Great May weather provided perfect conditions Sunday as the Sunshine Coast Drag Racing Association (SCDRA) hosted the Dennis Munson Memorial Drag Race at the Sechelt Airport. There were close to 700 fans, racers and volunteers in attendance.
Dennis Munson had an immense passion for drag racing. Son Curtis reported his dad was all about bracket racing and not necessarily having the fastest car but the skill knowing exactly when your car would cross the finish line. Like his dad would have, Curtis showed everyone how it’s done, the Munson way.
Curtis Munson hadn’t raced on the Coast for a number of years but put on a clinic in the Hot Rod class. His reaction times at the tree in his 1981 Malibu were near perfect all day with wins against Kevin Pye, Peter Schuber and Michael McConnachie. Munson went to the final with Brian Swanson of Gibsons. Swanson had a pretty good day himself in his 1956 Chevy Sedan Delivery and with a bit of luck earned a bye to the final. At the light, Swanson’s slow reaction time of .970 wasn’t even close to the nice .563 of Munson, which gave him the win in the Malibu.
There were 13 cars in Street Rod and “the guy everyone wants to beat,” the popular Larry Avdeeff of Sechelt, reached the final in his 1975 Nova. Shawn Boyd from Gibsons and his black 302 powered 1964 Comet Caliente was the competition. Avdeeff had a better reaction time at the start and both cars ran well with the green Nova crossing the finish within .088 of ET, giving Avdeeff the win. He was happy with the result, as it was his first win in about 15 years.
In Super Street, Levi Stanley-Clarke added octane boost, let some air out of his tires and burned rubber as hard as he could to reach the final in his 1989 Camaro. The other finalist was Tyler Muryn, driving for Chatelech Secondary in the 302 powered 1992 Ford Ranger. Muryn from Sechelt has been getting lots of seat time at Mission Raceway with the high school team and the dividends are starting to show. Muryn shallow staged and thought he’d cut the light like he’d been doing all day. The light said otherwise and he jumped the start for the red light, handing the victory to Stanley-Clarke.
Ken Jenkins of Powell River and Andy Kubot of Roberts Creek worked their way to the final in Street Machine. Kubot dialed in a 9.00 for his yellow 2004 Mustang GT and Jenkins a 9.60 in his 1967 Beaumont.
A good reaction time is key to a winning a race and Kubot’s .966 had him off to a bad start. It was a good race as Kubot ran a 9.072 and Jenkins a great 9.618 for the win.
The Motorcycle class finalists were Jeff Morris with his 1984 Kawasaki Ninja 900 and Rod Hamilton riding his 2008 Honda CBR. Hamilton had a poor reaction time of 1.161 and ran a 7.405 at 98.55mph. Morris finished with a 7.699 at 83.67mph for the win by .0431.
Rick Pearson and Dave Meketich had their 525hp Peterbilt heavy duty trucks on the track for a couple of exhibition races. They weren’t the fastest runs of the day but both drivers had fun entertaining the fans.
During the award presentations, the Ted Meldrum Memorial Award was presented to a Sunshine Coast high school student who demonstrates a mechanical aptitude, dedication to motorsport, volunteers in the community and is supportive of school programs. The 2017-18 deserving winner is Teagon Glowacki, a student at Chatelech Secondary.
In the Pits:
Will McLennan of Gibsons didn’t have the results he was hoping for as he red lighted in eliminations. His Ranger wasn’t the problem as it was running sub six seconds with lots of wheel lift thanks to a wheelie bar adjustment and some fresh differential oil.
Tim Cartwright had a tough start to the day. The car was running perfectly when he arrived but some wiring issue popped up and had him wondering.
Jordan Engler and Tyler Muryn were driving the Ford Ranger for Chatelech.
Pamela Messner was disappointed with her day, as a cracked starter had her finished in the morning.
Eric Ripley Horn was driving the Elphinstone drag car with a fresh rebuild of the 350 he had just completed in the school shop. Ripley Horn had an impressive .501 reaction time in time trials and his best run of the day was an 8.9 which is as good as the 1979 Cutlass will do.
The next SCDRA public race day is on Sunday, Aug. 12 as part of the Festival of the Rolling Arts.
