West Coast Pro Mods – Part of River Cree Rocky Mountain Nitro Jam Nationals

By:  Larry Crum

 In addition to a huge assortment of nitro machines, bikes, funny cars and exhibitions at this weekend’s River Cree Rocky Mountain Nitro Jam Nationals, one of Nitro Jam’s oldest and most prestigious classes will return to competition for the first time in 2010 as the stars of the West Coast Pro Modified Association give quarter-mile doorslammer fans something extra to look forward to at Castrol Raceway.

 Formed one year after the IHRA invented the class in 1990, the West Coast Pro Modified Association is one of the oldest Pro Mod groups in the nation. It features the quickest Pro Modified doorslammers in the Western half of North America and has a very strong following in Canada. 

Joe Delehay PM Camaro

Like their counterparts in the east, there is a unique mix of car types and power adders that makes this series one of the most exciting in the nation. Johanns, who finished runner-up to Joe Delehay in the 2009 championship standings, drives a ’53 Corvette with a blown 526 inch Brad Anderson engine and says there is quite a bit of diversity in the class that makes it fun to watch and be a part of.

“Members of the WCPMA extend from Canada to California to Colorado and the races stretch from Edmonton to Arizona. Along with the diverse racers and tracks the WCPMA also has great diversity with the blown cars versus the nitrous cars,” Johanns said. “It is a real family experience for all the teams and many friendships are built within the association. It seems that any team is willing to help any of the other teams out. Basically we are all friends until we get to the starting line, then it is war.”

 Another member of the Pro Mod group, Ross Hogenson, is on the other side of the Pro Mod power battle and competed at this event one year ago. He drives a ’63 Corvette with an 801 cubic inch nitrous motor and set his personal best time and speed at Castrol Raceway last year. After qualifying fifth in 2009 Hogenson went one round before being eliminated by ’09 IHRA World Champion Kenny Lang and has high hopes of going even farther this season.

 “This group has a little bit of everything thrown in and we love racing at the events that continue to draw large crowds such as Castrol Raceway, Salt Lake City and Spokane,” Hogenson said. “We are greatly looking forward to the competition this year among this close group of racers. I can’t wait.”

Currently there are 24 members of the WCPMA and many of those drivers will be making the haul to Edmonton this weekend for Canada’s biggest drag race at Castrol Raceway.

As you have probably gathered already — DragRaceCanada is undergoing a major technical shift as we migate the website.

When finished — it will have a new look and new departments all designed to better serve the Canadian drag racing scene and to further support our highly valued sponsorship partners.

Be assured that all the great archives and history which dates back to 1999 will be carried forward.  That access will be done through links to the previous site for anything we posted before June 1/2010.

Some of these portals may not work for a time as we load them up in the background.  Bottom line they will not be turned on before they are ready and technically correct.

Thanks for you patience during this period — we project that everything to be functioning and back to normal no later then July 1st.   

Bruce Biegler – Editor/Owner/Blackhawks Fan

Prospector Seeks IHRA Ironman 

By:  MFR Communications

Home town racer Mageau and his  “ Prospector”  Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car hoping to add to Iron Man collection at Edmonton’s Nitro Jam.

Prospector Nitro Corvette

 Mageau Family Racing’s “ Prospector “  ‘ 78 Corvette Stingray AA/FC is gearing up for  The IHRA Edmonton Nitro Jam June 25 – 27.

 This is the first IHRA event for the team competing for a Iron Man as a nitro car. The home town favorites have previously won Iron men in 2003, 2005, and 2006 in the nostalgia alcohol funny car class called Thunderbolts, and later PNOS . The team’s car was then a crowd favorite 57 Chevy funny car.

 “ We ran the IHRA nats a few years back on nitro against Terry Capp in his Bubble Up funny car as a demonstration deal” states “Prospector” driver Jay Mageau.  “We are thrilled the IHRA saw the promise of the class and to see it grow into a regular feature at all the Nitro Jam events really pleases us. We knew the fans would love these cars!  “

The team is coming into the event up against some big hitters, but hope the hometown advantage helps.  “ Our new “Prospector” Stingray is pretty slippery compared to what we ran in the past, we hope it hauls the mail!”  Says Mageau  “But most importantly, we want to perform well, and really put on a show for IHRA and the Edmonton crowd. “

Castrol Edge Winternationals
June 10-13th, 2010 Brisbane, QLD Australia

2009/10 ANDRA Season a Wrap @ Willowbank

(By Daniel Ward)

After 4 days of racing and with over 39,000 spectators through the gates, the Castrol Edge Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway came to a close!

