Mission Lucas Oil Canadian National Open July 13-15, 2007

(Coverage here presented by Joey's Place Paint and Restoration).

...The Players.. l-r: Sean Dale, Bucky Austin,Lee Jennings, Terry Capp, Steve Romanazzi. Bottom: Mike Savage and Andy Beauchemin

Funny Car photos courtesy Bill Jeffery, Shannon MacDonald and Dean Murdoch

VP Fuels Funny Car Shootout

Nitro and Top Alcohol gallery is here

Sportsman gallery is here

Favorite shots of the weekend are here. (some duplicate from the other two gallerys)

What a weekend of ups and downs at MRP........... There were a few lows points such as ....(1) .the mosquitos, (2) the major oil downs Saturday evening when the exhibition classes were set to light up the sky, (3) as well as Sunday afternoon right when the last few final rounds were set to go, but that is drag racing and that like the rain is hard or impossible to control. (4) Also the Top Alcohol format change (in part due to three or four cars not getting in qualifying runs due to th). But just one high point comes close to negating all the lows and that was....... the side by side blazing laps by the nitro Funny Cars made this a weekend most will not forget.

The weekend got off to a pretty good start on Saturday and the Sportsman classes got in their scheduled time trials. At 5:00 PM the first round of qualifying got underway. Around 60 feature cars were at MRP for the weekend, and that being said, having a few of the sportsman classes run a race on Saturday turned into an issue. 300 sportsman cars were at MRP and trying to complete eliminations when the Exhibition cars are due up caused the majority of the second exhibition session to be scrapped.

Seven "Nitro" Funny Cars were in attendance, but one of the seven was there to get licensed, so that car did not compete in elimination's. MRP did have confirmation (Tuesday) of an eight car field from the organizers, so having only six compete in eliminations is a black mark to the NFCA.

What made up for the lack of cars, was the performance level the SIX competed at. They were in a word outstanding. Easily the best feature cars ever booked in to Mission Raceway Park for the National Open.

In the first round Saturday, 6.0's and 6.1's were common place and it was topped by the Lee Jennings in 'Code Red" and the "Hitter" Bucky Austin. Jennings blasted to a 6.05 and Austin ripped off a 6.07. The top speed was recorded by Sean Dale in the "Shaky Situation". It was a career lap for that team, as Dale went 6.10@238mph. Terry Capp in the Bubble-Up Trans Am had a piston burning 6.56/214. Mike Savage in the Speed Sport Cuda raced to a 6.26 / 231 . Rounding out the field was Steve Romanazzi in the Warrior Vegas, and he turned in a 6.14/230 mph. For the hot muggy conditions (close to 90 degrees and 50% humidity) it was an absolutely awesome display. The performance on the track were only slightly matched by the legends who were out in attendance with the teams. One of the most legendary artist in drag racing Kenny Youngblood was at the track and he gave the fans a thrill with his artistic talent throughout the weekend. He was kind enough to to up to the tower and talk about the flopper teams in attendance. I got the opportunity to interview Roland "the Hawaiian" Leong during the first session of qualifying and he had nothing but great things to say about the facility. He wondered out-loud why he never competed at the Old Mission Raceway. "240" Gordie Bonin was at MRP for the first time since the 70's, and he was very approachable to all the fans. Terry "The Royal Canadian" Capp, the driver of the Bubble-Up Trans Am and tuner Donnie Couch (Romanaazi crew Chief) made the rounds. It truly was a memory weekend.

 

 

The Saturday afternoon session was great, but the crowd in the evening was anticipating even more fireworks. Unfortunately the oil gods played havoc with the schedule Saturday night as a couple major oil displacements caused delay after delay. The decision was made to scrap all the other exhibition cars except for the Funny Cars and hope that the nearing 11:00 pm curfew would not come into play. The Mayor of Mission, James Atebe was on hand and he was just as excited as the nitro faithful. He gave the go ahead to run the nitro cars even if it went just past curfew time. The first pair out was Capp and Austin, and Austin did what was anticipated. He launched hard and blazed to a new track et record 6.005 @ 237 mph. Capp in the other lane got all crossed up and he had to abort the track. On further inspection of that lane (which suffered from a major oil down earlier), the NHRA officials felt fluid on the track and with darkness in full blossom cleaning the lane would be a tough task. The decision was made to end the day on the great Austin run, but it did leave the fans wanting a lot more.

