Plum Crazy Alcohol!
Racing a Top Alcohol Dragster is extremely demanding…..racing a Top Alcohol Dragster out of Canada is even more of a drain….
Despite some long odds Alberta’s Greg Sereda continues his swim upstream in drag racing’s TAD category. The independent racer is in fact a perfect example of what can be accomplished in drag racing using both tenacity and determination.
No – Greg’s “Gone Plum Crazy” supercharged dragster is not a performance leader – but it is a success story within its own right.
“Running in this class out of Western Canada is certainly not an easy thing to do,” Greg affirmed during an exclusive interview done last summer. “The only constant is that it seems to cost a lot of money – especially when trying to keep up with all the changes that NHRA keeps making to the class. Then add in the travel factor. For a team that is located where we are – that’s an issue to keep going.”
Greg Sereda is a great example of Canadian tenacity within TAD class racing
Greg races a TAD Jerry Fritz-built dragster that during it’s history has seen quite an evolution. Today it features a 3000+ HP 474 CID BAE supercharged Hemi engine program. About 2 years ago, the team, which includes tuning consultant Paul Julien, switched to a PSI screw blower. Since that move, Greg’s team has shown steady improvement on the performance chart with best numbers of 5.54 secs at 258 mph to their credit. That change has also helped (importantly) to minimize some parts breakage.
“For my racing program it’s always been doing only what I can afford,” he continued. “We do stick mostly around Western Canada but also do run some of NHRA’s regional events in the Northwest from time-to-time. Our focus has been mostly match racing at places like Saskatoon, Medicine Hat and Edmonton. In the past that’s made sense for us and we’ve managed to grow a good fan following doing that.”
The “Gone Plum Crazy” TAD is a popular fan attraction within Western Canada’s match-racing circuits.
Greg did receive some rather just support in 2012 with the signing on of a Canadian Tire franchise Store (Windermere, AB) as a primary sponsor. That development is a good fit into the cog for Sereda with regards to his potential racing future.
“Jim Gamble the owner of that store stepped in to help us and that has made a big difference,” Sereda confirmed. “Our intention is to keep growing our relationship with that company. I think it’s important to maintain a strong Canadian presence at NHRA’s regional races and this backing might allow us to do more of that in the future.”
Greg has already raced his TAD for a number of seasons and he certainly has no plans to discontinue that dedication.
“I think we’ve come a long way as an independent team and I’m proud of that,” he added. “There will come a day when I would like to pass the driving torch to my son Shelby – who is currently racing in Junior Dragster. I would like to keep developing his driving skills and eventually I would move on to more of a crew chief and tuner role.”
While Shelby’s first rides in the TAD car may be still a few years away (he is just 13 years old) the racing community may have already received a sneak peek of his capabilities. Shelby won an IHRA Ironman in the “Master Class” during Edmonton’s Rocky Mountain Nitro Jam last summer – which came in only his 2nd race entered.
Shelby & Greg Sereda
Posted by: Bruce Biegler – Photos by: Bruce Biegler
