was on to Pomona where Thompson wrapped up the season in style by qualifying third. After taking low ET of the first round, Thompson was beaten in the quarter finals by Jay Payne in one of the closest races of the day. Thompson finished 13th in the National points standings, his best finish to date.

Cascade/Dutch Bros Team Ends Year with a Great Showing at NHRA Auto Club Finals

Pomona- Clint Thompson came into the NHRA Auto Club Finals looking for his second national event win of the year at a venue where he has never won at before: Pomona. While a big Pomona win still eludes him for yet another season, Thompson can be happy throughout the off season with how well his team performed at the final race of the year.

When Thompson pulled his Dutch Bros. Coffee / Cascade Auto Group Monte Carlo into the water box, the 5.81 bump spot on the scoreboard was his previous time. With a couple cars behind him that could still bump him out of the show, it was time to step up, and step up he did, Thompson pulled a rabbit out of his hat by grabbing third with a sizzling 5.63 at 256 MPH. This set up a first round paring with none other than fellow Division 6 racer Hank Coolidge driving a Pontiac Firebird. At the hit, Thompson almost cut it too close with a perfect .000 light. Coolidge had a respectable 0.072 reaction time but was unable to catch up to Thompson who was long gone with low ET of the round. At the stripe Thompson recorded a 5.66 at 257 MPH to Coolidge's valiant 5.79 at 247 MPH.

Thompson's low ET in the first round earned him lane choice against Jay Payne in the second round. This time Thompson was second out of the gate with an 0.085 reaction time to Payne's quicker 0.051. Payne never looked back and recorded a 5.64 at 258 MPH to end Thompson's season a couple of rounds to early. Thompson still ran a respectable 5.72 at 255 MPH but it wasn't enough to get by the Valvoline team.

After the race, Thompson was still upbeat and had this to say about about the difficult loss. "It's an honor to be here competing against some of the best teams in the business" Thompson said, "Jay is a great racer and tough to beat." "The car shook the tires in low gear with the same setup that had been smooth and fast the previous two runs, It just goes to show how hard it is to win one of these things, hats off to Jay and his team, they did a great job this weekend". " I would like to thank my sponsors, Dutch Bros. Coffee, Cascade Auto Group, RPMOil.com, and RPM Chassis Inc. for their support this season, and special thanks to my crew for the excellent job they do ev ery race preparing the car"

Thompson and his Cascade Auto Group/Dutch Bros funny car team will be working hard over the winter to find a little more horsepower but still proved this year they can run with anybody. They will be ready to go for the NHRA Winternationals when Thompson will get yet another shot at historic Pomona quarter mile.

Cascade Team Makes Rare Texas Appearence
Oregon racer Clint Thompson Surprised a lot of Texas Top Alcohol fans by showing up unexpectedly for the NHRA O'Reilly Fall Nationals in Dallas. This was Thompson's first ever appearance at the famed Texas Motorplex just outside of Dallas.

Thompson, who last raced in Acton Montana in August, came to the Lone Star State planning to repeat his mid summer performance streak where he won the Schucks NHRA Nationals in Seattle. Thompson made the trip to Texas worthwhile by qualifying 14th out of 25 floppers trying to get in to a very tough 16 car field. Thompson posted a decent 5.75 at 252 MPH to make the show.

In the first round Thompson faced no. 3 qualifier Steve Harker who qualified third with a 5.64. At the start, Harker red lit giving the automatic win to Thompson, who had an .069 light and recorded a 5.70 ET at 254 MPH, which was an improvement from his 5.75 qualifying time.

In the second stanza, Thompson faced Sean Bellemeur, from Newport Beach CA. At the hit, Thompson who didn't have lane choice, shook the tires right off the starting line which was all it took to give Bellemeur the win. Bellemeur posted a 5.62 at 255 MPH with an .037 reaction time to Thompson's 5.80 at 254 MPH, with a 048 reaction time.

Thompson will wrap up the season at the NHRA Finals in Pomona California on November 1-4.

