Eastern Canada’s drag racing scene kicked into high gear last weekend with significant but conflicting feature race dates held over the Victoria Day weekend at both Cayuga Dragway and Grand Bend Motorplex.

DragRaceCanada was aiming it’s Nikon equipment at both events;   the PMRA’s Victoria Day Challenge (at Cayuga) which included the PBSS and Napa Quick 32  and the RPM Magazine/Lucas Oil Spring Blowout event at Grand Bend which featured the  NDRA season opener.

We are pleased to present a Photo Extra of just some of the exciting action and worthy participants — you can view that essay :  HERE

All Photos by Bruce Biegler and Brennan Shortall

The first of the four event series for the National Drag Racing Association (NDRA) was during Grand Bend Motorplex’s “Spring Blowout” presented by RPM Magazine and Lucas Oil last weekend.   The event marked a successful 2013 start for the budding new series which is entering it’s 2nd year of existence…

Saturday’s qualifying resulted in some satisfying numbers for both the NDRA Alcohol Funny Cars presented by Ohsweken Speedway and Pro Doorslammers. Last year’s NDRA AFC champion, Larry Dobbs of Welland, ON took the top qualifying spot with a 5.89 at 246 mph. Dylan Hache of London, ON wheeled in for second position in the battle of the Funny Car “Birds”.

On the Pro Doorslammer side, London, Ontario’s Trevor Deeks and his Comprehensive Mechanical backed 2005 Grand Am finished number one in the qualifying rounds with Jack Brohman chasing him with a close second place in his supercharged Nazca Racing ’69 Camaro.

Trevor Deeks earned the first ever NDRA Pro Doorslammer eliminator win

Although a stiff head-wind challenged the racers all day, E.T.s and speeds were good and the entertainment was great!

Eliminations on Sunday afternoon were run under completely different climatic conditions, but the competition levels remained consistent with Saturday’s finishes.

In a pre-event interview, Larry Dobbs indicated that he was determined to keep his 2012 NDRA AFC championship intact and he certainly accomplished that in this, his first time in the seat for this year’s series. He piloted his Sportz Tent sponsored ’02 Trans Am to a 5.81 second @ 241.02 mph win over Dylan Hache’s 6.10 / 219.08 pass in his ’02 For Wheels Auto Care Firebird . In the same run, he took the day’s low E.T. and top speed.

Larry Dobbs was the event TAFC winner.

Although, Pro Doorslammer Trevor Deeks’ E.T. in the final round was a little slower than his 6.58 quickest of the weekend, it was enough for his 6.65 / 211.81 mph victory. NDRA newcomer, Dan Aitken Jr. of Belle River, ON had to settle for runner up with a 7.09 @ 193.79 in his ’95 Ford Mustang.

Dave Earhart of Strathroy, ON missed the opening win that he was looking for, but did muscle the Earhart Heating & Cooling INC., Performance Unlimited sponsored ’02 Camaro to a really decent 217.02 mph fastest Pro Doorslammer speed of the event. Once again; proving that the old Pro Mod still has what it takes to produce big numbers.

It was a crowd pleasing opening for the National Drag Racing Association series. Rivalries were initiated and a high competition was set amongst the racers that will spell great entertainment for the rest of the season’s events.

NDRA President & Operations Director, Dale Boeru

NDRA President & Operations Director, Dale Boeru came away from the season opener with a gratified feeling and sense of accomplishment after all of the effort that was put into the pre-season. The work is far from done, but this was definitely a good start and a strong precursor to a successful 2013 season.

“We were pleased that we were part of the RPM Magazine / Lucas Oil Spring Blowout presented by Mickey Thompson Tire once again this year. Our Pro Doorslammer and Alcohol Funny Car drivers put on a fabulous show for the fans. I would like to thank Chris & Trish Biro, Matt from Lucas Oil and Paul and Kim Spriet of Grand Bend Motorplex for having the NDRA as part of this tremendous weekend event.”

