Ice-Breaker for Ace Arrow
One of Canada’s most promising new Nostalgia Nitro Funny Car teams hit the race track for the first time last weekend at Edmonton’s Castrol Raceway. Here is a team synopsis of those test results….
Nitro methane filled the air, as the 1977 Plymouth Arrow funny car campaigned by Sitko Family Racing and sponsored by Ace Manufacturing hit the track last weekend.
Even though the team had a very successful first year, the car was not quick enough to compete at the elite level, so a lot of thought was put in over the winter on ways to coax more power out the machine. The dedicated team had spent a minimum of two days a week in the shop over the long Canadian winter (basically November to April), implementing their action plan, refreshing the parts, building two motors, adding the necessary safety equipment, and more.
Well, the proof was in the pudding, as they rolled the car out for its first test on Saturday morning. The first test was a bit anti-climactic, as the car went up in instant tire smoke as soon as Nathan dumped the clutch. This was actually a good thing; we couldn’t smoke the tires on the tight Capital Raceway surface last year, so we were definitely making more power.
We backed off the clutch a bit, which helped the car to leave the line better, then Nathan drove through a bit of tire shake, and clicked it off 400 feet before the finish line, resulting in a 6.39 second time at only 173 mph. Interesting that our best full out run here last year was 6.34, so we were encouraged. More adjustments got rid of the tire shake, and our first full pass netted a 6.08 secs at 213 mph. The car isn’t getting much speed, as it is dropping cylinders at high rpms, something we have to solve.
On Sunday, we tweaked the motor a bit more, and ran a consistent 6.09 at 219 mph. It was getting hotter and hotter as the weekend progressed, so we were fighting increased corrected altitude factors. For the final run we sped the blower up to the allowable maximum, and ran a very good 6.04, still only at 224. It was an outstanding weekend for the team, the car pretty well went quicker every run, and we didn’t hurt any parts.
Thanks to my dad George Sitko for coming up from California to guide us, and to the whole crew for their hard work all weekend; Troy, Nathan, Shelley, Carla, Irene, Ken, Grant, Wayne, Randy, Brittany, and a special guest appearance from Pete. Thanks also to our associate sponsors, Pro Stock Performance, Commercial Solutions, Job Site Mechanical, Fairmont Electroplating, Impact Coatings, Jet Tools, Robert Reehl Equipment, Gee and Gee Racing and Precision Performance. We couldn’t do this without you.
We are heading to Vegas next weekend with high ambitions.
Posted by: Kenny Sitko
Photos by: “Auntie Sheryl” Ogonoski
Editor’s Note: Nathan Sitko joined fellow Canadian racers Tim Boychuk and Tim Nemeth as pre-registered racers for the upcoming Mickey Thompson Tires DragRacingOnline.com AA/FC Challenge at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on May 26-27. 22 Nostalgia Funny Cars will be on hand for the first event of the 4th season for that series.
For more information on that event visit: www.DragRacingOnLine.com and www.lmvs.com/strip
The remaining 2012 season dates for the Mickey Thompson Tires DragRacingOnline.com AA/FC Challenge presented by Comp Cams and Victory Performance Parts are:
- July 20-21: Cedar Falls (Iowa) Raceway
- Aug. 24-25: Cordova (Ill.) DragwayPark at the World Series of Drag Racing
- Sept. 7-8: U.S.131, Martin, Mich., at the Funny Car Nationals
- Sept. 22-23: Tulsa Raceway Park
- Oct. 19-20: Rockingham (NC) Dragway