It was sunny days for the Sunshine Coast Drag Racing Association (SCDRA) as the club hosted its Spring Forward drag race at the Sechelt airport this past weekend.
Drag racing is completely weather-dependent and the slightest measure of precipitation can bring the day to a grinding halt.
Fortunately, race day conditions were perfect as 60 cars and 600 spectators, volunteers and racers took over the Sechelt airport. The cooler air brought faster times for the racers and more enjoyable conditions for everyone.
On the strip, Pamela Messner of Wilson Creek and Gibsons’ Ron Bolder made their way to the final in Street Machine. Bolder jumped on the pedal early at the start and caught the red light. Messner was pleased with her win as she’d been spinning her wheels in the first 20 metres all day. To compensate, she adjusted her dial in to a 10.60. During the presentations Messner thanked all the racers for their support and coaching.
The Super Street final had a couple regulars, Erik Stracker in his Chevy Malibu and Corey Mottishaw in a 1991 Mustang. Prior to staging, both drivers had the fans on their feet with two of the smokiest burnouts of the day. This time it was Mottishaw at the tree that was way early as he launched and was rewarded with a red light. Stracker set a personal best, running an 8.8 at 123.87 kph and shaved 2/10 off his earlier runs of the day.
Ian Mackay and David Boyce – both from Roberts Creek – made it to the Street Rod final. Mackay dialed in a 7.980 for his 1960 Vauxhall and Boyce a 7.650. Boyce got a jump early in the race with a much better reaction time and never looked back to cross the finish line for the win by a margin of 0.292.
As expected, the Hot Rod final was the best race of the day with Gibsons residents Will Mclennan and Michael McConnachie side by side at the start line. McConnachie had a super reaction time of 0.545 and even though Mclennan came within 0.002 of his dial in, McConnachie won the race by 0.034.
The SCDRA is proud to support the local high school drag racing teams. The Ted Meldrum Memorial Trophy is presented to a Sunshine Coast high school student who demonstrates a mechanical aptitude and dedication to motorsport, volunteers in the community and is supportive of school programs. This year’s recipients are Jordan Kammerle, a Grade 11 student at Pender Harbour Secondary, and Garrett LeBlanc, in Grade 11 at Chatelech Secondary.
Awards also went to Brock Mercer in the motorcycle class, Erik Stracker for the best burnout of the day and Tami Dyck with the best reaction time of 0.543 in eliminations.
Despite the 50 mm of rain on Saturday – and the cancellation of the Test ‘n’ Tune – 12 club members made repairs to the return lane and the grounds were prepared for race day. Equipment and product were donated by Barry Bullen at Westcoast Mining Contractors and Lehigh Heidelberg Cement in Sechelt.
The next SCDRA event at the airport is a test ‘n’ tune on Sunday, June 26. For information on this event and the upcoming August 7 race, contact Richard at 604-230-5067 or email [email protected]
