The Western division continued to tighten up with another showing of close competition, as the reigning Western champion, Redline Harley-Davidson-sponsored Nick Allen, was pushed to the limits by a younger, and perhaps more eager, group of racers who were looking to displace him. Allen, who was vying for his fifth consecutive season as champion of the West, did not get off easy, and had to earn every point this season to keep his stranglehold on the Series.
In the first round of eliminations Allen had a bye run, but he set the stage for the day with a brilliant pass at 9.51 and a top speed of 140.42 mph. Next up, Heritage Harley-Davidson-sponsored Shaun Rude and Edge Harley-Davidson-sponsored Rick Allen squared off, but Allen ran afoul of the tree and although he did have a good run with a 1/4 at 9.549, the Edge Harley-Davidson rider was shuttled to the sidelines for his transgression. Chris Perkins, riding for Redline Harley-Davidson/Volution Tune, then set the bar even higher, with a 9.506 and a top speed of 142.67, in his run against Kelly McCuaig, riding out of Harley-Davidson/Buell of Prince George. Up-and-coming rookie, Jamie Moench, riding for Edge Harley-Davidson, then faced off against Jeff Pitre. Both riders got a good start at the tree, but Pitre’s engine expired and he coasted to the sidelines, giving the win to Moench who had a good pass at 9.588 and a top speed of 137.25.
In round two of eliminations, Nick Allen had to fend off Shaun Rude, and although Rude had the better reaction time, the cagey veteran, Allen, pulled out a great run, beating Rude by several lengths at the finish line and earning Allen a shot in the final. Then, only Perkins and Moench were left to slug it out to see who would get a shot at Allen in the final. In what turned out to be one of the closet contests ever, both riders had almost identical runs. Perkins had the better reaction time, and that was enough to send him to the finals to finally get his shot at going against his mentor and team-mate, Allen. Moench had a brilliant run with a 1/4 of 9.484, just a little shy of Perkins’ 1/4 time of 9.444. Both riders grabbed a top speed of 138 mph, with a difference of only 0.24 mph.
The stage was set for the final run of the day with Allen and Perkins duelling it out for Redline Harley-Davidson/Volution Tune bragging rights. With the championship already sewn up, Allen had every right to go easy on his young protégé, but he did not. With a quicker reaction time, Allen left no doubt as to his intentions; however, the younger Perkins remained undeterred and quickly caught Allen. While Allen was looking for traction, Perkins shot by into the lead and took the win. Perkins capped off his season with his best ride yet of 9.432, while Allen had to settle for the runner-up spot with an ET of 9.611. Although, the blow of finishing second to Perkins may have been softened a little in the knowledge that he will most likely be proclaimed Western Series Champion, and will once again represent the Western V-Rod® Destroyer racers in the season finals, to be held at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, on September 10 and 11.
