It’s double the opportunity for Canadian drag racing fans. Here is where your favourite local straight-line racers have been up to on the international stage.
John Mazzorana and the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association (NEOPMA) series are in their 32nd season and they’ve joined up with Canadian Bruce Mehlenbacher for two events, this year, at New York’s Empire Dragway. Bruce is the man behind the PMRA. The Empire event took place June 21-22 and drew upwards of 40 Canadian teams, competing in Top Dragster, Sportsman, Bike and Pro Mod action.
Stratford, Ontario’s Kayden Wicke captured the Top Sportsman win over Puslinch, Ontario’s Luke DeJong. Wicke went 4.38 seconds (on his 4.39 dial) to DeJong’s 4.35 second effort (on his 4.35 second dial). Both recorded near perfect reaction times at 159 and 164 mph speeds, respectively. Wicke also went on to win the Top Sportsman / Top Dragster Shootout over New York state’s Craig Chaderton.
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The NEOPMA featured a final qualified field of 16 of the best Pro Mods in drag racing. Finalists included recent PDRA winner Mike Decker defeating this year’s $100.000 World Series of Pro Mod winner Derek Ward at 3.6626 seconds to Ward’s 3.6817, both at 206 mph in the eighth mile!
Manitoba’s Kenny Lang (former IHRA world champion) was also in the 3.6 second zone but fell to a red light in Round One. Ontario’s ever-popular Grainey family entry – including fathers, sons and granddaughters – were the benefactors.
Of note, the Al Billes / Kenny Lang team were complimented by a very enthusiastic drag racing fan named Owen Wells, who comes from a road racing background and experience with the Honda-powered Red Bull F1 team. Thanks, once again, to track owner Jerry Scaccia, his family, and NEOPMA’s John Mazzorana and Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame and Canadian Drag Racing Hall of Fame inductee Bruce Mehlenbacher.
The series returns to Leicester, NY’s Empire Dragway Aug. 16-17 for its penultimate event of the 2024 season.
NHRA VIRGINIA NATIONALS
This past weekend, Richmond, Virginia’s Virginia Motorsports Park played host to the inaugural two-day NHRA National event known as the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals. Condensed into a 48-hour version of championship drag racing, the event produced exceptional racing.
Looking at the Canadian contingent, Quebec’s Dan Mercier took part in the Top Fuel action, while Canadian crew chief / tuner Rob Flynn was part of the Scrappers Top Fuel dragster team behind Jasmine Salinas.
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Both Mercier and Salinas qualified well. Mercier lost to Josh Hart in Round 1 – a 3.981 to 3.982 holeshot defeat – in what was the closest race of the first round. In the final, Doug Kalitta defeated his Kalitta Air teammate Shawn Langdon; the two remain the current points leaders.
In Funny Car action at Virginia, Team Force driver Austin Prock’s win over current speed record holder (340 mph) Bob Tasca III was overshadowed by team patriarch John Force’s violent first round victory accident. Just beyond the finish line – at 302 mph – the sport’s winningest and most famous competitor experienced a violent explosion before crashing hard into the left-side retaining wall. Force was airlifted to hospital where he remains in ICU, accompanied by his wife and four daughters.
In Pro Stock, team KB Titan remains in the first (Dallas Glenn) and second places (Greg Anderson) in the season-long points chase. Glenn lost the final to Aaron Stanfield.
Team principal Eric Latino, from Port Perry, Ontario, qualified a career best #2 behind pro motorsports’ winningest female competitor and #1 qualifier Erica Enders. In Saturday action, Anderson captured the all-star #2Fast2Tasty Pro Stock Shootout win.
Canadian Pro Mod competitors Jordan Lazic and Justin Bond both qualified in the Virginia event’s large (24 competitors) pro field in top positions (#2 and #6, respectively). Both advanced to the Quarter Finals.
Stratford, Ontario’s Scott Wildgust – racing beside eventual winner Rickie Smith – had a minor altercation with the outer retaining wall in Q1. Smith’s win also provided the 70-year-old legend with both low ET (5.702 seconds) and top speed (252-plus mph) over runner-up Kris Thorne’s 5.71 ET, and was initiated by a .018 reaction time!!
Following the event, Scott’s daughter, Sienna Wildgust (right), announced she would resume her Pro Stock career with the Erica Enders’ Elite Motorsports team, beginning in Seattle, later this season.
Lastly, special mention to Quebec racer Gerard Milette who advanced several rounds in Top Sportsman with his ‘63 Corvette. He eventually lost to event winner Sandy Wilkins.
It was truly a great weekend and coincided with Kayden Wicke’s victory at New York’s Empire Dragway in what was an amazing accomplishment by these family/friend racing teams! And if you have an opportunity to get to Toronto Motorsports Park for the Canadian Nitro Nationals this weekend, you won’t regret it. What an amazing event this has grown into!