With two days of qualifying it all came down to win or lose in eliminations style racing to the finals, with many championships on the line. Top Doorslammer and Top Fuel provided the most intense fights, with the championships in both classes coming down to the final run.

In Top Fuel, it was team-mate versus team-mate in yet another championship show down; with three time national champion Phil Read facing off against title leader Martin Stamatis in the final.

For Read to claim the title, he needed to not only win the final race but also claim the bonus points for top speed and lowest elapsed time for the meeting, however with Read turning the tires off the start line it was Stamatis who blazed through – literally with an engine bay fire across the finish line – to the win.

In Top Doorslammer, reigning Champion John Zappia and championship leader Robin Judd headed to the final with just nine points between them. It was winner takes-all, and after a high-emotion build up and a rocky ride for Judd it was the defending Champ Zappia that took both the Castrol EDGE Winternationals Gold Christmas Tree and the Championship trophy – his third consecutive Top Doorslammer national title.

In Pro Stock, Aaron Tremayne again claimed the Pro Stock championship – his third consecutive title in the category, and topped it off with his first ever Winternationals Gold Christmas tree, after beating home Denis Whiting in a close final.

In Top Bike, Chris Matheson may have clinched the title at the last round however he didn’t slacken off any, with multiple stand-out performances on his way to winning the event in an action-packed final against Mark Drew.

In Top Alcohol, it was John Cannuil and Gary Phillips both in contention for the Championship, but with Cannuil having problems in qualifying then running a 5:665 and sitting on the bump spot was knocked out by .002 guaranteeing Phillips for his 14th Top Alcohol national championship.

Taking the Winternationals win was Aaron Hambridge after a charging run all weekend in his Top Alcohol dragster. Hambridge’s victory included a new ANDRA national ET record run.

Pro Stock Motorcycle, Andrew Badcock claiming the title thanks to his qualifying points despite exiting in the first round thanks to eventual event winner Peter Cochrane who took the win from Phil Howard in the final.

The 2009/10 season ending event was also a record smashing affair with a total of 31 new ANDRA records being set within 21 different classes. That included numerous new Pro standards: TAD- Aaron Hambridge 5.519 secs, TAFC – Gary Phillips 260.71 mph, Top Doorslammer – John Zappia 5.805 secs, Top Bike – Chris Matheson 6.050 secs and Pro Stock – John Barbagallo – 194.24 mph.

Taking Castrol EDGE Winternationals wins in the Rocket All-Stars sportsman categories were Lucas Holz (Speed Elec/Prime Signs Super Street), Alisha Naylor (QLD Diesel Spares Junior Dragster), Athol Jacobson (Knijff Earthmoving Modified), Tony Ward (Modified Bike), David Gauldie (Super Gas), Bill Fletcher (Wheelboyz.com.au Supercharged Outlaws), Shane Homes (Custom Central Competition Bike), Damien McKern (McKern and Associates Super Compact), Tom Dimitropouios (Lifestyle Floorcoverings Super Stock) and Wayne Cartledge (Lifestyle Floorcoverings Competition).

In the sportsman action, it was fast femmes at the forefront with three ladies claiming Australian Championships, with Kelly Corbett clinching the title in Knijff Earthmoving Modified and high-octane grandmothers Terry Sander (Speed Elec/Prime Signs Super Street) and Christine Steffens (Wheelboyz.com.au Supercharged Outlaws) also claiming their championships. Other champions included Caleb Oberg (QLD Diesel Spares Junior Dragster), Andy Roberts (Modified Bike), Dale O’Dwyer (Super Gas), Paul Patridge (Powercruise Super Sedan), Shane Homes (Custom Central Competition Bike), Damien McKern (McKern and Associates Super Compact), Nino Cavallo (Lifestyle Floorcoverings Super Stock) and Graeme Frawley (Lifestyle Floorcoverings Competition).

A huge crowd attended the season-ending ANDRA Winternationals in Queensland.

Racer John Zappia clinched the Top Doorslammer title with an event win.

Aaron Hambridge set a ANDRA record while winning in Top Alcohol

Martin Stamatis dominated while winning the event and championship in Top Fuel

Chris Matheson set a new national ET record while winning during the final round of Top Bike

Aaron Tremayne rounded out a dominating season in ANDRA Pro Stock racing.

