2nd Mopar Performance Parts Canadian Nationals
Grand Bend, ON (June 1-3, 2001)
Notes|
Results | Photos
NATIONALS NOTEBOOK:
Racers, fans and track officials are all put to the test during the 2nd Annual
Mopar Performance Parts Canadian Nationals as “mother nature” does her best to squelch the action. Uncommonly cool, windy and overcast conditions severely affects the schedule however persistence pays off. Despite frequent rain and fog delays, all Pro class eliminations are completed on Sunday night but Sportsman action is not finished until the early afternoon on Monday. IHRA and Grand Bend officials burn in excess of $10,000 in jet fuel during the repeated track drying process.
Top Fuel class features an upset winner. Jim Bailey takes Bobby Rex’s “Havoc” car to victory lane beating favorite Bruce Litton in the final round. Bailey’s win is the 8th of his career but the first in his new ride. The event victory for team owner Rex is extra deserving. Fans will recall that one year ago his car was destroyed at Grand Bend in a high-speed incident, which seriously injured his driver Doug Foxworth. Litton smokes his tires in the final round but the runner-up finish gives him the overall IHRA points lead leaving Grand Bend.
Top Fuel racing produces unquestionably the wildest incident of the event and of the season so far as Louie Allison does a “blowover” in round one of Top Fuel. Anderson, who is driving for Jack Ostrander, jumps out of the machine uninjured after the aerobatic feat but his car is totalled. Allison’s run saw him hike the wheels right off the starting line and carry them to past half track before ultimately going over. It was awesome to watch!
Top Fuel racing produces both IHRA national and new Canadian speed records. Bruce Litton lowers the IHRA’s official national ET mark to 4.656 secs. That runs comes in round two while beating Paul Romine. Litton backed up the mark based on his round one performance where his 4.697 secs at 306.64 mph took out Jim Head’s 4.690 secs at 303.64 mph. That is IHRA’s all time quickest side-by-side battle! Clay Millican, qualifies on the pole (4.764 secs) but then thunders to a 318.92 mph clocking in round one which is the fastest speed ever on Canadian soil.
Fans flock to see legendary Shirley Muldowney who returns to Grand Bend.
Muldowney’s 2001 performance is however a disappointment as she runs only one of three qualifiers (4.808 secs at 240.25 mph) and then bows out to breakage in round one to eventual winner Bailey.
Gene Wilson keeps his unreal 2001 winning streak alive in Pro Stock as once again his drives Charlie Hunt’s Mercury Cougar to victory lane. Wilson is the performance star of the race -- he is the only Pro Stocker to dip into the 6.5 secs zone during the event. That includes a career quick run of 6.585 secs. Wilson defeats determined Chevy pilot Angelo Alesci in the final round. Canada’s John Konigshofer sets top speed of the meet at 210.08 mph driving his Ford Probe.
Lane choice is everything during the Grand Bend event as almost without exception every winner in every round of Professional racing comes from the right lane. Racers have great difficulty negotiating the bump and dip in the left lane throughout the event.
Pro Mod racing is another sensational program, which once again produces the IHRA’s desired nitrous-oxide versus supercharged final round match-up. Alan Pittman wins for the second time this season driving his South Carolina-based ‘41 Willys. Pittman’s win however includes a huge break when he gets by Mike Janis in the semi final round when Janis’s clutch sparks out. Prior to that Janis looked unstoppable -- running as quick at 6.196 secs and setting top speed at 227.44 mph in his ‘63 Corvette. Incredible as it seems the 6.196 secs, a track record anywhere else on the circuit, is “not” at Grand Bend. Fred Hahn went 6.179 secs here last year.
Equally incredible is the fact that defending event Champion Hahn and car owner Jim Oddy did not qualify at Grand Bend (6.418 secs -- 17th). That is the third consecutive event this season that the defending IHRA World Champions are DNQ.
Pro Mod class racing is again a ultra-quick affair. Despite losing one round of qualifying to the elements, racers still produce a 16-car bump of 6.395 secs. 32 cars show for the Pro Mod class at Grand Bend, including Texan Matt Tolbert who is without question the surprise of the event. Tolbert wheels his outrageous ’70 Superbird to a career quick 6.421 secs (in IHRA Pro Mod trim) which just misses the cut. For Tolbert it is his first race with a Indy Cylinder Heads Hemi engine program (ala Chip King).
Top Dragster racing at Grand Bend is an absolute monster. No less then 60 cars show for the 48-car TD field and the bump spot is an astounding 7.326 secs. Former Pro Outlaw racer Dave Christensen paces the field at 6.365 secs and sets top speed at 209.25 mph. In the end however it is many time IHRA winner Mike Fuqua (from Tennessee) who prevails.
Nitro Harley sees Doug Vancil score aboard the Vance & Hines “Hog”. Vancil has both low ET and top speed (6.456 secs and 215.46 mph - Canadian records) while winning. He beats Steve Stordeur in the final round after running consecutive 6.4‘s in rounds one and two.
Pro Funny Car racing produced a surprise winner as Iowa’s Dale Brand emerges victorious for his second career IHRA win. Brand, driving his
Pontiac Firebird nails first time finalist John Vouros off the starting line and takes a 5.88 secs 234.61 mph to 5.853 secs 236.96 mph decision. Vouros’s losing effort was low ET of the event. Top Speed in the Funny Car class goes Laurie Cannister’s “Girl Power” Camaro at 237.40 mph. Cannister, who made the “final four” at Virginia also goes to the semi final round at Grand Bend.
Pro Funny Car qualifying sees hometown favorite Robbie Atchison go for the ride of his life when his popular Chevy-powered Pontiac Firebird “lights up” big time . Atchison emerges uninjured however fire damage sidelines his popular team for the rest of the event.
Car count at the 2001 Mopar Canadian Nationals is officially 569 entries which exceeds the 545 cars here last year.
