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June 22, 2007 Coverage of Eaton's "Fast and Furious" sponsored by............
(Jeffery and Murdoch photos) Gallery # 1 is here Sunday Eliminations An veteran returns to clean up on Sunday....
..... Glen Kerunsky proved you could take a bit of time off and still show he has an "Ace" up his sleeve. This year the "Ace" was Carl Spiering's ERD Racing engines. A self imposed regrouping (another word for taking some away time from the sport) by Glen did not slow him down one bit. In fact he may be more of a formidable foe that the past couple years when he won 'Ironmen" and challenged for the IHRA Pro Mod Title. With the time off this season, he decided to make a major engine switch from the wedge motor and go to the proven Hemi. Spiering has shown over the last year and a half that he is one of the top players in the class performance wise, so Glen went calling. The results bore fruit and this Glen's first race on the year.
He was # 1 qualifier on Saturday with the only "0", a 6.09 in very warm conditions. He backed up that run with two more within a half tenth. On Sunday, the weather conditions were almost identical. He got a freebie in round one against Rash Dhaliwal (Rash's car is not legal for WCPM competition), but still layed down a great 6.159, that included a .020 light. The shot heard around MRP was by the "Dog" though as he ripped off the weekend's best lap a 6.064 @ 236.09. It was easily enough for the NHRA Pro Stock legal Grand Am driven by Howie Stevens (7.01). Trevor Lowe put notice forward that he could still make a wedge motor fly though with a great 6.128/233.46 shot that lowered his career best by over a hundredth. He defeated a very loose and all weekend long struggling Dan Vogt (7.48/208). Kirk Kuhns ran a 6.25 to defeat new car "woes" owner Rod Pearce. Danny Rowe shook and rattled and coast to victory over Glen May who was not allowed to advance due to his non conforming gear set in the pick-up. A good thing for Rowe as well, as May tossed out a very respectable red lighting 6.39 at 222.38 mph. His best lap in a couple years. Gary Mason made in my opinion the biggest noise in round one when he picked up a bit from his career best................HOW ABOUT 4 tenths improvement. His 6.66 in qualifying was his best #, but he ripped off a very strong 6.26 @ 230 for the win over Ross Hogenson. Hogenson's 6.57 was his best in a frustrating weekend. Joe Delehay is getting in the groove with his new Camaro, as he ran his first ever "teen", a 6.19@232.91 to defeat Tom Meheden. Tom was another guy who did not leave MRP happy, as his ride could not find the sweet spot on the starting line. Tim Vogt was the only NOS driver to advance (not really a surprise) as he dumped Jeff Hill in his dust. Vogt threw out a strong but still not a WCPM NOS record 6.35 @ 222 mph.
Round two had the potential to be close based on the eight cars left, but it did not turn out to be that way. Mason threw away what would have been a 6 teen pass when he rolled the beams,red lit and then whacked the throttle after close to a half second delay. His 6.597 @ 235.78 would have been a 6.15 or so. A 1.47 60 foot is the telling tale on his run. He face the juggernaut that is Glen "Bracket Man" Kerunsky in the 1/4's. Glen turned in a 6.151 @ 232 mph. Trevor Lowe went 6.21 to drive by a tire shaking and coasting Joe Delehay (8.41). Danny Rowe got a single when the "Big Dog" had Oil Pressure issues that made him ere on the side of caution. Frustrating for Carl when he found out it was just a computer sensor that went on the fritz. Danny Rowe would benefit greatly though as he again smoked, shook and rattled the tires again and coasted through the 1/4 mile. The final paring saw Kirk Kuhns run his second mid "20" of eliminatons, a 6.271@ 234 that gave him a tenth of a second advantage over Tim Vogt. Vogt's numbers were 6.368 at 222 mph.
The semis were an all blown affair, and in the first pairing Kerunsky paced local favorite Trevor Lowe. Lowe has been deadly on the tree, with a .02 and a .03 in the first two rounds. Kerunsky showed in round one he hasn't forgotten how to do it either with a .02 light. Trevor took off with a great .008 light and stayed out in front until half track when Kerunsky went by him and crossed the finish line with a 6.143 (can't run the number I guess as he broke out from his 6.15 dial in...just kidding). Trevor's scoreboard read a 6.24. Kirk Kuhns took out Danny ROwe with another bracket like 6.2 pass, this time a 6.261 @ 233 mph. Rowe's luck finally ran out when he was shut off at the starting line with an oil leak (it was determined that the leak, al be it very small, came from the dry sump filter system). He was my pick to win heading into the weekend.. Kuhn's win wound up being an expensive one for m=him though as when he got back tot he pits, he found some head lifter damage. Being a very rare combo to begin with he did not have the spares in the trailer to make repair in time. ouch!