(Photos by: Daniel Ward)

That pesky leaded fuel concern for racing applications in Canada has now been addressed.  Final Legislation has passed for an amendment to the gasoline regulations — details of which are outlined below:

In fall 2009, Environment Canada consulted stakeholders on a proposal to amend the Gasoline Regulations to allow the use of leaded gasoline in competition vehicles.  Proposed amendments were then published in Part I of the Canada Gazette on April 3, 2010, for a formal 60-day public comment period that was required before final publication.

The Gasoline Regulations have now been amended to allow for the production, import and sale of leaded gasoline for use in competition vehicles.

The amendments have been registered and are in effect.  The amendments will be added to the Orders in Council database in the coming days and publication will follow shortly thereafter in Canada Gazette, Part II.  Information is available at: www.ec.gc.ca/ceparegistry/temp_docs/documents/regs/leaded_gasoline/2010-06_amendment.cfm

The amendments to the Gasoline Regulations state the following:

•  
  REGULATIONS AMENDING THE GASOLINE REGULATIONSAMENDMENT

  1. Subsection 3(2) of the Gasoline Regulations is replaced by the following:

  (2) These Regulations, except for sections 2 and 11, do not apply in respect of gasoline for use in competition vehicles.

  COMING INTO FORCE

  2. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

Sincerely,

Leif Stephanson
Manger, Fuels Section
Oil, Gas and Alternative Energy Division
Environment Canada
Tel.: 819-953-4673

 CYNERGY BODIED CARS STAR AT ADRL & NHRA EVENTS 

 By: Cynergy Composites

Cynergy Composites’ bodied and equipped cars took the runner up spots in both major door slammer racing series this past weekend. 

 On the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod tour, Mike Castellana and his Al-Anabi Racing Cynergy Composites bodied 69 Camaro put an awesome string on low 5.90 second runs together. As a result, they reached the final round at the 41st Annual NHRA Supernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. Castellana in his Jerry Bickel built 69 Camaro faced Von Smith in the final round of competition. Smith took the early advantage in his Barwa backed Al Anabi 68 Camaro and never looked back the rest of the track. Castellana incurred problems and slowed to a 6.18 @ 196 mph. Castellana’s Cynergy Composite Ultra Light Weight 69 Camaro was the first of its kind to hit the track back in the beginning of the season. It’s made several sub 5 second runs since its debut and also done very well in the ADRL Pro Nitrous category. This runner up finish for Castellana moved him to eighth place in GSA NHRA Pro Mod Points.

Mike Castellana - Cynergy Camaro

 In the Outlaw Pro Mod scene; Alex Hossler continued his onslaught of not only being a quick ADRL Pro Extreme front runner but doing it in style with great consistency. Hossler’s Cynergy bodied 70.5 Camaro built by Chris Duncan Race Cars chopped through the Ford Drive One Drags in Martin, Michigan by making runs between 3.76 seconds and 3.71 seconds. Hossler made it to the final round where he took on veteran champion Josh Hernandez in the “Fight Me” 57 Chevy Pro Extreme entry. Hossler sporting newly mounted Ultra Light front end and doors from Cynergy obtained a slight starting line advantage but soon drove into tire shake. Alex proceeded to cross the center line getting crossed up and heading back into his lane ever so slightly tapping the left hand wall with the left hand quarter panel. Hossler stated, “Well that could have been much worse than it turned out. Tim will only have to make us a small section of the body to repair the damage. Also my Cynergy airfoil wing escaped my little wall banger unscathed. It was just tall enough to make it over the wall. It’s a good thing the car hasn’t been re wrapped yet after putting the new Cynergy parts on. Now we can just wrap the entire car again. She will look pretty again for our next race in Topeka.”  Hossler’s runner up finish moved him into the ADRL Pro Extreme points lead.

 Photo by: Roger Richards

Cynergy Composites bodies are fast becoming a successful tool for the elite racer.    LIGHTER…STRONGER…FASTER.   Cynergy Composites Ultra light bodies WEIGH YOUR OPTIONS!      

