A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2019
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Hermiston’s Myers to race
at Seattle’s Northwest Nationals
By BRETT KANE
STAFF WRITER
I
n 2004, Mitch Myers set
a world record with his
elapsed time of 5.10 sec-
onds as he crossed the
fi nish line to win the National
Hot Rod Association Finals in
Pomona, California. Then, he
retired.
He was quick to step away
from the sport, returning to
his hometown in Hermiston
to focus on his various busi-
ness ventures. Nowadays, he
owns and operates the Nookie’s
sports bar, Hermiston Brewing
Company, and hose protector
manufacturer EPHA, Inc.
“I retired as No. 1 in my class
in the world,” said Myers, 62.
“I won my class, and I walked
away from it.”
But 15 years later, the allure
of racing hot rods again became
unavoidable.
Larry Miersch, head of the
Southern
California-based
Larry Miersch Racing, and crew
chief Jim Rizzoli convinced
him to come out of retirement
and take the wheel once again.
Myers is now in the midst of a
10-race deal with Miersch, and
next week will drive Miersch’s
A/Fuel nitro dragster in its only
Pacifi c Northwest showing of
the year — at the Seattle Inter-
national Raceway’s Northwest
Nationals.
“Racing is a family,” Myers
said. “We’re all friends in the
drag racing community. We
all know each other. Over the
years, I got asked to drive for
other people a lot, but I just
didn’t. I made a good specta-
tor. Larry kept saying, ‘Come
drive my car, come drive my
car.’ He reached out to me one
more time last year and ... we
put together a deal.”
With associate sponsor-
ships at Lucas Oil and Protect
the Harvest, the help of his pit
crew, and the undying support
of his wife Tina Orton, Myers
has competed in four hot rod
races so far this year. He qual-
ifi ed 12th place in Las Vegas
— his comeback race — ninth
in following race, then went on
to take home eighth and sixth-
place fi nishes,
“We’ve gotten better every
race, substantially,” Myers said.
The birth of a racer
Myers was born in The
Dalles, but was raised in Herm-
iston. His father Bill drove
race cars, and that’s what gave
Myers his need for speed.
“I grew up sitting in my
mom’s lap watching (my dad)
race,” Myers recalled. “I’ve
been around it for a while.”
so did Myers’ walk of life. He
spent the last 15 years maintain-
ing his businesses in the Herm-
iston area. For a while, he had
no intentions of returning to the
cockpit.
“I felt like the stars had
aligned,” Myers said. “You
have to be serious about these
cars, because you could die in
one. If I didn’t feel like we had
the team, parts, knowledge, and
ability to win, I wouldn’t do it.”
New wheels
Photo contributed by Mitch Myers
Mitch Myers receives last-minute advice from crew chief Jim Rizzoli
before a race in Las Vegas this spring.
Myers spent his early years
racing along the back roads of
Hermiston. He would eventu-
ally race in local circuits before
taking his skills to the national
level. He said his father and his
mother Sylvia would attend all
of his races, but they won’t be
able to attend next weekend’s
big competition.
“I wish my parents could be
at the race,” Myers said. “It’ll
be what I miss the most.”
Setting the record
Most drag race records are
broken by 1/1000s of a second,
Myers said. In 2004, he broke
his by 2/10s. He accepted his
Top Alcohol Dragster trophy,
and stepped out of the spotlight.
The achievement earned
him a cover story in an issue
of National Dragster magazine
and a world championship ring,
courtesy of the NHRA, pre-
sented in Hollywood.
But, why would he leave at
the height of his powers?
The NHRA altered the rules
for injected nitro-burning com-
binations after his win. First
implemented in 2005, the new
regulations now give drivers a
maximum of 95 percent nitro to
fuel their cars with, instead of
100 percent.
And as the rules changed,
Myers spent the majority
of his racing career driving his
own cars, but for his comeback,
he’s driving one of Miersch’s.
Weighing in at 2,000 pounds
and with a 7,000 horsepower
engine, the car can accelerate
from 0 to 280 mph in roughly
fi ve seconds. It spans 300 inches
— 25 feet — from wheelbase to
wheelbase.
“These nitro cars shake the
earth,” Myers said. “You can’t
breathe, and your eyes start to
burn. It’s a spectacle. Every-
one should see it at least once in
their lives.”
With a new set of wheels in
tow, Myers’ return to the world
of racing has been met with suc-
cess. And there’s plenty of sci-
ence that goes into every fi nish,
whether it’s the humidity, tem-
perature, or elevation. Every bit
of data is crucial in calculating
the next win.
