Packwood Season Opener Recap

Rain. Then sun. Then more rain. Then, wait, what the heck is going on here? Our first event in Packwood for the 2026 season is over. As I sit here on Tuesday evening, I am still trying to process the whole weekend. But I get ahead of myself; let’s start two days before.

On Thursday, June 4th, a handful of our racers showed up to Mountain View High School at 8 a.m. A'ngelique Ortega is an English teacher at Mt. View and has been for some time now. Three years ago, the school lost one of their students in an illegal street race. A'ngelique decided to act. She asked a few racers to come out and talk to her students regarding many auto-related issues, including how to maintain your car, mental health when stepping behind the wheel, and what can happen when you make bad choices. That program was a hit, so here in year 3, A'ngelique and seven other racers shared their experiences, their knowledge, and their feelings with over 100 students over five periods. Much information was shared, many laughs were had, and even a plant was acquired. If you would like to be involved, feel free to reach out to A'ngelique about 2027. Or, if you would like to get a program started at a school you attend or teach at, let her know. Now, on to Packwood.

Students gathered at their stations to discuss various topics.

Bob and Daniel showing off the rally car.

Dan Bullis goes over mental health and healthy hobbies with students.

Racers and students working through the outreach together.

Photo credit: A'ngelique Ortega

Friday mid-day, a course was set up by our course guru, James Paulson. Racers started to show up, unload, and set up camp. The first weekend of June has been a staple for Oregon Region to start the summer Packwood stretch. For the first time in a while, we were the first event to be held on the site. NW Region typically has a late May event, but this year it was our turn to scrape off the moss and elk gifts. Saturday’s forecast looked iffy at best, with Sunday looking much more promising. So, let’s get to it.

Saturday: rain, wet, and slick

87 drivers took time on Saturday, with conditions varying from run to run. It didn’t matter which run group you were in, each run posed a new set of issues.

In S1, it was the mini yacht of Will O’Farrell taking the win with the help of some Audi AWD. His RS5 putting down a quick third run to take the win away from Dante Zannoni. Jeff Wiren would nurse his high-HP Mustang home in third after some runs searching for grip.

S2 was much of the same, as it was German AWD cars leading the way. A pair of Golf Rs taking the top two spots, with Doug Rhodes winning by a little over .800 over Dave Gall. Third place was the nimble, and sooo out of place, Hyundai Kona N with Jordan Filip. He edged out Shawn Porter by .147, with David Gamba taking home third.

NS1-2 saw the Packwood return of Arron Mauldin having too much fun in his Honda Del Sol.

NS3-5 was a three-car battle, with the Keller family showing up to take the top two spots, Perry over Andrea, with the prehistoric Sturgeon coming home third.

NS4 was a struggle, as all 11 drivers were searching for a dry line to run. But in the end, only one driver would claim the domination win: Tyler Seeley. His margin of victory was an unheard-of 1.433 seconds in an always-close NS4 field. Ian Hass from the house of Slithern piloted the rent-a-Honda from the Cogburn stable to second, and Eric Takahashi rounded out the podium.

Pro-Pax was an up-and-down day for the eventual winner, Alex Paraskevas. After the driver to be named later in front of him decided to take back-to-back off-course excursions, Alex found himself with two reruns, and no drying in sight. But that didn’t stop Alex from laying down two blistering times to beat out a resurgent Nick Bender. Course designer James Paulson, Thomas Fahey, and NW Region’s own Dieter Beldi rounded out the top 5. Thirty-three drivers took time in the stacked Pro-Pax field.

In Pro-Pax Ladies, winner Danielle Paulson would have to dig deep and shave off almost 3 seconds on her third run to steal the win away from Aurora Hill. A'ngelique Ortega showed the little CRX could be taking third place while carrying a cone! CAM-XS would add to the AWD domination for the day with Brian Ferdinand beating out Van Havig for the top step, with last event’s winner, Dan Kuehn, rounding out the top three.

As in past years, our TC field drops slightly in number as we head north. This weekend, only 7 drivers made that trip. Wyatt Cox would prove it was worth the drive in his BRZ as he put a stamp on the class, winning by a little over 3 seconds. Josiah Hejmanowski and Cass Chan finished in second and third respectively.

