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Mission Raceway National Open July 22-24, 2011
(Coverage here presented by Joey's Place Paint and Restoration). July 26, 2011 (Sportsman and Comp coverage is here.) Weekend coverage for the Funny Cars and Pro Street. A Bill Jeffery Gallery is posted. A Robert Hunter gallery is posted. (Photos courtesy Bob Hunter, Bob Wilson, Dean Murdoch and Bill Jeffery). Pro Street results.
This past weekend's Pro Street race was one of the best ever at Mission Raceway. There were not big numbers of cars as a few other races in the last couple years, but the eight cars that were there all ran very well (seven teens and quicker). A few had career bests and there was for the first time, a five second ET in the North West.
Richards stayed in the 6.60 and Steve Horne ran a great 7.18/193 in his small blower Canso. Ken Sihota and Roy Moznik both struggled to get their cars to hook up, but you knew it would happen at some point on the weekend.
Joe Delehay was the last down the track and he was on a great pass until around 900 feet when his Camaro got real loose. He got off the gas and turned in a 6.35 to get the #1 spot by 1/100th. Here is the final order 1.
Joe Delehay 68 Camaro 6.354/187.36 Round one saw Dale Moznik get an automatic win over Richards with a 6.77 to a quicker but red lighting 6.699.
Richards had huge speed on his run, 218.44 mph. Pedersen defeated Steve Horne matching his qualifying time within 1/100th. He went 6.534/220 to Horne's slowing 7.778. Yvonne Lucas lowered her best ET and mph with a great 6.35/222 to defeat Sihota, who finally got his car untracked he went a respectable 6.689/206. The final pair saw Delehay take on Roy Moznik.
The track was exceptional when they ran at noon and most key board crew chief felt it was time to see a '5'. No one walked away disappointed, as Delehay was off like a rocket, and it stuck right through the ¼ mile. His time an awesome 5.993/242.26, shattering the Pro Street records in both the CPSA and the NPSA by 18 mph and almost 4/10ths of a second. Roy Moznik had his best run of the weekend, a 7.108/206 but was light years behind Delehay. In the semi finals Delehay showed the first run was not a one off, as he went within .008 of his first run, backing it up with a 6.001 at a faster 242.78.
Moznik had his 'Camino running flawlessly all weekend, but his 6.80/206 was no match for the blown Camaro. Yvonne Lucas won a great pairing in the other semi, a 6.42/8/221 to Pedersen's 6.618/221, identical ET's but the first 400 feet, Lucas was much quicker. The final round would be the quickest side by side in Pro Street racing in the North West, but it was still all Delehay as he went 6.098/241.15 to defeat Lucas' 6.446/218.34. Yvonne had a tenth and a half on the starting line and led the race until 700 feet when the HP of the Ken Eisler tuned hemi came around the Nitrous Camaro.
It was a great final and it bodes well for the Pro Street class (better stated as Fast Doorslammer racing) since it really is Pro Mod cars (but most in the class don't want to be called Pro Mods). The
Pro Street class of racing had been a bit of an enigma in the North West for the
last decade and a half in the North West. It started off with the CPSA (Canadian
Pro Street Assoc) forming in the mid 90's and two or three guys being the dominant
players and the assoc actually had quite a few members and actually becoming a
pretty good series. Then in the early to mid 2000's the racing seemed to fall
off. Nitro Funny Car results
Boychuk wins Mission for the third year in a row!
