Fast Bikes at Edmonton This Weekend

By:   Laura Fraser

CMDRA All Bike Drags Western SEASON FINALE at Castrol Raceway — September 11-12, 2010

The Canadian Motorcycle Drag Racing Association (CMDRA) is gearing up for their sixth and final race of the Drag Specialties/Parts Canada All Bike Drag Series on September 11-12th at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, AB presented by the Harley-Davidson Dealers of Alberta and K 97 Classic Rock.  The battle for the 2010 championships will be decided in Edmonton at a race you don’t want to miss!

The CMDRA is looking forward to another action packed season of racing featuring the fastest, most exciting ALL MAKE motorcycle drag racing action in Canada including the Screamin’ Eagle Top Fuel Series, Screamin’ Eagle Pro Fuel Series, Screamin’ Eagle Pro Dragster Series, Pro Modified Series, Pro Stock Series, Modified Series, Triple J Pipelines Super Gas Series, Screamin’ Eagle Stock XL (883) Series, Pro Street Series, McNeney & McNeney Super Bike Series, Mission Springs Brewing Company Street Series, Screamin’ Eagle V-Rod Destroyer Series, Gasoline Alley Harley-Davidson Hot Harley Series, Drag Specialties Gas Shootout and the All Steel Builders/Time Machine Motorsports Fuel Shootout along with 2 NEW classes, V Pro and Index Eliminator.

Come check out everything from 7 second Pro Street bikes, 6 second Pro Mod bikes and Top Fuel Nitro Harley’s burning up the quarter mile at over 200 mph. Spectators are welcome to walk around the pits and meet the racers and crew that make it all happen!

PS:  This race will also feature the Rocky Mountain Nostalgia Funny Cars!

SATURDAY

9:00am – FREE Race School, sponsored by Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada & the Trev Deeley Foundation

9:30am – Test & Tune

12:30pm – 1st Round of Qualifying  

SUNDAY

10:00am – Test & Tune

12:30pm – 1st Round of Eliminations

ADMISSION

Adult: $20 per day, $40 Weekend
Youth/Senior: $10 per day
Kids 5 & Under FREE

Tickets are only available at the Gate.    The poster for this event can be viewed here:  www.cmdra.com/index2.html

So Close at the Big Go!

By:       Bruce Biegler

Canadian Top Alcohol racer Shawn Cowie came “extremely close” to winning the sport of drag racing’s most coveted prize yesterday during the 56^th running of the NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis…. (continue reading…)

EVENT ESSENTIALS:   56^th Mac Tools U.S. Nationals – Sept. 1-6^th, 2010  Indianapolis IN.         

NHRA PLAYOFF ROUND OPENS AT PRESTIGOUS U.S. NATIONALS

(Pro Racing Summary – Courtesy of NHRA Communications)

Larry Dixon kept his perfect final round streak alive by racing to his 10th win of the season at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil, the world’s most prestigious drag race.  Ashley Force Hood, Greg Stanfield and LE Tonglet also were winners in their respective categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship event, the first of six playoff races.

Larry Dixon clobbered the Top Fuel field

Dixon earned his fourth win at Indy and 58th of his career by outrunning Cory McClenathan in the final round. Dixon defeated Bruce Litton, Steve Torrence and Shawn Langdon in earlier rounds to advance to the final.

Top qualifier Dixon covered the O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis drag strip in 3.837 seconds at 319.60 mph in his Al-Anabi Racing dragster to hold off McClenathan, who trailed with a 3.870 at 319.82 in his FRAM dragster.

“Winning Indy is enough for me,” said Dixon, who with the victory became the first driver in NHRA history to win 10 consecutive finals in a season without a loss. He increased his series lead to 46 over McClenathan as he works on a third world championship title. “Nothing against Atlanta or Phoenix, but I would trade them all in to win at Indy.”

Force Hood claimed her first win of the season, second in a row at this event and fourth overall by outrunning her father, John Force, in the final round. She powered her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang to a winning performance of 4.141 at 308.07 while her father’s Castrol GTX High-Mileage Mustang lost traction at mid-track and finished in 7.246 at 91.61.

Ashley Force Hood won Indy for the 2nd year in a row...

“This has just been an amazing day,” said Force Hood, who beat Del Worsham, Paul Lee and Jack Beckman in earlier rounds. “This may mean more than last year because we struggled so much this season. Last year we were on a roll – we had gone to some finals and won some races and were up high in the points — but this year it’s been the other end of the spectrum, but our team has stayed positive and we just said we’d use the start of the playoffs to turn it all around and forget the past.”

The elder Force maintained his series lead, 60 in front of Beckman. Force Hood moved to fourth in the standings with the victory.

Stanfield used a quicker reaction at the starting line to defeat defending world champion Mike Edwards in the Pro Stock final round. Stanfield posted a 6.665 at 207.59 in a his NitroFish Gear Pontiac GXP to hold off the quicker-but losing 6.627 at 208.75 effort from Edwards in his Penhall/Interstate Batteries GXP. It was Stanfield’s first win of the season and fourth of his career.