With the first event in the bag, the National Drag Racing Association heads to Toronto Motorsports Park – Cayuga Dragway on July 12 – 14 for the 4th Annual Canadian Nitro Nationals. There, the Pro Doorslammers and Alcohol Funny Cars will team up with the NDRA Nitro Nostalgia Funny Cars for an even better entertainment package.

The NDRA is proudly supported by Ohsweken Speedway, Essroc Ready Mix, Fast Entertainment Inc., Sousa Concrete, Trackless Vehicles Ltd, Xylotek Solutions Inc. Cambridge Concrete Pumping, Shellbourne Fuels, ClearShot Customs, InSight Graphics & Design, Pegasus Glass, Carmen’s Banquet Centre and Canadian Drag Racer Magazine.

For more information about the NDRA and their 2013 schedule visit : www.ndra.ca

To view additional images from the NDRA season opener visit DragRaceCanada’s Victoria Day Event Photo Extra :  HERE

Photos by: Bruce Biegler

Posted by: Dale Hickey

National News is cut to the chase for all NHRA Mello Yello Series Drag Racing fans.

Event Essentials will give you clear and concise summaries from each and every NHRA national event race as well as unbridled and timely observations. Includes award winning photo images. NHRA’s event calendar is conveniently referenced – if you see green — that means go!

NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series 2013 Schedule:

Date	Event	Event Essentials
Feb. 14-17	O’Reilly Auto Parts Winternationals Pomona, CA
Feb. 22-24	Arizona Nationals Phoenix, AZ
Mar. 14-17	Amalie Oil Gatornationals Gainesville, FL
Apr. 5-7	SummitRacing.com Nationals Las Vegas, NV
Apr. 19-21	Dollar General 4-Wide Nationals Concord, NC
Apr. 26-28	O’Reilly Auto Parts Spring Nationals Houston, TX
May 3-5	Summit Racing Southern Nationals Commerce, GA
May 17-19	NHRA Kansas Nationals Topeka, KS
May 30-June 2	NHRA Toyota Supernationals Englishtown, NJ
June 14-16	Ford Thunder Valley Nationals Bristol, TN
June 20-23	NHRA New England Nationals Epping, NH
June 27-30	O’Reilly Route 66 Nationals Joliet, IL
July 4-7	Summit NHRA Nationals Norwalk, OH
July 19-21	Mopar Mile-High Nationals Denver, CO
July 26-28	Sonoma Nationals Sonoma, CA
Aug. 2-4	O’Reilly Northwest Nationals Seattle, WA
Aug. 15-18	Lucas Oil Nationals Brainerd, MN
Aug. 28-Sep. 2	Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Indianapolis, IN
NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship
Sep. 13-15	NHRA Nationals Concord, NC
Sep. 19-22	AAA Texas Fall Nationals Dallas, TX
Sep. 27-29	AAA Insurance Midwest Nationals St. Louis, MO
Oct. 3-6	Auto Plus Nationals Reading, PA
Oct. 24-27	Big O Tires Nationals Las Vegas, NV
Nov. 7-10	AAA Auto Club Finals Pomona, CA
2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999

The Mopar brand within NHRA drag racing continued it’s rather dominating 2013 season run with Jeg Coughlin and Johnny Gray winning during NHRA’s Kansas Nationals held at Heartland Park Topeka. The event also featured a big win for Shawn Langdon in Top Fuel as well as Canadian-based cars winning both of the event’s Top Alcohol titles…

For a second time this season, two Dodge entries doubled up to take title wins in both the Pro Stock and Funny Car classes at the NHRA Kansas Nationals with drivers Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Johnny Gray taking home special-edition silver Wally trophies in honor of the event’s 25th anniversary. Each driver’s trip to the winner’s circle was notable for number of reasons.