A lot of effort was put into the Nitro Funny Car class at MRP. Expanding the field from the previous couple years was a goal for Mission Raceway exec. and ourselves, Speedzone Magazine. Early talks in the spring brought together two sponsors for the event and we had the funding to expend the field. JET Equipment and Tools and TDN Constructors group were the event sponsors. Now the task was to try and attract the teams to Mission Raceway. The contacting started at the March Meet and continued at Las Vegas and Boise as well press releases and direct contact. We had close to 18 teams express some interest in the race and by May there were 14 committed with the intent of running here. After Edmonton four of those teams decided they could not make the race, one due to breakage and not enough time to make repairs and another had mysterious reasons. One did not have their equipment ready to go and the other was a no show was because of the rules. They were hoping to run open rules instead of NHRA Heritage rules, as they were building their car based on softer rule restrictions. Two more teams were added at Edmonton making the total 12. The week before the event, word had gotten out that one of the teams added at Edmonton would not be at Mission and by the time the weekend got here and the cars were on the grounds 10 were in competition. Not really what we were hoping for and disappointing when teams. The
event overall still have close to the advertised 32 Funny Cars as a few more Nostalgia
Alcohol cars were in attendance. Those in attendance were Tim Nemeth, Tim Boychuk,
Todd Lesenko, Mike Grekul, Nathan Sitko, Jay Mageau, Mark Hentges, Mark Sanders,
Darrin Bay and Mike Savage. Testing Friday saw the Sitko team make two runs to upgrade one of the Sitko brothers, Troy upgrade his license.
He did so and ran a best of a 6.07, so that team was ready for the five second zone. Jay Mageau made a hit as well, but his chutes shook out and he had to lift early.
Qualifying was held in the evening Saturday and great crowd was at the track. The first round saw Mark Sanders lay down the best run of the session. He went 5.81 to lead the field. Darrin Bay, Tim Nemeth and Tim Boychuk also ran in the 5.8's.
Todd Lesenko ripped off a 5.90. Nathan Sitko went 6.03, and the rest of the cars struggled with traction, including MArk Hentges who had to lift at 100 feet as he went close to the gueard rail. As far as Mike Grekul, traction was not the problem for the Steve Plueger tuned Mustang. That car went into a big wheel stand and then two pedal jobs produced two more wheelies. He finally lifted.
The second round saw Darrin Bay run the first 5.70 of the weekend. He went 5.78 @ 247.
Mark Sanders ran another '80, a 5.84. Mark Hentges went 5.94 Todd Lesenko went 6.00, and then Tim Boychuk went out and took the #1 spot with a 5.77.
Mike Savage went 6.09 and Grekul and to pedal the car again and ran a on and off
the throttle 6.45. Nathan Sitko repeated his earlier 6.0, this time a 6.06.
He said he was the flash after he staged, but it was likely a flash from a camera. Next year I will make sure that the photographers at the starting line shoot after the green. Jay Mageau ended the night as he did not make the session but ran after the Alcohol drivers. He was on a great pass but lifted early. Here is the final qualifying 1.
Tim Boychuk Edmonton Ab. 77 Firebird 5.776/247.58
Boychuk vs Mageau In round one Jay Mageau knew he had a monumental task in front of him. But from the two hits Saturday and the testing one Friday they had a bit of a handle on their tune-up.
The best the car had run before was a 6.11. Jay got a huge hole shot and lead to 300 feet, but at that point the Leong HP showed its ability and Tim drove around Jay with a 5.78/248.41 to Jay's career best 6.065/237.65 it was a good drag race.
Mark Sanders took on Mike Savage, and Sanders should have been the favourite, but the Savage car is a good car. It proved to be too good of a car as he got a holeshot and won driving away. A 5.836/248.82 defeated Sanders' 5.902/239.61.
Tim Nemeth took on Nathan Sitko and the Sitko team had to be aggressive. They were, too aggressive as they smoked the tires on the hit. Nemeth was sluggish on the starting line but ran a 6.00/243.90 to advance. Darin Bay ran Grekul, and the question here was; would Grekul wheel stand or stick to the ground? It brought the wheels up a bit, but then it shook the tires and he got real loose.
Bay ripped off a 5.892/243.30. Todd Lesenko ran Mark Hentges in the final pairing, and this one was won on a holeshot, and was the closest race of the day.
Todd
had a tenth at the tree and that was enough as he won with a 5.94/238.53 to a
slightly quicker 5.92/232.61.
The final round had the #1 and #2 qualifiers facing off, according to the script.
Boychuk got a .05 holeshot and ran a 5.813/243 (with a cylinder out), and Bay went 5.870/245.49. A real good drag race, but Boychuk got the win for the third time in a row here at MRP. A real good race and a good show put on by all the teams. The real task is go get teams to make the trek up here for 2012. If it is to build, the work has to start now and teams have to know what a great event it is. All the teams at Mission got paid more than the advertised purse; they all got free entry and had a big BBQ on the Friday night. The track has a lot to offer and most teams run career bests here. What's not to like? We will see in 2012! Rocky Mountain and NWBB/FC results.
