Would you believe we finally made an appearance at an actual Sanctioned Drag Strip, actually two, with our Teen Challenge, Classic Auto Appraisals International, Wildgoose Performance, Joe’s Transmission Service, Race Car Service Camaro.
Let us stop here for a moment; to save undue hardship to my finger tips from pounding the typewriter keys. I think we should call this project vehicle something less demanding than all of the above dedicated sponsors Camaro or even (place ACRONYM here) Camaro, it will be easier on my digits and will not make you short of breath when reading this yarn.
We now return you to our regular scheduled program.
Our first venture brought us to Cayuga. I know, I know it is now called Toronto Motorsports Park or something like that but to me it will always be “Cayuga”. I have been around that piece of real estate long enough I could refer to it as “Big Boss” or the “RCAF CAYUGA FLIGHT TRAINING FACILITY”. Most of the racers in my age of majority group still refer to the Dragstrip as Cayuga. We also speak of New York International Raceway Park as “Empire”. Dunn Tire Raceway Park as “Lancaster” and no matter what Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park will always be “Norwalk”. If you have been to Norwalk in the last two years you might want to refer to it as the “New Norwalk”. Bill Senior and Bill Junior have made it an even more spectacular facility for the racers and the spectators.
I digress, so lets return to the drama of our initial racing endeavour with our (pah) Camaro. Our time frame on this project put us heading toward Cayuga mid August. Our timing was good and also bad. Good due to the fact this weekend was the “The Canadian Street Car Nationals” and their organization was running the show. Short of any misfortunes that were out of their control they kept the program flowing smoothly. There was no unnecessary wasted time with race cars not traversing the track. Continuous calling of the classes to the staging lanes and the racers immediate response was refreshing to see. The program was run on a National Event style format and efficiency which made it enjoyable for both the racers and spectators. It also produced a reasonable closing time. The Baders, Bill Senior and Bill Junior, would be pleased how well the “Canadian Street Car Nationals’ staff handled the event.
The bad part of this venture was that there were no “Money” classes for our untried (pah) Camaro to compete in. Needing some racing information we decided to pay our money to Jan and Cindy at the gate and become a “Time Trialer” for the day..
Once inside the gates we took a look around to view some of the amazing and extreme race cars on the property. They had a full load of competitors from “buzzards” to six second door slammers. I do not believe there was a single Fox Bodied Mustang left on any of the streets within the 416 area code, they were all embattled here at the facility on Kohler Road.
In the Tech Inspection area we encountered a knowledgeable young man who proceeded to inspect the (pah) Camaro and in his best penmanship allotted two capital “T’s” to our windshield and backlite. He was good, but I am sure the air in some of the (pah) Camaro’s tires was older than he was. Where are you Bruce Scobie!
With my letters in place front and back we headed for the staging lanes settling into the infamous fence hugging lane number ten. It is from this lane all the “Time Trial” runs originate.
Going into this endeavour we mentally calculated the (pah) Camaro would produce enough horsepower to propel it into the high 18 to the low 21 second elapsed time range on the Sanctioned Quarter Mile surface. Remember we are dealing with 173 cubic inches producing only 107 horsepower trying to navigate 3500 lbs of metal down a Sanctioned length of pavement. The three run average produced an ET of 19.81 seconds at 69.90 mph for the quarter mile with a 12.80 second ET and 55.80 mph average for the eighth mile.
For the first time out the (pah) Camaro did what we somewhat expected even though leaving the starting line was an experience… a long experience. The (pah) Camaro was very unresponsive, which reflected in our poor reaction times, averaging .138. The reaction times were due partially as a result of not being able to hold the (pah) Camaro on the starting line as the Christmas tree descended. Around 800 rpm was the limit the brakes were capable of holding. We found out later this was a common problem with this generation Camaro. Not to worry, Shawn at Wildgoose Performance has a solution.
Once leaving the starting line the motor and transmission took over and away we went. Believe it or not the shift from first to second in our 700R was almost neck-snapping. I do not know what magic Joe, from Joe’s Transmission Service, performed, but it certainly worked. We can not relate to you how the second to third shift transpired as the 3:41 rear end gears had us crossing the finish line in second gear. No tachometer in the car but the sound emitting out of the Flowmasters seemed to indicate an RPM level that is not conjunctively healthy to a stock rod unbalanced motor. Remember, like you, we drive this unit to the track. No trailer and no other means of transportation, so we have to keep “parts out of the pan” for the trip home.
Bright and early Monday morning, well more like the crack of noon, we headed for Stoney Creek and the racing meca of Wildgoose Performance. With my Jeg’s Racing Log Book in hand, they are free so no excuses why you should not have one and use one…Frank, brimming with a copious amount of information I proceeded to elucidate my lane ten weekend experience for Shawn and Jim.