Before the final elimination round came down to a Mopar versus Mopar face-off between Coughlin and his teammate Allen Johnson, his second round victory gave him a milestone 500 career round wins. He becomes the fifth Pro Stock driver to reach that plateau along with Greg Anderson, Bob Glidden, Kurt Johnson, and Warren Johnson.

The all Mopar brand Pro Stock final saw Jeg Coughlin edge out Allen Johnson

Coughlin advanced to his 88^th career final round appearance to earn a 53^rd career win with a 6.680-second pass at 206.20 mph over Johnson’s elapsed time of 6.698 sec (206.57 mph) after both drivers recorded .013 second reaction times. It was the third time this season that Coughlin was involved in an all-Mopar final elimination. Previously, the driver of the Jegs.com/Mopar Dodge Avenger was defeated by Vincent Nobile for the win in the season opening event at Pomona, then finished runner-up to Johnson at the Gatornationals.

“Any day you are hoisting a Wally at the end of the day is a good thing and it’s what you work for and that final round ranks up there with some of the best races I’ve ever won,” said Coughlin who maintains his second place spot in the points battle but is closing the gap on the leader Mike Edwards. “Today was extra-special for several reasons. We hadn’t won in a couple of years. To finally get a Wally on Sunday is exactly what the doctor ordered. We have been working hard and trying to work smart, and today was our day and it felt fantastic.”

“All of us at Mopar are excited to see Jeg (Coughlin Jr.) back in the winner’s circle after a strong start to the season and be part of his 500^th round win milestone,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “We began a great partnership with Jeg last year and it’s great to see him back on top with this win at the Kansas Nationals. We look forward to seeing him contending for many more wins this year with the powerful Mopar HEMI engine under the hood of his Dodge. “

Jeg Coughlin’s 53rd career win included a milestone 500th round win.

While three Mopars made the semifinals in Pro Stock, the same transpired in Funny Car with Dodge Charger R/T contingent of Johnny Gray, Jack Beckman and Ron Capps all advancing. Matt Hagan’s ‘Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar’ wasn’t quite as lucky falling in the first round to Bob Tasca.

In the semifinals, Beckman, who was the defending event winner, fell to Gray who would meet up for a final round elimination against Robert Hight after he defeated Capps. Gray earned his first victory at the Heartland Park Topeka track in the Pitch Energy Dodge Charger with a final run of 4.067 seconds (314.90 mph) after Hight lost traction early in the run.

Gray is having a banner year for Mopar and his Don Schumacher Racing team.  With a victory at the previous event in Atlanta, not only does he have wins in back-to-back races for the first time in his career, bringing his career total to six, but he now also has sole possession of the points lead in the Funny Car championship for another career first. Highlights for Gray this season also include wins in all three of his final round appearances with his Dodge Charger R/T, a no.1 qualifier position at Phoenix and a semifinal appearance in the season opener at Pomona.

“My crew chief Rob (Wendland) gave me a great race car that ran real hard all day,” said Gray. “Sometimes you can win races on an intimidation factor and Rob had her tuned up to where she was a little intimidating today. My guys are giving me a car I can’t screw up in right now.”

“It was great to see Don Schumacher Racing’s Johnny Gray add a third win today to the strong start to the year he’s had in the Dodge Charger R/T,” Gorlier said. “Earning wins in both Pro Stock and Funny Car classes for the second time this year after first doing it at the Gatornationals, is a great way to reinforce all the hard work that Mopar HEMI-powered teams and drivers are putting in early in the season to defend both World titles.”

Johnny Gray’s 3rd win of 2013 has put him into the FC points lead. He defeated Robert Hight in the Topeka final.

In Top Fuel, Langdon used the quickest time of the weekend to defeat his arch-rival Tony Schumacher in the final round and take his second win of the season. Langdon covered the distance in 3.750 at 324.20 in his Al-Anabi Racing dragster, while Schumacher’s U.S. Army machine trailed with a 3.781 at 327.27. All three of Langdon’s career victories have come with seven-time world champ Schumacher as his final round opponent.