Thompson Shows Improvement at Yellowstone
Clint Thompson entered the Fourth Annual Summer Championships at Yellowstone Dragstrip in Acton Montana wanting to get back to his winning ways. After all, Thompson scored his first national event win of the season less than a month ago in Seattle, but then struggled a little bit in Sonoma. With a good car and a great crew, Thompson was confident that he would have everything turned around in Montana.

With a surprising field full of good national event caliber cars, Thompson who drives the Cascade Auto Group - Dutch Bros. Monte Carlo, knew that he had to be on his game. In qualifying he had everything going his way by qualifying second as he pulled off a 5.90 at 246 MPH on a tricky track to qualify second in a field that included such notables as Cy Chesterman, Brian Hough and even Dennis Taylor.

As the second qualifier, Thompson drew Sean O'Bannon who qualified seventh for the first round. At the hit Thompson had a great 0.008 reaction time to O'Bannon's 0.089. Both cars went into shake but drove through it. At mid track, O'Bannon pulled away and Thompson lifted prior to the finish line and recorded a 6.266 199.02 to O'Bannon's 6.033 236.63.

Thompson will return to Oregon and will match race at Woodburn Dragstrip, September 15 and 16.

Thompson's Bid to Win Two in a Row Goes up in Smoke
After winning the Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals convincingly, Clint Thompson was feeling the momentum needed to win the Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals in Sonoma, which is the final race in NHRA's grueling Western Swing and a race at which Thompson entered as the defending champion. A sweep of the two back-to-back races would put Thompson deep in the points race and would be the highlight of his successful career.

After qualifying seventh with a 5.62 at 257 MPH in a Top Alcohol Funny Car field that ended up being the quickest field of all time, Thompson knew he was on the right track. "We qualified well but there were several cars running in the 5.50's, so when we got ready for the final qualifying session, I set the car up to try to chase the 5.50 guys and ended up spinning the tires hard in low gear and slowing to a 5.67. I figured I could soften it up a bit and it would go right down there later in round one" Thompson said.

When it came time for the first round, Thompson once again faced rival Brian Hough. "We knew we had to be aggressive to beat Brian, but we got a little to greedy and gave the car to much power. I made some adjustments to keep the tires from spinning but it wasn't enough." As a result, Thompson went out twenty feet and then went up in smoke. Meanwhile, Hough was long gone with a 5.62 and handed Thompson a first round loss.

After the race Thompson summed up the event this way: "It was typical drag racing, you always want to go faster so it's hard to back these cars down. It was the quickest field in history and we qualified in the top half so we're happy about that. I appreciate the help from my crew Danette, Tyler, Vic, and Kelly, and our great sponsors Dutch Bros Coffee, Cascade Auto Group, RPM Chassis, and RPMoil.com. I feel bad that we let them down but we'll do better here next week."

Clint Scores Giant Win In Seattle!
Clint Thompson driver of the Cascade Auto Group/Dutch Bros. Monte Carlo confidently returned to Pacific Raceway, the track that has already yielded him two big wins in the last couple of seasons. This time Thompson was loaded for bear after an early round exit at Woodburn Dragstrip's NHRA Divisional just two weeks before. " I'm very confident that we are going to do real well" Thompson commented prior to the start of the 20th annual Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals:
.
With record on-and-off rain fall, qualifying was reduced in all categories to just one hit and Thomspon made the most out of it by qualifying fifth with a decent 5.71 at 251 MPH. In the first round Thompson was paired up with number 12 qualifier Tim Nemeth of Chilliwack BC. At the green, both cars left together but Thompson was able to pull away with an impressive win with a 5.68 at 254 MPH to Nemeth's 5.80 at 244 MPH.

In round two, Thompson took on Ken Kraus who beat upcoming driver Alexis DeJoria in the first round. Kraus, continued to be dangerous by getting out on Thompson first with an 0.057 reaction time to Thompson's 0.096. But Thompson relied on good ol' horsepower to make up for Kraus' lead and nailed him at the finish line with a 5.64 at 254 MPH to Kraus' 5.72 at 249 MPH.