Order the best Carbon Fiber racing components for your race team today…   Call toll free today!  1-866-338-0016 www.cynergycomposites.net    info@cynergycomposites.net

“John-E” Shines at Medicine Hat TA Shootout

By:  Bruce Biegler

Western Canada’s very progressive Medicine Hat Motorplex hosted one of it’s most significant drag racing events of the season June 12-13th when that quality facility brought in some of the best Top Alcohol racers in the Pacific Northwest for it’s 5th Annual Top Alcohol Shootout event.

The event featured an open field of qualified cars with eliminations pitting Top Alcohol dragsters running side-by-side with Top Alcohol Funny Cars.    A handicap start (for TAFC) was determined by the current NHRA national record difference between the categories.

Western Canadian mainstay racer John Evanchuk emerged on top of the event driving his superb and familiar Red Wolf Racing Firebird TAFC.

John Evanchuk Wins at Medicine Hat

In the final round the Edmonton-based driver ran a 6.253 secs at 221.54 mph to defeat Red Deer’s Ken Webster, driver of Geoff Goodwin’s Chevy Monte Carlo.  Unfortunately for Webster his car had a broken throttle cable in the final which slowed him from his earlier pace.   Ken had earlier set both low ET and top speed with a 5.773 secs at 246.63 mph (TAFC track records).

Evanchuk, had beaten the TAD car of Greg Sereda in round one and then Nathan Sitko’s TAFC Firebird in the semi final round.

Calgary’s Ashley Bart, who was voted as Canada’s Top Up-and-Coming new racer during DragRaceCanada’s off-season on-line poll last winter, set low ET of the event with an impressive 5.65 secs ride in the Gilmour Racing dragster.   She had entered the event holding the track record at 5.44 secs — set in 2009.

Greg Sereda set top speed of the event at 248.02 mph driving his newly acquired Top Alcohol Dragster.

 “We had great weather, super crowds and record performances,” said event Top Alcohol coordinator Ian Gallately.  “The track prep was awesome and we had a great BBQ for the Top alcohol drivers and crews.  Thanks to local rancher and good guy Gary Eide for donating the steaks.”

 Photo by: Bermie Frey

O’Brien’s Dodge Goes Mountain Motor Climbing 

By: Lisa Collier

 The Ford versus Chevrolet rivalry in Mountain Motor Pro Stock has been ongoing for decades.  But Canadian Larry O’Brien would like to remind everyone that Ford and Chevy aren’t the only players in the Pro Stock arena. As a die-hard Dodge man, O’Brien is proving that the heralds of the hemi have what it takes to shake things up in the world of Mountain Motor Pro Stock.

Larry and his brother and crew chief Wayne have been racing and winning for nearly four decades. Chasing the Outlaw Pro Stock scene, they won the points championship at Toronto Motorsport Park in 1989 by winning five of the eight events. The duo from Windsor, Ontario moved into sanctioned Pro Stock trim in 1992, representing Dodge and Canada in the IHRA, often setting and resetting Canadian and Mopar standards. In 1994, at Maryland International Raceway, the O’Briens put down an astonishing 6.936 second pass at 200.35 mph, making them the first Dodge Pro Stock team to run under the seven second mark and over 200 mph. This also placed them in the prestigious Holley 200 MPH Club.

As innovations increased with Ford and Chevrolet motors developing a hemi-style engine it became apparent that the O’Brien brothers were going to have to do something new to be competitive with a Dodge entry. There was little help for Mopar contestants from engine builders, so Larry decided that it was time for him to take the lead. And that’s exactly what he did. He took a two year hiatus from racing to work on R&D for his new in-house engine program. Working endless hours, Larry soon debuted their new design in 2002 with an 814 CID Hemi engine. Since then, the O’Briens have continued to develop their program, becoming a strong force for Dodge in Mountain Motor Pro Stock. At the recent MMPSA event at Maryland International Raceway, they showed the potential of their Mopar engines, qualifying third with a notable 6.320 at 223.02.

Although Larry has an impressive resume strictly from the racing standpoint as a pioneer in Dodge Pro Stock technology that is not all he has accomplished. In 1980 Larry started Bear’s Performance, which manufactures chassis, suspension and driveline components. Over the years Bear’s has serviced drag racers, chassis builders, hot rodders and car fanatics. Now in 2010 the company has grown to include hundreds of dealers in the United States and Canada. With everything one would need for state-of-the-art chassis, suspension and driveline needs, as well as online ordering, a manufacturing facility of 15,000 square feet, and proven performance, Bear’s stands out as one of the premier manufactures of racing components in Canada and the U.S.

