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Mission Raceway National Open July 24-26, 2009 (Coverage here presented by Joey's Place Paint and Restoration). July 30, 2009 AA/FC and Pro Street coverage is here July 27, 2009 Coverage on this page is for the IBAA and the NW BB/FC NWBB/FC
The newest racing group in the NW is the North West BB/Funny Car series. To look at the cars you could think they were the same cars as their Nitro brothers, and other than one very different aspect they are. The difference is the fuel they run. All these Funny Cars run on Methanol instead of nitro. 1000 less horsepower but they have all the fun the nitro boyz have. It is a bunch less costly and much more affordable for the race tracks that book them in. There is a big difference in the way they run their group on the track though. Most match race groups run on an index (a specific ET the group has to adhere to), so they don't have to worry about running even a hundredth quicker than the index and lose the race, even if their opponent breaks. What does happen though, is if they run too quick they forfeit some of their purse money, so as important as it is to win the round, it is just important to get their full pay, so the teams so far have been pretty consistent in the 6.7-6.9 range. All the cars that ran at Mission this past weekend were capable of running well into the mid sixes but they were fairly closely bunched.
With only one round of qualifying due to the weather, they did let it all hang out so to speak. Ex TAFC driver Shane Harter in his old Avenger (he is getting a nostalgia body in the near future) ripped off a 6.64@214, to lead the field (but not the #1 qualifier, Explanation below) . The Parker's were like one, as both Kim and Randy ran 6.710. Randy was 3 mph faster and he took the #2 spot. Ron Huegli in the "Tiki Warrior" ran his best ever # a 6.827@199.
Greg Howland in the Zeus Corvette went 6.960 @200. Royce Taylor went 6.997/186. Leon Aines struggled a bit with a on and off the throttle 8.421 and Don Harter ran a troubled 9.196. Engine breakage kept Don out of eliminations.
The way the qualifying order is determined is whoever is closest to 6.90 + or -. The order was: #1 Howland, #2 Ron Huegli, #3 Taylor, #4 Randy Parker, #5 Kim Parker, #6 Shane Harter, #7 Leon Aines, #8 Don Harter.
Round one. In the best match up of the weekend for the double B's Kim and Randy faced off and just like in qualifying the two ran the identical ET's, this time it was side by side 6.82's, Randy one upped his wife with a .05 rt compared with Kim's .1 so hubby advanced. He will likely be doing the dishes for a while.
Leon Aines upset Ron Huegli when Ron was wild on the launch. Leon ran his best et of the weekend a 6.93. Royce Taylor went low for round one but it was costly, his 6.78/209 was more than enough against a very loose Shane Harter, but it would be his only lap in elim's, as he wounded his bullet. Greg Howland got the freebie when Don Harter could not make round one.
Semi finals............ Randy Parker defeated a game Leon Aines to advance to the final round (did not get ets as I was shooting top end). Howland again got a bye when Taylor could not make the call. That meant it would be Parker vs Howland.
Final round..............Solid burnouts and extremely strong launches by both cars, but just after the hit both were real loose, and had to pedal a number of times, Randy was recovered the quickest and he pedaled his way to a 7.24/186. Howland gave up and coasted through with a 10 second time slip. Impressions of the new group. I rate it a B. Very little wrong with the deal, maybe allowed a few more nostalgic body styles instead of limited it to only IBAA It was the Ron Sekura show
Here is one of Ron's many 1000+ foot burnouts. He not only did this on every lap, he also was the only one to run right on the 6.99 index and he won the race. I call it the trifecta. The Alberta based International Blown Alcohol Assoc. (IBAA) or Pro Nostalgia Funny Cars have a solid base of more than a dozen cars and are a great example of what a funny car series should perform like. They have possible the best looking group of floppers, ranging from non traditional nostalgia Funny Cars (37 Chevys and 55 Chevys) to the most favorites from the 60's and 70's (late 60's Corvette's and early 70's Mustangs). The paint jobs are stunning (most courtesy Joey's Place Paint and Restoration), and the cars perform extremely well. The group started out running the traditional 7.50 index but as the teams have upgraded their equipment they has progressed to running 7.20's at many events and this past weekend at Mission they ran in the sixes for the first time, a 6.99 index.
Here are just three of the very nice rides in the IBAA series. The problem this past weekend of the teams running quicker than they ever have, was the lack of qualifying attempts they got to make. Due to the crappy weather the racers had to experience Saturday, the team only got to make one hit Sunday at Noon. A tough task for sure, but they all gave it their best effort. And the fans ate it up. The two Sekura brothers were up first and they had the fans screaming after side by side 1000 foot burnouts.
Unfortunately for Corey Sekura, the car died as he was slowing down (probably due to lack of fuel to the top end of the motor on the quick slow down). Ron was forced to shut off as they moved his brothers car off the track. He would re-fire and make a 6.957 lap, a few hun too quick, but good enough for the #7 spot. Cory Kincaid was the quickest to the 6.99 as he went 7.03.
Jason Bussey in his candy orange 69 Camaro was #2 with a 7.088. Cal Tebb in the totally real looking 69 GTO, went 7.129. Eddy Plaizier and Joey Steckler were 4 and 5, Darrell Webb was #6 with a slowing and wild guard rail hugging 7.87 lap
and Mattias Hane ran a 6.948. The eight car field was set and the two outside were Corey Sekura and Rod Elliott who went way to quick with a 6.809. The DNQ by Elliott was costly since he was in the top three in points heading into this race.
Round one...........#1 Corey Kincaid took on Mattias Hane and it was the #8 qualifier who got the win when Cory got real loose at 500 feet he was right on the left side guard rail and was sideways by 700 feet. He did get it straightened out but by then it was too late. Eddy Plaizier defeated Joey Steckler on a hole shot and never looked back through the 1/4 mile.