We begin the weekend coverage from Mission Raceway and the 18th Annual Canadian National Open. Many drag and related gods did shine down on the sea level facility as absolutely fantastic weather blessed the facility for three days. A great car count with close to 300 cars, a solid crowd hand Saturday (especially the evening) and a pretty good one on Sunday as well. It was possibly the best Pro Street show ever at Mission with the top six cars all running in the sixes. Career best marks for three of the drivers (Delehay, Lucas and Moznik). All three Funny Car classes saw amazing competition Sunday and exciting qualifying on Saturday as well. The Rocky Mountain Funny Car assoc. qualifying against the NWBB/FC assoc. starts out our weekend report. This is the second year for the Western Canadian based Rocky group. This is also year two for the BB/FC association. The membership is around 12 cars for both and 10 of them were at Mission this weekend. Over the next couple years the group expects to have close to sixteen cars, similar to what their friendly rivals the NWBB/FC assoc is working towards. Can you say 50 funny cars at a future Mission Raceway show?
10 Rocky Mountain teams entered the Open this past weekend, and 10 BB/FC as well. All the Rocky boys were at Mission by Friday afternoon in anticipation of one of their biggest races of the year. During Friday testing all made runs as well as they ran on a 6.90 index instead of a 6.99 at other events so the teams wanted to be relatively dialed in before Saturday qualifying. It was pretty well for most teams, except for the two Sekura cars. Corey ran real well in his car making three runs, running as close as 6.88. On the third run he broke a bit of the valve train and hurt the cam in the car. Ron had much more serious issues with his. He kicked the rods out on his first run and badly damaged the car. With the two engines identical, they decided to make one good one out of two, and run one car. After a long day for thrashing and repairs they did get the Camaro back together in time for round one qualifying Saturday. They ran their qualifiers against the American based NWBB/FC group. Their assoc runs on a 6.85 index so they should be some good side by side action, and a bit of rivalries for the fans. And there was!
In the first round, BB/FC rookie Todd Swinford had a single as Ron Sekura did not run due to the breakage Friday. He went 7.72. Joey Steckler ran Greg Howland from the NWBB group. Joey was real close to the number, a 6.93 that would put him solidly in the field for Sunday. Howland will need to find a couple tenths, as he went 7.08. Eddy Plaizier ran Kim Parker from the Southside assoc. and he made a great 6.92 pass just a tick better than Joey.
Kim
ripped off a 6.72/205. Cory Kincaid was next. He raced Shane Harter. After the
burnout Cory could not get the car to go into reverse, so he rolled down track
giving Harter the single. Harter made a real good run a 6.93 that made it known
he would be ready for Sunday.
Next was David Brant in the REAPER Firebird. This was his first ever NHRA event, and he ran his best ever et, a 7.01 that put him right in the thick of it. Royce Taylor was beside him and he had to recover from tire shake and went a 7.31/201. Next up was Corey Sekura. The big question would be will the repairs actually hold up in a run not just on the jack stands?
Would Corey baby the car down the track and make sure it stays together for eliminations, or would he do the Sekura: As in let 'er rip in the burnout and see what happens? It was #2.
He laid down a huge burnout, and then ran an awesome 6.89. Based on what they went through to get the car back together that was a huge victory. Beside him, Naniamo racer Brent Murray (who also runs with the Rocky Mountain assoc), got crossed up big time and went into Corey's lane at 100 feet. He followed Corey down track. The real rookie, who only made the necessary licensing runs the day before, took on Russ Parker. Norm's car launch real good, but he started to drift toward the wall and had to give up on the run, but he had to drive and steer the car to keep it off the wall. He coasted to an 11 second time slip. Russ went right down the groove and ran a 7.02/200. The final run saw Cal Tebb run Tiki-Man Ron Huegli. Both drivers did long burnouts to end the first round.
On the launch, Cal was way ahead of Ron but he too got loose, but he went to the centre line and had to pedal and steer the car back into the groove and coasted to a 9 second time slip. Huegli went a great 6.83, right near their index.