The rounds just kept getting tougher and this time after another rain delay it was a date with Oregon rival Brian Hough. "This was the key race as Brian has been running real well and he's a good leaver. I knew I had better be on my game" Thompson said. At the light Hough, got off to another good start with a 0.100 reaction time as Thompson had to again play catch up with a 0.118 reaction time. But luck began to unravel for Hough as he was forced to pedal. Meanwhile Thompson was able to rely on his consistency to beat Hough to the stripe with another clean pass. Thompson was once again able to run quicker than his previous run with a 5.62 at 253 MPH to Hough's 5.88 to earn a trip to the final round.

In the Final, Thompson faced number two qualifier, Dennis Taylor in the "Way Cool" Plumbing Concepts Camaro. At the hit, Taylor managed to get the lead with his Ora Vasquez tuned entry to about half track but once again Thompson was able to turn on the horsepower and get around Taylor with a 5.65 at 253 MPH to collect his second Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals title. Taylor slowed down to a 5.72 at 251 MPH but was a valiant effort.

"This is a big win for us and a great win for Dutch Bros. Taylor's a tough competitor especially with Ora tuning their car. But our car ran consistently well all day and that's how we were get the win. There were no freebees as we had to earn every round. The crew did a fantastic job today, we got pushed on time between rounds because of the rain. Danette, Tyler, Kelly and Vic really made it happen" Thompson said.

Thompson Welcomes Dutch Bros. as New Marketing Partner
Dutch Bros, one of the fastest growing coffee chains in the United States will now grow even faster with the help of Clint Thompson, the driver of the Cascade Auto Group / Thompson Racing Top Alcohol Funny Car. The likable driver from Klamath Falls Oregon, and the popular chain of drive thru coffee shops have entered into a sponsorship agreement effective immediately.

Dutch Bros., who already has some of most the creative marketing strategies in the industry, will rely on Thompson's unique 250 M.P.H. billboard to not only get the word out about the companies fabulous service and coffee, but to encourage entrepreneurs to take a look at the potential success that can be gained by opening a Dutch Bros. franchise.

Thompson, strongly believes the marketing partnership between Dutch Bros. and his race team is a winning combination.  "I believe in my heart that this is a great opportunity for both Dutch Bros. and Cascade Auto Group / Thompson Racing Top Alcohol Funny Car as they go so well together. We are already getting the word out about the success that can be accomplished by starting a Dutch Bros. franchise. And we're excited about where this sponsorship is going to lead our team. The people at Dutch Bros. are just great, they are all about having fun and feeling good, which is what Thompson Racing is all about as well. Their company motto says it best, 'It's all good!" Thompson said.

Based in Grants Pass, Oregon, the company with catchy names and images such as the "Dutch Mafia" looks to open 1000 outlets in the next five years alone. The company already has 105 stores in Oregon, Washington, and California. New stores are opening soon in Arizona, and franchises are available in 11 Western States. To learn more about Dutch Bros., go to their web site at www.DutchBros.com. For more information about Thompson Racing visit www.ClintThompsonRacing.com.

Clint has Good Outing in Woodburn
Woodburn OR - While winning the Woodburn stop of the NHRA Lucas Oil Series was Clint Thompson's first priority, an overall improvement in the car's performance at Woodburn and a great response from the fans about their new sponsor Dutch Bros. made this outing nearly as good as winning the event.

Thompson, who resides Klamath Falls, Oregon in the Southern end of the state, qualified his '06 Cascade Cevrolet Monte Carlo in the third spot with a respectable 5.85 at 247 MPH. This was one of Thompson's best performances ever at Woodburn.

In the first round, Thompson faced red-hot Hank Coolidge, of Sunburst Montana. Thompson had to pedal his car when he drifted toward the centerline. Coolidge never had to lift although he spun the tires as did Thompson at the start. Coolage got the win light with a 5.91 at 243 MPH to Thompson's 6.00 at 246 MPH. After the run Thompson and his crew went over to Coolidge's pit and helped him get ready for the semifinal round. "We like help our competition when the need held for the next round because that's what we like do" Thompson said.

