Speedzone Magazine Online Lucas Oil Zone

Coverage here at SpeedZone for the Lucas Oil Divisional event is presented by RAD Torque Systems

	Slave Lake, Alberta's Trevor Lebsack had starting line issues all weekend long. The car launched skyward on more than one hit, forcing the car to shut off early.
They faced fellow Albertan John Evanchuck in round one, but coasted to a 15.83 second pass on the losing effort.
	One of two Top Alcohol Dragsters campaigning out of Mission, the RAD Torque sponsored rail of Leo Grocock is seen here making what appeared to be a solid pass moments before a catastrophic engine failure that resulted in a large hole out the side of his block and on of the few major oildowns of the event. Leo was obviously disappointed but he is a trooper and loves the sport as much as any racer I know.
He is seen here thrashing on Hugh Ridley's car after he made it in to the finals against Cowie.
	Long time Division 6 TAD owner and pilot Bill Edwards has been a familiar sight in the Pacific Northwest for eons.The NAPA sponsored dragster experienced significant engine damage on this pass as well and was unable to make the show on Sunday.
Kenny Gilmour runs this up and coming TAD team out of Calgary, Alberta. The rail is driven by a very young Ashley Bart. This is a low budget, highly motivated team and as a result, Ashley does not get a lot of seat time. She is seen here (below) receiving instructions from father and crew member Rick prior to her final qualifying pass Saturday. Ashley is quite short and I understand that on one of her passes (RIGHT), the G-forces pushed her back so far that her foot came BACK off the pedal. I am sure they fixed this in a hurry next time out.


	Doug Hegge ran a very respectable 5.40 pass in his A/FD during round one Sunday. However it was not enough, as opponent Joey Severance outpaced him with a blistering 5.33 second hit to take the win.

	The Steve Federlin owned TAD, driven by Justin Davis, is very capable of consistently running in the 5.3 second range.
However, in round one the car only ran 5.43 second and coupled with a slow reaction time by Justin, was unable to get around Dale Carlson's 5.46 opening volley in the locally owned Hugh Ridley machine.

The Synoil team out of Red Deer, Alberta usually goes rounds, but this was just not their weekend. They faced 3 time IHRA World Champ Rob Atchison in round 1.
	The car ran a respectable 5.78 pass against Atchison's 5.91, but Ken was caught asleep at the starting line. Atchison took the stripe, putting the Synoil team in the trailer early.
Tim and Nancy Nemeth of Chilliwack, B.C. run this gorgeous alcohol funny car and are a very familiar site at Mission. Tim is also putting the finishing touches on a new Nostalgia Nitro funny car which should be ready for the Canadian Open in July.

