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20th anniversary drag race draws 650 fans

A Sunny Saturday on the Sunshine Coast was in order for the Sunshine Coast Drag Racing Association (SCDRA) last weekend as the club celebrated their 20th anniversary of drag racing at the Sechelt Airport. After having to cancel the Aug.
Drags
Gibsons’ Shawn Boyd in his 460 powered 1967 Cougar warming up during the time trials.

A Sunny Saturday on the Sunshine Coast was in order for the Sunshine Coast Drag Racing Association (SCDRA) last weekend as the club celebrated their 20th anniversary of drag racing at the Sechelt Airport. 

After having to cancel the Aug. 11 event due to weather conditions, race organizers were thrilled with the attendance and, of course, the weather. 

The burnout competition proved to be popular for the 650 race fans assembled. Six racers volunteered to have some fun and basically fry a set of tires. 

First to line up was Keith Tucker (1978 Malibu), followed by Tyler Muryn (1988 Mustang), Cory Saunders (1991 Mustang), Mike Vanderlinden (1969 Mustang), Nic Chabot (1979 Chevy C-10) and Norm Robertson (1979 F100). 

With all drivers required to keep their vehicles in the burnout box, Tucker took full advantage and wore a relatively new set of tires down to the cords. It took some time but with favourable wind conditions Tucker made it look easy. 

Each of the remaining drivers put on a big show for the spectators gathered along the barrier and burn box superintendent and judge Ron Berg. It didn’t take long for Berg to signal the driver who best met his burnout criteria was Tucker. 

For the 64 race car/motorcycle participants, conditions for the day were perfect: an early start to racing, slightly cooler weather and a bit of moisture mid-afternoon. 

In the Street Machine final it was Jack Charboneau of Gibsons driving the 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee tow vehicle as his AMC Rebel race car was out of commission. The competition was Scott Bolder from Coquitlam in a 1992 Corvette. Bolder is new to racing on the Sunshine Coast and took the win. Charboneau commented after the race: with 12 family members cheering him on and 13 years since his last win, the pressure got to him. The .666 light didn’t help and it was over in 10 seconds. The 71-year-old felt pretty good with the second-place finish and had a great day at the races.

Super Street had 16 cars in the class and the finalists were Tom Sealy in a 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix and James Florence in his 2009 Holden, another Pontiac. Sealy had a new set of rubber which provided super traction, was cutting the lights very well and had great 60’ times. Both racers were in conversation prior to the final and Florence changed his dial-in to 8.5 from 8.4. That cost Florence the race as he broke out giving the win to Sealy. 

Sechelt’s Layne Hemstreet, a first time racer driving his 1987 Chevy pickup, worked his way through the competition to meet a young veteran, Levi Stanley-Clarke from North Vancouver, in the final of Super Street. Hemstreet didn’t want to red light, and was a slow to launch on the green. The delay was enough for Stanley-Clarke to receive his fifth win at an SCDRA event. 

Al Crane of Roberts Creek has been racing on the Coast for years and has never made it to the final in the Hot Rod Class. With his cool 1965 Ford Falcon, Crane rose to the occasion and lined up next to the 1979 F-100 of Norm Robertson. Both racers did great pre-race burnouts to warm the tires and Crane knew he’d likely have a great run. Reaction time at the lights is critical and Crane had the best of the day, a .542 giving Robertson little chance. Robertson never did catch up but Crane had to hit the brakes hard at the finish to ensure a win. 

During the awards presentations, the Vic Dubois Memorial Award was presented to a member of the SCDRA who volunteers and demonstrates continued dedication to the club and community. The 2019 award went to David Timmins. David, who doesn’t drag race, assists with facility set-up and works in the staging lanes during race events. When he’s not helping at events he’s on the computer designing the event posters and taking care of other graphic projects for the club. This year David designed and coordinated production of the SCDRA 20th anniversary T-shirts. For more information about the SCDRA contact Richard at cnaustin@telus.net or 604-230-5067.