Canada’s premier TAD class team fires major warning shots at NHRA season opener….
As he had done three times in his career before — Shawn Cowie has emerged victorious for NHRA’s highly prestigious Lucas Oil Winternationals event.
However this time, Shawn and his deeply talented Surrey BC-based Mundie’s Towing Racing Team, may have very well left their competition gasping for air. Their performance marked a dominating end to the weather deferred Monday conclusion to the 59th annual event classic and included a remarkable world record time for supercharged Top Alcohol Dragster class cars.
Cowie was first to admit that his driving last weekend might have been somewhat rusty – but that notion was more then made up with his race car’s performance.
Just Wow!
After qualifying #1 with a sizzling 5.166 secs – Cowie was credited with three more 5.1 secs ETs during eliminations while winning each round decisively. That included a blazing 5.151 secs ET during a semifinal round decison — a jawdropping run that put simply is the quickest supercharged TAD run ever recorded on our particular planet – so far.
“Norm (Grimes) and all my guys are amazing,” Shawn emphasized. “My driving wasn’t stellar this weekend, but the race car’s performance more then bailed me out. This is certainly the way I hoped we could get our new season off to.”
Shawn and his team are coming off back-to-back second place finishes in the final NHRA Lucas Oil World Champion chases (to Joey Severence) and they are more than determined to make that final leap.
“We are here to win races – period,” he added. “It’s obviously way too early to be looking towards a Lucas Oil world title at this point in time — for sure getting that #1 on our wing is definitely something on our minds that we are all striving for.”
Mundie’s Towing race team patriarch and Shawn’s dad Ron Cowie — also offered up his sentiments on the successful Winternationals.
“A pretty fantasic weekend — to run the quickest ET ever for a supercharged car is pretty neat,” he added. “To qualify #1 and then be #1 at the end the event — there really isn’t a better way to start off the new season.”
Shawn’s victory at Pomona included round wins over Duane Shields, Chris Demke and surprise finalist Matt Sackman and it ups his career NHRA National event victory tally to 14 wins and counting.
Western Canada’s powerhouse Mundie’s Towing TAD team won the NHRA Lucas Oil Winternationals for the 3X .
Post and photos by Bruce Biegler