Despite the early exit from the race, Thompson considered this weekend to be a good outing for the team and their new sponsor Dutch Bros. "We have had a lot of great feedback from the fans about Dutch Bros., especially here in Woodburn. The fans love Dutch Bros. Coffee and think this is a pretty cool deal. We have been giving out Dutch Bros, shirts and stickers all weekend and the fans really like it, especially in the morning when we were making Dutch Bros. coffee for everyone. The fans response to Dutch Bros. made this a great week end" Thompson said.

.
Thompson Falls in Semifinal Round at Home Track
Clint Thompson returned to his home track, Champion Raceway in Medford, Oregon, hoping to capture a "hometown" win that always seems to escape him when racing in front of friends, family, and associates from Cascade Auto Group. With a big win in Mission already under his belt, and new backing from Dutch Bros., hopes were high that this would be his year to win a Lucas Oil Race in front of the locals.

Clint qualified his '06 Monte Carlo in the fifth position by stopping the clock with a 6.021 at 241.63 MPH. In the first round he faced Dennis Taylor who is always a tough customer in the Plumbing Concepts Camaro. Taylor and Thompson left together at the start but it was Thompson who pulled away and scored the victory.

In the semifinal round, Thompson faced an upset minded Hank Coolage, who got around popular California racer Pete Swayne in round one. Coolage then pulled off another victory, this time over Thompson by getting a better reaction time with an 0.057 to Thompson 's 0.074. Both cars were side by side all the way down Broadway but Coolage pulled off the upset with a fine 5.92 to Thompson's very close 5.94.

Fortunately, Thomson won't have time to dwell on the loss too long as the Les Schwab Challenge is this coming weekend and is considered one of the biggest NHRA Divisional events in the country.

Team Gets Mixed Results in Seattle
Unless you made it to the finals, Seattle was one brutal race with track conditions that changed as often as the weather. In fact, the weather itself turned out to be much worse then anyone would have guessed as it often went from sun to rain to a near monsoon at times. But NHRA officials made up for the rain by giving racers a real good, sticky track surface on race day.

In qualifying it was the Clint Thompson and Brian Hough show as both racers ran extremely well in a side-by-side dual during the second round of qualifying. This one was worth the price of admission as the "Dutch Mafia Hit Man" nearly stole the number one spot with a good clean pass. But Hough edged Thompson out by one with a 5.64 to Thompson's close 5.65.

In round one, the success from his Mission win couldn't be replicated as Thompson spun the tires at the starting line and broke a Sprague and could only watch as opponent Randy Parker was able to get it done with a 6.31. "We didn't have a good enough race car as we needed more clutch. The track was good as the NHRA crew did a great job preparing the track and working to get it dry after all of the rainstorms" Thompson said right after the loss.

Thompson Encourages Oregon Fans to Attend Medford Event
Thompson returns to Medford, his home track for the NHRA Lucas Oil event at Champion Raceway June 29-30. "We have never won there and we hope this will be the year! We want to encourage our Southern Oregon fans to attend the race and root us on. We are also excited to race in front of our new sponsor Dutch Bros. and I bet we'll have plenty of stuff to give away" Thompson said. Champion Raceway is located in White City on the start of the Lake of the Woods Highway. Qualifying is planned for Friday with eliminatiuons Saturday night.

Thompson Wins Big in Mission
Clint Thompson had a great Memorial Day weekend by winning the Lordco Auto Parts BC Nationals at Mission Raceway, the first Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series race of the year to feature Top Alcohol cars. And what an opener it was for Thompson who was battling tire shake for much of the event.

Thompson qualified third with a 5.78 at 253 MPH, and faced Dave Germain from Toledo Washington in the first round. Unfortunately, Germain hurt an engine and was unable to make the call. After struggling in qualifying Thompson changed the set up prior to first round and realized it was the ignition causing the problem after he made the single. "We found our race car again" Thompson said.

