This year's NEDRA Nationals happened on August 31st at the drag strip in Woodburn, Oregon. The event is legendary among EV enthusiasts who gather from all over North America to visit with old friends, meet new ones, and witness the spectacle of high performance electric racing.

The weather was fantastic and there were several new competitors on the track, but the absence of "scary" runs from EV giants like Berube, Dube, Ludiker left the crowd feeling more disappointed than usual. Despite the perceived letdown NEDRA President Roderick Wilde is quick to point out that "Seven new world records were set, 4 were broken records and 3 were newly established records. There is only one world record left from the first Woodburn Nationals in 1997 and that was in a now defunct Electrathon/Go Cart class."

Not all of the titans were AWOL. Don "Father Time" Crabtree, John Wayland, Brian Hall, and Otmar Ebenhoech were among those present and each helped make the day a success in their own way.

Roderick nailed a new 204V CV/B record of 16.576 seconds at 71.97 MPH in EV Parts' Lightning Rod II.

Duane Gergich ran Crabtree's Dragon Rose to a new 156V MT/D record of 12.531 seconds at 97.75 MPH and also took home the "Best Burnout" award.

Thunderstruck Motors' Rick Roller set a new 192V MT/C record on "ReVolt" with a 13.18 second run in the 1/4 mile at 96.02 MPH.

John Wayland's White Zombie featured an experimental pack of Exide 35 ahr, 26lb AGM batteries that proved inadequate for the rigors of drag racing. John's repeated spec requests were unanswered until the Friday before the Sunday races. By that time the batteries were already installed in the car. "It was a complete gamble that the batteries might be as tough as Hawkers are. The Power Fit batteries turned out to have a 350 amp, 5 second rating...pretty wimpy! Two blew about 1/3 down the track with the controller set to suck a max of just 750 amps from the pack. The second attempt, when I tried to simply do a burn-out for that German magazine, was with the controller turned down even farther to just 500 amps...this immediately blew a third battery. It was very disheartening, to say the least," John said.

Not all of the cars at the track were there to compete. Gary Graunke displayed his specially modified Honda Insight. This car is now fully electric and features a new 3 phase drive system. To top it off Gary is installing LiIon batteries and has calculated a 200+ mile range!

There was a rumor circulating that Johnson Inspira batteries are back in production in the UK. These thin little solid foil batteries were used very successfully during the 1999-2000 seasons. At only 4 inches tall and less than 6 pounds, these tiny tots pack at least 25% more power than even full-sized 40 pound SLI batteries!

After the race Lou Taber and Roderick Wilde presented awards at a trackside shelter. Lou announced his resignation as NEDRA Secretary, a position that he had held for the last 7 years. "Lou's dedication and hard work will surely be missed and he will be a very hard person to replace," said Roderick.

After the awards a crowd of 40 went to a local restaurant for more food and fun... and one last award announcement. Wilde announced that Chip Gribben would receive the 2003 Ed Rannberg Memorial Award for his outstanding contributions to the sport of electric drag racing.

All in all, the event was a success and definately worth going to again. There is simply no other place where you can see so many high performance electric vehicles and enthusiasts having fun!

Many more pictures and MPEG movie clips are located in the Woodburn 2003 folder in our Photos section.

Top NEDRA Race Records

Vehicle, Sponsor & Owner/Driver	Time (sec)	Speed (mph)
"Current Eliminator IV" Dragster - 336V Owner/Driver: Dennis Berube - Laveen, AZ	8.801	137.65
Killa-Cycle - 312V Sponsor: Bolder Technologies Driver: Scotty Pollacheck Owner: Bill Dube - Denver, CO	9.450	152.07
"Circuit Breaker" - 240V Sponsor: KTA Services Driver/Owner: Jim Ludiker - Fountain Valley, CA	10.550	115.066