That made the final an all Kerunsky affair, but Glen did not disappoint the fans as he blow down the 1/4 mile to get this.........another 6.15 lap, a 6.159@ 230 mph. Four runs within .015 of each other on a hot day with 2500 hp to manage. I would say he has not missed a beat.
The guys up at Edmonton better be paying attention.
Saturday qualifying What a day of performances.... ...Both good and not so good at the biggest race in West Coast Pro Mod history. The first 16 car field in the series unfortunately did not have 16 show for qualifying. Luckily four cars that were there to run Pro Street or CWDS were convinced to enter giving the fans a full field for race day. There actually was one other car on the grounds, the 56 Buick owned by Kip Dupuis, but the owner/driver had a bit of a brain fade as his NHRA certification had expired. His IHRA one is current but despite calls to NHRA officials pleading his case he was not allowed to run. (The NHRA is a bit gun shy due to recent incidents and while Kip (and tuner Rick Distefano) were bummed out, the right call was made. So they will head North next weekend for the Rocky's. Glen May thrashed for two or three straight days as he did not have plans to attend, the coaxing by Joe "D' made the local favorite show his "CC" racing Ranger Pick-up to the staging lanes. There were many big questions for the weekend. #1. Would the existing track record hold up or would we see a run quicker than a 6.03, possibly even a "5". The weather was overcast with a threat of rain, by when the sun did peak out it was hot. The corrected air was in the 1200 foot range was there was a possibility for a new record. SpeedZone decided to put up some bonus money if there was a "five" run this weekend and if there was a new track record currently a 6.03. They also were putting up bonus money for a new WCPM nitrous record (6.314) Round one saw the first shot layed down by Danny Rowe in his new "Unfinished Business" Camaro. He had run a 6.15 best in the car at Tulsa, but in round one he tore off a 6.111@233mph. Right behind him was Carl Spiering in the "Eaton" Camaro. He was beside Tom Meheden driving his nitrous Lumina. Carl out for the first time this season, unfortunately was timed out with the auto-start system. Luckily the starter did allow him to re-stage His lap came up to the tune of a 6.112 @ 235, but it was disallowed. A number of cars blew the tires off or had mech. issues and it wasn't until Tim Vogt in Don Snavely's nitrous Corvette came up near the end of qualifying did the next shot get heard. Tim raced to a career best and best run for Snavely, a 6.36@221 mph. Kirk Kuhns hauled off a great 6.16/228 mph in the totally cool 526 cu in Sonny Leonard Hemi '41 Willys. Glen Kerunsky was next and with the new BAE hemi tuned by himself and Spiering. H blassted off the first "0", a 6.097@233mph. to wind up #1 after round one. The next two sessions were wild and explosive as captured here by Larry Pfister from Horsepowerheaven. Rod Pearce out for the first time in his new Corvette had issues all day long and and by the end of the day his best was a 150 footer that netted him a 16 second time slip. Spiring, Rowe, Lowe, all had issues in round two But Kirk Kuhns tore off a career best 6.12/230. The Sonny Leonard combo could become the next big player under the hood in PM. Joe Delehay ran his career best, a 6.203 in what was a 4.021 to half track, the run should have been a 6.10 or so, but it started to loose power at 1200 feet. Kerunsky ran another solid number in round two, a 6.12. Gary Mason had big issues in the ex Mitch Stott Corvette, and he had fuel issues (very high rpm's) that saw three crew chiefs (Les Davenport, Quain Stott and Jimmy Rector) all assist in while he was trying to stage the car. Unfortunately the end result was a big bang at 100 feet down track. Two of the three extras brought in to fill the field looked strong as the NHRA Pro Stock legal Grand Am driven by Howie Stevens turned in a 6.95 and Rash Dhaliwal motored to a 6.75 in his Small block Pro Charged Mustang. Jeff Hill, a regular Canada West Doorslammer competitor, was trying out a 706 inch in his '55, but his best lap for the three runs was a 7.30@201mph. The final session saw three or four good laps but one of the most exciting was Carl Spiering's He was way back in the pack with a 14 sec lap from round two, and his final one saw the Camaro get real loose at 600 feet, but Carl steered the car away form the cones until he finally had to give up on the run at 1100 feet. His et was a 6.41@ only 176 mph. Good enough for the #7 spot. Trevor Lowe made a great move up the ladder with a solid