“We haven’t quite been able to finish it out on Sunday,” Langdon said. “[My crew] had the fire in their eyes today. They wanted to close it out. We didn’t want to go four races in a row feeling like we had a car that can win and not getting it done.”

Top qualifier Langdon used a string of 3.7-second runs in earlier round wins against Pat Dakin, Steve Torrence and Spencer Massey. He saved his quickest run for last against Schumacher.

“That’s [team manager/tuner] Alan Johnson, [crew chief] Brian Husen, and Al-Anabi Racing,” Langdon said. “Sheikh Khalid [bin Hamad Al Thani, owner] assembled a great team. They don’t settle for second place. They always want to have the fastest car. They really made my job easy this weekend.”

With the win, Langdon moves to second in the series standings, 34 behind leader Schumacher.

Event Essentials – NHRA Kansas Nationals (May 17-19th, 2013) Topeka, KS

CANADIAN TEAMS TAKE BOTH ALCOHOL CLASSES!

It was certainly “Oh Canada” at Topeka as Canadian teams swept the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Top Alcohol Divisions when Alan Bradshaw picked up his first win in 10 years in Top Alcohol Dragster and Jirka Kaplan earned his first ever in Top Alcohol Funny Car.

Bradshaw (who is from Texas) drove to victory in TAD behind the wheel of the Winnipeg-based Doucette Racing dragster which is owned by Doug Doucette.  Bradshaw got a big break in the final round when his opponent  Chris Demke’s engine went silent at the 2-3 shift, allowing Bradshaw, who last scored in 2003, when he won the national championship driving for Randy Meyer’s team, to race by for a 5.49 win. Demke’s blower snout broke, which shed the belt, slowed him to a 5.86, and left him with three runner-ups in three national event finals this year and four in four career finals in Topeka.

Alan Bradshaw drove Doug Doucette’s Winnipeg-based dragster to the TAD title.

Bradshaw, also earned round wins over Brandon Pierce (who was disqualified for a fuel violation) Rich McPhillips and #1 qualifier James Thompson,

Kaplan, who is from Calgary, got progressively quicker in every round , wheeling his Bearspaw Petroleum Mustang to a 5.689 against Charles McLaws, a 5.687 against Mark Billington, and a semifinal 5.651 against Sean Bellemeur’s Mastercam Camaro. His best run of eliminations, a 5.644, took out No. 1 qualifier and defending event champ Tony Bartone in the final on a slight holeshot against Bartone’s 5.640. Bartone was on time with a .052 light, but Kaplan was even quicker with a .038 that actually was his second-worst of the race.

For Kaplan, his first Alcohol Funny Car title came in just his fourth national event start in the TAFC class. He last won at the 2011 U.S. Nationals in Comp in a AA/AM ’23-T altered. Both cars were tuned by Calgary’s Les Davenport.

With the final-round appearance, his third in a row in national competition, Bartone moved into a first-place tie in the Top Alcohol Funny Car standings with Dan Pomponio, who has been to just four races this year but has won all four. Bartone established low e.t. of the meet with a 5.60 in qualifying, beat Wayne Butler with a 5.67 in round one, singled in round two, and edged Shane Westerfield on a slight holeshot in the semifinals, 5.64 to 5.63, in a rematch of last year’s final.

Jirka Kaplan and crew chief Les Davenport won in TAFC in just their 4th national event start in that category.

Tommy Phillips grabbed his 28^th national event win as he defeated Jeremy Demers in Super Comp and a pair of local racers took home the honors in Top Dragster and Super Street.  Phillips went six rounds for the trophy in his ’10 dragster covering the quarter mile in 8.909 seconds at 155 mph to Demers who ran too quick on the 8.90 index.  Larry Piper, Wamgo, Kan., and John Dasher, Silver Lake, Kan., each took wins for the local fans.  Piper beat fellow Kansas racer Jackie Gerhardt, Topeka, Kan., in Top Dragster with a pass of 173 mph in 7.145 seconds for his first national event win and Dasher won on a double breakout with Ray Todd in the Super Street final.