In the second round Thompson faced Ken Kraus, the popular up and coming driver from Montana. Kraus had qualified second and Thompson knew this round wouldn't be easy. But Kraus slowed down from his 5.65 qualifier to run a 5.73. Thompson on the other hand, got a slight jump on Krause at the line and then it was lights out at the top end with Thompson recording a 5.66 at 255 MPH to go to the final round. "We were lucky to get the win because I short shifted due to all the shake I was having" Thompson concluded.

In the final, Thompson faced fellow Oregon driver Brian Hough who had qualified number one with a 5.61. "We were confident going into the final but we also knew we had our hands full and would have to be on our game at the starting line because Brian is a good leaver" Thompson said. This time it was Thompson's opponent that would have to drive through the shake. Thompson on the other hand, was on a good clean run and never looked back scoring the BC Nationals title with a 5.67 at 254 MPH. Hough, meanwhile made a race out of it and attempted to chase Thompson down with a 5.74 at 256 MPH. "What a great win and good way to begin the season! Thompson said while celebrating the win.

Next, the team will be returning to Woodburn Dragstrip for the Fire and Thunder race, June 9 and 10.


Thompson Shows Improvement at Lucas Event
Las Vegas - After a fairly expensive outing and learning experience at the national event the weekend prior, Clint Thompson chose to stick around for the Lucas Oil Series event and roll the dice once more. "We were working w ith some new parts at the national event that caused the tune up to change. We chased that last weekend and as a result not only did not run as well as we should have but experienced a fair amount of engine damage on two runs, causing us to have to swap motors between the final qualifier and the first round against Jay Payne. We did improve on each run including that round one match up but not quite enough as our 5.73 was not good enough to win" Thompson said.

Thomspon started off where he left off and came out of the trailer with a 5.71 which was ultimately good enough to qualify in the number 4 spot out of the twenty cars trying to make the tough eight car field. On the second attempt on Friday night in the coolest and best conditions of the weekend, a minor issue forced Thompson to shut the car off as a cylinder was not firing. Knowing that the car would not run well enough to improve with this problem, Thompson wisely chose to not make the run.

The final qualifying shot on Saturday afternoon presented the warmest conditions of the weekend thus far. On that run, Thompson had the second quickest pass of the round with a 5.75 pass after he had to short shift into low gear due to tire shake. The field was then set and the Cascade Chevrolet team qualified in the number four spot and would face Roger Bateman in the opening round.

Conditions for the first round changed rapidly as eliminations didn't get underway until almost 6 PM. About that time, the sun was starting to set which caused the track surface to cool and become very good. Las Vegas is known for it's traction and this time the track was a little too good causing the Cascade Chevrolet Monte Carlo to shake violently at about the hundred foot mark which enabled Bateman to take the win. "I quick shifted and pedaled it, and squared the car up, and set after Bateman but to no avail as we came up short at the finish line" Thompson recalled.

While a first round exit is never what a racer wants, Thompson believes he's leaving Vegas in much better shape then when he arrived two weeks ago. "The new parts are working well and the tune up is coming together. Look for some big numbers out of our car at the better tracks this summer as a result" Thompson said.

Thompson's next outing is the Woodburn Season Opener on May 19th. He will use the weekend to further refine the fuel system and test for the upcoming Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series race there in July.

Lady Luck Escapes Thompson in Vegas
Clint Thompson in the Cascade Chevrolet Monte Carlo went to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to recapture some of the luck he had at the last NHRA event he attended here in October when he went to the final round. But instead of hitting the Jackpot, Thompson suffered an early round exit. The good news was he made the show with a respectable 5.77 at 251 MPH to qualify 15th. Not bad when you consider that 26 cars were trying to get into the stout 16 car field.

In the first round, Thompson faced off with eventual winner Jay Payne in the Valvoline Camaro. Thompson got out in front of Payne thanks to an 0.069 reaction time to Payne's 0.113. Thompson stayed in front of Payne all the way to the 1000 foot mark when Payne managed to drive around him and get the win light with a 5.67 ET to Thompson's close 5.73. The margin of victory was only 0.0247 seconds.