and career best 6.135/at 233mph. Kerunsky and Rowe were back in the tees, Kuhns rattled the tires, Delehay blew up and unfortunately deposited fluid on the track on his 6.3 pass, Tim Vogt improved his career best to the tune of a 6.324 close to the WCPM nitrous record, a 6.314 by Pat Stoken). Dan Vogt struggled all day and a 14 second et slip was the best result. Mason and Pearce after their round two mishaps did not made the final session. Meheden also struggled to the tune of a 7.80 best. Ross Hogenson got his Corvette to haul ass for the first 600 feet but he too got real loose and had to lift early giving him a 6.88 best effort. It was determined that because two drivers, Glen May in the Ranger and Rash Dhaliwal in the Small block 'Stang, did not meet WCPM rules, that they would be set at the bottom of the field and not be able to advance past round one. Not really a good decision in my opinion, as neither are a real threat, but the series does want to keep the integrity of the series intact and when points are at stake, the controversy if either of those two cars had advanced or possibly even won would be bantered about for a long time. Here is final qualifying and the first round pairings
1 Glen Kerunsky 6.097 233.82 ** Not NHRA Pro Mod legal (gear set), will run round one but (win or loose) not advance. WCPM decision. * Not NHRA Pro Mod legal, will run round one but (win or loose) not advance. WCPM decision. Round one pairings Glen Kerunsky vs. Rash Dhaliwal Gary Mason vs. Ross Hogenson Trevor Lowe vs. Dan Vogt Joe Delehay vs. Tom Meheden Danny Rowe vs. Glen May Carl Spiering vs. Howie Stephens Kirk Kuhns vs Rod Pearce Tim Vogt vs. Jeff Hill
Friday testing and arrivals. Possibly the strongest turnout of Pro Mods ever for a Friday test appeared at Mission today. The list on the grounds Friday included: Joe Delehay (blower), Ross
Hogenson (nos), Trevor Lowe (blower), Dan Vogt (nos), Tom Meheden
(nos), Carl Speiring (blower), Tim Vogt (nos), Danny Rowe (blower),
Rod Pearce (nos), Gary Mason (blower), Kirk Kuhns (blower), Unfortunately the field on the grounds Friday may be the full field as a number of teams canceled at the last moment. There are three or four six second doorslammers and Pro Street cars that would be a great addition to make it a full field. I say allow those guys to run if no other teams show up in the next 16 hours. There were a number of big changes to many of the teams in attendance as well. Danny Rowe is in his new 68 Camaro, which has only been run at one event prior to this weekend. He went to round two at Tulsa just last week, and sits in the top five in the IHRA standings. Glen Kerunsky is out for the first time all season and has plans to run here and Edmonton in the 2007 season. He made a powerplant switch this year, as he has gone to a BAE hemi from his AJ 481-x of the past four years. Kirk Kuhns has perhaps the most unique combo,as he has one of only two Sonny Leonard Hemis in the Pro Mod class world wide. A car in Europe is the only other to run the exotic combo. Early laps show huge promise and it may be a more frequently seen combination in the near future. Rick DiStefano is out assisting Kip Dupuis this weekend and next weekend at Edmonton. Rod Pearce is debuting his new Corvette. The car has yet to hit the track, so he is real excited to make a few runs this weekend. Gary Mason is a new driver/owner out of Calgary and he came loaded for bear. He has both Les Davenport and Quain Stott on his corner as he works on getting accustomed to Pro Mod racing. The car is the ex-Mitch Stott Corvette so you know it has potential. Joe Delehay (the 2006 WCPM champ) is very excited to get his new Camaro on a sea level track. He wants to run a 6.0 for sure. Will we see a "5" this weekend. My guess is it will happen, and there are three or four different cars who will likely be battling it out to be the first guy to do it. Danny Rowe has more 6.0's than anyone and with Jimmy Rector in his corner he is the favorite. Canada's record holder Carl Spiering (6.03) is out for the first time this year and he has found more power from 2006. Glen Kerunsky has a Spieiring tune-up in his "57" and he went sub 4.0 to the 660 today. Joe Delehay is very much a dark horse to run a "5" the new car has to be worth at least a tenth over his Viper. As far as the nitrous cars go, the Don Snavley owned and Tim Vogt driven 06 Corvette and Ross Hogenson should battle for NOS supremacy. Rod Pearce could be there as well, but having no runs on the 63 Corvette could hinder his chances. Look for career bests from almost every team, as the corrected air on Saturday should be sub 1000 feet.