Jason Bussey had Ron Sekura and Sekura laid down another huge burnout for the fans and then he ripped off a 6.99 to get the win.
Cal Tebb had Darrell Webb and Tebb in the 'Goat" had a huge battle in this one. He got the win to advance to the semis.
In the semis, Tebb had the 6.99 and Burnout king Sekura (look at this long smoker from both drivers), and Sekura again was on his game as he lead this one from the start.
His chutes were out and Tebb was still on the loud pedal trying to catch him. Cal did not deploy his chutes (above) and it was a bit scary as I was on the top ending shooting was was supposed to be chute shots. It all ended well, as the long runoff allowed Tebb to make the corner without any issues.
Eddy Plaizier had problems on the starting line against Hane, and Hane advanced to the final round from the # spot.
The final round was over very quickly as the fan favorite continued to impress with another long smoker and a real quick back up (ALA Twig Zeigler back in the 70's). Sekura took a monster holeshot as Mattias was looking for his no doze (just kiddin). Sekura let off the loud pedal at 1200 feet and tripped the win light with a 7.16@ only 176 to defeat a loose and coasting on the top end Mattias Hane. A great showing by the IBAA and hopefully they are back in 2010 Photos and the BB/FC story Tuesday
Saturday qualifying What a lousy day it would up to be as only sportsman qualifying and one round of Pro Street and Nitro Harley got completed. Just before Mission's 'Night of Fire' was set to begin a huge Lighning, Wind and rain storn blew through the Fraser Valley lasting long enough to end any chance of runny under the lights. A major bummer as the evening could have been a record breaker for the Nitro Funny Cars. Friday test n tune
Dawson Creek's Dale Pederson going a career best 6.85/205 The number of Funny Cars on the MRP grounds grew every hour Friday, and by 6:00 pm there were 7 nitro floppers, 9 IBAA teams and 4 of the new NWBB/FC team's present. For as good as the funny car show will be, I expect the Pro Street deal to be one best ever.
Roy Moznik and Ken Sihota
Mark Wolfe wounded his rear end on the launch on this run. The record bump spot for the Pro Street class is a 7.30 or so, but with Dale Peterson, Roy Moznik, Frank Tamez, Mark Wolf, Barry Daniluk, Rash Dhaliwal, race one winner Ken Sihota, Yvonne Lucas, Dave Magee and Trevor Willms in attendance is should be a tough field to qualify for. Too bad the other NW drivers are not able to make it, because if Garrett Richards, Dal Sangha, Brian Lane, Don Murray, Kerry Stone and Darryll Stone were all here it would be a field for the ages. Maybe the race the end of August will be the record breaker.
The quickest Nitro pass of the day went to Mark `Mr. Explosive`Sanders in his cool Nova. He ripped off a solid 5.95 at 241. The dynamite guy put notice to everyone he will be a force to be reckoned with.
Tim Boychuk is finishing off his cross over licensing in a new totally buff Trans Am. Troy Lee (Troy Lee designs) of Extreme sport fame designed the very gnarly paint scheme, and Joey's Place in Edmonton applied the ink. He is partnered with Ron Hogeson of Bubble Up fame. The Bubble Up car is currently in hiatus with the status for the future undetermined.
Todd Lesenko went 700 feet and clicked it early. He went 5.9 at Seattle last weekend, for his first '5. Andy Beauchemin in Tim Stevenson's Tachman went 700 feet as well. Tiki Man Ron Huegli in the NW BB Monza went 6.86@199. Nitro Harley's and of course the full gamut of NHRA Sportsman racers will fill the lanes all day Saturday. NHRA runs the event through 5:00pm, but after that it is all Mission staff and the feature cars letting it rip down the 1/4 mile until dark. If the track is tight and the weather cools enough Saturday evening look for record breaking numbers. Could we see 5.70's or better, don't bet against it, but the wild card is that the nitro funny cars are racing three of the next four weeks, so parts attrition will play into how hard they run.
Preview What a weekend in store for the fans in the NW as the Canadian National Open at Mission Raceway Park is upon us this weekend. If you like Funny Cars and fast Doorcars this race is for you. Close to 30 (maybe as many as 32) FUNNY CARS will entertain the fans Saturday and Sunday. Three different groups of Floppers including the big bad NITRO coupe from the early years. 10 of the fire belcthing beast win try for the 8 car field and one thought is on all the competitors mids except two (the two in question) .... Can I knock on the Plueger/Austin two car team. That team has not lost yet this year and have run low et at every event. This could be the weekend where we see a 5.60. The always entertaining IBAA makes its return to Mission with a bunch of new cars and drivers. And the new drivers want to put on a show. I saw this group three weeks ago at Edmonton and three of the cars were doing full 1/4 mile burnouts. Awesome!!!!!. Plus they will index their cars quicker than they have ever gone. The newest assoc. to hit the NW is the NW BB/FC group. They run very similar body styles to their nitro cousins, the big difference is they run on methanol. They are a second slower but they do something that has not been seen at a race track since the 70's....... want a hint............after the burnout they make a bit of noise before their run. Wait till you see it, very cool!!!! The CPSA will be back and this could be their biggest field ever. Pro Street will be a battle. Nitrous, big inch (I mean monster inch), Blowers and Turbo's with a pile of different body styles. This could be the race where we see an all 6 second bump spot, with maybe a couple in the 6's not making the field. Nitro Harleys cap on the show/exhibition classes and the field will be tough. Will be back to you Friday with some testing previews. Special thanks to Joey's Place for their support of SpeedZone Magazine.
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