Friday Report
Lots of cars, Lots of stories
With just a test 'n tune for the National Open entrants on tap today, I arrived at a lesiurely hour and quickly found out I'd missed quite a few good runs from earlier in the day. There's no Drag Race Central coverage of the results this weekend, so it looks like it's up to me to keep track of the performances. Some of the fast cars have already run, but I'll be out at the starting line whenever they come up for the balance of the event.
Starting off with a quick tour of the pits to do an inventory on who's here, who's not, and who's still expected, it becomes immediately apparent that the hoped-for 32 Funny Car show is going to be a little - not a lot, but a little - short of expectations. With a few pit spaces still vacant, my best guesstimate is for a full field of eight cars in Nitro Nostalgia, Northwest BB/FC Association and the Rocky Mountain Nostalgia Funny Car group. At least we won't have any gaps in the show.
As a welcome bonus, there's 13 Comp Eliminator cars - almost all of them of the hitter variety and a great selection of Pro Streeters, totalling between 14 and 16, depending on how they fit in classification. I have to admit that I know next to nothing about the Canadian Pro Street Association or many of its members. The cars here range from what appear to be full-on Pro Mods (Keith Korecki, Trevor Lowe, Jay Syvertsen and Yvonne Lucas) to something approaching a real street car, albeit ones capable of 6-second, 200 mph passes.
Rounding out the 326 cars entered for the Canadian National Open this weekend are the usual range of Top Dragsters, all the Super classes, several E.T. brackets, some seriously fast Jr. Dragsters and nearly a dozen Top Fuel Harleys. This is certainly shaping up to be a serious event. And with the weather looking flawless - NO complaints allowed about it being too darn hot! - we could see the biggest crowd and most fun of the 2010 racing season.
Before any of the fast guys come up again, I've got a bit of time to wander the pits and gather some background info. First stop is at Rob "Redlight" Harrison's trailer to ask an innocent question about how/why he redlighted in the first round of eliminations at the Northwest Nationals after being the low qualifier in Comp. The answer comes out quickly and the frustration in his words is very evident: "The clutch let us down again. It can go three or four or five runs flawlessly, then screws up and locks up before I release it. It's been happening too often and we're just about at our wits' end trying to deal with it. This weekend we'll try some new ideas and hope we've got the problem solved."
Changing subjects, I inquire as to the current status on fellow North Vancouverite Howie Stevens, who was last seen upside down in his badly bruised new Mustang at the same race in Seattle. "He's taking it back to the Don Ness shop on Labor Day and it'll be coming back $50K later as a 2011 Mustang. Everything forward of the firewall is being replaced, along with the entire body," Rob said. Looks like next season for Howie, but at least it'll be back newer and shinier than ever.
Over in the exhibition pits, Tim Nemeth and crew are hard at work on their "Iceman" Mustang and proud of the space they received in the Province newspaper yesterday. Tim's still a little frustrated after their appearance in Edmonton (Rocky Mountain Nationals) where they had to forego a final run on Sunday due to the appearance of what looked like bearing material in the oil pan. They never did trace the source, even after a complete and very thorough engine teardown, but have to be satisfied they made the right call and didn't risk any unnecessary breakage.
Tim's hopes are higher than ever for his first-ever 5-second pass (on nitro) in front of his hometown fans this weekend, and the appearance of Sean Brown in his pit has got to be a positive sign. Presumably, he'll be helping fine-tune the car with Tim and his rjght-hand man, Dale Finch. With a full field of competitive nitro floppers this weekend, it's going to be quite a battle for this veteran, but still new to nitro, team.
Almost next door is another convert (at least temporarily) from Alcohol Funny Car to Nostalgia Nitro, Oregon's Clint Thompson. He's brought out his almost new '70 Mustang "No Laughing Matter" for only it's second on-track appearance and hopes to lay down a few full passes this weekend. Partnered with the Fontana engine guy, Bob Miner, on this car, Clint admits to facing quite a learning curve, but in his words "nitro is bitchin!" and he can hardly wait to get the car out on the track.
Just in case you're wondering, he's still racing his very competitive Top Alcohol Funny Car, and will only be running the nitro car in his "spare" time. For now, the alky burner is on the front burner in his racing plans. But if the nostalgia car starts putting up some good numbers and doesn't use up the budget like a front-running alcohol car, the focus may be shifted to the nitro car.
I'm still pieceing together exactly how the various funny car groups are going to race this weekend, but here are the latest (and obviously subject to change) details. The Nitro guys have the simplest deal: 8 cars, two qualifying attempts tomorrow, then standard eliminations on Sunday. Easy, peasy. Then the Rocky Mountain crew, with their 6.90 Mission index, will "qualify" alongside the Northwest BB/Funny Car gang on Saturday, with each pairing being a Rocky car versus a Northwest car. Simple, eh?
