Sanair Nostalgia Flashback – 41 Years Ago Today!

With the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series race coming up this weekend at Mission Raceway Park — (look for full coverage early next week) — we thought it would be fun to look back at an old NHRA World Championship Series race, with Canadian winners, at a Canadian track….

(Check out these ultra cool images courtesy of and from the archives of a “very young and impressionable” Gerry Frechette — our top Western Canadian contributor!)  

In 1971, NHRA had scheduled its first national event outside the USA at the new Sanair track near Montreal, and to work out the bugs, a Division 1 race was scheduled that spring. Canadians figured prominently in the action. 

In Pro Stock (remember when all the Pro classes ran in the Divisional events?) — (1) John Petrie in the Chrysler Canada factory Hemi-Cuda beat Bill Blanding’s Camaro, while (2) in Super Stock, John Elliott drove his SS/F 428 Mustang to the victory over the SS/DA Hemi-Cuda of Bill Morgan. 

The race was on May 23, 1971 – 41 years ago today!