RMNFC Joey
Steckler 6.93 - 198.76 NWBB/FC Randy
Parker 6.69
Cal went 6.97 making three drivers in the six second zone. Cory went 7.0 and both Norm and Arvid went 7.1's.
The best show of their final round was the side by side with him and Tiki-Man Ron Huegli. Both cars laid down side by side 1000 foot burnouts that ended up at 1320 feet by the time they coasted to a stop. The fans did go wild! On the run, Ron got crossed up past half track while Corey repeated his earlier run to the hundredth, another 6.89! That was the great news. The bad news was it was again a run too quick, putting him on the outside of the field. Sunday morning and the parings were set. An update from the "Wild Al High Intensity" team as they found minor valve train damage ( a lash cap was off on a push rod and they could not adjust the setting to their liking so they decided to save the parts and make a easy fix so Corey Sekura did get inserted to the field. First round Rocky Mountain pairings were Plaizier vs (Sekura) in for Weich, Steckler vs Fonstad, Tebb vs Kolwich, and Brant vs Kincaid. The eliminations story below for the Rocky group is taken from their web site. In Round one, Joey and Arvid were the first pair out and this one was an upset as Fonstad got his first ever round win. Arvid had a slight holeshot and stayed out in front all the way through the ¼ mile, he defeated Steckler with a 7.04 (career best) to a 7.07.
The next pair saw the second upset of the round, as Norm Kolwich took out the guy he used to crew for Cal Tebb. Norm got loose but Cal had troubles too, only his troubles were he went too fast! A 6.84 of a 6.90 dial. Norm was off to the semi finals. His car seemed to be a bit loose on each run (the only solid pass was the final Saturday night pass a 7.16 pass). You can see his tracks as he heads to the guard rail.
The question in my mind was he over steering the car too much due to being new in the car, or was there an issue with the setup.
Cory Kincaid ran David Brant and it saw Kincaid getting the round win with a 7.22 to a 7.48. The final race was a close one. Al Weich broke on his final qualifier so Corey Sekura got the break and was inserted to eliminations. Eddy took on Sekura and got a slight holeshot but he ran close to the 6.90, a great 6.91. Corey was right in it and likely would have won any of the other pairings as he went 6.97.
In the semi finals, Eddy took on Kincaid, and Fonstad took on Kolwich. This one was over at the starting line as Plaizier had a holeshot and never looked back, with a 6.96. Cory went 7.26. Plaizier was off to the final round. Two first time NHRA competitors,
Arvid
Fonstad and Norm Kolwich ran in the other semi, Fonstad was on a great pass, but
at half track his car went a bit lean and he popped the burst panel. Norm went
through with a 7.37 victory. His car was a bit loose again.
Well,
the old saying you don't race on paper almost came through. Norm is in a clutch car, while Eddy has a convertor car. Eddy went in second and was late getting set with the button. He was real late while Norm was deadly with a .072 light. His car was also on a string as Shane Rykdal, Cal Tebb and Joey Steckler all sorted out the handling issues with the car. It was straight as an arrow and was on what would be first first six second time slip. In fact the run was too good, as he went 6.88, 2/100ths under the index handing the win to Plaizier. What a lucky break!
Plaizier is for sure thanking his good fortune, as he was dead to rights. At half track Norm was easily six car lengths in front. Norn got a huge water bath by the other members for the association when he got back to the pits. He actually seems to be in shock at all the happenings of the day. The 6.88 run was a real shot in the arm and the car went straight as can be. It appears they have another solid member to the group.
The NWBB/FC group run their eliminations as a 'Chicago style' format with the driver running closest to the 6.85 number in each round one Sunday get to face off in a winner take all final round. In round one, Huegli's 6.83 time trial Saturday night was tweaked Sunday and Ron ran a right on 6.85 in his pairing against Randy Parker. Parker went under again with a 6.78. No on else ran close enough to the number in the other four pairings.
