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 More or Les!
Bruce Biegler - September 23, 2007
London's Les Mellows who played a intricate part within the rise of Rob Atchison to Alcohol Funny Car class stardom, has made some interesting adjustments to his motorsports career in 2007.
After receiving a major promotion at his job (London Motor Products - part of the McMaster Family) Les was faced with some hard racing realities. In order to take advantage of that career opportunity he needed to curtail some racing activities. That necessitated leaving Atchison team at the end of last season -- a decision what was amicable with all parties involved.
Since then Les had set a more manageable season schedule for himself. Beginning in 2007, he has re-surfaced on a couple of racing fronts, helping two potential ridden Canadian teams that currently have more local racing schedules. Les has played a prominent role in the amazing success of Paul Noakes in IHRA Alcohol Funny Car and has also become part of Barry Paton's Tim Hortons-sponsored Top Fuel team. He is a consultant/tuner for both.
Mellows' involvement with the Paton team is an all new dimension for him and is his first venture in the world of drag racing on nitro.
 "I think this is a natural progression for me," Les said. "I'm coming into this inquisitively and seeking knowledge. Top Fuel racing is the pinnacle of our sport so I'm pretty intrigued about getting involved"
For Mellows, his current tasks with the Top Fuel car involve primarily the electrical systems, tune-up and track reading -- all of which were his specialties while racing with Rob Atchison.
"I have developed a bit of a knack for seeing troublespots from an overview position," he added. "Right now that will be my contribution. I'm very excited because it (racing nitro) is certainly different and a very big challenge. I feel that Barry's team is still growing and the fact they are a Canadian team was something I wanted to be part of."
Since Mellows began his involvement with Paton Racing, the parts attrition, which had been a problem has been on the downswing. Also during the recent IHRA Canadian Nationals, driver Todd Paton was rewarded with a career best speed at 317.72 mph. Expectations are thus high that things will only get faster and tighter for the future.
(Bruce Biegler Photos)
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