Steve Williams put his K&N Filters ’63 Corvette in the winner’s circle for his 5^th national event win and second in Super Gas while Austin Williams (no relation) went the distance in Stock Eliminator.  S. Williams, Beaumont, Calif., knocked out Shawn Carter, Park Hill, Okla., and A. Williams, ran down Russ Speer in his ’72 duster.

Tim Nicholson returned to the Heartland Park Topeka winners circle with a win over Harvey Emmons in Super Stock.  The Concordia, Kan., racer, won here back in 2010, held off Emmons with a 10.314 second pass at 120 mph in Super Stock.

Posted with files from Pat Caporali, Eric Lotz, NHRA Communications and Bruce Biegler

Canadian teams swept the weather-plagued Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka and the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series…..

Alan Bradshaw picked up his first win in 10 years in Top Alcohol Dragster and Jirka Kaplan earned his first ever in Top Alcohol Funny Car.

Bradshaw, who is from Odessa Texas but drives for Winnipeg’s Doug Doucette Racing, wasn’t looking good at half-track in the final, but opponent Chris Demke’s engine went silent at the 2-3 shift, allowing Bradshaw, who last scored in 2003, when he won the national championship driving for Randy Meyer’s team, to race by for a 5.49 win. Demke’s blower snout broke, which shed the belt, slowed him to a 5.86, and left him with three runner-ups in three national event finals this year and four in four career finals in Topeka.

Dedicated Canadian car owner Doug Doucette collected his much deserved 1st NHRA national event win.

Demke was coming off low e.t. of the meet, 5.38, in a semifinal win over Canadian Gord Gingles, who had been murdering the Tree all weekend, with reaction times of .015, .002, and .008.

Bradshaw, driving Doucette’s A/Fuel dragster which is co-tuned by Ken Murray, had in fact been beaten to the finish line in the 3rd round by Brandon Pierce, 5.44 to a shutoff 5.71.  But Pierce, now driving for Gene Snow, failed fuel check. His tank contained 94.3 percent nitro – 0.3 percent over the legal limit.

Doug Doucette’s injected nitro car is driven by Alan Bradshaw.

Granted the unexpected reprieve, Bradshaw was reinstated and earned his first national event victory since the 2003 Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd. He had four previous wins, all in his 2003 championship season, including one at Topeka.

In the early rounds, both of which were run on Saturday because of massive storms forecast for Kansas on Sunday, Bradshaw took out defending event champ Rich McPhillips, 5.45 to 5.72, and No. 1 qualifier James Thompson, 5.41 to 5.45. Thompson’s 5.39 in qualifying held up for low e.t. until Demke erased Gingles, the 2012 Central Region champ, in the semi’s with a 5.38, ending the best national event outing of Gingles’ career. Demke, who qualified No. 2 with a 5.39, the only other run all weekend in the 5.30s, picked up the pace in every round of eliminations with times of 5.44, 5.42, and 5.38 opposite Michael Manners, Aaron Olivarez, and Gingles, respectively.

Les Davenport and Jirka Kaplan rolled to a very convincing 1st ever TAFC class victory.

Kaplan also got quicker in every round, wheeling his Bearspaw Petroleum Mustang to a 5.689 against Charles McLaws, a 5.687 against Mark Billington, and a semifinal 5.651 against Sean Bellemeur’s Mastercam Camaro. His best run of eliminations, a 5.644, took out No. 1 qualifier and defending event champ Tony Bartone in the final on a slight holeshot against Bartone’s 5.640. Bartone was on time with a .052 light, but Kaplan was even quicker with a .038 that actually was his second-worst of the race.