Brent Murray did get real loose for the second time and crossed into Shane Harter's lane. Shane Harter ran a good 6.91 that would have been in the game if it wasn't for Huegli's 6.85 Howland and Russ Parker went side by side 6's. The Zeus Corvette's pass was a 6.81 and Parker's was a 6.94. Royce Taylor let it all hang out with a 6.74. Todd Swinford was beside him and he stayed consistent in the mid 7 second zone. Don Harter made a great pass and it would have been a contender normally. He went 6.83. Kim Parker could not run Sunday due to breakage from Saturday.
In the second round Sunday, the closest to the number would race Huegli in the final.
Can you race yourself? Huegli made a case for it as he repeated his earlier 6.85
with another 6.85. Randy Parker actually would make it interesting as he went
6.84 in his final Chicago time trial. Greg Howland went 6.93 to be the only other
driver to run in the sixes in the final Chicago match race.
Even though Parker made the one run real close to the number, Tiki-Man was right on three of the four previous laps. He continued that trend in the final, as he went 6.88/ Randy Parker was on a good run but the car broke at 900 feet and he coasted to a 7.48.
Both
Alcohol classes had great showings and some memorable moments. As long as they
continue to put on a great show and keep on bringing in new members, they will
be a popular draw throughout the NW, and for that I am thankful. July 24, 2011 Saturday short recap ............................................arriving early and by the time the floppers did their parade there were 4 - 5,000 people to witness the largest gathering of Funny Cars in Canadian Drag Racing History. In all, 31 cars (32 were expected), put on one of the best shows at the two decade old facility. I had a chance to talk to Ron Farmer (one of the original members of the BCCCA) Saturday afternoon and asked him if he could remember the largest field at the old track in Mission and he said the track had booked in the NW funny cars for a weekend which including around 10 - 11 and then the was a rained out event at Puyallup on a Friday night. A number of those cars decoded to make their way up to Mission since they were only 3 hours away. That event had around 18-20 cars and included the "Brutus" Flopper and Charlie Allen famous Charger. Allen returned later that year for a Winston Divisional which included the two nitro classes (oh, the good ole days). Allen proceeded to set both ends of the national record at the track he said was the best he had ever raced on. Back to this weekend, with 31 cars at Mission the entire evening was filled with the sounds of 2000-5000 hp, the smoke filled starting pad from burning rubber and the sweet smell of racing methanol and the sweetest smell of nitromethane. If that was not enough, once the sun faded away and the skies darkened, the sight of header flames made the evening one to remember. By the end of qualifying we had two cars in the 5.70's, led by none other that Tim Boychuk (5.77), (Darrin Bay was #2 with a 5.78), two cars in the 5.80's, Mark Sanders (5.81), Tim Nemeth (5.86) and two cars in the 5.90's, Todd Lesenko (5.90) and Mark Hentges (5.94). Nathan Sitko sits #7 with a 6.03, a career best for that team. Rounding out the field are Mike Grekul, Jay Mageau and Mike Savage. The Nostalgia Alcohol Funny Cars 19 made runs Saturday saw some great performances including 6.60 and 6.70 runs by the Parkers, and bunch of 6.80 and 6.90 runs by both the Rocky Mountain Funny Car group and the NW BB/FC teams. Brent Murray swapped lanes in his first pairing to the delight of the fans, Corey Sekura and Ron Huegli did full 1/4 mile burnouts in the last pairing of the night, it was crazy! Three rookie teams with the Rocky Mountain group ran career laps and did I mention the header flames! They were outstanding. Pro Street saw two records set, the first by Yvonne Lucas in the Lucas Family's awesome 68 Nitrous assisted Camaro. She went 6.36 twice at 220 mph. Joe Delehay went 6.35 in the final session to edge the record away from Lucas. Dale Moznik went 211 mph for his fastest lap ever and three other drivers were in the sixes as well (Dale Pedersen is #3 with a 6.53/221). The top six cars are all in the six second zone. Steve Horne had a couple wild launches including a huge backfire in the second lap, but he returned with a very strong 7.1 @ 190+ mph. Comp Eliminator sponsored by Lordco Parts saw The C/D of Pat Byron leads with a 6.85, less than a tenth off the National record. We
will have a full report and photos starting later tonight. July 23, 2011
...... con't from the home page.....Corey Sekura blasted out a 6.68/205, his quickest ever. Brother Ron, was beside him but he had a forgetable run. He had to pedal the car, and then at 700 feet the car nosed over blew out the burst panel. Unfortunately it was not just the panel that let go. The bottom end suffered extensive damage, as he kicked the rods out of the new Chevy II.