Greg Stanfield used sharp driving to slay the PS field

Stanfield moved to third in the points and had early round wins over Warren Johnson, Jason Line and Allen Johnson.

“This is just a huge win for me, especially after coming so close here last year [in a.001-second loss to Jeg Coughlin in the final],” said Stanfield. “And it was really exciting for our Nitro Fish Gear team owner, Kenny Koretsky, who was the Pro Stock runner-up at the 2004 Indy [which was the 50th anniversary of the event]. We came here with our first complete DRCE-3 engine, which makes more power than our old combination, and we also got the suspension straightened out to make good use of that extra power. We were struggling a lot earlier in the year, and I was beginning to doubt if I could get the job done. But I had promised Kenny that I’d get him at least one Wally this season, and I’m going to give him the trophy right after this race. I hope that we can win a few more.”

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, rookie LE Tonglet captured his second win of the season and moved into second place in the playoff point standings. Tonglet powered his Tonglet Racing Suzuki to a 6.869 at 195.22 to hold off top qualifier and national record-setter Andrew Hines, who was denied an Indy victory once again and finished in 6.962 at 194.13 on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.

The PSB Final went to LE Tonglet over Andrew Hines

Tonglet, who becomes the fourth rookie driver to win at Indy in the modern era, beat Joe DeSantis, Chip Ellis and Eddie Krawiec in the first three rounds.

“In Brainerd, when we broke that engine, our season was over,” he admitted. “We weren’t coming here but Vance & Hines and Fuel Pak stepped up and helped us out. Even so, I never expected to be sitting here telling you all how good I feel right now. We knew the Harley-Davidson would put down a big number and we knew we needed to step up. We have been taking it easy on this engine all weekend but we finally got my dad [Gary] to lean on it and we outran Eddie [Krawiec] in the semis. Dad said, ‘We’ve come this far. We’re in it to win it.’ We’re still taking it race by race but after this, I think it’s safe to say we’ll be in Charlotte.”

 Personett Wins GSA PM Title in Record Style

Brad Personett raced to his first career victory in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Series during  the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals

Personett, a home state racer from Elkhart, Ind., cruised to the win in the final when Joe Baker couldn’t make the call.

Brad Personett's Turbo Camaro was wicked fast!

In earlier rounds, Personett, driving the only turbo charged entry in the PM field, defeated Rick Stivers, Kenny Lang and Ed Hoover. During the weekend Personett reset the national speed record in the GSA series to a stunning 255.39 mph in his ultra-fast Big Stuff Performance sponsored ’68 Camaro.

Smith maintained his series points lead despite being upset in the first round by Hoover. With the win, Personett moved to fifth in the standings.

Mopar Hemi Challenge to Daniels

Jim Daniels, who is a Dentist by profession based in Bristol, PA., won the 10th Anniversary Mopar HEMI Challenge during Friday’s action at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. 

Driving his Ray Barton Racing Engines ‘68 Dodge Dart, Daniels defeated Ray Barton’s son David, of Robesonia, PA in the final round.  It was the second year in a row in which David Barton placed runner-up in the prestigious Shootout for SS/AH classed cars.

Daniels won by a razor-thin .008-second margin, turning a 8.560 second elapsed time to Barton’s one thousandth of  a second quicker 8.559 secs.

“The difference was in our reaction times,” said Barton, who had a .027 second mark. Daniels’ .018-second reaction time was a scant nine thousandths better, giving him the win.

Daniels defeated Randy Warford, Larry Perkins and Jim Pancake while advancing to the final round.  He had entered eliminations after qualifying #7 with a run of 8.637 secs.

The field was closely matched after perennial champion Charlie Westcott, Jr., Parma, Mich., exited the competition as a result of engine problems. Westcott had taken the top spot in qualifying with a dominant 8.413-second pass before retiring. His father, Charlie Westcott Sr., the defending event champion, also withdrew from competition with mechanical woes during qualifying.   

Jim Daniels won the 10th Anniversary Mopar Hemi Challenge

The Mopar® HEMI® Challenge Race Series made its debut back in 2001 at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. The race series pits Super Stock/A HEMI (SS/AH) 1968 Dodge Darts and Plymouth Barracudas against each other in fierce quarter-mile competition.

(Bruce Biegler Photos)

To view our complete Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Photo galleries click:  HERE

NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals – Indianapolis IN (Sep. 6^th, 2010)

TURBO CAR EARNS 1ST GSA PRO MOD SERIES VICTORY

By:       Bruce Biegler

Illinois-based racer Brad Personett made history during the NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals while racing to his first career victory in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Series.

Driving the only turbocharged entry within the Pro Mod class, Personett, cruised to a final round win when Florida’s Joe Baker could not make the call.

In earlier rounds, Personett defeated Rick Stivers, Kenny Lang and Ed Hoover. Also during the weekend Personett reset the national speed record in the series to 255.39 mph in his ultra-fast Big Stuff Performance ’68 Camaro.

