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Jet Cars and Stamina at Mission
Gerry Frechette - August 31, 2007
 They say that all is well that ends well, and that is about the best thing thing that one can say about a weekend of racing that is three-quarters rained out, but that ends with perhaps the biggest crowd reaction of any single run in Mission Raceway Park history.
It was the Vancouver Community College Night of Fire race, the night to have been this past Saturday, with two Jet Funny Cars and eight Nitro Nostalgia Dragsters on the program. But Mother Nature had other ideas, as, after a few sunny days, Saturday dawned cloudy and got worse from there. It started raining early that afternoon, but stopped at 4:30 and track drying began, with many loyal fans waiting to see if the show would happen.
 The work was completed about 6:00 pm, and while the track was too cool to hold any sort of high-horsepower wheel-driven cars, it was decided that it was dry enough, especially in the shut-down area, to run the jets. They fired up, Nitehawk vs Warhawk, and made nice 1,000-foot passes for the dedicated fans who had stuck around. Ten minutes later, it was raining, and that was that for the evening.
Sunday saw more rain ending late morning, but with a good forecast and lots of track work, it was ready to go by 1:30. The jets, which were to have run twice the night before and not at all Sunday, stuck around to make their second run. All other classes were to go straight into eliminations with no qualifying, and the Canada West Doorslammers decided not to run their event on that basis.
 The Nitro Dragsters were somewhat disappointing, in that only three US-based cars showed up for what was to have been an eight-car qualified field, and despite it being a points race for their “All-American Fuel Dragsters” group. Add two local small-block-powered nitro cars, and the five cars took to the track and put on a good show, nevertheless.
Low ET of 5.96, and the overall victory, went to Troy Green of Oregon, beating John Shoemaker in the final under the lights that saw very cool air and track conditions that couldn't hold the nitro power.
 The Pro Street cars of the Canadian Pro Street Association put on their best show in years at Mission, with Garrett Richards of Tacoma wheeling his Chevy truck to consistent 6.70's and the victory. Debuting were the new '63 turbo Corvette of Don Murray, and the '37 Chevy of Jay Syvertsen formerly run as a Pro Mod by Danny Rowe.
But it was the jets that stole the show and salvaged the event, in the first appearance for the thrust machines at Mission in 15 years. The track operators had been leery about going that far considering the noise these cars make, but they cleared it with City Hall, and the Mayor was on hand to give his enthusiastic support.
Drivers Kyle Skidgel and Derek Snelson brought down the house, first with big afterburner flame pops, and then with one of the best side-by-side runs seen all year here. The numbers were 5.88 / 268 for Ms. Skidgel and 5.98 / 267 for Mr. Snelson, and the fans, including Mr. Mayor, showed their appreciation, all but assuring a return engagement next season.
It was a difficult weekend in a season of difficult weekends, but in the end, thanks to a bit of a break from Mother Nature on Sunday, lots of hard work by the track staff, and the dedicated fans and racers waiting it out, it turned out to be a good show.
(Gerry Frechette Photos)
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