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Mission City Pro Mod Report
Gerry Frechette - July 2, 2009
 With the proven low-six second cars of Rick Distefano and Joe Delehay headlining the field, the West Coast Pro Mod Association event at Mission Raceway Park figured to be a battle between the Calgary veterans, with the rest fighting for semi-final honours. But in the end, the unheralded American Tommy Johans from Colorado won the event, personally beating them both when they each faltered.
 In the three rounds of qualifying on Saturday, there were many more sub-par and aborted runs than there were the kind of solid numbers expected at Mission. Johans (6.19), Wayne Hofer of Lethbridge (6.38) and Perry Thyr of Drayton Valley (6.44) all scored personal bests to get in the field, but it was Distefano, after shaking and breaking in the first run, and missing the second run with the motor down to the bare block for repairs, who grabbed pole position on his last chance with a great 6.06 / 232. Delehay, who explained all the shaking going on as being most racers not having enough power and clutch for the track, got it together in the final run with a 6.13 / 228.
 Ironically, both Distefano and Delehay dodged big bullets in the first round, each with miscues and winning runs in the 6.80s, beside Dan Vogt and Vern Mills respectively, who each had problems of their own. Ross Hogenson laid down a nice 6.25 beside Hofer's 6.33, and he backed it up with a 6.26 in Round Two, but it was beside Distefano's winning 6.07. The other race saw Delehay, as he put it, flinch after he was staged, and he left way early, handing the win to Johans.
 Distefano had over a tenth in performance advantage over Johans, but mechanical issues that looked like a broken clutch ended his run early, and the Colorado driver cruised to the 6.30 victory.
In other action at Mission, the Canada West Doorslammers title went to Tyson Wells in his wild big-block VW Beetle, as the slowest qualifier beat the quickest, the NHRA-legal A/AP Cavalier of Terry Spargo. The latter had to be happy with his best ever, a quicker-than-the-National Record 6.53.
Gerry Frechette Photos
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