The Late May Drag Race marked the beginning of the 19th season of drag racing on the Sunshine Coast, and with sizzling hot weather, close to 650 drag racing fans weren’t disappointed as they cheered on their favourite racers at the Sechelt Airport last weekend.
The track was hot, and a light breeze in most areas of the airport helped everyone enjoy the close to 60 cars, trucks, motorcycles and a go-kart competing for trophies and cash prizes.
Sunshine Coast Drag Racing Association (SCDRA) president Tony Petula recruited Colin Stracker, a long-time club member, to take over the race director duties. Petula hadn’t seen any track time for better than six years and had some great runs in his tubbed 1962 Chevy short box pickup.
Racers from Powell River came down for the weekend, and after an absence of two years, Chris Moretto was back racing a cool 1951 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 with a 396 Chevy big block engine. Moretto bought the Port Alberni car as a tribute to his dad and was running the 1/8 mile in the mid 10’s.
Another Powell River racer, Kevin Pye, was struggling with his 1984 Chevy S10. If it wasn’t the throttle cable or the carb issues, it was the delivery of the nitrous and the potential for disaster. Pye persevered without the nitrous and was eliminated in the Hot Rod semi-final.
The Motorcycle class had the addition of a go-kart driven by Paul Morris, which proved to be a challenge to the bike racers. In the final, Morris had a dial in of 11.91 and Grant Weyman a 7.36. Weyman had to sit at the start for 4+ seconds and watch Morris in his 125cc go-kart head down the track. Once Weyman launched, he reeled in the kart and crossed the finish line in 7.502 seconds for the win.
In Street Machine, the number of cars was down from previous races but just as exciting. Pamela Messner and Rebecca Stanley-Clarke, both from Clarke Farm on Tyson Road in Wilson Creek, lined up for the final. With reaction times of .919 and .832, both racers didn’t want to red light and give the race to the other. Stanley-Clarke had the better run and won by .023. After the race, she reported it’s all about having fun and practising.
Brian Bolder and Mike Vanderlinden, both of Gibsons, reached the final in Super Street. Bolder had his 1993 Corvette dialed in for a run of 9.20 and Vanderlinden 8.60 for his 1969 Mustang. Vanderlinden had a great reaction time of .538 which gave him enough of an edge to ensure victory by a margin of .065.
Street Rod was the largest class of the day with 14 vehicles. Peter Stanley-Clarke worked through the field and reached the final in his fan favourite 1968 Dodge Coronet. His competition was John Elson of Gibsons in his 455 powered 1983 Buick Regal. Once again, a good reaction time of .687 and smart racing by Elson were the determining factors as he won the final by 0.129. Elson was thrilled with the result.
It was the Hot Rod class final at the end of the day that always gets the most attention from the fans. Will Mclennan of Gibsons was running the 1/8 mile at 113 mph in just over six seconds for most of the day and moved into the final against Russell Anderson of Roberts Creek. Anderson dialed in a 7.050 and Mclennan a 6.10. Mclennan, who had the best reaction time of .503 earlier in the round, had to watch Anderson leave the start line almost a full second earlier. Nerves got the better of Mclennan as he jumped early to trip the red light, handing the win to Anderson.
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 2016-17 deserving winners are Tyler Muryn at Chatelech high school and Eric Ripley Horne from Elphinstone high school.
Best burnout of the day and the best reaction time of .503 went to Will Mclennan.
The next SCDRA public race day is on Sunday, Aug. 13 as part of the Festival of the Rolling Arts motorsports weekend.
– Submitted by Richard Austin
