in the world of drag racing
The latest update as of August 14, 2000
LATE UPDATE: More pics from Sechelt added to this page this evening. For the second installment from the Langley Loafers BC OldTime Drags at Mission Raceway, click on the August 13 button or this link.
As previewed on the Horsepower Heaven website, here's the first pics from the fifth annual "Sleepy Hollow 2000 Rod Run", held in Sechelt, BC, over the past weekend. The first day of the event saw several blocks of downtown Sechelt turned into an outdoor car show. That evening, the cruisers and racers went up to the "Sod Farm", just outside of town, for an evening of barbecuing, dancing, live bands, and just general good fun, hosted by the Coasters Car Club.
The next morning, the party reconvened at the Sechelt Municipal Airport, where the Sunshine Coast Drag Racing Association presented their third drag race (two this season and one last year). Featured cars included living legend Jack Williams, with the "Syndicate Scuderia" blown gas dragster; Jim Dillinger from Washington state with his blown alky dragster (who set the 1/8-mile track record at 147 mph), and Dave Wilson's "Say No To Drugs" injected alky funny car from Burnaby, with Boyd Wilie driving.
In total, there were 140 cars entered in the race, with 107 in the street machine class alone. Spectator numbers were excellent, with more than 5000 on hand for Sunday's racing. With the momentum building, the Sunshine Coast association is planning for two more events in 2001, one in May and the other in August. The cooperation between the car club and the drag racing association in presenting the event is obviously paying dividends.
We'd like to thank photographer Ted Mannion for providing us with the pictures, and Ron Koch and Dean Kilback for providing some of the details of the racing and people involved.
Similar (albeit on a smaller scale) in concept to the Langley Cruise-In, the downtown core of Sechelt hosted the 200 cars registered for the show and shine. The weather couldn't have been better, and as you can see from the photos, the response from the community was strong.
The party at the "Sod Farm" was well attended as the cruisers flocked to what appears to be an excellent choice for the Saturday night party. The only downside to the location might have been the lack of directional signage, as the photographer failed several times to find the entrance to it, and was on the verge of giving up, when he luckily met another attendee who guided him to the farm.
Jack Williams' "Syndicate Scuderia" still looks and sounds awesome
Another view of the "Syndicate" and Roger Manson's "Rapid Fire" Jeep
Jim Dillinger's track record-holding dragster;
Dave Wilson's "Say No To Drugs" funny car, driven by Boyd Wylie
An early Stude' and a 34 Ford five window coupe
With no concrete pad or traction compound, burnouts were mandatory
A pair of roadsters face off; then two junior dragsters do battle
Ron Koch's '40 Olds faces off against some late model competition
The debut of Alf Mannion's '69 Camaro Super Gasser
Another view of Alf's Camaro and his former ride, a '69 Nova
Dean Kilback's Chevy II station wagon vs. Al Cook's '65 Cuda (?)
A couple more Mission regulars made the trip to the Sunshine Coast
Yes, there's still the odd Pinto racing;
The tower staff hard at work -- the announcer did a great job
All photographs copyright 2000 by Ted Mannion. Posted with permission. Prints and enlargements of these photos are available. Contact us for details.