While Thompson was a little disappointed that he didn't get past the first round, he won't have to wait to long to try again as he will compete in next week's Lucas Oil event also being held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Thompson's Plan for Pomona Victory Falls Short
Pomona - For Top Alcohol Funny Car racer Clint Thompson, the Carquest NHRA Winternationals was going his way. The motivated car dealer from Klamath Falls Oregon was in the hunt, qualifying third with a respectable 5.57 at 257 MPH, after not making the show at the Auto Club Finals held just three months prior.

In the first round, Thompson got around division seven racer Doug Gordon with a 5.63 at 255 MPH over Gordon's 5.85 at 212 MPH. After qualifying well and securing the first round win on Saturday, Thompson looked to go deep in eliminations on Sunday and possibly go all the way to the Winner's Circle. Unfortunately for Thompson, things didn't go as planned when he met fellow Oregon racer Brian Hough in an unusual second round match-up.

First, Hough, red lit handing the race automatically to Thompson. Unfortunately for Thompson, he crossed the centerline handing the race back to Hough. According to NHRA's "first or worst" rule, crossing the centerline is a worse infraction then red lighting so Hough was declared the winner.Even though Clint was on the losing end he still had great things to say about his first Winternationals "Wow! what a weekend. we proved we can run with the big dogs with our 5.57 qualifier, and the car was on a low 5.60 run when i crossed the line. I got distracted when Hough redlit and was looking over at his car in disbelief that I could have been that late on the line. when i got the car into high gear and was right on the center line, i realized he may have redlighted, glanced up at my scoreboard, saw the win light flashing and immediately got off the throttle to try and save the run, unfortunately i was just a little too late and the damage was done." Thompson said.

While crossing the centerline after Hough redlit was indeed painful, Thompson's first visit to Pomona was productive. The car ran well enough to qualify third with over 26 cars trying to get in, and he made it out of the first round. "We are encouraged by the turnaround in the way the car is performing and learned quite a lot between testing the week prior in vegas and the runs in pomona. We are out to win the division championship and make our first appearance in the national top 10 this y ear. Based on our start I'm confident we can accomplish those goals, one thing is for sure, we won't stop trying. It's gonna be a great year! " Thompson said following the event.

Thompson's Best Season Comes to a Close in Pomona
After nearly conquering one of the toughest Top Alcohol fields in history just one week ago with a second place finish, Clint Thompson came up a little short as the team was unable to break into the tough 16 car field in Pomona. Thompson, ran a respectable 5.875 at 252.95 but surprisingly that still wasn't enough. More on Thompson Racing's great season here soon.

Clint Makes it to the Final Round in Vegas
After a brief break from racing, Clint Thompson's top alcohol funny car team headed to Las Vegas for the final NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event of the year. This event historically attracts the nation's best teams who are on their way to Pomona for the NHRA Auto Club Finals. This year was no different and the result was the quickest eight car field in NHRA history. Just to qualify for this race was an accomplishment. "We went to Vegas just hoping to qualify and were very fortunate to have done so. It was so tough, there were twenty-six cars there and we knew of at least eight that should have qualified but didn't." Clint Thompson said.

Thompson went in to the final round of qualifying in the eighth spot only to get bumped out by Larry Miner. Then it was do or die as Thompson laid down a 5.66 hale-mary pass to capture the no. 1 spot. It was a Clint Thompson signature move as he went from being behind the eight-ball to going all the way to the top of the field. But by the end of the final session Thompson was knocked down to third.

In the first round Thompson was paired up against Larry Miner who races a similar engine to Thompson's. Both cars left together and both spun the tire at the same place on the track. Thompson peddled it and took the win light with a 6.30 as Miner never regained momentum. "I was looking for him to come around me but he didn't" Thompson said.

