Some Quick 32 TS Series Updates
Stratford-based doorcars of Wicke and Hyde to be considered early season favorites….Mustang Ace Dan Aitken also sits at season ready mark…
Consistency and team effort keep Wicke and K&K Racing Team in the hunt
He didn’t outright win any events in the 2010 Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts, but through consistency and a strong working relationship with his crew, Top Sportsman driver Kevin Wicke won his second consecutive Quick 32 Sportsman Series Championship title.
“Last year was an awesome season,” noted Wicke, who drives the K&K Racing / CVR Inc. Dodge Stratus. “It has been the perfect time for us.”
Wicke, who also took the Quick 32 Sportsman Series title for its inaugural year of 2009, said there will be few changes to the car for the upcoming season, other than some tweaks to the nitrous system. The 604-cubic inch engine sits in an RJ Race Cars chassis with a two-speed Powerglide courtesy of Hutch’s Transmission Service with a Coan Converter, a MagnaFuel Racing Fuel system, and two-stage Induction Solutions nitrous set-up.
The team was runner-up in the Top Sportsman division twice in 2010, was a semi-finalist, and finalist, a first-round finalist, and the class winner. Wicke and his crew also never qualified lower than third in the six events, and this consistency, along with a well-established crew, produced the season-winning results.
The car records laps in the 6.8-second range with 200-mph speeds.
“Consistency does play a big role in our racing,” he said. “But we as a team have worked together for so long, and that has been a very important factor in our seasons.”
Kevin Zimmer heads up the effort as crew chief. Others on the team include Dan Culliton, Dennis Culliton, Derek Dotzert, Kody and Kayden Wicke.
CVR Inc., Fraser Asphalt Paving, Perth Auto Dismantlers, Skully Bros. Metal Fabrication, Bear’s Performance Products, Ron’s Precision Machine and Fram Canada provide support for the K&K Racing Team.
Aside from the two Quick 32 Sportsman Series titles, K&K also have numerous IHRA awards, including national and divisional awards in the Top Sportsman class.
The team will race the entire Quick 32 Sportsman Series season.
“We’ve been very impressed with the Series,” Wicke noted. “What has been said has been done, and I’m sure what is said to be done will get done in the future.”
Wicke and the team will be ready to defend their championship for the Quick 32 Sportsman Series season opener May 20-23 at the Cayuga Dragway of Toronto Motorsports Park for the Victoria Day Weekend Challenge.
Top Sportsman driver ready to do battle with ERD-prepared 2007 Cobalt
Quick 32 Sportsman Series racer Spencer Hyde switched his ride from a Top Dragster to a Top Sportsman entry last season, and for 2011 believes he will be ready to take on the competition.
“I feel comfortable now in the Cobalt,” Hyde noted. “Last year was a learning curve, and this year our focus will be on winning some rounds.”
After competing with a Top Dragster in the first year of Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts, Hyde got behind the wheel of a 2007 Chevy Cobalt Top Sportsman in 2010, and was a quick study in learning the differences between a rear-engined dragster and the front-engined Cobalt.
“It took a while to get used to,” he said. “The car reacts a lot differently. It’s been a big learning curve, but Carl (Spiering) has coached me and things have gotten much better.”
The Hyde Racing Cobalt, owned by Spencer’s parents Peter and Lisa Hyde, is a Jerry Bickel Race Cars product, and is powered by a 740-cubic inch ERD (Engine Research & Development) powerplant, from the shops or Spiering’s ERD. With a Coan Engineering Mega Glide transmission, and a fuel system courtesy of Speedtech Nitrous and ERD, the flamed Cobalt has recorded a best run of 6.580-seconds at 210.67-miles per hour to date.
The Top Dragster, which was driven by Spencer’s father, Peter Hyde in Quick 32 Sportsman Series competition last season, will be driven by Spencer’s sister Sydnie Hyde detuned format for 2011 as the former Junior Dragster driver gets her experience with the larger car.
Crew chiefing for the team is Ron Hyde, and other team members include Jack Hyde, Murray Hyde, Peter Hyde, Dominique Bushfield.
The effort is sponsored by NAPA Auto Parts, Ideal Supply, Hyde Construction, Transit Petroleum, Hyde Electric, Dordan Mechanical Contractors, Ronnoco Sales, NA Engineering Associates, Wilhelm Concrete, Steve Smith Construction, Sutton Group (Paul Graham) and Orr Insurance.