Not so fast, Thunder boy. As explained by Jeff Dykes, owner of the Photo-Op car (driven by Randy Parker) the NW/BBFC group don't really have an index, and allow their cars to run as quick as 6.80 seconds before being penalized, first with a loss of 50% of purse and points for a run between 6.70 and 6.79, then a total loss of purse and points for running quicker than 6.70. The intent is to keep the cars running relatively close, performance-wise, while still putting on a solid 6-second, 200+ mph show for the fans. And big burnouts of course.
As for what these two groups do on Sunday, it's anyone's guess. Especially with the Rocky Mountain group where their goal is simply to put on a great show for the fans and have lots of fun doing it. About the only certainty for Sunday is that the two groups of nostalgia alky cars will be running within their own association, with no "inter-locking" runs such as are planned for tomorrow night.
Here's the test 'n tune numbers from when I arrived. Obviously it's not complete by any means, but there are some solid laps on the list and a few notes to go with them.
2:15 PM
| Brent Murray | 6.61 | 203.25 |
| Eddy Plazier | 6.87 | 198.06 |
Two of the Rocky Mountain boys come out for their first hit of the weekend and both go under the 6.90 sea-level index for their group. Plazier just tickles it by a few hundredths, while Brent Murray absolutely bombs it in his "Damn Yankee". Looks like they're going to have to find a throttle stop for this race.
| Mark Hentges | 6.07 | 219.61 |
Mark Hentges comes out in Bucky Austin's car for his second pass of the day (I missed his earlier 1000 ft. 6.20 at 180 or so mph). The car leaves hard and is on a very good pass until he pulls the plug a little early with a fairly low trap speed. Looks like there's 5-second potential for sure when they run it to the finish line.
| Rod Elliott | 10.82 | 78.10 |
Rod Elliott brings his lime green Fontana-powered 'Cuda up next and struggles off the line before shutting her down.
Pit Notes
Before the next group of cars made their way to the starting line, I got a few minutes to ask Garrett Richards about his truck. He's had a bit of a trying year with the entire front end of the truck literally exploding at the finish line at an event here last month. "It was just truckin' along; there was no warning, just BOOM! - like a grenade going off" as the carbon fibre front clip disintegrated into a million shards of carbon bits.
Since then, they've been out to Seattle's Pacific Raceways once and the carnage continued with the driver's door blowing off on the top end. "We're almost back to where we started with a fibreglass front end and doors now". The only spare body part left in their arsenal is a passenger side door so Garrett is understandably a little nervous about how well the old-style 'glass parts are going to hold up to his 220-mph passes.
There are new carbon parts on order, and his last estimate on delivery was in the 3-week range, but that's probably being a little optimistic. And when they do arrive, he's not sure how Brad Hadman is going to remount the front end to try to make it stiffer and less prone to disintegrating. The previous carbon parts that failed were not well-built and Garrett's certainly hoping for much better quality this time around. Also, he's hoping he can convince Hadman that it's not a dragster with their "tin-foil" body parts that are eminently disposable. Not quite that simple with a door car/truck.
3:40 PM
| Garrett Richards | 7.37 | 116.56 |
With a fibreglass front end and doors, instead of the more desirable carbon fibre parts, Richards is undertstandably nervous about just how well, or how long, these replacement parts will hold up. Planning to run it into high gear then shut off just past half track, he accomplishes his goal and cruises through the lights with everything intact.
4:00 PM
| A699 License | 8.50 | 179.35 |
Not sure which area needs more work: the car or the driver. After a very lazy leave (more clutch guys) the car gradually picks up steam and is hauling fairly well at the finish line. Back to the drawing board for the first 330 feet though guys.
| Ken Sihota | 7.91 | 119.33 |
This is why they call it a test 'n tune day: Sihota leaves well, goes through the gears, then shuts off at half track and cruises through the lights. He apparently learned everything he needed to know in the first 660 feet and didn't need to wring it out to gather any more data.
4:15 PM
| Joey Steckler | 6.89 | 198.10 |
| Cal Tebb | 6.99 | 198.98 |
Another pair of the Rocky Mountain Association cars out testing the Mission air and how their cars will perform with a 6.90 index. Steckler just goes under the number while Tebb is safe by nearly a tenth of a second. Two excellent runs and both racers have a good baseline to work from for the event.
| Cory Kincaid | 7.68 | NSR |
| Ron Sekura | 6.78 | 204.56 |
Another pair from the prairies, and as usual Ron Sekura goes all out (or balls out?) and goes well under the index with his "what me worry?" attitude. "I'm sure we can slow it down enough to keep winning on the weekend". On the other side, Kincaid's woes continue with yet another mid 7-second lap in what must be a frustrating pattern for him this summer.
