POWER TWINS / PARTS CANADA all bike drags in Edmonton July 27/28 

Once again Edmonton's weather kept the C.M.D.R.A. guessing as to whether or not the race was going to happen. Thankfully, both qualifying and eliminations were able to be completed, but not without some hurry up and wait time. Our hats are tipped to the competitors for their focus and their discipline in between the rounds. The show was presented at an accelerated pace and down time between rounds was kept to a minimum, so the Top Fuel crews really got to show their skills in preparing their equipment for the following rounds. Another bonus to being able to pull off the show so speedily was that there was very little breakage on the track so the show carried on at a good pace. C.M.D.R.A. directors Mike Downey and Pete Nichols were acting as the staging lane coordinators and did a fine job of maintaining order at the start line, and Budweiser Motorsports Park supplied the starter and safety guys, who also did a great job. Thanks Guys. 

As with any other race, the "Screamin' Eagle" Nitro Series finished off with a Top Fuel show to be remembered. After qualifying fifth, hometown boy Ken Kent, owner of Edmonton Harley Davidson, pulled it out of the bag with a 197.15 mph pass at7.07 seconds to beat out Dave O'Hara of Dave O'Hara Race Technologies, one of this races sponsors. Ken also had the best E.T at 6.98 seconds, which moved him ahead of the #1 qualifier Ron Houniet in the second round of eliminations, in the first round of eliminations, Ken had the best reaction time in the Top Fuel category, and just to round out the whole package, Ken set a track record for top M.P.H. in the class at 199.73 M.P.H. This was a good day for Ken Kent! Non-qualifiers and first round losers in the fuel classes and Pro Modified (metric bikes) are invited to compete in a winner take all bonus race called a "Chicago Style Shootout". Another Edmonton racer, George Welch of Welch's Motorcycle Repair, proudly walked off with the $500.00 prize for the fastest of the seven competitors in that race. Incidentally, the final round was George competing against Pro Dragster newcomer Jody York who is riding George's former bike. In the Pro-Fuel class, Steve Heidner from Washington took first place with a very respectable E.T. of 7.108 seconds at 175.33 mph to beat out Chris Gartman's rear engine creation, who claims that he's still working on the tune and expects to do better in Ashcroft. 

Al Miles, yet another hometown racer, of F.F.R.Racing took the trophy for first place in Pro-Dragster, and He maintains the first place position in points as well. Steve Cromb, last years first place points champion, is in second this year and he also finished second at this race. 

Terry Schweeigert is no stranger to first place in the Pro-Modified class, but this time he was given the win by Wally Dwelsdorf who got a red light in the final round. 

In the Pro Stock class, Dan Whyte, one 'o them Country Boys, made the trip from Manitoba worth the drive by taking the first place plaque, overcoming Rick McElheran from Alberta. The Modified Class was a bit of a logistical nightmare at the end of the day with no finalists. Second place goes to Ross Cuthbertson and his Drag On racing team, and Steve Graf was awarded semi-finalist points. The Super Gas class was about half the size of normal, with only six competitors, but the action was no less intense. Doug Ainsworth had a consistent 0.42 reaction time in all three rounds, and he must have psyched out John Fyvie, who is no slouch with the lights himself. Doug came out on top with a "gimme" as John Fyvie red lit in the final. Good try John! Even the Super Bike class was unusually smaller, but it appears that the same intensity was evident. In the final, Will Ehle, after qualifying fifth, took the first place plaque over the number 12 qualifier Mike Stairs. 

The street class guys always have lots of fun, because they get to really challenge their street legal bikes to the max, and most of these guys don't mind "hot Lapping" their machines, which is what they had to do for us to be able to pull off the show before the rain came back. Typically, the run order gets reversed for the final round so the fuel guys have time to get their bikes prepared for the final, and the Trophy and street classes race the second round, then come right back for the final, and the run order goes back up to Top Fuel. So thanks to those guys for being race ready. In street class, Rob Dunn got the first place plaque and a bonus $200.00 from Dave Rozak of Coldwell Banker Panda Realty, special thanks to Dave for supporting the sport. Steve Morris, the number one qualifier took the second place plaque. Finally, in the trophy class, only a few competitors came out to play, and one of them was Ken Kent's daughter Koreen, a future top fuel racer? She's going to have to work on her times a bit. First place plaque went to Jason McVicar, and Greg Weflen got the second. 

Overall, it was a successful weekend, and we pulled it off without anybody getting hurt. Special thanks to Edmonton Harley Davidson for being the trophy sponsor for this race.