West Coast – Best Stuff!
The very formidable British Columbia based Mundies Towing racing team, lived up to its reputation again during last weekend’s NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals…
The team (from Delta), which features Shawn Cowie as driver and Bill Moore as it’s tuner, clobbered the Top Alcohol Dragster racing program during the event held at “The Strip” in north Las Vegas.
Shawn Cowie, who is regarded by many as an odds on favorite to deliver a possible “first ever” World Championship title for Canada in the TAD category this season, won the Las Vegas event in a flurry. It was in fact Shawn’s third career NHRA national event title — remarkably all three of his wins have come at the Las Vegas venue.
Canada's Shawn Cowie won for the 3rd time at Las Vegas last weekend
Cowie qualified on the pole with a 5.371 secs before rolling through eliminations towards the Sunday afternoon final round showdown versus his good friend and fellow divisional competitor Joey Severence.
In that championship match Severence (also driving a supercharged car) gained a slight starting line advantage before a mechanical issue set in. That may not have mattered however because in the other lane Cowie was undaunted. He quickly took advantage of the situation by carding a highly impressive 5.365 secs at 267.16 mph to take the win. Cowie’s final round ET was low ET for the event.
Shawn & Ron Cowie celebrate in victory lane
“I don’t know for sure what it is about this place (Las Vegas) but I really like it,” Shawn laughed. “I really don’t like to qualify number one because I’m a bit superstitious – it’s a jinx sometimes. But this weekend that was not the case and all of our crew’s hard work paid off. It’s those guys that put me up there so we can take the trophy home.”
The team’s event performance was also once again a refection of the skills from tuner and crew chief Bill Moore whose reputation within the TAD racing ranks continues to rise up exponentially.
“The track was a bit different and of course we are running a lot of new stuff now,” Moore said. “In this class you have to work to find the right mix. You go out there and taste the chili and if it’s not quite right – you go back and ad something in. In the end I think we were smart – we did not get too greedy. But for me winning it all from the pole is cool.”
The team's secret weapon is tuner Bill Moore
For the talented Canadian team which is overseen and funded independently by Shawn’s father Ron Cowie, the win was too very gratifying for him.
“We have put together a good package here and the crew is the absolute greatest,” Ron added. “For a team owner, these moments are the reason we are out here doing this. I could not be prouder.”
The dominating win at Las Vegas has and should be heard as a loud warning shot across the bow for the rest of the NHRA’s TAD class. Not only does it further excite optimism for the remainder of the 2011 season campaign it also re-affirmed the Canadian based team as top echelon Championship contenders.
Posted by: Bruce Biegler
(Bruce Biegler Photos)