Although not geared specifically to the racing industry, Wayne also owns his own company, Dual Electric, which focuses on refrigeration, plumbing, heating and air conditioning. With backing from Bear’s Performance, Dual Electric and associate sponsorship from Strange Engineering, the O’Brien brothers are taking their 2010 Dodge Avenger to new heights. Not only this, but their innovation in Mopar engine technology is shaking up the Pro Stock world.  We are sure to be seeing more of them on the MMPSA scene.

Photo by:  Dave Ostaszewski

Motorsports community takes a licking but keeps on ticking!

As if the Motorsport Community hasn’t been through enough this last year, another bully, this time an American is trying to kill motorsports in Calgary.

The startup AHRA (American Hot Rod Association) whom had a race schedule for the Fathers Day weekend has pulled out 10 days before the event leaving the Drag Racing community in lurch on what has become a staple in the yearly Motorsports calendar.

Every year for the last 23 years Calgary has held a Funny Car race on Fathers Day, this year was to be no different, until the AHRA was supposed to pay a deposit for facility rental for the upcoming race. They, citing violations in their contract for their Re-union Tour, of which no violation exists, pulled out last Wednesday afternoon. But the resilient Drag Racing community spearheaded by the non-profit association CDRA (Calgary Drag Racing Association) and supported by the MCofC (Motorsport Council of Calgary) decided to not let the fans of the Fathers Day Funny Car Classic down by putting together a show for Saturday June 19th and Sunday June 20th.

While we are making final preparations for the event, rest assured we will have ground pounding Funny Cars and Jet Cars. Not even an American is going to stop what Calgarians have enjoyed for the last 23 years.
For more information contact Rick Francescone at 403-850-8773.

About the Calgary Drag Racing Association
CDRA is a nonprofit association and for the last 29 years has been promoting legal drag racing and team sports for our youth.

About Motorsport Council of Calgary
MCofC’s mission is to bring together all forms of motorsport enthusiasts and be a positive voice in the quest to curb Illegal Street racing on the streets of Calgary and surrounding communities.

About the AHRA. An upstart drag racing sanctioning body headquartered in Spokane Washington, who has been making promises to drag racing tracks all over North America that they have been unable to fulfill.

Canadian Nitro Nationals to Feature Can-Am Showdowns

 By:  Bruce Biegler

Eastern Canada’s drag racing fans are in for a very special treat this coming July 2-4^th, when Cayuga Dragway at Toronto Motorsports Park presents it’s most aggressive independent drag racing event ever.

 The Inaugural Canadian Nitro Nationals will headline both Nitro Funny Cars and Top Fuel dragsters, exhibition Jet cars, as well as the best in Pro Modified and Sportsman class drag racing.

 At front and center the event will present a special series of match-ups featuring both Canadian and U.S. drivers in head-to-head competition.  Mitch King’s very formidable  Texas-based two car Top Fuel dragster team, which features up-and-coming star drivers Del Cox Jr. and Spencer Massey, will challenge wily Canadian born drivers Todd Paton and Fred Farndon for supremacy.

Todd Paton will make his first scheduled Canadian appearance of the season.

The Nitro Funny Car class will make its only scheduled Canadian appearance this season during the event when former IHRA World Champion Dale “Peanut” Creasy, from Illinois, faces off against Iowa’s Jack Wyatt in a scheduled best of three match race.

Former IHRA World Champion Dale Creasy will be favored in FC

 The highly popular Pro Modified Racing Association (PMRA), the Napa Quick 32 and the Can-Am Stock/Super Stock circuits will also be campaigned.   The event will also include the best in local area ET bracket racing.   All event drag racing will be on a ¼ mile basis.

Canada's awesome PMRA circuit will also be featured.

 Racers should note that all payouts during the Canadian Nitro Nationals will be funded by Toronto Motorsports Park management and are guaranteed for its participants. 

 Feature race action will kickoff on Friday July 2^nd with the first PMRA qualifying round at 8:00 PM.  Saturday’s show schedule will see all the Nitro and feature cars running twice at 7:00 and 9:00 PM.   Sunday’s final rounds, again including all the Nitro cars, will begin at 1:00 PM. 

The weekend event will also include after hours entertainment in the campgrounds and a huge fireworks display.

 For tickets and more information visit:  www.torontomotorsportspark.com or Call 866-824-RACE.

 (Bruce Biegler Photos)