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Welcome to the August 19th, 2002 edition of "On The Road with Kenny Racing,"
the bi-weekly newsletter featuring the Landa Pressure Washers Super Comp
Dragsters of Alan, Samantha and Jason Kenny.
Dad & I arrived at Englishtown just in time to get parked Thursday night.
First round was run Saturday afternoon ... and we had both cars strapped
down in the trailer by 9pm that night. A fun, but very short weekend. Dad
lost with an 8.899 and I lost to "The Big Ern" Ernie Kendall. Ernie has the
fastest Super Comp Dragster in Division One, running over 190 mph when the
air is good.
I am now mathematically eliminated from any hope at the Division One Top
Ten. Therefore, in our last divisional race at Cecil County, I will
experiment with some different set-ups. Dad is currently 26th going into
the last race, only 40 points out of the Top Ten.
One week later, the whole family was off to Grand Bend Motorplex for what
may be our final Canadian bracket race of 2002. To say we had more fun here
than at Englishtown would be somewhat of an understatement. After dropping
$510 worth of entry fees at the gate, we found a new pit spot. Usually at
the 'Bend, we'll park on the asphalt. However, with recent temperatures as
high as they are, we decided to pit on the grass for this weekend.
Friday featured a test & tune, so we unloaded the yellow car and Samantha
made three runs. Time trials were scheduled to begin Saturday at noon.
However, due to several small showers, Sam and I didn't make our first run
until 3pm. Super Pro racers (including Sam & I) got two time trials before
running eliminations that night. Top Dragsters (Dad & I) were to receive
three qualifying sessions Saturday ... running eliminations Sunday.
Sunday was "bounty hunter" day at Grand Bend, meaning anyone who took out
the current points leader would earn some extra cash. Knowing this, I tried
to qualifying opposite Rick Frayne, the Top Dragster points leader. Not to
mention ... taking out Frayne would really help our friend Ron Shilling in
the points. To do this, I figured I would need to be at the bottom of the
qualifying order. On my first qualifying run, I ran the dragster to about
700-750 feet, and clicked it off. However, after the run, I was told that
my first round dial-in had to be within two tenths of my qualifying number.
That squashed my plans, so for the next session I ran a full-out 7.90. My
focus for the rest of the night would be on Super Pro.
Samantha looked good in both of her time trials with reaction times of .521
and .514. In round one, she laid a .005 package on her opponent. She cut a
.501 light and ran a 7.874 on her 7.87 dial ... an incredible start to
eliminations. She would be ousted in round two, while I went out in round
three. An OK day ... but Sunday would be much better. Saturday was
incredibly hot and humid. My last Super Pro run Saturday night @ 10:23pm,
saw the air at 79 degrees and 92% humidity. At 10:30am Sunday, the air was
still 79 degrees, however the humidity had dropped to 60%.
I skipped the first Super Pro time trial, electing to "save lifters".
Samantha ran good friend Melanie Simmons and clocked a 7.79, picking up
almost a full tenth-of-a-second from her last run Saturday night.
First round of Top Dragster kicked off Sunday eliminations, and Dad and I
both were winners. Second round of Top Dragster saw Geoff Smith take out
Dad while I was very lucky to get by Ed Smith, another hitter in both Super
Pro and Top Dragster. I then defeated Louie Taylor in round three, before
getting the bye run in the semi-finals. That meant I was to take on Geoff
Smith in the Top Dragster final, the same Geoff Smith who toke out Dad in
round two.
In Super Pro action, I again lost in round three. Samantha, on the other
hand, was doing very well. In her first three races, she has made it to
rounds two, three, and two. Sunday was her best race yet as she made it all
the way to the final !!! Rounds two through six saw Sam's reaction times
within .019 of each other ... very consistent !!! The dragster was very
consistent as well, running ET's of 7.81, 7.80, 7.82, 7.82 and 7.83 en route
to the final round.
There it was, 7:40pm on Sunday, and Sam and I were both in finals. Geoff
and I were ready to race, so we went first. I knew the huge tailwind that
helped us in the morning was gradually slowing all afternoon and evening.
Therefore, I was sure I wanted the stripe in the final against Geoff. I
trimmed my delay box .005 from the previous rounds, as my best light was a
.521 against Ed Smith in round two. I got the reaction time advantage, .525
to .563 and took the finish line by .003 seconds for the victory !!! I had
caught Geoff around 1100-1150 feet and lifted. When I saw him starting to
close very quickly, I stabbed the throttle again to make sure I got the
line. My 8.02 was very safe on the 7.94 dial, as Geoff and I were both
slower than we thought we would be.
Next up was Samantha, and she had a .030 package dropped on her in the
final, giving her a runner-up finish in just her fourth ever race !!! She
was thrilled ... if she wasn't hooked on drag racing before, she is now !!!
She is now off to Ottawa University for 8 months. Her next race will
probably be in May of 2003.
MOTORHOME UPDATE - We made a deposit on the motorhome July 3rd. At that
time, we were told it would be approximately 8 weeks before delivery. That
would mean we should have it just after Labour Day, September 2nd. Dad
called to get an exact date, and was told October 28th. Much more on this
in two weeks ...
TRAILER UPDATE - Drawings and details are finalized. Dad spoke with Todd
Datweiler (the "T" of T&E Auto Haulers) recently and Todd said our trailer
would begin construction very shortly.
ROADSTERS UPDATE - We visited S&W Monday after Englishtown. Originally
hoping to have them done for the S&W Open House before the Keystones, it now
looks like we'll be lucky to get them home before the western trip. We'll
probably get them painted down in the States, which adds 3-4 weeks to the
"pick-up date."
This week, Dad and I are off to Cecil County, for the final Division One
points race of the season. After that, we'll go to Indy for the US
Nationals. If Dad & I both lose in round one at Indy, which is run Friday,
we'll head to Grand Bend for their weekend bracket race.
Tentative 2002 Schedule
August 22-25 = NHRA Divisional Event @ Rising Sun, Maryland.
August 31-September 1 = Bracket Race @ Grand Bend, Ontario.
September 6-8 = IHRA National Event @ Epping, New Hampshire.
September 12-15 = NHRA National Event @ Reading, Pennsylvania.
September 26-29 = NHRA National Event @ Chicago, Illinois.
October 10-13 = NHRA National Open @ Reading, Pennsylvania.
October 24-27 = NHRA National Event @ Las Vegas, Nevada.
October 31-November 3 = NHRA Divisional Event @ Las Vegas, Nevada.
November 7-10 = NHRA National Event @ Pomona, California.
November 13-17 = Bracket Race @ Bradenton, Florida.
November 20-24 = Bracket Race @ West Palm Beach, Florida.
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