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A Way-Cool Willys!
Bruce Biegler - July 3, 2009
Eastern Canada’s racing scene includes one of the most exciting new Canadian entries of the 2009 season, a spectacular new machine that is being campaigned by Jim and Jeff Roth, from New Dundee, Ontario.
 Driver Jeff Roth, has been slowly but effectively building momentum driving all new supercharged ’41 Willys, which was expertly constructed by Tom VanDerGeld’s talented group at LowDown Hot Rods (Cambridge, ON). To date the car has been focused on the thriving Eastern-based PMRA drag racing series, however Roth admits he would like to eventually expand his racing horizons.
The Willys, which features a 526 CID AJ motor from Atchison Machine Services (London ON) is a replacement for the team’s ’57 Chevy, which Jeff drove last season. The ’57 Chevy remains a 2nd team car, and is driven by Scott Wildgust in Top Sportsman trim within the Napa Quick 32 series.
 “Last year we got our feet wet in the Pro Mod class with the ’57 Chevy and we finished 4th in final PMRA points,” explained Jeff Roth. “We did learn a lot about suspension cars and so we decided to go ahead and order this new car. This chassis is a newer prototype from LowDown Hot Rods and it has a “hard” rear end.”
In addition to the chassis design, another big change for the team is the utilization of a screw blower system for this season. That quickly equates to a significant increase in horsepower compared to standard 20% overdrive Pro Mod racing.
“There is no doubt with the screw deal that this is a whole new beast,” Jeff admitted. “The car is a lot more aggressive because of all the additional boost so tuning it has been a learning curve for our crew chief Dave Bankes and all of us. We are all making baby steps with it right now.”
The car was also meticulously built extremely lightweight and that combined with the “outlaw” supercharger is pointing the team directly at future potential ADRL event engagements.
“Overall things are progressing nicely,” Roth continued. “Once we feel capable of running 3.70 secs and 190 mph to the 1/8th mile we would like to try our luck at some ADRL events. Our focus remains within the PMRA -- but we are also looking at the ADRL races at Columbus and Rockingham later this season.”
The car’s finishing touch is it’s stunning paint scheme which was a collaborative graphics and painting effort that included Todd Hope, Justin Spencer, Eric Skinner and a John Bear GM dealership.
 In addition to reputed crew chief Dave Bankes, Jim and Jeff Roth rely on key crew members Larry Summerfield and Marc McCrea. McCrea’s new company (Dragstar) is responsible for some of the car’s very unique and innovative components, including the driver’s seat. The team is 100% self-funded however valued associate sponsorship is provided by NGK and Oak Grove Cheese.
A very happy team side note is that somehow between his engagements at the drag strip, Jeff Roth did find the time to get himself engaged. He will marry his fiancé Ashley Medeiros in March of 2010.
(Bruce Biegler Photos)
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