Jirka Kaplan’s Bearspaw Petroleum Mustang ran it’s quickest time of the event in the final at 5.644 secs to win.

For Kaplan, of Calgary, Alta., his first Alcohol Funny Car title comes in just his fourth national event start. He last won at the 2011 U.S. Nationals in Comp in a AA/AM ’23-T altered. Both cars were tuned by Calgary’s Les Davenport.

Posted by:  Eric Lotz  Photos by:  NHRA & Bruce Biegler

Mopar extends Canadian drag racing support at IHRA events – Edmonton & Grand Bend Nitro Jam events to feature strong Mopar presence…..

Mopar® Canada, which has been the title sponsor for the IHRA’s Mopar Canadian Nitro Jam since its inception back in 2000 and recently acquired title sponsorship of the Mopar Rocky Mountain Nitro Jam Nationals in 2010, has announced that it will continue its involvement within Canada’s drag racing scene by renewing sponsorship of the two IHRA Nitro Jam events to be held in Canada.

2013 represents Mopar Canada’s 13th season as sponsor of the Mopar Nitro Jam Nationals at the Grand Bend Motorplex in Ontario, scheduled this year for July 19-21.  This year also marks the brand’s third year as sponsor of the Mopar Rocky Mountain Nitro Jam Nationals at Castrol Raceway in Alberta the weekend of July 5-7. Both events are well attended and provide a thrilling show featuring some of the fastest cars in the world.

Mopar’s John Eason

“Mopar Canada has been a long time sponsor of the IHRA’s Mopar Canadian Nitro Jam Nationals in Ontario and Alberta.  These events provide us with a great venue to showcase our vehicles and accessories to fans, participants, customers and enthusiasts,” said Jim Kiritsis, Head of Mopar Canada.  “What makes this sponsorship work so well, is that we share a passion for cars and for motorsports with the audience.”

With the announcement, Mopar Canada has cemented its presence and support for Canada’s two largest annual drag racing events.

Mopar will bring its full display hauler, which was a very popular fan attraction during last year’s events, to both races this season. Numerous special Chrysler brand vehicles, local high-performance Mopar cars and an extensive line-up of the latest parts and accessories from Mopar will be available for viewing.

The International Hot Rod Association’s Nitro Jam events are designed to provide thrilling motorsports entertainment for the entire family. Designed to challenge the senses with sights, sounds and smells you won’t find anywhere else in the world, Nitro Jam is home to some of the fastest and wildest racing machines on the planet.

This year’s Mopar sponsored drag racing events at Castrol Raceway and Grand Bend Motorplex will feature everything from 320 mile-per-hour Top Fuel Dragsters to thrilling AMSOIL Prostalgia Nitro Funny Cars, Nitro Harleys, Fuel Altereds, jet-powered trucks, wheelstanders, pyrotechnics and much more.

Among the hundreds of local competitors that will also be in attendance, Canada’s reputation for Mopar brand drag racing is already highly impressive and reputed, thus making Mopar’s returning support for the two Canadian drag racing events a very deserving and timely development. Expectations are that a large number of top-running Mopar cars will be entered for competition at both races.

The Mopar Rocky Mountain Nitro Jam Nationals at Castrol Raceway are scheduled for July 5-7 and the Mopar Nitro Jam Nationals at the Grand Bend Motorplex will take place July 19-21. For more information or for ticket information visit www.nitrojam.com.

For more information on Mopar and its extensive lineup of products and services, visit www.mopar.ca.

About Mopar

Mopar is Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. Mopar distributes approximately 280,000 parts and accessories in more than 90 countries and is the source for all original-equipment parts for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram Truck vehicles. Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered and tested with the same teams that create factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram Truck vehicles – a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. A complete list of Mopar accessories and performance parts is available at www.mopar.ca.