This was not their day as they experienced trouble in round one against Division 6 standout Clint Thompson who ran a stout 5.64 pass. (note the fuel (dead cylinder) on this round one loss)
	Nancy Nemeth is seen here packing the parachutes on Saturday in anticipation of another qualifying attempt.
Three time IHRA Alcohol Funny Car World Champ Rob Atchison has made the conversion to NHRA competition in 2009. The floundering IHRA sanctioning body has dropped the popular class from their venues across North America. Rob campaigns two Monte Carlo bodied floppers, one in Ontario and this newest venture, sponsored by Team Ace Racing out of Edmonton Alberta. This was the teams first divisional race using a screw blower and I believe they feel it was a good showing considering the lack of data with this combination.
	They lucked out in round one when Ken Webster was caught sound asleep at the tree. Webster ran almost 1/14th faster than Rob but was still put on the trailer. In round two, Rob rolled through the lights before the green was activated and was disqualified as a result. This is without a doubt one of Canada's most professional and competitive drag racing teams, and you can be sure they will be in the winners circle at an NHRA event soon.
Division 6 hitter Clint Thompson went to the semi's in Funny Car and faced the increasingly dangerous Red Wolf team out of Alberta.
	Again, Clint had the faster time, an outstanding 5.63 second pass, but his slow reaction time at the tree cost him the race against Evanchuck's impressive run of 5.69 seconds
Joey Severance took out Doug Hegge in round one, but his semi-final pass of 5.37 seconds was not enough against Cowie's personal best run of 5.29 seconds in round two. It must be frustrating to be put on the trailer after running 5.37 seconds at a divisional. Welcome to Mission!
	Edmonton's John and Ruth Evanchuck compete at all Division 6 races in the beautiful Red Wolf, Big Eagle Hydrovac sponsored alcohol funny car. The cranberry colored flopper features new paint this year and has a new Brad Anderson combination under the hood. This team is a growing threat wherever it appears.
Tuned by rising star Bill Moore (along with Shawn Cowie's dragster) the car is capable of running with the best. At this race, John drove the Pontiac all the way to the finals but was having problems all weekend with the braking system unable to hold firm at the lights when the engine was ramped up to launch RPM.
	Unfortunately he red lit in the finals as Hough took a full 6 seconds to stage, and in spite of John almost snapping the brake handle, caused the Red Wolf car to roll through the beams. A disappointing way to lose a race. You can be sure they will get to the bottom of the problem in time for the next race.
Hough and Evanchuck with the laundry out during the final run at MRP on Sunday.
	Well, she isn't too pretty right now but that didn't affect the performance of Division 6's toughest alcohol funny car, owned and driven by Brian Hough. Finishing 7th in the world last year and number 1 in points didn't just happen by chance. This car is extremely well tuned and Brian is an outstanding driver. How about an entire weekend with every pass in the 5.6 range including a 5.62 e.t. in round one, a 5.66 pass in round two and 5.64 in the finals against the red lighting Evanchuck! I think you could call this car the "Stealth" but that may be misleading as it does somehow still trip the beams. Congratulations to Brian and his crew for the win.
Here, Brian is shown exiting his flopper through the roof at the finish line after his big win at Mission.
	No doubt the surprise of the weekend was the astounding performance and final round appearance of Hugh Ridley's TAD driven by Dale Carlson. The dragster has been campaigning for a couple of years now and was formerly driven by Gary Ormsby, Jr. Until this weekend the team has struggled to get the car to run competitively and to go rounds at a Divisional race. However a solid 5.46 pass in round one against Justin Davis (and a quicker reaction time) and a jaw dropping 5.37 pass at 264 MPH in round two quickly saw the team back in the pits thrashing to get the car ready to face the red hot Cowie car out of Richmond, B.C. The Cinderella story came to an end when the car could only muster what can only be described as a disappointing 5.59 e.t. against another 5.33 pass from Cowie.
All in all the team was ecstatic with the overall results and sent a clear message that they will be a force to reckon with. Way to go Hugh!

Hugh Ridley's TAD driven by Dale Carlson. A great weekend for the Washington based driver. A stellar .003 light (deepstaged) in the final had potential for an upset, and it would have only taken a 5.41 to get the win light. Dale is probably thinking that in this picture.
	And finally, my last team to cover at this race and I have saved the best for last. Local phenom Shawn Cowie was the odds on favorite this weekend and he didn't disappoint. Like Brian Hough has in their family's funny car, tuner Bill Moore has the Cowie car running on a string. The team has now won 3 divisional races on '09 and is off to Topeka, Kansas for the National event there. Shawn is really improving as a driver in this class and of course, what more can be said about his crew chief, Bill. Tutored by the Northwest Hitter Bucky Austin, he has been like a sponge. He also tunes the Red Wolf funny car and it did not surprise me in the least that it too was in the final.
The dragster ran every pass in the 5.3 second range except one, a sizzling career best e.t. of 5,29 seconds at a booming 271+ mph! This was the second 271 mph hit of the weekend, the first one during test and tune on Thursday.
	What I love about this team (other than they are from B.C.) is the fact that both Shawn and Bill are genuinely nice people. Let's hope they keep the streak alive! Hey Bill about time you showed your fun side, just kidding!!