From NW Motorsports News Services
AIRWAY HEIGHTS — Cooper Chun chased redemption all the way from Arizona and finally ran it down.
The 22-year-old Vancouver, Wash. college student used a .020 reaction time and turned a 5.111-second ET at 134.711 miles per hour to top Brayden Heroux from Saskatoon, Sask. in the finals of the Border Battle staged Sept. 9 at Qlispe Raceway near Spokane.
The win in the initial event of the first annual Northwest Classic paid Chun $15,000 in a breakout finish as Heroux ran a 6.029 second time on a 6.04 dial-in at 114.05 mph.
Chun and his Mullis dragster were part of a similar challenge race earlier in the season at Tucson, Ariz. “The team I was on won that one, but I didn’t do the best in it so I kind of wanted some redemption,” he said.
He earned his final round berth defeating fellow Team-USA racer Trevor Harkema from Coeur d’Alene in a double breakout eighth-mile race. Chun ran a 5.119 on a 5.12 dial (.001) but Harkema’s 5.24 on a 5.03 (.21) and was the difference.
Chun’s first two rounds provided wins over Jeremy Soars (5.134 to 4.821) and Isaac Sterner (5.136 to 4.758). Chun’s .008 to .066 reaction time was the difference in the round of eight.
“Main thing nowadays is you have to be really good on the tree,” Chun explained and round two was proof.
Looking to wrap up a degree in business and accounting from WSU Global next spring, Chun has more drag racing ahead, Sept. 21-27 in St. Louis.
There, he’ll compete in the Million Dollar Drag Race for sportsman cars that could reward $1 million.
Chun will drive a car owned by a friend. “Luckily I don’t got to make the 30-hour tow because I did last year.”
He’d love to replicate the success he had in Las Vegas last year where “I walked with about 150 grand last year from that race.” The money was split between college, savings and of course racing.
Chun said he’s been around racing as long as he can recall.
“My grandpa raced, my dad raced and I kind of got into it that way,” Chun said. “I kind of was born into it and I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”