Not enough spare parts for the damage caused. Then later in the day, Corey made another couple laps and he went 6.88 in his last one and then it too suffered damage, to the valve train. Whether or not they can salvage one bullet out of the two has yet to be seen.
Eddy Plaizier went a couple high 6.80's right where he wants to be. Cory Kincaid ripped off a great 6.91 (right on their 6.90 index this weekend. He also had a solid light with his new B&J Spec Rite drive system. Cal Tebb went 6.97 in his second lap, I missed his first one. I also missed Joey Steckler's first hit, his second he had to pedal the Corvette and he slowed to a 7.1.
David Brant made two hits, running a 7.17 best and then getting real loose on his second.
Al Weich went 7.70 n his first and then got loose in the same spot at Brant. Norm Kolwich went 7.17 at only 150, so he will be in the low 7's or high sixes soon. His second lap he had to pedal the car and he lifted after the pedal job at 100 feet.
Arvid Fonstad had the wheels up and he turned in a 7.17 also.
In the Nitro Floppers, only Sitko's and Mageau made runs. Troy Sitko was completing his licensing and he made it look easy with a 6.07 and a 6.17, both career marks for the rookie nitro team. Jay Mageau had his chute pop open at 45 feet.
In the other classes, a couple good Pro Street runs were posted on Friday. Garrett Richards was the first guy down the track and he went 6.65@215 mph.
Dale Pedersen clicked it off early on his first lap but it was likely at least a mid 6.50 as the scoreboard read 6.9 @150. His second run was a pedal job as he got more aggressive.
Roy Moznik went into tire smoke off the starting line on his lone lap. Joe Delehay did the same as Moznik.
Steve Horne banged the blower on his run and it lifted the blow by hatch on the hood. In the comp class, Marshall Dawson made his first run in a few years with his AA/AM Firebird.
The first one was a lazy 7.99 sounding real fat but the car runs with mufflers and no zoomies so it is a real different sound. His second run did not sound any crisper in fact it was real lazy and struggled down track. They did end up with some valve train damage.
Terry SPargo is trying to sort out his Fuel injection system and it did not respond like he hoped on his lone run. He clicked it off early and went a high six.
There
was a huge BBQ Friday evening after the testing and all the Funny Car teams participated.
Close to 200 drivers/owners and crews had lean beef 1/2 lb burgers, Sirloin burgers,
smokys and Hot dogs with a number of different salads. Thanks to Boychuk Ventures,
Ace Manufacturing and Jolly Rogers Racing.
The Racing event of the decade is this weekend at Mission Raceway. Drag
Racing as an organized sport has been around since 1950. Since that time it has
evolved at an amazing pace. And many are of the opinion that it has gotten to
complicated and dangerous. The danger and the overall speed is what attracted
the fans to motorsports to begin with. One of if not THE most popular types of
cars in drag racing is the Funny Car. It originated in the 1960's and has become
THE most watched class in Drag Racing. Names like Jungle Jim, John Force, Don
Prudhomme, Twig Zeigler and Gordie Bonin are legendary in the class and that era
of race car is now the fastest growing class in all of drag racing. The 70's and
80's were legendary in the NW, as the 32 and 64 funny Car shows invaded Seattle
and Portland. Western Canada has never had a Funny Car field this big! In
2010, Mission held on this same weekend, a Funny Car show that saw 24 cars compete.
And all of the cars were THE same body styles made popular from the late 60's
to early 80's. The show played to a great crowd, and the idea was put into the
Mission Raceway staff and a couple local race enthusiasts (myself included) to
see if it was possible to bring back the 32 car show. With sponsorship from Jet
Equipment and Tools and TDN Constructors group, Mission has managed to attract
just over 32 Funny Cars (34 at press time) for this weekend's Jet Tools/TDN Constructors
Nitro Fest. There are three classes of Funny Cars competing this weekend; the
absolutely mind blowing Nitro Funny Car class, the ever popular Rocky Mountain
Party…..er….. I mean Funny Car Association and the NW BB/Funny Car Assoc.