| Mark Hentges | 6.04 | 225.56 |
Tickling the 6-flat zone just a little more is Hentges, with another early shutoff pass that sees the Arrow get tantalizingly close to the magic 5-second barrier. Just a little more and they'll be there, but knowing Bucky (Austin) and Hentges, they'll want to bust through it bigtime. 5.80's ? For sure. Note: With no further input from Steve Plueger, Bucky and crew are tuning this car themselves and making steady progress. Any chance that Bucky will be driving it again? Oh yes, but for now, it's Mark's job to drive and wrench.
| Todd Losenko | 6.06 | 239.61 |
Another of the nitro cars out and Edmonton's Losenko nearly breaks into the 5's with a strong low-6 pass at almost 240 mph. They appear to be on their game after a good outing at Edmonton last month and appear to be ready for another strong showing here.
| Andy Beauchemin | 6.03 | 232.01 |
Yet another nearly five second lap, as another Edmonton flopper tickles the timers. His speed is a lot lower than Losenko's, but the e.t. is a little quicker. It's looking like a very competitive and closely matched field is being assembled for this weekend's national open.
| Eddy Plazier | 6.97 | 194.86 |
Turning down the volume a bit, Eddy PLazier brings out his beautiful '37 Chev flopper and lays down a solid pass, reasonably close to the index and looking strong all the way down the track.
5:15 PM
| Roy Moznik | 11.10 | 76.27 |
| Dale Pedersen | NTR | NSR |
Not much to write home, or anywhere else for that matter, about here as these two Pro Streeters both ran into problems early and shut off. Pedersen rolled through the top end so slowly that the clocks had reset before he got there and Moznik ran only a few hundred feet before lifting.
5:40 PM
| Keith Korecki | 7.05 | 138.40 |
The best looking car on the grounds, in my opinion, comes up next and Korecki is on a great pass until he nears the 1000 foot mark, when the car starts getting loose and skating around while he shuts off and wrestles it back into the groove. Looks like it needs more wing... oh, they don't have wings on Pro Street Shelby's, do they? Hmm...
| Dave Magee | 9.30 | 74.47 |
The last Pro Street car of the day puts down a planned half pass and shuts off a little earlier than that. Definitely one of the more unique looking cars on the property, Surrey's Magee obviously marches to the beat of a completely different band as his '66 Valiant Signet is truly one of a kind. Needs some colour though, Dave.
| Ron Sekura | Broke |
Ron didn't actually break, but did spring a fuel leak while backing up from the burnout and had to be shut off before staging. Looks like it's barbecue time in the Sekura pits.
| Mark Sanders | 5.83 | 244.56 |
Mr. Explosive truly lives up to his name, with an awesome pass, nearly breaking the track records for the nostalgia nitro funny car class, and doubles his "fun" when the engine blows up at the finish line. Still, it's his career best by half a tenth and gives the team an excellent baseline to work with this weekend. Now all they have to do is find enough parts to replace the broken stuff. We'll check out the action in their pit area a little later.
| Tim Nemeth | Broke |
This time we have more breakage, as Nemeth started having troubles after backing up from the burnout. When it was time to pull forward into the staging beams, the car resisted his urging, but a crewman got it moving again. Then it stopped and refused to come any closer to the starting line, even when he whacked the throttle HARD, like wide-open hard. At that point there weren't any options left except to shut her down.
A teardown of the transmission in the pits later revealed the suspected culprit: a dead sprag in the Lenco. It was burnt and the round rollers inside were flat and black as overdone pancakes. At least it was a (relatively) cheap and simple part to replace. And all should be well for tomorrow's qualifying.
A few More Pit Notes
I've got to hand it to Dean "Doner" Murdoch for all the hard work he put in to get this event the media presence it's received, From the regular stories and photos in the Mission Record and other valley newspapers, to the feature story on Tim Nemeth in the Province paper on Thursday, Dean has worked his butt off for the past month to get "outside" coverage for the National Open.
And it doesn't stop there as he works the phones as hard as any drag racing promoter, talking to the racers, convincing them to attend events at Mission Raceway and extolling the benefits of doing so. This is certainly not to say that the staff at Mission aren't doing a good job in putting races together and promoting them, but Dean's assistance just adds that much more to the mix. I've got to say that I saw and heard more tv and radio advertising for this race than anything in recent memory.
Now all we need to do is start working on the next big funny car promotion: 32 Funny Cars - at least. Bigger fields, bigger purses, bigger crowds, and who knows where it could go. So from Northern Thunder to Dean Murdoch: Good on ya, buddy!
PS: To anyone who doesn't understand the "Doner" nickname for Dean, then a little history lesson will be in order soon. One of the greatest drag race promoters in the history of the west coast is the living legend, Bill Doner, the father of the 64 FUNNY CAR races.
He's still alive and still follows drag racing, but a series of bad business decisions and general fatigue from the gruelling pace he set in the 70's and 80's took its toll and he's living a much more relaxed and low-key lifestyle now. It's very hard to imagine Doner doing anything at less than full throttle, but that's the way it apparently is. We'll try to put together something on him soon just to bring back some great old memories, if nothing else. All together now: Just Be There!