Philomath High School students Sean Brodkore and Nick Rose inspect the carburetor of the Drag Racing Team's 1968 Pontiac GTO to figure out why the vehicle won't start in Philomath. The vehicle had run out of gas.

PHILOMATH — Sam McGarry slid behind the wheel of the 1968 Pontiac GTO parked in the auto shop at Philomath High School. She turned the ignition key, and the car roared to life.

McGarry lightly tapped the gas pedal and jabbed the brake pedal as she backed the Pontiac out of the shop. She was attempting to line it next to the ’72 Chevy Nova and ’73 Chevy sidestep pickup already parked outside.

The Philomath High School senior is a bit nervous. The next day, she’ll race the car for the first time at the Woodburn Dragstrip.

“I’m excited about it,” McGarry said. “But I know I’ll have butterflies in my stomach on race day and be a nervous wreck.”

McGarry is a member of Philomath High School’s 10-member drag racing team. Its drivers will take to the track for five races through August.

Malcolm Rose, whose son Nicholas is on the team, is a professional automotive expert and founder of the Mid-Valley Auto Association. In addition to being an effective champion for automotive instruction in schools, he serves as the team’s mentor. Tom Smith, a former drag racer, lends his expertise to what is one of the few school-sponsored drag racing teams in Oregon.

Individual students

“Most of the time we race against individual students instead of school teams,” Rose said. “There aren’t many school-sponsored teams out there.”

Because the team doesn’t receive funding from the school, team members raise money and seek donations. And drag racing isn’t cheap.

Rose said gas alone costs about $2,000 each season because the team has to transport its cars to Woodburn for practices and races. As a result, the team has to get creative to find the cash to fuel their hobby. For example, team members are repairing two donated automobiles that they hope to sell.

Team members learn how to maintain and repair vehicles. Oil changes are child’s play for them; rebuilding engines is their idea of fun.

Most of them are self-proclaimed car aficionados and many of them grew up around mechanics. Nicholas Rose, a senior, said being on the teams offers students a different educational experience.

“Some of us aren’t academic types,” Rose said. “We’re more of hands-on types. So being on the team allows us to tap into our mechanical sides.”

McGarry said the key to a good showing for her first race is timing. If she isn’t off-and-running when the light turns green, her racing debut will be disappointing.

She has been on the team for two years, waiting for the opportunity to race the Pontiac.

“Consistency is the name of the game,” Rose said. “… Races are decided by one-hundredths of a second.