Quebec’s Denis LaChance is having his third career go within the demanding Pro Modified class category….
The determined racer, who is based from Quebec City, has hit the Eastern Canadian drag strip trail this summer with his most impressive project attempt yet – a spanking new Jerry Bickel-built supercharged Chevy Camaro.
For LaChance, who formally raced in Top Dragster before first switching to Pro Mod cars during 2013 – this new Camaro which features a 526 CID Al Billes engine program — is ripening up quite nicely. Denis has been active within the majority of the Napa AutoPro USDRS events this summer and while racing there has been rewarded with some career quick and fast numbers.
This is in fact the third Pro Mod machine that Denis has campaigned – preceded by both a ’63 Corvette and a ’68 Firebird which were both acquired from Bruce Boland during previous seasons.
“Last year I bought the Firebird that Bruce Boland (from Hamilton) had raced but unfortunately at my second race out (at Naperville) it hit the wall at about the 1/8th mile mark and was severely damaged,” Denis revealed. “It was fixable — but with the cost associated with doing that compared to the price of a new car – I decided to go to plan B.”
Denis ordered his new Camaro and then picked it up last November. He and his crew finished the assembly and wiring and then painted the car over the winter. They also installed their motor program after acquiring that from fellow class racer Eric Latino. After a brief test session at Naperville, Cayuga’s Nitro Nationals event last July marked the first competitive race out with the new car.
“I’m happy with the progress we’ve made so far,” Denis added. “My career quick run was a 6.19 (secs) but this car has run 6.10 so far and with the engine program from Eric and Al – there is certainly 5.8 – 5.9 secs potential.”
Denis confirmed that while the Eastern Canadian USDRS circuit is his season top priority – the car is built to be legal for both NHRA and PDRA competiton and he might venture into those waters at some point in the future.
LaChance funds his racing operation primarily from his own company “Construction Injection EDM Inc.” which was founded by his father Eugene and which he co-owns with his brother Martin. His race team crew chief is Denis Jinchereaux.
Post and photos by : Bruce Biegler