In the second round luck played a big role in the race as Thompson's opponent, Brian Hough had redlit at the starting line. Thompson never saw the redlight and once again spun the tire with Hough way out in front of him and figured he had lost the race. "I got out of the car thinking I had lost when Brian told me I had won. I was shocked even as the crew came to get me. That was only the second time in my career that someone had ever redlit against me." Said Thompson.

That set up the final against popular Canadian racer Roger Bateman. "We backed down the transmission to calm the car down and eliminate the tire spin. Bateman had been running good all weekend so we wanted to be sure that we still had enough in the tune up to get around him." Thompson said. At the hit Thompson once again spun the tires, giving the win to Batement who ran a 5.82. "Had we known Bateman would only run a 5.82 I would have backed it down even more." Thompson said after the race. Thompson went on to thank his crew Tyler Teal, Kelly Mercer, and his wife Donette. "I have one of the smallest crews out there and they really worked hard for me in Vegas."

 TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR
Round 1
Steve Harker, Gainesville, Ga., '05 Monte Carlo, 5.645, 254.28 def.
8) Doug Gordon, Paso Robles, Calif., '02 Camaro, 5.963, 246.75

2) Brian Hough, Junction City, Ore., '02 Firebird, 5.649, 255.10 def.
7) Ron August Jr., Pleasanton, Calif., '02 Camaro, 5.881, 250.83

3) Clint Thompson, Klamath Falls, Ore., '05 Monte Carlo, 6.300, 246.75 def.
6) Larry Miner, Lodi, Calif., '05 Monte Carlo, 9.450, 127.52

4) Roger Bateman, Calgary, Alb., '02 Camaro, 5.738, 250.60 def.
5) Jay Payne, Claremont, Calif., '02 Camaro, 5.795, 254.42

Semifinals
Bateman, 5.692, 250.23 def. Harker, 5.744, 251.16
Thompson, 6.817, 166.89 def. Hough, foul

Final
Bateman, 5.828, 249.35 def. Thompson, 8.591, 109.40

Home Track Advantage Not Enough For Thompson
Medford OR- One of the NHRA Lucas Oil Series events that Clint Thompson looks forward to each season is the stop at Champion Raceway, his home track. It's the event where friends and family get a chance to see Clint in action. This race was also an important one as the NHRA Northwest Division title was on the line.

On Friday, Thompson qualified for what turned out to be one of the toughest fields all season as over fifteen funny cars were fighting to get into an eight car field. Thompson made the show with a 5.949 at 243 MPH which was good for the fifth position. Going into the first round, Thompson had his work cut out for him as he would face Brain Hough. This race had more on the line then just going on to the next round as it would determine the Northwest Division 6 Champion had Hough won, otherwise, Thompson would keep his title hopes alive. Unfortunately, Thompson had an electrical problem which forced him to abort the run giving Hough the Northwest Division title. "Brian ran a stout 5.75, which would have been tough to beat, but we sure would have rather gave him a race" admitted Thompson.

Rather than dwell on the painful loss, Thompson was back in Hough's pit helping him prepare for the next round. Brian's transmission had broken on the run against us, so myself and several members of other teams went and helped them fix it for the next round", said Thompson. "For some reason we just haven't had luck on our side at this race the past few  years, maybe next year will be our chance", he added. 

Clint woul d like to thank his friends and family as well as the local fans who came out to support him as well as Cascade Auto Group for thier support of his efforts. Next stop for the team is the Division 7 LODRS race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway the first weekend of November, then on to the season ending NHRA Finals at Pomona, CA.


Cascade Auto Group Car Goes to Final at Woodburn
Woodburn - Clint Thompson had a great run in the Chicago -style funny carshow to earn him a spot in the final round of the Fall Classic at Woodburn Dragstrip. In a Chicago style race each car runs twice with the two fastest coming back for the final. Unfortunately, the track couldn't hold the team's tune up in the final and Clint's chances went up in smoke.


