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The latest update as of June 3, 2010
Mission Raceway - NHRA LODRS Lordco BC Nationals - The last batch of photos
After a several days break, we're back with the last few dozen photos from Sunday's action at Mission Raceway. Too bad that we couldn't show the winner's circle pics or final round matchups, but that's going to have to wait a few months, like until August 19th at Seattle. It's doubtful that we'll be in attendance at that "make-up" date, but we'll just have to wait and see.
Not wanting to let the iron get cold or this website to start growing cobwebs again, we've laid out a very ambitious plan for the next few months, starting in two weeks time at the AHRA Reunion Tour event in Calgary. While the originally promised show doesn't look like it will materialize, we've committed to be there and do our best to document and report on the happening's at Race City. Besides, it's a good excuse for a road trip to a track I've never seen before. What next? Medicine Hat? For details on the feature cars, don't bother checking the AHRA website or the Race City website as neither of them have any updated information. If you want to find the straight goods, go directly to Dean Murdoch's SpeedZone Magazine website for the latest news on the show.
After the Calgary race, Dean and I will be attending the IHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals at Edmonton's Castrol Raceway and I'm really looking forward to being back there after missing last year's event. And this year's version should be something special as it will in all likelihood be the best race - competition-wise and attendance-wise on the IHRA calendar in 2010. Stopping to catch my breath after we return from Edmonton, I'll be at Seattle for the Northwest Nationals two weeks later (god and NHRA - and not necessarily in that order - willing) for the first time in a few years and follow that up with the Canadian National Open at Mission Raceway two weeks later.
If by some chance we survive that tour-de-force of races, and the by some miracle the AHRA is still in business come August, we'll venture up the Fraser Canyon to Ashcroft for their Reunion Tour event in mid-August, then finish out the season with my first-ever trip to Bakersfield for the California Hot Rod Reunion in mid-October, and the Las Vegas Nationals at the end of October.
Ambitious? Yes, but at my age it's time to start sniffing the nitro and making every day count while I can still count them. Hang on, it's going to be a fun ride as this year progresses. Next update: tomorrow, if possible, otherwise Saturday.
Dale Carlson in the Hugh Ridley T/AD burns out hard and launches hard.
A pair of Alberta cars are up next, with Greg Sereda's blown alky car burning out on the left and Don St. Arnaud's injected nitro piece backing up on the right.
Back to a single subject now, with Mike Austin burning out and launching in the Steve & Patty Federlin T/AD
"What not to do when your husband is burning out": Here, Mindy Hough is walking down the track on the "hot" side of the wall, with her back to the car while hubby Brian is burning out. I'm not going to say anymore about this on this page today. In the photo on the right, everyone is safely positioned behind the car as it launches
Ontario's Rob Atchison (the long-distance award winner - if there was one anymore) burns out (most of the smoke happened after he passed my vantage point), then launches hard.
On the left, first-time visitors to Mission Raceway, the Ashwell Family team from Oregon, with driver Jeff pulling into the staging beams and on the right, many-time Mission competitor, John Evanchuk, puts the "Red Wolf" car through the burnout.
Here's two shots of a first-round matchup between fellow Edmontonian's Nathan Sitko (white car) and John Evanchuk (red car). In the left photo, they're staging and on the right, they're side-by-side at the 200 ft. mark, before near-disaster struck Sitko, when an oil leak put the car nearly sideways before Nathan saved it.
In the left pic you can see the pit-sdie grandstand is still reasonably well occupied, despite the starting to look threatening weather, while the cleanup crew (right pic) deals with the aftermath of Nathan Sitko's first round pass, and you can see by the numbers still on the scoreboard that it wasn't exactly stellar, once the oil started getting under the tires.
After the cleanup it was on to the first round of Nitro Harley eliminations with a launch and burnout in the first pair of pics.
Two more harleys; one launching and one burning out.
Back to the pits for a quick check and there's a buzz of activity in Rob Harrison's space as the Division Six tech people are certifying him for another national record: this time for 176.12 mph in J/A, and he already holds the e.t. record in the class at 7.61. On the right is former longtime Div. Six tech director, Jerry Valentine, enjoying being back at the races as a spectator.
Before we leave the Harrison pits, here's another shot of the team, with partner Al Lougheed leaning against the trailer, while Rob Harrison fills out some of the record certifying paperwork. To the right, we've got... Warren Johnson? Well, it was Warren's car before local doorslammer veteran Bob "Koko-Motion" Kokotailo bought it. It was on display to help the "Make-A-Wish" foundation.
While the track was down for yet another rain shower, something of a summit meeting was occuring on the starting line, involving the starter, the division director and the track manager. When things got going a little later, first out of the box was comp eliminator star Robbie Harrison, seen here whipping "Igor" through another punishing burnout.
And here's Harrison's first round opponent, fellow North Shore resident Howie Stevens, out with his three-years-in-the-making '09 Mustang (hold on, the math doesn't add up...). Unfortunately for Howie, he was so anxious to beat Harrison that he red-lighted away his chances and gave Rob a free pass into the quarter-finals.
Two final shots of Rick DiStefano's new Camaro, prior to another aborted pass in the first round. If he can just get the car launched and through low gear.....
Now onto Top Sportsman, with Cranbrook's Andy Cawte burning out in his very chopped '57 Chevy on the left, while veteran Bob Israelson smokes the hides in his '63 Corvette on the right.
Finally on to the first round of eliminations in Top Alcohol Dragster, under very dark and very threatening skies as you can see, and the first pair out of the lanes is Joey Severance (seen in these two photos) and Dale Carlson.
In the left photo, we see the first pair of T/AD's staging, with Dale Carlson on the left and Joey Severance on the right. In the photo on the right, a wheelstanding Joey Severance leaves the starting line.
As the skies grew ever darker, Mike Austin came out in the Federlin (against local Leo Grocock) and got some serious wheel speed going at the start of his burnout in the left side picture, while he leaves hard with the front wheels just off the ground in the right-side pic.
Yes, this is the last pair. Featuring two local racers at opposite ends of the spectrum: on the left, we've got a leaking Leo Grocock being pushed back from his first round of eliminations attempt, while on the right, Rob Harrison leaves with the wheels up for an automatic first round victory over a red-lighting Howie Stevens.
To see previous updates go to the What's Old page