Top raw time was a 51.024 by the legend himself, Jim Daniels, while top Pax would be claimed by the aforementioned blazing quick runs of Alex P.

Saturday afternoon’s Test n Tune went forward, but a little different. With the weather showing it wouldn’t let anyone have too much fun, many would opt out of the TNT session. So an abbreviated one would take place. With Dan in his Cadillac XT6 shagging cones, 11 drivers took turns finding more and more speed as things finally dried out.

Sunday: much different story

Dry conditions for the most part would treat the 83 drivers taking times to one of the best Packwood courses ever set up. Fast, flowing, connected, and an absolute blast! James Paulson reached down in his bag of tricks and came with this beauty!

Pro-Pax would start things off, and the action was fast and furious. The top 10 changed with every run. No place was safe, and every driver was smiling from ear to ear. In the end though, it was Alex going back-to-back for the weekend. His 49.609 was the fourth-fastest time to be turned in on Sunday, giving him a .414 win over the HS Civic Sport of Dieter Beldi. Carl Tanner has been showing up and knocking them down this year, and claimed yet another podium spot. Jim Daniels, and the return of Carson Orud (sporting the legendary #3 for his dad) rounded out the top 5. While Alex took the win by over .400, 2-17 would only be separated by 1.5 seconds.

Ladies Pro-Pax would see Aurora return to the top step with Megan Gall climbing back up to second. Jessica Lentz would shave off over .600 to jump into third.

TC would be a carbon copy of Saturday, with Wyatt and Josiah taking 1st and 2nd. Nick Magdaleno would jump Cass to take third. CAM-XS would be the exact same podium, with Brian, Van, and Dan finishing in that same order.

NS4 saw a bump in entries to 13, and it would take a flier for Eric Takahashi to put his ND2 in the top spot, shaving off over .800 on his last run. John Kabigting in his NC, and Tyler in his ‘NB, would complete the Miata sweep of the top 3 spots, all in different gens. The Hondas of Ian Hass and Kevin Ortega would close out the top five.

NS3-5 would see a new driver enter the fray. Stephan Brooks, in what looked to be an ex-world-challenge Neon SRT-4, arrived to ruin the Keller party. He would take the win over Perry by a scant .250, with Andrea just a bit back in third.

NS1-2 would again see Arron Mauldin in his Del Sol playing all alone. But much fun was had with Mo Cowbell!

In S1, the fighter jet gray Mustang of Jeff Wiren would beat out the Chevy Corvette of Ben Gadbois. S2, the Golf Rs would have to relinquish the top spot to the RWD BRZ of Shawn Porter. Dave Gall stayed in second place with Doug Rhodes in his R in third. The Kona Coffee N would see both of its drivers in the top 5, with Ben Rien in 4th and Jordan in 5th.

In national action, the Packwood Tour registration has opened up. The event is taking place July 17-19 back in Packwood, with the Pro Solo the following week. Reg for the Pro opens Wednesday, June 10. Registration for Solo Nats in Lincoln opened on Monday the 8th. 1300 of your closest friends will be back in Nebraska to compete, so get signed up, as it will cap out quickly. If you have wanted to try a national-level event, do it! We are more than happy to help with questions before or at the event.

Crows Landing Pro and Tour are taking place two months later this year. With the Pro Solo the same weekend as our first Packwood event, our own Garrett Cogburn was able to secure 2nd place in a stacked CST field. Chelsea McConnell came home in 9th in the always-competitive L3 class. It sounds like a few other from Oregon Region may make the trip down as well for the tour, so we wish all our friends clean runs and safe travels.

Halfway through the season, points are at a premium. Two classes stand out as being closer than the rest. S2 looks like it will go down to the final event, with Doug Rhodes leading Shawn Porter by 6 points. In Pro-Pax, Dan Bullis and Alex P. are tied, with Cogburn not far behind.

We return to Packwood at the end of the month, so get signed up soon!

More Packwood scenes

Another pair of racers stages up at the starting line.

Packwood wide open under the mountain backdrop.

Jason Lentz's BRZ pointed the correct direction temporarily.

Photo credit: Morgan Blake