PMRA Round #1 – Victoria Day Challenge – May 21 & June 11^th  Cayuga ON 

Local Hero Boland Wins PMRA Opener

Winners in the postponed Victoria Day Weekend Challenge were declared at the Cayuga Dragway of Toronto Motorsports Park on June 11th. While qualifying had been completed at the May event, the deferred eliminations were held as part of the track’s Xtreme Mayhem Nationals…..

Winning the Pro Modified Racing Association event was wily local racer Bruce Boland.  Phil Sampson won the Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts race, and Bill Anderson took the Pro Bike & Sled Series presented by Wiseco Performance Products event.

Bruce Boland defeated Gary Irving in the first PMRA final round of the season

“All worked well,” said Boland, of Hamilton, Ontario about his PMRA victory. “The track was good and the car went down the track well every pass. I want to thank Wolf Electric for its help, and I tip my hat to my crew and sponsors.”

Boland, a three-time PMRA champion, eliminated Gary Irving of Toronto in the Al Hinds Corvette in the final. Boland qualified number one for the first race of the season with his new 1941 Willy Pro Modified. Semi-finalists were Vito Montesano of Maple, Ontario, and Jeff Roth of Kitchener, Ontario.

Vito Montesano was the performance star of PMRA Round #1

Boland recorded a 6.087-second, 234.37-mph pass over Irving’s 6.309-second, 222.33 mph in the final round.

Vito Montesano was the event’s performance star recording both low ET and top speed of the meet driving his Chevy Camaro which features both an ERD engine program and automatic transmission configuration.

The Pro Modified Racing Association teams compete for the Championship Point Award Series presented by Patio Passport and Magnum Auto Parts.

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In the Quick 32 Sportsman Series, which features fields of Top Dragster and Top Sportsman cars which compete in their respective divisions with the top of each division racing for the event title, Phil Sampson of Brampton, Ontario took the win with his 2002 Cavalier Top Sportsman car over the Top Dragster of Jamie Bridge of Napanee, Ontario.

Q32 winner Phil Sampson

Sampson drove to a 7.328-second, 188.78-mph win over Bridge’s 6.955 at 179.25. The Series competes with a Sportsman-style, dial-in format.

“It was a fantastic day,” said Sampson after the final round. “Nothing went wrong. We worked at it one round at a time, and picked them off as we went.” It was his first win in the Series.

Sampson took out Bill Wilson of Ingersoll, Ontario in the final Top Sportsman race, while Bridge eliminated Michael Kalin of Niagara Falls, New York in the Top Dragster final. Sampson qualified fifth in the field, and Bridge qualified in seventh spot.

And winning the inaugural PBSS event was Pro Sled competitor Bill Anderson of Seaforth Ontario, riding his Z1 Turbo snowmobile, eliminating Pro Bike racer Randy Hope of London, Ontario in the final round.

Anderson and his sled recorded a 9.275-second, 140.63-mph pass over the 8.683, 145.05 of Hope. The PBSS also runs a dial-in, Sportsman-style format.

“I’m really happy,” Anderson noted after his win. “We had some electrical gremlins today, but we eliminated them and had a pretty impressive day.”

(Photos by: Bruce Biegler)