Western Canada’s third ever attempt at a national event race at Edmonton’s Budweiser Park is a terrific affair. Rain storms on Saturday effectively wash out that day’s schedule however area fans along with both local and visiting racers once again show great resilience. When the skies clear off on Sunday the event ultimately goes down in record-setting fashion in front of a jam-packed stadium.

Clay Millican wins his 9th Top Fuel event on Canadian soil driving the Werner Enterprises dragster. Because of the weather the TF field is set based on a single qualifying round on Friday night and Clay enters eliminations in the number 6 position. Millican’s crew chief Mike Kloeber then serves up a dandy run in round one when he choreographed his driver to a stunning 4.540 secs at 325.69 mph – the quickest and fastest run ever on Canadian soil! Millican beats Rick Cooper to advance to the final round where he faced off with his top IHRA class rival -- Doug Foley. Millican leaves first (.056 to .084) and wins a very tight 4.712 secs 298.21 mph to 4.719 secs 311.77 mph decision.

Top Fuel qualifying features an inspiring effort by Canada’s Todd Paton who equipped with a new line-up of associate sponsors (including Eaton Cutler-Hammer) carves out a career best time (4.703 secs) at 314.39 mph to qualify number two. Paton however loses out to Rick Cooper in round one when the blower belt snaps.

Calgary’s Ed Verenka makes minor history when he becomes the very first injected car (A/FD) to qualify in IHRA Top Fuel. Verenka gets into the program on the bump with a coasting run but does unload a rather impressive 5.358 secs at 255.29 mph in round one. Unfortunately for the team that swift run is no match for Doug Foley’s 4.768 secs in the other lane.

Canada’s Robbie Atchison adds an important IHRA “Ironman” to his mantel when he wins his first Rocky Mountain Nationals title driving the London-based Erickson Manufacturing Pontiac Firebird. Atchison wins from the pole and runs five straight 5.8 secs elapsed times during the event. Robbie goes toe-to-toe with his fiercest class rival Mark Thomas in the final round but Thomas’s 5.934 secs at 229.86 mph never really challenges Robbie’s winning 5.866 secs at 240.48 mph.

New York’s Jim Sickles does steal some of Atchison’s thunder at the event. The driver of the Meyers RV Superstore Chevy Monte Carlo reset both ends of the Bud Park track record at 5.823 secs and 241.84 mph during round one but he exploded a supercharger doing it and could not return for round number two.

Jim Halsey won a very spirited Pro Modified program – the first IHRA career win for the Maryland-based racer. Halsey, who owns NHRA-sanctioned drag strip Cecil County Raceway, drove his nitrous-injected Chevy Camaro, past Canada’s Carl Spiering in the championship final round. In a truly dramatic pairing, Spiering jumped out of the gate first driving his Eaton Cutler-Hammer Chevy Corvette (.054 to .086) but Halsey was just able to nip him in the lights; 6.212 secs 223.99 mph to 6.255 secs 228.50. Halsey had beaten Kenny Lang, Mike Janis and Rick Distefano in earlier rounds while Spiering had taken the measure of reputed opponents Shannon Jenkins, Mike Castellana and Quain Stott.

Canadian Pro Mod class star and official IHRA national record holder Al Billes laid down a truly impressive run to pace the Pro Mod field. Billes clicked off the quickest and fastest Pro Mod run in Canadian drag racing history at a spectacular 6.150 secs at 234.53 mph driving Jim Oddy’s Summit Racing Equipment Dodge Stratus. Billes fell however in a major round one upset when he unexpectedly shook the tires and lost out to the impressive nitrous-injected Corvette driven by Alberta’s Ross Hogenson.

Pro Stock racing attracted only 11 entries for class racing and that title went to the super consistent Ford Escort driven by Maryland’s Frank Gugliotta, for car owner Steve Thodos. After running a 6.535 secs in round one Gugliotta ran three straight 6.51 secs elapsed times to win the event. Frank served up a final round 6.518 secs at 214.08 mph to beat the Ford Mustang of Tony Gillig which had a red-light foul start. Gugliotta’s final round mph was top speed of the meet and a new Bud Park track record.

Robert Patrick, who had won the IHRA’s previous event at Grand Bend Ontario, set low ET of the meet in round one driving the Purvis-sponsored Ford Mustang. Patrick shattered the Bud Park Pro Stock ET record with a 6.488 secs. Patrick ran an equally impressive 6.498 secs in the semi-final round but still got beat when Tony Gillig laid a holeshot on him and held on to take the stripe.

The Western RV Rocky Mountain Nationals included some special exhibition eliminators which featured top Canadian talents in Thunderbolts (7.50) and Nitro Bikes. Edmonton’s Jay Mageau, who won the Inaugural Thunderbolts feature back in 2003, drove that very same spectacular ’57 Chevy to victory again. Mageau beat the equally cool ’55 T-Bird driven by Tony Coopress (from Edson, AB) in the final round, 7.635 secs to 7.688 secs.

Canada’s top rated Nitro Harley rider, Rob Houniet, from Mission BC, prevailed in the Nitro Bike eliminator. Houniet qualified on the pole with a 6.701 secs at 211.69 mph (low ET and top speed) and beat out fellow BC-based rider Brian Hall in the final round; 6.808 secs 201.10 mph to 6.918 secs 203.40 mph.

Canadian drivers produced terrific results within the event’s Sportsman ranks -- winning 5 eliminators. Dale Giroux (from Canyon Creek, AB) won his second career Rocky Mountain Nationals Top Sportsman crown. He was joined in victory lane by first time IHRA winners, Randy Hutchings (Calgary) in Stock, Ken Mostowich (Calgary) in Quick Rod, Scott Taylor (St. Isadore) in Super Rod and Curtis Smith (Stony Plain) in Hot Rod. Canadian drivers Adolph Saboruin and Sarah Stelte prevailed in the event’s added attraction E.T. Tournament and Junior Dragster eliminators.

Washington-state based Super Stock “hitter” Mark Faul won in a very rare IHRA event appearance for him. Faul qualified #1 in Super Stock and beat out Calgary’s Art Congdon in the final round.

Louisiana’s Britt Cummings won in Top Dragster. The perennial IHRA event winner defeated 11 other cars entered in that eliminator including Delta, BC’s John Evans in the final round.