CANADA HEADS UP DRAG RACING

CHU - Shootout Series has a jam-packed pre-season leading into its 5 race weekend schedule

With files from CHU

The Canada Heads Up - Shootout Series

(CHU) kicked off the new season at the Toronto Motorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo, in March, where the series had a large display in the Racing Zone area, featuring many of the series’ four- and twowheel racing vehicles. The CHU display was active throughout the show with host Ian Hill making announcements and welcoming 2023 series presenting partners Speedwire Systems, Sokoloff Injury Lawyers and Headrush Tatoo & Apparel.

“We were very pleased at the number of spectators attending the show through the weekend,” said series director Ian Hill. The CHU booth was filled with nine bikes and six cars. The weekend featured the annual CHU drivers meeting on the Saturday afternoon, in the Racing Zone.

“That was followed by the Fast Eddie Drag Race Night of Champions, where many of our 2022 champions were recognized for their efforts and accomplishments last season. And on Saturday night, as we hosted out annual networking party in the CHU booth, which was very well attended.”

During the casual get together, food and refreshments were served in the CHU display making for a great end to a busy day at the show.

Following Motorama, the next pre-season event for the series was the Membership Meeting, scheduled for the end of April in Woodbridge, ON. Eighty racers and team members were on hand to register for the upcoming season and to receive the latest updates, including the latest facility upgrades at Toronto Motorsports Park (TMP), the host track for all CHU events.

Representatives of TMP gave those in attendance news about the new timing system

NEW TIMING SYSTEM FOR TMP Story Courtesy TMP

As part of Toronto Motorsports Park’s commitment to providing the best race experience for fans and racers, the southern Ontario facility is pleased to announce a major new improvement in advance of the 2023 racing season.

After researching options for the past which are currently being

The meeting ended with an openfloor, round table discussion in which the racers and teams got to weigh in with their ideas and any concerns they had heading into the season.

The next time the race teams will officially gather will be Opening Day, June 2, at TMP. Once again, this season, CHU teams will have an opportunity to test on Fridays prior to the start of each race weekend.

This will be followed by Pro Category Saturday qualifying and Sunday Eliminations. New for 2023, the series has introduced separate Saturday and Sunday eliminators for all indexes 6.0 to 7.50, as well 7.90 and 9.30 Bikes. These two-day, two-race classes will join Jr. Dragsters and the Bike & Sled classes, using this format.

Similar to previous seasons, Canada Heads Up event champions will receive a ‘Big Cheque’ as they build their point totals chasing the series championships. Racers are competing for cash prizes and custom trophies. Series champions are celebrated at the annual year-end banquet, which had year, TMP’s dragstrip will have a new timing system when racers take to the track this Spring.

Following extensive consideration, TMP has selected Portatree Timing Systems for its new system.

The Uxbridge, Massachusetts-based company will begin installation this week.

As well, Portatree will work with TMP

265 people in attendance last season.

Paul Bhawan’s Datsun collected enough points in 2022 to be crowned champion as he found his path in the high 4.20/ low 4.30 zone at every event. Paul’s Splitfire Performance team is also a series supporter for 2023 and they’re looking to start the season as strong as they finished last season.

Team DIRCOM’s EZ Street Mustang dominated Ian Hill Racing Production’s (IHRP) events in 2022. Rob Orofiamma drove his way into a string of #1 qualifiers, event wins, EZ Street’s ET record and the Smackdown6 Limited28s ‘No Time’ win. Team DIRCOM is back for 2023 and are expected to be front-runners in the class.

All five series race weekend will take place at TMP, with events schedule for: June 2-4, July 14-16, Aug. 11-13, Sept. 8-10 and Sept. 29 – Oct. 1. Hill invites fans to come out and enjoy a weekend of heads-up racing and all that the experience includes.

The CHU – Shootout Series is an Ian Hill Racing Productions series. For more info, visit ianhillracing.com or go to the Canada Heads Up Facebook page. IT staff to train them on the proper use of the new ‘state of the art’ system.

TMP would like to thank Allison Doll and Al Smyth, both of Portatree, for their efforts to bring the project to fruition.

Included in the work will be a facelift for the track’s scoreboards. Stay tuned for additional information regarding this project. IT