Canadian drag racing highlights in July — including success and successions!……
Flyin’ Ryan Flight Continues! — Burford Ontario’s KHR Racing scored a significant win during the recently held PDRA ProStars – season half way mark event — held a Virginia Motorsports Park. At that specialty event (invitation only based on points accumulated) the team’s Pro Junior car driven by Ryan Harris was seeking top honours for the elite 8-car field of nothing but up-and -coming young racers. Ryan (with his crew of father Kyle and mother Jennie) took it all the way to the final round and pulled off the event win. Running on a 7.90 index — Ryan’s 7.908 secs in the final round defeated the PDRA’s current points leader, Ashley Franklin.
Ryan had bumped his way into the event with a big win from the PDRA Maryland race (in June) and put that earned momentum to very good use.
The VMP race did have it’s issues – primary with the weather (including some 30 hours of heavy rains!)
Ontario’s Ryan Harris notched a very prestigious PDRA event win.
“A lot of hard work from everybody paid off,” said Kyle Harris. “We are so grateful to the PDRA who also worked their respective tails off to get the event completed. Tyler Crossnoe and his team were amazing and evidently just as determined as we were to see this event through!”
Team KHR’s next focus within their PDRA championship objectives will be at Martin Michigan’s US 131 Dragway August 1-3. Their season pursuit is sponsored by DFS Projects, Double O Permit and Project Services Inc, Atchison Machine Service, Hartman Machine Works, Harquip Ltd, Boogieman and Company, Fast Eddie Racewear.
Pro Stock/Phase Two — Canada’s participation within the NHRA Pro Stock class got a little more dynamic this month with the announcement that Sienna Wildgust (daughter to Scott Wildgust) would be switching Pro Stock racing camps. Sienna (from Ontario) has moved to Elite Motorsports from KB/Titan Racing, where she got her very first start with just last March.
Fast developing Canadian Pro Stock racer Sienna Wildgust had a rather unexpected mid-season switch of racing camps.
Sienna made her driving debut with her new team in one of the Mexican-native Cuadra Boys Pro Stock cars — their Corral Boots-sponsored Camaro – just last weekend during the NHRA Northwest Nationals near Seattle. Sienna, who did not test in the car prior to Q1 at that event qualified 15th with a 6.583 secs. Then as fate would have it – Sienna in fact lined up against her former teammate & fellow Canuck Eric Latino’s GESi Camaro in round one. But Latino, who had qualified superbly #2 (6.518 secs) – won that match** 6.540 secs to 6.573 secs (=Sienna’s career best ET).
**That pairing was dramatic too from a NHRA history perspective – having two Canadian drivers facing one another head-to-head in competition — for Pro Stock! I’m sorry I can’t recall when or if that has ever happened before at a NHRA national event level? (Thoughts on that anyone? – please post to our FB page if you know?)
Family Funhouse! — Local intimacy makes drag racing what it is! Cayuga Dragway’s RCSS on July 6-7 did include something rather rare. That event saw a husband, wife and son team (from Caledonia ON) — all going to final rounds – in three different classes and three different cars.
Kate Snell won her first race in the Street class (with her daily drive Hyundai Sonata) about one hour after her husband Jack Snell had placed R/UP in the Quick Sportsman class event with his Fiat-bodied car. The next day 16-year old Jay Snell had a nice event adding a Junior Dragster class win to the highly successful family weekend outing. Jack Snell has been racing 28 years following in the footsteps of his Dad and now Jay is a family 3rd generation driver.
Jack – Jay & Kate Snell enjoyed a recent weekend outing at Cayuga Dragway.
“It doesn’t matter how fast you go or what you drive — what matters is how racing makes you feel,” reflected a very excited Kate after the weekend. “It just felt amazing to see all those win lights get turned on.”
A Second @ Seattle! — A very strong effort for 2nd generation driver Josh Mellof who raced to a R/UP placing for Super Gas during the NHRA Northwest Nationals last weekend. Josh, who is son to very wily western Canadian drag racer Joe Mellof won four rounds of competition driving his team’s ’57 Corvette – based from Maple Grove BC. Josh in fact qualified #1 for the 9.90 index class (over 30 other cars) and his final round placing was the best of his career — so far at the nationals level. Josh ran a break out 9.885 secs in the final which made opponent Michael Dalrymple (from WA) the event champion.
Josh Mellof raced to his first ever NHRA national event final round at Seattle.
Track Record Trouncing — Canadian Pro Mod class bragging rites did come into the focus couple times this month with some significant numbers posted within the country.
Over the July long weekend event (at TMP) — Georgetown Ontario’s Jay Santos was credited with the quickest Canadian 1/8th Pro Mod ET ever with his supercharged Camaro – a highly impressive 3.63 secs (track and Canadian record). During July the Pro Mod track ET record for RAD Torque Raceway was also notched down. At Edmonton’s high altitude facility, Alberta’s Scott Blake wheeled his nitrous-injected Camaro to 3.806 secs track record (during the Rocky Mountain Nationals).
Jay Santos became Canada’s quickest 1/8th mile Pro Mod car early in July – while racing at Cayuga Dragway.
Going into 2024 the quickest Pro Mod run within Canada (according to our records) had been Spencer Hyde at Napierville Dragway – a 3.676 secs (Sept 2021).
Next up and worth watching will be the Pro Mod cars entered for Grand Bend Motorplex’s WDRA Canadian Nationals – Aug 2-4. At Grand Bend the current track 1/8th ET mark is held by Spencer Hyde too — at 3.761 secs – a standard that is most likely in jeopardy.
Posted by Bruce Biegler
Photos by Steve Embling, Gary Rowe, Dyan Lover, Les Puchala & Tony Hayes