Photo contributed by Mitch Myers
Myers’ nitromethane-fueled dragster rests before
hitting the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Spring
Nationals in Houston, Texas, in April.
RODEO
Goodrich lassoes title at NJHFR
Stanfi eld teen wins
ribbon roping title, and
his horse Goldilocks
earns top award
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
Gator Goodrich has had
a rope in his hand since he
was 3 years old.
He’s lassoed everything
from the family cat to the
patio furniture, which did
not stand a chance once the
young cowboy had it trussed
up (there is video evidence
of this victory).
Goodrich’s perseverance
paid off in late June when
the Stanfi eld teen won the
ribbon roping title at the
National Junior High Finals
Rodeo in Huron, S.D.
“It was really cool,”
Goodrich said. “I was ner-
vous in the fi nals. About 5
minutes before I ran, I knew
I couldn’t make any mis-
takes. Not enough breath-
ing room to make any
mistakes.”
In ribbon roping, one
partner ropes the steer,
while the other runs out,
takes the ribbon off the ani-
mal’s tail and returns to the
starting box.
In this case, Goodrich
roped the steer, while his
partner Adriene Steffen, of
Sisters, retrieved the ribbon.
Goodrich and his part-
ner got off to a good start at
nationals with a run of 10.17
seconds in the fi rst round.
They followed up with an
8.84 run to reach the fi nals.
“We had a huge lead
going into the fi nals on
everyone but one team,”
Goodrich said. “We had a
0.3-second lead on them.
They missed, and I fi gured
we need a 13-something to
win.”
Goodrich, 14, and Stef-
fen turned in a time of 11.73
seconds for the title.
“We got the start we
wanted, and he went to
the right,” Goodrich said.
“I held him steady so she
could get the ribbon.”
The champions in each
event receive a saddle,
buckle and a treasure trove
of other items.
But Goodrich’s fortunes
did not end there.
His horse, Goldilocks,
18, was named the AQHA
Boys Horse of the Year.
Goldilocks is used to the
limelight,
having
per-
formed at the Pendleton
Round-Up with ropers Tuf
Cooper, Trevor Brazile, and
Goodrich’s dad, Brad.
This honor brought
Goodrich another saddle
and a scholarship.
“She is really good,” he
said.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Gator Goodrich of Stanfi eld won the National Junior High Finals Rodeo ribbon roping title in
June, and his horse Goldilocks took home Horse of the Year honors.
A busy week
Though Goodrich placed
in just one event, he quali-
fi ed for nationals in fi ve and
competed in four.
He also competed in
goat tying, tie-down rop-
ing, chute dogging and
team roping. He opted not
to compete in the shooting
event.
At state, he won the goat
tying and tie-down roping,
was second in chute dog-
ging and ribbon roping, and
was third in team roping. He
was the reserve all-around
champion.
He had a couple of tough
runs at nationals, including
in his signature event — tie-
down roping.
“I missed one, and that
brought everything down,”
Goodrich said.
As Goodrich moves to
the high school level this
next year, he will continue
with tie-down roping, team
roping and steer wrestling.
A family aff air
Goodrich was just 6
months old in 2006 when
his dad won the all-around
title at the Farm-City Pro
Rodeo in Hermiston. He
took a victory lap with his
dad, and the rodeo arena has
been his home ever since.
Like most cowboys,
Goodrich started in mutton
busting, and he still has his
championship trophy from
Toppenish from when he
was 5 or 6 years old.
He learned to rope from
his dad, who has had a good
career competing on the
PRCA circuit since 1987.
Brad Goodrich has made six
trips to the National Finals
Rodeo.
“When I told my dad I
wanted to calf rope, I was so
small that I couldn’t fl ank
the calf,” Gator said. “He
went out and bought me a
sheep. I have roped every-
thing from cats to goats.”
Gator’s mom, Jodi, com-
peted in barrel racing and
breakaway roping at Walla
Walla Community Col-
lege and Cal Poly, and still
makes a few runs around
the barrels on the Columbia
River Circuit.
His sister, Josie, also
competes in barrels and
breakaway roping, but a
torn ACL kept her out of
action this past year. A
senior at Hermiston High
School, Josie also plays vol-
leyball and basketball.
Gator will be a freshman
at Hermiston this fall. He’s
already working out with
the football team and par-
ticipating in open gym with
the basketball team.