At this point we will leave you and let you ponder what changes we made to irradiate the problems we encountered with our first Sanctioned Drag Strip excursion.
P.S. Just a hint of what is in store for the (pah) Camaro. It necessitates passports and explaining to the border patrol why you are crossing their bridge. You guessed correctly we are headed for Lancaster…whoops I mean Dunn Tire Raceway Park, the home of the best eighth mile Drag Racers in the land. Film at eleven.
“It’s no Rocket Ship”! Those were the words Shawn Patterson of Wildgoose Performance uttered when he returned from the mandatory test drive to complete the MTO Safety Standards Certificate our Teen Challenge, Classic Auto Appraisals International, Wildgoose Performance, Joe’s Transmission Service, Race Car Services Camaro required. Whew! I feel like a NASCAR driver, trying to incorporate all our valuable sponsors in one breath.
Of course we knew it wouldn’t travel at celestial speeds. How can we expect 173 minuscule cubic inches, making only a piffling 107 horsepower, be capable to project a 3500 lb vehicle down a Drag Strip at blistering speeds.
Every one of those tiny cubic inches has to carry over 20 lbs each the length of the race track. Equally each of the 107 horsepower, more like Shetland Pony power, have to move over 32 lbs each at a record pace down the Sanctioned racing surface. Well maybe not a record pace!
With the Wildgoose Performance ad Race Car Services professionals presently finished with the Camaro, we loaded up and headed for the “Honeymoon City”. That’s Niagara Falls for all you bachelors out there.
Arriving at the door of Joe’s Transmission Service we deliberated transmission and converter combinations. Being as busy as he is, Joe thought just a shift kit, with a few of his personal modifications, would be sufficient and best suited for the 700R at the present time. With the 2.8 litre engine as stock as it is we didn’t feel a converter change was feasible at this time. In this way we wouldn’t have to contend with programing a load of converters until we got it right. Through the years Joe has experienced finding the correct design in a converter for my many low horsepower six cylinder combinations very time consuming. Remember previously we mentioned our love affair with six cylinders.
Joe has finished his portion of the project for now and seemed pleased with the results. Although he didn’t mention anything about Rocket Ships when he came back from his test drive.
Joe Boniferro after test driving the Camaro
As you can see by the smile on his face, in the enclosed photograph, Joe must have liked some aspect of the venture. Could be he was just glad to get the Camaro out of his shop so he could move onto more productive and profitable procedures.
At this point we will leave you secure in the fact the Teen Challenge, Classic Auto Appraisals International, Wildgoose Performance, Joe’s Transmission Service, Race Car Services project Camaro will finally be heading to a Sanctioned Drag Strip. I’m out of breath again…we have to find an ACRONYM for these guys!
P.S. As you know in this article we made reference to Rocket Ships pertaining to the ( place ACRONYM here ) Camaro race car. Facts showed them not being the least bit related or relevant. However if you have ever been to a Shuttle launch from Cape Kennedy/Cape Canaveral you might be familiar with the apparatus that transports the Shuttle to the launching pad. It is called the “CRAWLER”. The CRAWLER takes six hours to travel less than a mile. Finally something we can relate to performance wise from the space industry…think about it!
We wish to thank all the participants who attended our booth at the Welland Cruise night and the Pen Center Cruise over the summer of 2008 to pick up a draw ticket. The draw was held On October 4, 2008 at the Super Cruise to give the winner 2 tickets to Speedorama 2009 with overnight accommodations that the Speedorama Host hotel, Four Points Sheraton.
A young participant of the Super Cruise drew ticket number 0030 from the large number of stubs that were gathered over the summer. Each week we indicated to the participants that you did not have to be present to win. We further indicated that the holder of the other portion of that ticket that was drawn could redeem the prize by acknowledging same and presenting their portion of the ticket to us.
If you hold the participant portion of ticket # 0030. please contact us at 1-888-698-6668 on or befor October 31, 2008.
After that date, the results will be null and void!
“Objective: To recognize individuals, groups and corporations who have made significant contributions to the growth and improvement of street rodding in Canada, and to salute and celebrate their achievements with a public acknowledgement.”
Being given the opportunity to attend this year’s Canadian Street Rodding Hall of Fame inductee banquet in Waterdown, Ontario, I was able to see this objective come to life. The evening proved to be quite educational and inspirational. Seeing the human side to all the names and stories is well worthy of retelling.