Sunday eliminations came and though it was not under the lights, the blistering side by side record runs made up for the abbreviated night session. One of the performance marks I forgot to mention was the exclusive "Autometer 5 second club". It was reserved to the first eight drivers to make a five second run in sanctioned competition. Six spot were filled making two available. The only driver at Mission who was in the "5" second club was Lee Jennings. The other five were all capable based on Saturday short times and crew chief experience (Romanazzi has gone 5.98 before but it was not at a sanctioned event). It would almost become whoever was in the staging lanes first had the best chance at "Membership". First pair our was Terry Capp and Lee Jennings. At the 200 foot mark they were side by side. By the 330 clocks Capp had pulled ahead and was on his way to a great run. The scoreboard lit up to a phenomenal 5.922/231 mph blast that not only put Capp into the "Club" but it also established a new assoc et record. Jennings slowed to a 6.56. One spot left. The next pair out saw to potential members come to the line. Mike Savage and Bucky Austin squared off (Of note, the 6.005 lap by Austin Saturday night was not allowed as the other competitors did not get to make their second run). Austin was in the left lane (Capps blasted the record in the right lane) and Savage in the right. Savage took a bug .067 starting line advantage but Austin was hot on his trail. By 660 feet he had cut the lead in half. At the stripe, the first ever side by side 5 second run. The question was who got to the stripe first for the final membership into the club. It was Savage who edge Austin by .009. A 5.983@243 by Savage just bested Austin record shattering 5.916/239 shot. The fans went wild with that run. Unfortunately for the Austin/Plueger team their record run would not be able to be backed up as he was defeated in that round. What a double whammy!!

The final pairing turned intro a single when Dale saw shut down due to a fluid leak. Romanazzi can count his chickens as he shook and was forced to lift early.

Capp got the bye in the semi final and he launched hard for 250 feet and then clicked it early and coasted to a 9 second et. The team wanted shot time data only as the plan was to load up the monster and a blistering final round.

Savage proved his 5.98 was no fluke in the other semi as he defeated pre race favorite Romanazzi with a strong 6.035/242 to a losing but still strong 6.137/231 blast.

The final was set the final two members of the "5" second club set to battle for all the marbles.

Could we see a quicker run that earlier. The weather had actually cooled a bit, and Leong and car owner Ron Hodgeson told me the Bubble Car car was set on "Kill".All that had to happen was the track had to be ready for the hp that was going to be thrown at it.

Both Car did strong burnoutsand Capp layed his out to 250 feet.

Both cars backed up got final adjustments from their crew chiefs (Bubble-Up, Leong and Jenner. Speed Sport, Parson).

 

They launched hard with Capp getting out to a slight .02 lead. By 330 feet Capp was extending his advantage. by 660 feet you could tell that car was on a lap. At the finish line Capp had not only crushed Savage but he literally blew the record out of the water . The scoreboard lit up to the tune of an awe inspiring, 5.853/249 mph. (wonder if Bonin had ever gone that quick, I don't think so). Savage was more than respectable, with a 6.10/237. He would win most races he goes to with that run. But on this day he basically had the best view of a record setting run.

Great job by all the teams, and my condolences to the Plueger/Austin team (maybe on odd car fields they should have the fast loser gets in rule), by far one of the top two teams on the grounds. They would have given the Bubble-up flopper a run for their money when it comes to the record books and a chance at the final.

 

Andy Beauchemin completed his licensing with a best lap of 6.7 at 221 mph

The two biggest questions for the weekend are:

1. Will the run stand up as the new et record. The reason I ask is, what is the backup requirement. If it is 1% then the run was too quick. His back up of 5.923 is .012 short. A 5.912 would be required. Austin's 5.916 was not backed up either (his 6.005 was .03 short. If none of these scenarios work then the 5.922 would count as a record as the quicker run is considered a back-up no matter how quick it is. Also the 249.03 is a speed record but not an official record due to the failure to have a back up. Whew, what a mouthful.

