Spokane’s Rod Hoerner Tests Racing Skills At Nationals

Imagine Michael Jordan not having his favorite pair of Nikes to help him fly, slam and jam against the Sonics.

Or if Ken Griffey Jr. had to use a borrowed bat to swat home runs.

Now you kind of have an idea of what Spokane’s Rod Hoerner faces in this weekend’s TRW Sportsman Challenge at the NHRA Spring Nationals drag races in Columbus, Ohio.

Hoerner will drive a car owned by midwesterner Jim Hughes as he represents Division Six in this version of drag racing’s All-Star Game.

The TRW Sportsman Challenge brings together eight of the nation’s top drag racers in six classes. Each class will crown a champion. Hoerner is the Pacific Northwest division’s representative in Super Gas.

“This is a proven car and it works well,” said Hoerner of the 1927 roadster he’ll drive against six other divisional champs, plus the defending TRW Super Gas champ.

Hoerner had two time trial runs to “get used to the car.” Then, he jumped right into eliminations that will decide national champions in classes ranging from 16-second elapsed-time (ET) stock cars to top alcohol dragsters and funny cars.

How much different is the car he’ll drive in Columbus from the 1957 Corvette he runs at Spokane Raceway Park and at NHRA divisional races throughout the Northwest?

Despite a big horsepower gap, Hoerner said the cars “are not a whole lot different.”

“My car has 844 horsepower and hits 9.90 (the super gas index ET) at about 146 miles per hour,” Hoerner said. “The Hughes car delivers 700 HP and is just a bit slower, running 9.90 at between 138 to 140 mph. I have to put all of that out of my mind.

“You have just a split second at the starting line and finish line to make decisions, like whether to put on the binders (brakes),” Hoerner said.

“It will be challenging but not that different,” Hoerner said.

Hoerner was the Division Six TRW champion and competed at Columbus in 1994. He made it to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion John Wood.

Time trials for the TRW and all three rounds of racing are today.

Along with the TRW’s, Hoerner will also compete in the regular super gas class.