The Western Canada-based sportsman racing family of Eddy Plaizier under the Team ACE Racing banner along with support from Sandstar Utility Products (of Las Vegas) will be headed to Seattle this coming weekend for the NHRA Northwest Nationals.  That will mark the beginning of a very busy summer schedule for the team.  In fact it will be the 9 races in 7 weeks (!) for 20-year old son Casey Plaizier. (continue reading…)

Gordie Bonin….Time Traveler….

By:       Bruce Biegler

During Edmonton’s IHRA River Cree Rocky Mountain Nationals, an interesting event sidebar was along the event’s manufacturer’s midway.   Nestled within one of the many displays (Taggz/Quick Times) was an important re-creation of a car which helped to propel the racing career of Canada’s very own legend, Gordie Bonin. (continue reading…)

ADRL Hardee’s Independence Drags IV – Topeka KS  July 2-3^rd, 2010

 ADRL Independence Drags – Deferred

Inclement weather forced the postponement of the American Drag Racing League (ADRL) Hardee’s Independence Drags IV at Heartland Park Topeka.

After several rain delays throughout the day, ADRL President and CEO Kenny Nowling called for a postponement near the end of the first round of final eliminations.

“Mother Nature frowned on us and we felt the better option was to get the racers and fans home safely,” Nowling said. “Safety is paramount and unfortunately we can’t complete this event today.”

Rain halted the action after four classes – Pro Nitrous, Extreme 10.5, Pro Extreme Motorcycle and Extreme Pro Stock — had completed their first round of eliminations.

The event will be completed at the ADRL Hardee’s Gateway Drags III on August 7-8 at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill, just outside of St. Louis.

The completion of final eliminations of the Independence Drags will take place on Friday, with the Gateway Drags to be completed the next day.

PN Low qualifier - Doug Riesterer

Cayuga’s Nitro Nationals: Did We See the Future?

 By:       Bruce Biegler

When I was driving back last night following the inaugural Canadian Nitro Nationals at Cayuga a notion crossed my mind.   Is it possible that I had just witnessed the most successful independent drag racing event presentation in Canadian history? (continue reading…)

Inaugural Canadian Nitro Nationals – July 2-4th, 2010  Cayuga ON

Hawker Wins in Upset – Stawicki Resets PMRA Speed Benchmarks

Driving his 1963 Corvette Pro Modified, PMRA class newcomer Derek Hawker of Corbyville, Ontario won the second round in the 2010 Pro Modified Racing Association, held at the Cayuga Dragway of Toronto Motorsports Park.

 Hawker was scheduled to meet up with Mike Stawicki of Medina, New York in the final round, but the G-Force Race Cars 1968 Firebird broke in the semi, giving the win to Hawker.

Derek Hawker has made both PMRA final rounds this season.

 The win was Hawker’s first in PMRA competition. The race was also Hawker’s second PMRA event, and the rookie and former Sportsman driver went to the final round at the first PMRA event in May earlier this year. He qualified seventh in the eight-car field.

“I really want to not only thank my family and crew, but Atchison Racing Engines,” he added. “They are second to none.”

Hawker had defeated defending PMRA series champion Bruce Boland in round one of competition but then also earned a bye into the final round when his scheduled opponent, Terry Brown of Caledonia also broke.

With his win, Hawker leads the PMRA Championship Award Series presented by Magnum Auto Parts and Patio Passport with 591, followed by Latino with 573. Third is Stawicki with 572 points, Brown is next with 553 points, and Andreacchi is fifth with 546.

During qualifying, veteran Pro Modified driver Mike Stawicki took the class to a new level when he took his G-Force Race Cars, Cynergy Composites bodied 1968 Firebird to the quickest and fastest runs in PMRA class history.

Mike Stawicki ran an awesome 5.80 at 255 mph!

Stawicki, of Medina, New York, ran a stunning series of sub-six-second laps all through qualifying – with a best ever record-setting 5.803-second, 255.15-mph to pace the eight-car field.

Those numbers shattered the previous PMRA quarter-mile records — set by Stawicki himself at Cayuga in September of 2008 (6.049 secs) and Mark Nielsen of Brantford, Ontario, (237.30 mph), also recorded in September 2008 at Cayuga.

(Bruce Biegler Photos)

Crazy Cool Corvette!

 By:       Bruce Biegler

Just one of the many spectacular race cars that caught the eye of DragRaceCanada during last week’s IHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals was the very flashy ’63 Corvette owned by Gary Urlacher.

Dads Gone Racing Corvette

(continue reading…)

A Quick (32) Update!

Derek Hawker wins first PMRA Pro Mod Title

Corvette team tops field during Canadian Nitro Nationals – Stawicki sets new PM benchmark 

By:  Tim Miller

Close Encounter of the Dangerous Kind!

By:       Bruce Biegler

Calgary’s Ashley Bart carved herself out a little bit of drag racing history during the IHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals.  During Saturday’s evening feature racing she won the Nitro Jam’s Pro Fuel class runoff and with that became the first female, first Canadian and first supercharged TAD driver to ever accomplish that. (continue reading…)

Pat Musi

Veteran drag racer Pat Musi, raced to his first NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series victory at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Ohio.

Musi, who outran Troy Coughlin, Ed Hoover and top qualifier Raymond Commisso in the first three rounds, defeated Brad Personett in the final round. It was Musi’s first victory in NHRA competition since 1981, when the New Jersey driver won a Wally in Pro Stock competition at the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

Musi’s Dodge Stratus, which features EFI, posted a 5.981 at 239.44 to hold off Personett’s hard-charging turbocharged ’68 Camaro, which trailed with a 5.996 at 251.02.

Series points leader Von Smith, winner of three events this season, was upset in the first round by Rickie Smith. Smith leads Danny Rowe by 85 points with three races remaining in the 10 event series.

Raymond Commisso

The GSA feature included two serious incidents both which occurred during Friday’s 2^nd qualifying session.  Both Tony Pontieri (Toronto ON) and Roger Burgess (Duluth GA) lost race cars under similar but unrelated circumstances.  Pontieri suffered a neck injury while Roger Burgess was thankfully not injured.

Pro Mod runner-up Brad Personnett, from Indiana recorded the fastest speed yet within NHRA GSA Pro Mod competition so far at 253.52 mph.   Raymond Commisso was the top qualifier and set low ET of the event for the 4^th time in 2010 – this time at 5.910 secs.

(Photos by:  Steve Embling and Eric Embling)