The 34th car is none other than one of the most popular Funny Cars of all time,
The 'Jungle Jim' Nova. Two Nova's were built at the same time, in 1969, Jungle
Jim and Clare Sanders were the drivers. Dave and Sally Bany bought the cars a
couple years ago and restored them, and they are bringing the 'Jim' car to Mission
for this event. It is absolutely a piece of history. The
Rocky Mountain Funny Car Assoc. is one of the most popular groups anywhere. They
get booked at many NW tracks and event track in the South as a few members have
the ability to travel the longer distances and they flat out put on a great show.
Loud music, hot back up girls and party atmosphere highlight their 'shtick'. Oh
ya, they are the kings of the 1320 foot burnouts. The Sekura team is mostly responsible
for the car free fun factor that many groups should look at and model themselves
after. Team leader Ron Sekura leads with the patented ¼ mile burnouts.
He has been known to blow up the engine on the burnout (certainly not intentional),
that is how dedicated he is to entertain the fans. He won last years race and
will debut the teams new Chevy II. The Nitro Funny Cars are the main players this year; we have attracted between 12-16 of the 250 mph monsters. It will be the biggest gathering of Nostalgia Nitro Cars (NFC) ever in Canada and adding in the other two Funny Cars classes, there are well over 30 on the grounds this weekend. The Nitro Cars are lead by defending champion and world record holder Tim Boychuk in the Troy Lee Designs Trans Am. His holds the ET and MPH record of 5.63/258 and ran five low 5.70's here at Mission Last year. Co-owner of the car Ron Hodgson was the owner of the famous Bubble-up Race team from the 70's and 80's. The newest John Force clone,
Mark Sanders was the runner-up last year and he brings highly touted and 20yr
old son Jake as the tuner to try and take away Boychuk's dominance over the last
year. Sanders car the MR Explosive Nova is a crowd favorite. Twig Zeigler is a
name well know in the NW and his Satellite is a very close replica of the famous
Pizza Haven car he flipped upside down at Seattle a couple decades ago. Bucky
Austin is a name synonymous in the NW as he is the winningest driver in the NW
in a Funny Car. The NW Hitter is one of only four drivers to have run in the 5.60's
and as an owner tuner he now has one of the premier drivers behind the wheel.
Mark Hentges, multiple National event winner drives the "BAR NW Hitter"
Arrow. Steve Plueger is one of the biggest names in Funny Car racing from back
in the 70's -90's and he brings two cars to Mission. The Jolly Rogers Mustang
driven by Alberta's Todd Lesenko. His other driver is also from Alberta, and it
is Mike Grekul in the Plueger and Gyger Mustang. Steve Plueger is also one of
the tuners to get an NFC into the 5.60's. Mike Savage behind the wheel of Jim
Broom's Candies and Hughes Cuda is a real threat and has numerous five second
time slips. Jay "The Prospector" Mageau has along lineage in racing
as Jay's pop, The final driver in the class this weekend is local favorite Tim Nemeth. His Mustang has made waves in the last year running numerous 5 second time slips and qualifying #8 out of 30 cars at the March Meet in Bakersfield California in March. Tim and wife Nancy has been a staple in the sport over the last 15 years, and their business TDN Constructors group is one of the sponsors for the event this weekend. Nancy Nemeth, as if running the day to day operation of TDN is not enough has taken on a very special project, fundraising for Canuck Place Children's Hospice. Nancy
along with Tammy Boersma, Trish Johnson and Carly LaFave are running a Triathlon
in September at Cultass Lake and all the funds raised at that event as well as
the special auctions and raffles at the Mission this weekend will go directly
to the Hospice. This is a very special charity for Nancy and many Canadian's and
she will have one or two families that benefit from the Hospice at the track this
weekend. They are having a raffle with the winner getting to be "Crew Chief"
for a day. The raffle is Saturday and the winner will be announced Saturday evening.
The winner will be a crew member for the "IceMan" Funny Car team on
Sunday. As well as the raffle, there will be many racing items up for auction,
a signed Canucks hockey stick, John Force collector items, tools from JET Equipment
and racing prints, as well as other items.
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