As the evening began I was able to mingle with those in attendance. First opportunity to attend is given to former hall of fame alumni. It was easy to see by their numbers and distance traveled that their devotion to Canadian rodding didn’t end with their admission into the hall of fame. Both ends of the country were represented, including Terry Malley (2000) of Moncton, New Brunswick. Besides all regions of the country being represented, all facets of the rodding industry were also present. Everyone from Tony Lant of Lant & Co. Insurance Brokers Ltd. to Bob McJannett(1994) of Performance Improvements came to this years event.
From the outset you could see the sense of community that is the foundation of the Canadian street rodder. Arlene Baillie(1994) conducted a brief but meaningful ceremony to remember the former Hall of Fame members that have since past away. One person in particular was ‘Dizzy’ Dean Murray. His absence is felt as a great void by a large number of those in this community. This is not only for his contribution to the rodding scene, but also for the fact that he was such a strong and dynamic personality.
Bill Merkley(1994) of BF Goodrich then led us into the rest of the evening as Master of Ceremonies. As everyone took a collective breath and prepared themselves for the evening ahead, they were entertained by his humorous recounting of past inductees. The visual presentation, assisted by Andy Soutar(1994), gave faces to the names that were given as a history update from first inductee to present. He was also responsible for a game for prizes that determined who were the oldest and youngest people in the room. There were some that I was shocked to find out that they were actually ‘that old’. They certainly didn’t look it. Fortunately for Bill there weren’t any women admittedly in the running at the end, or he might have had some serious explaining to do for uncovering their age. At the same time, seeing how young some of the crowd was helped to show that the hobby does have an influx of new life. It has been feared by some that there has been significant decrease in the amount of new blood interested in street rodding. If this night was any representation of the way things are, the hobby has a fighting chance of continuing as people have grown accustomed.
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Pro Modifieds will race in conjunction with OSCA Championship event
CAYUGA, ONTARIO (September 17, 2008) – The Pro Modified Racing Association will finish its 2008 schedule this coming Saturday and Sunday, and the PMRA Pro Modifieds will be part of an exciting weekend of drag racing to be held in conjunction with the OSCA’s (Ontario Street Car Association) 2008 McIntyre Automotive Championship Finals and the Canadian SRT Nationals.
“We should have a terrific weekend,” said PMRA Director of Operations Bruce Mehlenbacher. “The OSCA is a great series with a group of very dedicated and extremely serious competitors. The 2008 PMRA champion will be decided at this event.”
OSCA Race Director Mike Bennett said he is expecting up to 150 cars for the finish of the series’ eighth season, and there are some tight battles in several of the 11 classes.
“It should be an exciting weekend,” stated Bennett. “There are lots of tight battles, and class winners will be decided at this race.”
The PMRA portion of the Saturday show will feature eliminations for the rain-delayed Fourth Annual KC Auto Parts Family Day PMRA Challenge presented by Paul Wolf Electric & Lighting Supply Inc., Osram Sylvania and Independent Electrical Distributors, along with qualifying, run in unison for the totally rescheduled Third Annual Victoria Day Weekend - PMRA Challenge.
Sunday will see the eight quickest teams return from Saturday’s qualifying for the championship eliminations.
Qualifying for rained-out May PMRA event gets underway at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, then eliminations for the rescheduled June event will be held starting at 3:00 p.m. The second and third qualifiers for the May event will also be held Saturday.
With the qualifying completed for the May event on Saturday, eliminations will be held Sunday starting at 1:00 p.m.
Going into the final two-day event at Toronto Motorsports Park, Bruce Boland, the 2007 PMRA Champion of Hamilton, Ontario has paced the field of PMRA Pro Modified teams, and presently leads with 1369 points followed closely followed by Terry Brown of Caledonia, Ontario, who has 1328 points.
Third in the standings is Jeff Roth of Kitchener, Ontario, with 1281 points, and fourth is Joe Boniferro of Niagara Falls, Ontario who has 1279 points.
In fifth is Jack Grainy of North Tonawanda, New York, with 1128 points, next in points is Randy Jewell of Holley, New York with his JFM Racing 1968 Camaro in sixth with 958 points, and Ike Maier of Tottenham, Ontario and his 1969 Camaro are seventh with 941 points. Eighth is Mike Stawicki of Medina, New York, in the G-Force Race Cars 1967 Camaro, ninth is Mike Cusimano of Rochester, New York with the Midlife Crisis team 1994 Corvette and 673 points, and tenth is the 1969 Chevy Nova of Sam Andreacchi of Toronto, Ontario with 672 points.
For information about Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario call (905) 772-0303 or visit online at www.torontomotorsportspark.com
For more information, contact Bruce F. Mehlenbacher at mehlenbacher@ProModifiedRacing.com