The latest update as of June 17, 2025
Division Six National Open - Mission Raceway Park
There's an over-used term for denoting something noteworthy these days. It's called "blowing up the internet" and it usually refers to someone or something that has a brief flash of notoriety and then when their "15 seconds of fame" (a very old term) is over, everyone moves on to the next shiny thing that pops up. However, in some cases, something very good has happened and it flashes it's way around the world at almost the speed of light, igniting waves of aftershocks.
That happened last Saturday afternoon when Shawn Cowie made the quickest run by a blown alcohol dragster in the history of the sport of drag racing. It was all over multiple Facebook pages very quickly, and kept reverberating through cyberspace from Mission Raceway's own Facebook page, to the Drag Illustrated Facebook page. Then it became a front page story on NHRA's website when Phil Burgess wrote Cowie makes quickest ever blown alcohol dragster pass en route to Mission win.
Later, much later in fact, it's here at Northern Thunder as we try to catch up on a whirlwind 36 hour visit to Mission Raceway for a trip down quite a memory lanes and some new, and exciting experiences. It's going to take quite a while to unpack (another over-used cliche/term in today's world) everything and get at least some of it posted here. But let's start with the first round of Top Alcohol qualifying that took place at noon Saturday.
Unfortunately, due to an extreme lack of preparation and lack of use of my camera equipment, my photographic contributions to this report are very much sub-optimal, but luckily, an old friend, Gerry Frechette, who happens to be a very good photographer, kindly contributed some much better pictures to make this page much more viewable.
TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER - Qualifying Session #1
With the recent passing of Woodburn Dragstrip's Jim Livingston, (read a very heartfelt tribute to Jim on the Firebird Raceway website), his son-in-law, Joey Severance was unable to make the trek north to round out a very stout eight-car field of top notch dragsters. His attendance would have made it an even split in the field, with blown cars versus a quartet of injected nitro entries.
Conditions were almost perfect for the racers, with a well prepped track surface, "mineshaft" air - -376' density altitude, 57 (F) air temp and a cool track surface under a partly cloudy sky. Things got underway just a few minutes before the scheduled noon start.
(LEFT) First out of the lanes was Kim Parker in the "Copeland Motorsports" A/Fuel car. The team arrived late on Friday and didn't get in any testing so this would be her first hit since the 4-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas in mid-April. After a solid burnout, the run went south in a hurry as she lit the tires on the launch and coasted to a 10.101 e.t. at 121.72 mph.
(RIGHT) Another nitro burner came out in the first pairing, as Red Deer, AB's Mike Quayle looked for a big improvement over his "best" run of 8.147 in Friday testing. That 8-second pass was his best of three attempts. This first qualifying run went from bad to worse as he went into hard tire shake right off the line and coasted to a 14-second timeslip. Thankfully, with just seven cars on the property he was at least qualified for eliminations tomorrow.
(LEFT) The next pairing saw our first side-by-side competitive passes of the day, with Oregon's Mike Austin, in his colourful "LAD Automotive" blown car putting down a good 5.488 at only 220.37 mph. His half-track numbers were excellent, with a 3.557 - 222.55 clocking, indicating a low 5.30 number for the entire run, but a burst panel let go and the car slowed substantially on the top end. Still, a very good start to the weekend after a long absence from MRP.
(RIGHT) Running alongside Austin was fellow Oregonian Mitch Myers, who ran a very early shutoff 5.590 - 196.16 on Friday. He had to pedal at least once on this pass but still managed a respectable 5.492 - 259.97 to place him #3 on the ladder after Austin and Chris Demke, who earlier made a very strong 5.240 - 275.23 in the team's new, and as yet, unwrapped or lettered dragster.
Here's Myers (near lane) taking an early lead over Austin (far lane).
Saving the best for last, local hero, 2024 World Champion, and all-round tough competitor, Shawn Cowie on the burnout, making his first pass of the weekend in the right lane. His two test passes on Friday, 5.190 and 5.139 were both in the left lane. Of note is that the 5.13 became the new track record. How long would it last? You'll have to read on to find out....