With the win, Personett crept into 5^th place in the GSA season points standings.

Brad Personett was record fast while winning at Indy

Event highlights also included New York’s Mike Janis who qualified #1 and set low ET of the event at 5.887 secs driving his 2010 Mustang. 

Mike Janis & Ray Commisso both had strong event outings at Indy

Canada’s Raymond Commisso was the top finishing Canadian driver of the event.  Despite racing a brand new ’68 Pontiac Firebird, which was debuted at the Indy event, Commisso had a strong semi-final finish driving the R2B2-sponsored machine.

(Bruce Biegler Photos)

Despite Weather – PMRA Season Wraps  

By:   Tim Miller

The chase for the 2010 Pro Modified Racing Association season championship ended last weekend with a new champion while a former champion scored his first event win of the season…. (continue reading…)

PMRA Round #5 – Thunder by the Beach – Grand Bend, ON (Sept. 5^th, 2010)

Co-Share Winners at PMRA Season Finale

In the fifth and final PMRA event of the 2010 season, held at the Grand Bend Motorplex’s Teamsters Union “Thunder by the Beach” event, race finalists Mike Stawicki and Bruce Boland shared the race honors as co-winners.

That end result came following a determination by officials that racing could not continue due to safety concerns around deteriorated track conditions.

No one was quicker or faster this season in PMRA then Mike Stawicki

With his success this season, Mike Stawicki, of Medina, NY, secured enough points to capture the PMRA Championship Point Award Series presented by Magnum Auto Parts and Patio Passport.

The driver of the G-Force Race Cars 1968 Firebird qualified number two in the Marydel Homes Qualifying Session for the final race, with a 5.958, 251.25 pass behind the terrific number one posting of Vito Montesano of Maple, Ontario, who recorded a 5.887, 238.53 with his ERD-powered 1968 Camaro.

Three-time PMRA champion Boland made the show with his B&B Racing 1963 Corvette in eighth spot but during eliminations showed his stuff.  Boland, from Hamilton, Ontario defeated Montesano in the first round and then number five starter Derek Hawker of Corbyville, Ontario, in the semi to advance to the final.  It was the first circuit win of the season for Bruce Boland.

3X PMRA Series Champion Bruce Boland was the event co-winner

Stawicki’s advance to the final round included wins over #7 qualifier Jack Grainy in the Grainy Brothers 1967 Camaro and then the #3 qualified ’41 Willys driven by Jeff Roth of Kitchener ON.

Stawicki ran the Top Speed and Low ET of the meet with a 5.803 at 255.75.

(Bruce Biegler Photos)

OSCA Tour Update

By:  Mark Ackert

Once again an OSCA weekend has come and gone without the effects or delays of Mother Nature.  Event #4, billed as the “Hot Summer Brawl” was recently held at famed Cayuga Dragway at Toronto Motorsports Park….  (continue reading…)

PMRA Round #4 – Stratford Spectacular – Grand Bend ON (August 7^th + Sept. 5^th, 2010)

Rain Deferred Stratford Spectacular Title to Andreacchi

 The highly anticipated PMRA Pro Modified final round for August’s Stratford Spectacular at Grand Bend Motorplex, was originally pegged for August but was lost due to rain, was completed on Sep. 4^th.

Toronto’s Sam Andreacchi, driver of the Paul Wolf Lighting & Electric Supply-sponsored ’69 Chevy Nova emerged victorious.

Pro Mod Winner - Sam Andreacchi

Andreacchi was scheduled to match up against Mike Stawicki of Medina, NY, for the delayed final, but ended up having a solo pass when Stawicki had problems in firing up his 1968 Firebird before his burnout.

 Andreacchi, claimed his second career PMRA Pro Modified win, running a winning 6.262-secs at 225.50-mph in the final.  The popular driver had defeated Jeff Roth and Derek Hawker in rounds one and two held back in August.

The event’s performance star was once again Mike Stawicki whose unreal 5.739 secs clocking (low ET) was in fact the quickest Pro Mod run ever on Canadian soil.

Mike also set top speed of the race at a track record 254.23 mph.

 (Bruce Biegler Photo)

Alberta Drag Racer Ken Webster Selected for Driver Search II

By:  Jonathan E. Bayless

“Top Driver” earns entry in ARCA Racing Series event at Rockingham Speedway

Petty Holdings has officially announced the lineup for the second edition of Richard Petty’s Driver Search, its unique training camp and competition for aspiring race car drivers scheduled for September 13-16, 2010…. (continue reading…)

TNT Super Series “Double Header” at Cayuga Dragway

By:  Lewis “The Kid” Robinson

The battle for the 2010 Joe’s Transmission TNT Super Series championship is bringing out the best of the best 10.90 sportsman racers in the northeast.  With two-thirds of the season over, everyone will on be set on kill for this weekend’s double event at Cayuga Dragway of Toronto Motorsports Park…. (continue reading…)