Thompson makes it to the finals at the Fall Classic in Woodburn


Clint Thompson Top Qualifier at Fallon
Fallon Nevada - The Lucas Oil race at Top Gun Raceway was greeted by a very tricky and treacherous racing surface. In fact, the left lane has a bump at about 175 feet which causes havoc with the high horsepower cars. As the number one qualifier in the Top Alcohol funny car class, invading Division 6 racer Clint Thompson felt confident of having a good weekend after posting a 6.05 ET which was good for the number one spot and low ET of the event. On Saturday's final qualifying session, Thompson had the right lane which has four transitions between all the patches. He had no choice but to shut off early after severe tire shake.

In the first round of eliminations Clint received a bye run as there were only 7 cars in the field. On that run, Thompson posted a 6.44 ET but the car shook so hard it broke the transmission. Fortunately, the team was able to fix the transmission before facing Hank Coolidge in the semifinal round, but lost lane choice. It was a close race but Coolidge was able to get around Thompson with a slightly better ET as he got to the stripe first with a 6.15 to Thompson's close 6.18.

Thompson will pick up the pieces and head off to the third of four races in a row. "Not all was lost as we did run 243.02 M.P.H. to set the track speed record on our 6.05 qualifying run. Now we're off to Woodburn Dragstrip for the Fall Classic." Thompson said. Following Woodburn, the Cascade Chevrolet team moves on to their home track, Champion Raceway, near Medford for the final Division 6 LODRS race of the season.

Clint Thompson Takes on the best at Indy
Indianapolis - After scoring a big win at the Fram Autolite Nationals, Clint Thompson, driver of the Cascade Chevrolet Monte Carlo made his first trip to Indy from his home town in Klamath Falls Oregon. Thompson, who's become a major player in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class came to the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals to race the best in the business and perhaps bring a much coveted US Nationals "Wally" back home to Oregon.
 
While being on his game out west, Thompson found Indy to be a challenge as he nearly missed making the extremely quick sixteen car field. On Thursday, the opening round was canceled due to rain which gave all of the alcohol teams only three shots to qualify. On Friday, a confident Thompson spun the tires and coasted to the finishline. Then on Saturday, Thompson shook the tires in low gear and then shifted into second, breaking the sprag in the transmission causing the engine to zing to the moon as it hit the rev limiter. The team took no chances and replaced all of the rods and valve train components as a precaution.
 
On Sunday, the team was down to one qualifying shot. Either run faster then a 5.79 or face a long tow home. Fortunately, a white knuckled  Thompson made the field with a 5.72 ET at 252 MPH. "My gut was knotted up before the run but we qualified. All we got for making the field was a date with World Champion Bob Newberry in the first round. But I was glad we drew him because I came to Indy to race the best." Thompson said after making the program.
 
In the first round on Sunday evening, drama for the Cascade Chevrolet team continued as Thompson covered his shift light prior to the run as it gets blinding once it gets dark. However, the track was lit well enough that the shift light didn't need to be covered up, and covering it prevented him from seeing it at all. Prior to staging, a crew member was able to uncover it. "Not only was the shift light a distraction but my visor was fogged up causing another problem at the starting line. The distractions contributed to my 0.207 reaction time, which was my worst light in a long time." Thompson said. During the run the car pulled towards the centerline but Thompson was still able to correct it while taking out the champ with a 5.68 at 251 MPH to Newberry's 5.79 at 254 MPH. The margin of victory was a close .0074.
 
In the second round, it was the battle between the car dealers as Thompson raced New England Ford dealer Bob Tasca III in the Quick Lane Mustang. Tasca was getting tuning assistance from former NHRA champ Randy Anderson.  Both cars left side by side but Thompson's Monte Carlo began to shake hard. Thompson peddled it in the event Taska lost traction but it wasn't to be as Taska got the win with a stout 5.61 to Thompson's valiant 5.89.
 
Overall, it was a good weekend for Thompson and his crew as they got a taste of what Indy is all about. "We had a lot of fun here and we're glad we came. We're not disappointed but we were here to win. In drag racing someone always goes home and this time it was us." Thompson said. The team now heads west for three straight races starting with a Pacific Division race in Fallon Nevada this weekend.