About IHRA Motorsports

Headquartered in Norwalk, Ohio, the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) promotes professional, semi-professional and local level racing for drivers of all levels. The Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series is a North American professional drag racing series comprised of events in major cities throughout the United States and Canada. The IHRA also oversees multiple sportsman racing programs including the Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am Tour presented by AMSOIL, Summit Racing Equipment SuperSeries presented by AMSOIL and Summit Racing Equipment Tournament of Champions presented by AMSOIL. For more information on IHRA Motorsports visit www.ihra.com.

Posted by:  Larry Crum

Photos by:  Bruce Biegler

DragRaceCanada’s Pro Mod Portal is intended to provide one-stop shopping to check out major event results as well as the latest news involving drag racing’s most dramatic doorslamers.

2013 Major Event Schedule:

Circuit	Date	Event Title	Location
	Mar. 14-17	Amalie Oil Gatornationals	Gainesville FL
	Apr. 19-21	Dollar General 4-Wide Nationals	Charlotte NC
	Apr. 26-28	O’Reilly Spring Nationals	Baytown TX
	May 10-11	PMRA Michigan Event	Martin MI
	May 17-19	Victoria Day Challenge	Cayuga ON
	May 30-June 2	Toyota SuperNationals	Englishtown NJ
	June 14-16	Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals	Bristol TN
	June 15-16	PMRA Quebec Event	Mirabel PQ
	June 21-23	PMRA South Coast Community Event	Cayuga ON
	July 4-7	Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals	Norwalk OH
	July 12-14	Canadian Nitro Nationals	Cayuga ON
	July 19-21	IHRA Mopar Nitro Jam	Grand Bend ON
	Aug. 9-11	Stratford Spectacular	Grand Bend ON
	Aug. 29–Sep. 3	Mac Tools U.S. Nationals	Indianapolis IN
	Aug. 30-Sep. 1	Thunder By The Beach	Grand Bend ON
	Sep. 13-15	ZMax Nationals	Charlotte NC
	Sep. 27-29	Midwest Nationals	St. Louis MO
	Oct. 24-27	Las Vegas Nationals	Las Vegas NV
2012 Archives 2011 Archives 2010 Archives

Former Fast Street Car racer Rocky DiLecce (Mississauga ON) enjoyed a terrific outing at TMP Cayuga Dragway last weekend winning two PMRA Pro Mod titles.  Billy White and Dan Cryderman were also victorious during the exciting and crash-marred Victoria Day Challenge Canadian series opener…

Di Lecce, driving his supercharged 1968 Camaro Pro Mod, owned the Cayuga track over the weekend, qualifying number one with a 5.964-second, 242.98-mph pass and never looking back.  In the final round the 2nd year Pro Mod driver defeated the Willys of number eight qualifier Jeff Roth of New Dundee, Ontario.  Di Lecce took a bye run in the first round, and then took out Jay Santos of Halton Hills, Ontario in the semi-round. Jason Kalso of Clarkston, Michigan was the other semi-finalist, losing to Roth.

The win was Di Lecce’s second of the 2013 season driving the R2B2 constructed car —  he won the postponed PMRA race from a week previous, also completed during the weekend at Cayuga.

Rocky DeLicce (from Mississauga) set both low ET and top speed while winning the PMRA features at Cayuga

Pro Mod class racing did take its toll on competitors this weekend.  Friday’s open test session claimed the cars of arguably the series’ two top ranked PMRA racers – multi-time champion Bruce Boland and defending 2012 points champion Eric Latino.   Both the Boland and Latino cars suffered severe damage after collecting the guardwalls in separate incidents.   While Boland’s damage to his recently acquired ’53 Corvette was reportedly mostly cosmetic — Latino’s fast-rising “Team Green” Camaro made the heaviest impact.   Thankfully both popular racers were not seriously injured.

Defending PMRA champion Eric Latino emerged from this scary wreck during Friday’s open testing session.

