John Waldie is in Indianapolis for the NHRA U.S. Nationals this weekend, and is sending notes and updates, primarily on the Canadian contingent.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT
In Wednesday action at the U.S. Nationals, in Indy, Canadian competitors in Stock and Super Stock initially qualified in the 128-car fields of 150 entries. New Brunswick’s Scott Underhill (’71 Pontiac) was 14th fastest, with his run under the index.
As well, Mark Howes, Norm Lapointe and Darcy Clarke were in the hunt, with Clarke -.753 under the index to qualify in Stock. Sean Gaffney and Paige Howes were on the outside looking in. In Super Stock, Darcy Clarke, Venice Perno, Wally Clark (-.60 below index) were qualified, with Lapointe and Chuck Nagy on the outside.
Stratford, Ontario’s favourite Pro Stock driver, Sienna Wildgust, is entered to compete at Indy along with her father (Scott / Pro Mod).
Also, watch the Pro Stock class for Eric Latino, Jim Whitley and their KB Titan team, which has officially entered eight cars in competition at Indy!
FRIDAY EVENING:
On Friday, there were several great Canadian performances in Pro Mod, led by Mission, BC’s Justin Bond who qualified #1 at 5.733 seconds @ 247 mph (over 400 km/h), while teammate Kalid Al Balooshi is #2 at 5.786 seconds.
It’s notable that along with #4 qualifier Jordan Lazic (Rutland, BC) at 5.814 seconds, these racers regularly travel from their shop in Georgia to race at, and support, their local track and Pro Mod series in British Columbia!
Stratford, ON’s Scott Wildgust qualified #6 in Pro Mod at the US Nationals. The Smokie’s Garage Camaro timed in at 5.866 seconds at 246.71 mph!
In Top Fuel, the Rob Flynn ‘Scrappers’ entry, driven by Jasmine Salinas, is qualified #6 at 3.814 seconds @ 317.64 mph (514.58 km/h). And Quebec standout and recent Grand Bend Motorplex feature Top Fuel participant Dan Mercier is qualified #9 at 3.847 seconds @ 309 mph (500 km/h). Britanny Force topped the Top Fuel charts at 3.74 seconds @ 334 mph.
In Pro Stock, the KB Titan group has qualified 7 of its 8 entered cars, led by Greg Anderson at 6.21 @ 206.21 mph. Team principal Eric Latino is #12.
Of special note, Stratford’s own Sienna Wildgust, now racing under the Elite Motorsports umbrella, is 11th. Her teammate Erica Enders is #2.
Other KB Titan qualified cars include #4 qualified Dallas Glen, Derrick Kramer, Cammie Caruso and Cory Reed.
The previous #1 qualifier in Alcohol Funny Car – the Les Davenport-tuned car of BC’s Stan Sipos, is currently #3 with Sean Westerfield and rookie sensation Madison Gordon taking over the #1 and #2 spots, respectively.
In Alcohol Dragster, Langley, BC’s Shawn Cowie has moved up to #4 at 5.304 seconds @ 273 mph (442.26 km/h).
SATURDAY MORNING:
Canadian Drag Racing Hall of Fame member Wendell Howes won his first round in the legendary Hemi Shootout. He and his family (Mark and Sadie) are still potential competitors. Mark is solidly qualified 49th in the 128-car field, along with Norm Lapointe (64th) from Sherwood Park, AB in his ’67 Camaro.
Spruce Grove, AB’s Darcy Clarke is #118, in his Mopar. Navan, ON racer Sean Gaffney is an alternate in his AAS Camaro. Of international interest, the #25 qualifier in Stock Eliminator is Dan Williams from Northampton, Great Britain in a ’69 Nova!
And to wrap up the Hemi Shootout, Steve Comella is now a 4-time champion! He defeated Bucky Hess, in what was possibly the best shootout ever, 8.39 seconds @ 159.82 mph to Bucky’s 8.41.
SUNDAY MORNING:
Sunday morning updates from the 70th annual US Nationals at Indy. This edition of the Canadian Connection (with a few additions while contributing to Competition Plus for founder Bobby Bennett) with specific references to the Pro Mods at drag racing’s premier event.
There have been more than 900 competitors this week at Indy, with all of their efforts enjoyed by tens of thousands of totally committed fans and spectators, taking in this nearly week-long spectacle.
A new Pro Mod component is that all four rounds and final eliminations are taking place on Sunday. This will result in more TV exposure, larger sponsor recognition and a massive in-person audience.
Looking at the first round, Justin Bond (Mission, BC) was the low-qualifier, while Stratford, Ontario’s Scott Wildgust was also flying, setting up a BC vs. Ontario challenge.
Following Q3, which saw no less than 16 racers improve on their opening elimination efforts, rewrote the record books once more, aided by the prime conditions. 73 degrees Fahrenheit, 68 percent humidity, barometer 68 corrected altitude down to 2445 and a track temp of 100 degrees.
The win went to Justin as he and Wildgust posted identical .039 second reaction times. Bond posted the low ET of the event, running 5.710 seconds at 249.30 mph to Wildgust’s 5.790 @ 248.25 mph.
The remainder of Pro Mod action, leading into the quarter-finals, produced a proliferation of best runs of the weekend.
In E1, Billy Banaka defeated Mason Wright, and it was BC’s Jordan Lazic over Stan Shelton. Mike Stavrinos bested Russia’s Dmitry Samorukov when Dmitry’s Adam Flamholic-prepared ride crossed the centreline and took out the timing block.
Justin Bond’s teammate, Kalid Al Balooshi went 5.724 over Mike Castellana in the Frank Manzo-prepared Camaro, despite Mike’s ‘round best’ .016 second reaction time.
Kevin Rivenbark defeated a red lighting JR Gray Jr. And in one of the most epic Pro Mod matchups of all times, Lyle Barnett bounced back from a devastating fire, a week earlier, which saw his ride burned to the ground driving a Jose Gonsales loaner car to victory over the class’s ultimate spokesman, Stevie ‘Fast’ Jackson.
In the final round of Q1, Ken Quartuccio’s Wallingford, CT based ’69 Camaro defeated Brazil’s Sidnei Frigo.
In other ‘Canadian Connection’ highlights, BC’s Stan Sipos was the #1 qualifier in Alcohol Funny Car piloting the Les Davenport-prepared ride. Sipos was the only 5.4 second alcohol ‘flopper.’
Darcey Clarke is into Round 3 in Stock, and the often-overlooked former Canadian residents Brian Browell and Taylor Chomiski are still advancing in Comp eliminator.
Last but not least, St-Michel, QC’s Dan Mercier made steady improvements in Top Fuel eliminator. He had a career best 3.763 second ET at 319.75 mph (that’s 520 km/h!). That placed him #10 in Monday’s 16-car field. Great to see this Canadian make the field, especially considering some of the heavy hitters who headed home early. Unfortunately, he lost to Justin Ashley (.035 sec. RT) on Monday morning after getting off the line with a .109 sec. ET.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON… HUGE PRO MOD UPSETS
In a Sunday afternoon stunner, the top four Pro Mod cars from qualifying have been defeated heading into the semi-finals, taken out by Ken Quartuccio, Billy Banaka, Kevin Rivenbark and Mike Stavrinos (tuned by Todd Tutterow). The winners qualified 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th, respectively. In Top Fuel, the Kalitta cars had a rough time with Doug Kalitta missing the field and Shawn Langdon nabbing the final spot.
In Pro Stock, Canada’s Sienna Wildgust ended up qualified #15 and will go up against Erica Enders in the first round of eliminations on Monday.