Run order for the first qualifying session is determined by the racers' positions in the championship standings. With Sean Cowie (near lane), coming into the event in the #4 spot and his opponent Casey Grisel (far lane) in the #13 spot, they were paired up to end the first round. Grisel launched first with a slightly redlight (-.013 reaction time), and ran hard all the way to the finish line, stopping the clocks with a tremendous 5.227 - 280.02 time. Cowie was just a little quicker at 5.194 - 273.56 to take the top spot on the list. Looking at his finish line speed it could be conjectured that a quicker e.t. might be in the offing later.
TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #1
Despite the best efforts of Mission Raceway and NHRA's Division Six director Mike Eames, they could only attract one Funny Car to the event. Apparently, the campaign to get a representative field of dragsters and funny cars for this race started last fall when the National Open date was confirmed. The lack of participation is due to numerous factors, but they all come down to the one common denominator: MONEY. As in too much to put a together, let alone run it, and not enough return to justify the "investment".
The "Cascade Motor Coach and Trailer Sales" team, with Brian Hough driving, showed up early on Friday and made two test passes to start their first visit to Mission since 2019. The first pass was a very early shutoff that netted a 6.00 - 165.26, while his later effort came close to his own track record (5.429), with a very strong 5.478 - 247.12 lighting up the scoreboard. If he'd kept the pedal down all the way it might have been very close to record territory indeed. This time he put down a slightly quicker and faster set of numbers, with a 5.460 - 264.86 coming up on the timers.
After one round of qualifying, it's Cowie on top (5.194), followed by Grisel (5.227), then Demke (5.240), Austin (5.488), Myers at (5.492). In the sixth spot is Parker (10.101), and at the bottom of the ladder Quayle (14.855). There's still two more qualifying sessions so there will almost certainly be some changes in the order.
TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER - Qualifying Session #2
The slowest e.t. car of the first session gets the "honour" of leading off the next round of qualifying. Rebounding - and that's putting it mildly - Mike Quayle sent his hard working crew into orbit when career best numbers, e.t. and speed, lit up the right lane scoreboard. Their first trip into the 5.20's netted a brilliant 5.254 - 272.07 that moved them up to the #4 spot in the suddenly tightening field.
(LEFT) Next up were the #5 (Myers) and #6 (Parker) from the first session. The Kim Parker team were ready to lay down a good run but got off to a very bad start, smoking the tires instantly, pedalling, shaking and smoking, then on the third attempt got the ill-tempered car to settle down and start charging. The resulting numbers were a weird combination of poor e.t., 7.200 and semi-serious mph at 258.92. It still left them at the bottom of the field with just one more chance to get out of the basement.
(RIGHT) Still having trouble getting a grip on the air density the "EPHA" team of 30+-year veteran Mitch Myers were having trouble before the 330' mark and could only manage a consistent, but not quick enough 5.512 - 262.24. Not enough momentum down low, and not enough power on the top end, they were down a notch to the #6 spot going into the final round of qualifying.
(LEFT) It's not too visible in this burnout shot, but Chris Demke had the #6 cylinder out of commission from fire-up to shut-down. The crew kept hoping that it would clear up but it never did and Demke threw in the towel barely 100' off the starting line. The clocks eventually stopped at the 13+ second mark, while the MRP track crew checked to see that it was just fuel on the track, and not something slippery. A post-run inspection revealed that a pinched ring land was the culprit, but luckily not enough oil exited through the pipes to require a cleanup.
(RIGHT) In the other lane, Mike Austin kept the throttle open all the way down, running comparable early numbers to his first session run, eventually carding a very solid 5.389 - 268.82 to hang on to the #5 spot after two rounds of qualifying.
(LEFT) Running in his preferred left lane, Shawn Cowie was ready to see what the team could do after "a little more rubbing" (his words) on the car. The track was getting tackier, the air was still excellent (+35') density altitude and the air temp was low at 63 (F). All very conducive to maximum horsepower production. After another of his patented valve spring torturing burnouts, he prepared to stage the car.
(RIGHT) In the near lane, Shawn Cowie, and on the far side, Californian Casey Grisel in the "Darien & Grisel" entry. On the green, Grisel took an early lead by virtue of a quicker reaction time, but Cowie was in front at the 60' mark, courtesy of a stellar (.898) 60' time. From there it was almost all Cowie, with Grisel two mph faster at the 660' mark, but well behind on e.t. all the way to the finish line. The end result was a new track e.t. record of 5.130 at 280.20 for Cowie, while Grisel backed up his earlier time with a very good 5.291 - 274.39 as he stayed solidly in the #2 spot on the ladder.
TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #2
We don't have a photo from Brian Hough's second qualifying shot, but after a good burnout, he was forced to shut the car off before staging. There was no breakage, simply an empty air bottle. Oops!
TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER - Qualifying Session #3
Without a full field, there was no bump spot and the only pressure on the racers was to improve their e.t.'s and move up the ladder into a more advantageous position going into Sunday's eliminations. There was a sharp divide between the top four qualifiers, with Shawn Cowie on top at 5.13 and Mike Quayle in the #4 spot at 5.25, before the numbers dropped off to Austin's 5.38 in #5, followed by Myers and Parker.
(LEFT) Still looking to break into either the low 5.40's or better yet, the 5.30's, Mitch Myers took another shot and came up with a consistent, but slower, 5.581 - 262.09 to close out his qualifying efforts. Making a total of five passes, between a best of 5.49 and a 5.59 (discounting a tire shakimng 8-second pass), he split the difference this time with a decent 5.581 - 262.09 clocking. The end result was the #6 rung on the ladder.
(RIGHT) After two less than satisfactory efforts, the Parker team, with Kim Parker at the tiller, wanted to get off the last spot on the ladder and show what they were capable of. It didn't happen, and in fact, got worse, as the engine gave up on the launch and left Kim sitting stopped before the 330' mark, waiting to be towed down to the return road. Three attempts and three misses. It was looking like a long night of work in the Parker pits to sort out their problems.
(LEFT) With a new Chip Neilsen-built car (to them), the "Peen-Rite" team was working out the bugs and trying to develop some consistency as they became acclimatized to the new chassis. They had a great 5.24 number on the board already, putting them #3 in the field, but wanted their first visit to Mission Raceway to be memorable for more than that.
(RIGHT) On their final qualifying pass, the car launched hard in the near lane, with a very good .904 time over 60', then started drifting towards the wall after the 330' mark, forcing Chris Demke to shut off to a slowing 6.312 - 153.37 timeslip. In the far lane, Mike Quayle fell off just a little from his second session 5.25, but put down a solid 5.317 - 270.27 to remain in the #4 spot going into eliminations.
(LEFT) The final pair of qualifying met once more, with Casey Grisel trying to find enough extra power to get near the #1 spot. He didn't quite make it, but an otherwise very good 5.269 - 278.81 finished off a successful day of qualifying for the "Darien & Grisel" team. With three runs between 5.22 and 5.29, they had to be satisfied starting eliminations tomorrow from the #2 rung on the ladder.
(RIGHT) Backing up from their burnouts, Shawn Cowie (near lane) and Casey Grisel prepared to make their final qualifying passes.
(LEFT) A "slightly" different angle on the burnout as Cowie blazes the hides for the umpteenth time over the course of his 18 years in the hot seat of a Top Alcohol Dragster.
(RIGHT) Launching hard and keeping the pedal to the metal all the way to the stripe, Shawn Cowie gave it everything they had in pursuit of a new track record. He not only did that, but eclipsed his career best elapsed time as well. When the verdict flashed up on the scoreboard, everyone was stunned for a millisecond before erupting into a rapturous roar as the gravity of the moment sunk in. They had all just witnessed significant history being made as the 5.115 was the quickest supercharged methanol-burning dragster elapsed time in the history of the sport of drag racing.
The numbers, taken to the fourth decimal point were 5.1159 and 281.25 mph. Absolutely incredible, and done in the "worst" air density of the weekend (to that point) at 258 ft. above sea level. Needless to say, it firmly cemented Cowie in the #1 spot in the field, and gave him a bye run in the opening round of eliminations on Sunday.
TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #3
With nothing other than bragging rights, and possibly a new track record to aim for, Brian Hough lined up for his last shot at the tree on Saturday afternoon. He made his quickest and fastest run of the day with a great 5.449 - 264.86 that fell just short of his own 5.429 Mission Raceway record. Talking to him on Sunday morning revealed that he "wished he had turned up the wick just a little bit" after seeing how quick Shawn (Cowie) ran just a few minutes earlier.
That's all for qualifying; our eliminations coverage will start showing up tomorrow, but it may take a few days to be complete. Keep checking and reloading this page to see all the latest updates.