With Junior Dragster driving experience before stepping up, and a graduate of the Frank Hawley School of Drag Racing, Hyde is especially appreciative of the help and guidance of his parents Peter and Lisa, and Carl Spiering. He has also spent the past three months working at ERD as part of his co-op work term and internship from Georgian College.
Hyde expressed his thanks to Tim MacDonald of Ideal Supply and NAPA Auto Parts for their continued support, and for the racing fans that come out to see him and the rest of the Quick 32 Sportsman Series racers for each event.
And he believes that the Quick 32 Sportsman Series is a good series, no matter if he is behind the wheel of a dragster or a door car.
“I’ve been on both sides of the Quick 32 Sportsman Series, and both sides have been awesome,” he said. “This series is made up of a great bunch of guys and girls, and it’s the best thing around.”
Top Sportsman racer poised for new drag racing season with Mustang
Dan Aitken Jr is taking a simple approach to his Quick 32 Sportsman Series drag racing this season.
If it’s not broken, leave it alone.
If it’s not broken, leave it alone.
Driving in the Top Sportsman class of the Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts, Aitken placed fourth in the Championship Point Award Series in 2010, and won the final two events last year.
He said the D Boone Sr/Jr Racing team plan to prep the car in the same fashion for the upcoming season, and is hoping for more success.
“Everything about the car is the same as last year,” he said. “The biggest thing for us is to build off last year.”
The 1995 Mustang Top Sportsman entry is powered by a Holbrook Racing Engines 619-cubic inch BBF and sits between the rails of a Tim McAmis Race Cars chassis. The engine is hooked up to a Reid Powerglide by Powerglide Services and Budd Gilbert, and is fed with a MagnaFuel Racing Fuel Systems unit. Aitken added that an Edelbrock Direct Port Nitrous Systems is installed on the car and waiting in the wings if the team feels it is necessary.
Dan Aitken Sr is the crew chief on the team, which includes Monique, Xandre, and Mea Aitken, and Michelle, Adam and Maddie Beck.
Sponsorship for the Mustang team comes from Waddick Fuels, Roffelsen Jewellers Ltd., Howell Welding and Tank Mfg Inc., and Dependable Truck & Tank Ltd.
Aitken, who has raced for three years, said the level of competition in the Quick 32 Sportsman Series has increased, and that is the reason for the proposed nitrous setup. He added that qualifying is very important in the series. The team struggled going rounds during the first few races, but came on strong in the latter part, and he wants to be able to continue on that note.
“Qualifying is the big thing. You have to qualify if you want to race,” he said. “We finished well last year and would like to be able to keep the momentum. We’d like to go more rounds and be more consistent.”
Aitken added he plans to run the entire Quick 32 Sportsman Series season for 2011, which starts with the Victoria Day Weekend Challenge May 20-22 at the Cayuga Dragway of Toronto Motorsports Park.
About the Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts:
Early in 2009 the Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts, www.Quick32.ca, was instituted as an alternative for high-horsepower Sportsman-class teams to compete on a regular basis, and will begin its third season in 2011.
The Quick 32 Sportsman Series will compete at Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario and the Grand Bend Motorplex in Grand Bend, Ontario this year.
The Series is comprised of 32-car qualified fields of the 16 quickest open wheeled cars (Top Dragster) and the 16 quickest door cars (Top Sportsman), and presents the best in ET-style, dial-in drag racing, competing on a Sportsman ladder. After eliminations in both classes, the final Top Dragster entry and the final Top Sportsman entry pair off to determine the event Champion.
Competitors in this exciting Series must comply with the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Safety rules and regulations, with a maximum dial-in of 7.95 seconds for the quarter-mile.
The Series provides $3000 to win for each event and $5000 for the annual Championship Point Award Series Champion, payouts very popular with competitors and will provide large fields of race cars.
The Quick 32 Sportsman Series is committed in providing a professional atmosphere for its teams. It also provides solid media and logistic support, ensuring itself as one of the most popular drag race series running Top Sportsman and Top Dragster race cars.
The Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts competes with the Pro Modified Racing Association (PMRA), www.PMRA.ca, and the Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS), www.PBSS.ca, offering fans a great show of drag racing.
Photo Credit: Canadian Drag Racing Photos – www.canadiandragracingphotos.com and Dave Erauw Photography – www.erauw-photo.com
Posted by: Tim Miller