"Fast and
the Furious on the Fraser"
(Murdoch and Jeffery photos) Spring has arrived, the weather is great and Pro Mod teams are out in full force testing and tuning their beasts preparing in anticipation of the huge West Coast Pro Modified Association event upcoming at Mission Raceway Park. The event's presenting sponsor Eaton (manufacturers of Cutler-Hammer® and Powerware® brand products), is proud to present "Fast and Furious on the Fraser." This eagerly anticipated event will attract the largest field of professional Pro Modified racing teams to the Vancouver B.C. area in recent history. "Fast and Furious on the Fraser" should appeal to all pro mod racers. For the first time in WCPMA history it will feature a 16 car field and attract a star studded who's who of the finest pro modified racers from not only Western Canada but points east as well. Mission Raceway Park is located on the banks of the scenic Fraser River and boasts sea level conditions. Its track surface is among the finest in North America. "Fast and Furious on the Fraser" will provide a great testing bed for professional competitors heading to the IHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals in Edmonton the following weekend.
Carl Spieirng in the "Eaton" Camaro rips off the quickest Pro Mod et in Canada with a stellar 6.03 "Thunder by the River" presented by Eaton in 2006, saw many drivers turn in personal bests. Eaton's Carl Spiering established a then Canadian (and IHRA legal trim) ET record of 6.03, and eventual event Champion Scotty Cannon Jr. established a (then) new speed record of 238+mph. Racing at Mission Raceway provided last year's competitors with critical race data, in advance of Edmonton's IHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals event which is once again scheduled the following weekend (July 6 - 8). As an added bonus - and extremely attractive to pro mod entries, Mission Raceway Park will provide free testing for teams Friday afternoon from 12:00noon to 4:00pm in order to prepare for 3 rounds of qualifying Saturday to set the 16 car show for eliminations Sunday. The prize money for this event is over $25,000.00 US dollars thanks to Eaton's electrical business and Mission Raceway Park. Winner will take home $5,000.00US to win, with 1st round loser still taking home $1,000.00US. Visit www.wcpromods.com for all the event updates! Jet Equipment announces that it will sponsor the "Jet Tools Quick 16 Lottery" for all 16 cars that qualify and make at least 2 qualifying runs Saturday. The random draw for $1,000.00 of high quality Jet Tools will be held Saturday after qualifying as well a second draw for $500.00 worth of tools will be held to all entries who complete at least two qualifying runs. Race Teams considering attending this event are asked to email the WCPMA in advance to get all the details of this event, Contact the WCPMA info@wcpromods.com or call 1-403-874-9901 for more information.
Race one winner in 2007 Dan Vogt Eaton's electrical business is a global leader
in electrical control, power distribution, and industrial automation
products and services. Through advanced product development, world-class
manufacturing methods, and global engineering services and support,
Eaton's electrical business provides customer-driven solutions under
brand names such as Cutler-Hammer®, Powerware®, Durant®,
Heinemann®, Holec® and MEM®, which globally serve the
changing needs of the industrial, utility, light commercial, residential,
and OEM markets. For more information please visit us at:
Jet Tools offers up $1500.00 in Bonus lottery.
The West Coast Pro Mod Association (WCPMA) would like to offer a warm welcome to “JET Equipment and Tools” as a supporter of our association. The “WCPMA” confirmed today that JET Tools will be sponsoring the “JET Tools Quick 16 Lottery” at the Eaton Presented "Fast and Furious on the Frasier" at Mission Raceway taking place June 30-July 01. JET Tools is posting $1500.00 to racers who qualify for the 16 spots for this event. The Lottery will work like this. All 16 drivers who qualify will be entered into a draw. After the completion of qualifying Saturday afternoon “Bill Jeffery” of “JET Equipment and Tools” will pick one driver out of the 16 , and award this driver $1,000.00 worth of high quality JET Tools. After this draw the remaining drivers (all who enter this event and complete at least two qualifying runs) will also be put into a draw. The lucky driver picked will win an additional $500.00 worth of JET Tools. For more information on JET Tools visit them at: www.jetequipment.com For travel and track directions and details visit : www.missionraceway.com For information on the West Coast Pro Mod Association visit: www.wcpromods.com Entry List for the event:
#1. Joe Delehay (blower)
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