2. Will the series be invited back in 2008, due to the event being 2 cars short of the expected 8? I hope they are and I hope those in attendance give all the teams who did not show up the gears, as they all missed a chance to be in the record books and to set career marks. Four of the six cars did just that! The money MRP put up was surely enough to fill a field at most of their events. It was likely the biggest purse they have raced for all season long. For a fledging (new) series like this not to ensure a full field is lousy in my opinion.

Event preview... (courtesy Nostalgia Funny Car news)

Points Leader Romanazzi Leads NFC's To Mission Raceway Park

 

NFC's Invade Lucas Oil NHRA Canadian National Open

Nostalgia Funny Cars will descend upon Mission Raceway next weekend to participate in the two day Lucas Oil NHRA Canadian National Open at Mission Raceway Park in Mission, B.C. Canada. This will be the first time that the Nostalgia Funny Car Association has raced as a group in Canada since it's inception and the Association is looking forward to racing at the Mission quarter mile.

Mission Raceway Park sits at sea level right next to the Fraser River and is home of the most outrageous air and track conditions imaginable. Many records have been set and reset over the years at this one of a kind track. Conditions at this track could be the best chance for the Nostalgia Funny Car Association Teams to make it into the last two spots in the Auto Meter AA/FC 5 Second Club.

Canada will be represented by Mike Grekul piloting Tim Stevenson's "Tachman" Mustang bodied Nostalgia Funny Car along with Terry Capp piloting the Ron Hodgson owned, Gordon Jenner and Roland Leong tuned, "Bubble Up Pacemaker" Trans Am bodied Nostalgia Funny Car. Capp has already run in the 6.0s earlier this year at the Nostalgia Nitro Shootout in Fontana CA, when he completed his license and set low elapsed time of the event with a 6.09.

The "Northwest Hitter" Bucky Austin will also be in attendance in the Plueger and Austin Arrow bodied Nostalgia Funny Car. Austin who ran a shut off pass of 6.13 @ 177 at the Northwest National Open earlier this year is another contender expected to hit the 5's in quick fashion.

Sean Dale in the Dale Family's "Shakey Situation" Charger bodied Nostalgia Funny Car will also be in attendance. Dale's best pass to date was a 6.52 at the 2nd Annual Old Tucson Dragway Reunion earlier this year.

Mike Savage in Jim Broome's "Speed Sport" Cuda bodied Nostalgia Funny Car is fresh off of back to back runner up finishes at the 19th Annual Goodguys Hot Rod Nationals and the 5th Annual NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion. Savage's best pass came at the Hot Rod Nationals where he was #1 Qualifier with a very stout 6.08.

Steve Romanazzi will also make the trek north to Mission to compete. Romanazzi in his Donnie Couch tuned "Warrior" Vega bodied Nostalgia Funny Car is the points leader going into the Lucas Oil Canadian National Open. Romo's best pass came at the 49th Annual March Meet earlier this year with a 6.03 pass. He won the March Meet and was Runner Up at the Nostalgia Nitro Nationals. Another contender for one of the last two spots on the Auto Meter AA/FC 5 Second Club.

Lee Paul Jennings in the Jennings Family's "Code Red" Challenger bodied Nostalgia Funny Car rounds out this very stout field of Nostalgia Funny Cars. Jennings was the winner of the Nostalgia Nitro Shootout in April and has posted his best time of 6.14 at the March Meet this year. Jennings is the 5th member of the Auto Meter AA/FC 5 Second Club.

The Lucas Oil NHRA Canadian National Open will be held next weekend, July 14th and 15th, at Mission Raceway Park, Mission B.C. Canada. Qualifying will be on Saturday the 14th at 6:00pm and 9:00pm. Eliminations on Sunday will be Sunday at noon, 2:00pm, and 4:00pm.

The gates open at 8:00am both days and tickets are $25.00 a piece (including pit pass). For more information click on the link below:
Mission Raceway Park Web Site

 

Friday shots during the t n t.

A number of cars got in laps on Fruiday but unfortunately a major oil down near the end of the day ended the chance for about a dozen feature cars from making laps.

 

Hilighting the testing was Andy Beauchemin getting his first lap in the TACHMAN Nitro Funny Car.