Derek Hawker was also forced out of competition during Saturday’s qualifying round when he lost control of his ’63 Corvette and made glancing blows with both guardwalls while spinning out on the top end.   Thankfully again — Hawker was not injured but his fan favourite Corvette will need a new front half and some body work.

White (Gadshill ON) qualified sixth on the Top Dragster side, eliminating Mike Everitt of Stratford, Ontario, Tony Positano of Toronto, Ontario, and Melanie Simmons of Orillia, Ontario, to meet up with and eliminate Jeff Moser of Waterloo, Ontario in the Top Dragster final.

On the Top Sportsman side, Spencer Hyde qualified fifth and made laps through the field, besting Paul Martin of Breslau, Ontario, number one qualifier Fred De Jonge of Puslinch, Ontario, and Marc Gervais of Sudbury, Ontario, to meet up with and win over Steve Corriveau of Fonthill, Ontario in the final round.

In the event final, White cut an excellent .004 light, and drove to a 6.69, 200.40 win over Hyde. The win was White’s first in Quick 32 Sportsman Series competition.

Bill White’s win driving his Top Dragster was his first Napa Q32 series victory.

Pro Bike rider Dan Cryderman (Thamesville ON) won his third PBSS event after a tight match-up with runner-up John Schwartz of Lancaster, New York. Cryderman, riding his Suzuki, qualified third in the field and eliminated Marty Kuiack of Milton, Ontario, Rob Barwick of Toronto, Ontario, and Dave Vandereyken of Acton, Ontario.

Dan Cryderman won the PBSS series opening event of 2013.

Next event in the PMRA will be held on the ICAR eighth-mile drag strip in Mirabel, Quebec June 15-16, the third race on the eight-race card. The Quick 32 Sportsman Series and the PBSS return to action June 21-23 during the South Coast Community Weekend at TMP’s Cayuga Dragway.

Posted with files from Tim Miller and Bruce Biegler

Photos by:  Bruce Biegler, Brennan Shortall & Greg MacPherson

To view DragRaceCanada’s Victoria Day Weekend Event Photo Gallery – click : HERE 

Calgary’s Jirka Kaplan’s venture into the ranks of NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car class racing has shown fast progress and has now produced an early dividend….

Despite entering the highest echelon Sportsman class only recently — the versatile racer along with his tuning guru Les Davenport earned their first victory yesterday – taking the TAFC title during NHRA’s Kansas Nationals at Topeka.  The win came in what was only the team’s 3rd start at the NHRA national event level and after only graduating to the category late last season.

Driving his Bearspaw Petroluem Ford Mustang, which features automatic transmission technology — Kaplan slayed the field when he used holeshot to beat class powerhouse Tony Bartone in the final round.   Jirka got out first (.038 RT) and his run of 5.644 secs at 252.95 mph held off Bartone’s Mustang which ran 5.640 secs at 255.29 mph.

Prior to that Kaplan, who qualified for the program #3 with a 5.625 secs at 256.60 mph, beat Charles McLaws, Mark Billington and Sean Bellemeur in earlier rounds of competition.

Jirka Kaplan defeated Tony Bartone in the TAFC final at Topeka yesterday.

While Kaplan’s victory may be surprising to some — in reality it should not be.    He and Davenport (Acceleration Enterprises – DeWinton AB) have a number of success stories to their credit prior to fielding their new TAFC — winning and setting records in both NHRA Competition eliminator and within NHRA’s Hot Rod Heritage Drag Racing Series.

Jirka Kaplan won his 2nd career NHRA “Wally”

Posted by:  Bruce Biegler

Photos courtesy of Auto Imagery

To view DragRaceCanada’s previously posted background feature on the team click :  HERE

]]> http://dragracecanada.com/?feed=rss2&p=10235 0 http://dragracecanada.com/?p=10219 http://dragracecanada.com/?p=10219#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 13:28:26 +0000 editor http://dragracecanada.com/?p=10219 Read the Rest...