6 minute read
Canadian Connection
Story by John Waldie
The Canadian drag racing community was shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden passing of Barry Paton, the patriarch of the Paton Racing team, while the Top Fuel operation was competing at the recent NHRA event in Dallas, TX. He was 78.
Dubbed ‘The Captain’ because of his military and commercial flying background, Paton – from Paris, ON – was also a member of the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame and the Canadian Drag Racing Hall of Fame.
A talented drag racer, himself, Paton added to his legend guiding his son, Todd, to NHRA and IHRA success, including a pair of IHRA World Championship trophies.
Barry Paton was truly our country’s ultimate drag racing ambassador.
In my opinion, there were several factors that made Barry’s contribution to our sport so significant. One was his intense passion to compete in the ultimate Top Fuel eliminator category. The other was his unique ability to support our sport at the local track level. And he did both at the same time.
Just last summer, his team performed at both Toronto Motorsports Park and at Grand Bend Motorplex, at national event levels. I had the pleasure of observing both events from the announcer’s deck and Race Control, seeing his cars perform in the 3-second and 300 mph ranges, at 1,000 feet.
From Barry’s very beginning in Stock and Super Stock – through his journey with his sons Todd and Tony that resulted in IHRA Top Alcohol World Championships – and ultimately competing in the NHRA Top Fuel Eliminator category, Barry never forgot to mentor us all at the local level.
He possessed the unique ability to assemble the very best volunteer crews, and constantly evolve the team’s equipment to achieve record-matching performances south of the border.
Likewise, Barry encouraged sponsors and local track facilities to partner in providing fans with the ultimate drag race experiences in their own backyard.
Upon hearing of Barry’s passing, Toronto Motorsports Park’s Neil Armstrong recalled some of his many casual conversations with Barry, and the impact they had on all of us. One thing was clear, once you became Barry’s friend it was a lifetime relationship!
Barry Paton has undoubtedly left our 54 Inside Track Motorsport News
(Above) The Canadian drag racing community is honouring the late Barry Paton.
‘The Captain’ passed away a few weeks ago. Photo by Brennan Shortall
sport in a much better place than when he found it. And for that – on behalf of myself and the entire Canadian drag racing community – I say, ‘Thank you, Captain.’
We offer our heartfelt condolences to Barry Paton’s family and friends.
JUSTIN BOND
In the wake of the recent conclusion to the 2022 FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by D-Wagon season, at Texas Motorplex, we felt it was a most appropriate time to interview Canadian Justin Bond, from Mission, British Columbia.
Asked about his remarkable season and the main highlights he’ll look back upon, he said, “Winning our event in Topeka, Kansas (Heartland Motorsports Park) and defeating the legendary Rickie Smith, in the final, were definite standouts.”
The Topeka win – in his ProCharger-powered, JBS Motorsports, Bahrain Racing-backed Camaro – was the third of Bond’s career. He ultimately finished fourth in the final NHRA Pro Mod standings, in 2022. But those weren’t his only stellar moments, as he also ran a 5.67 in 2022, and was a solo ‘number 3’ qualifier at another event.
Hearing that stat, I figured that’s how his peers in the inner circle of the Pro Mod wars have tagged him with the nickname “Justin Agent 0056 Bond.”
According to Bond the Pro Mod class is currently in a rebuilding mode, and notes it’s heading the right way. He says the level of competition is the best ever, the class is very well funded and benefits from having its own television show on Fox Sports 2 (FS2).
Continuing to discuss the highly competitive nature of the tour, Bond continued, “We have five different power adders – roots and screw blowers, turbos, nitrous and the pro charger combination I currently utilize. The cars compete within the closest of margins ever. We have a variety of contemporary and classic body styles – such as own ‘69 Camaro) – and we have ten different world class facilities to race at.”
Looking ahead to 2023, Bond has a new car in the works. “It’s currently at my shop, in Georgia, for final wiring, plumbing, etc., but I haven’t made a final choice of power adder.”
Discussing the travel that comes with his racing career, Bond and his Bahrain 1 teammate Khalid Al Balooshi travelled across two countries to compete at an event in Bond’s home province of BC, in 2022, and the Canadian hopes to repeat the outing in the future. Bond noted that Al Balooshi travels all around the world to promote the class and sport.
The third teammate is former series champ Steve ‘Fast’ Jackson, who is likely second only to John Force when it comes to entertaining drag racing social media.
Asked about his experiences in the sport, Bond concluded, “Ours is an amazing category with lots of variety, and incredibly fast and exciting competition on a world stage. I certainly appreciate the fans, my fellow competitors and sponsors – local and international – that allow me to do this.” IT
(Above) Mike Konopacki secured his second consecutive Race Cayuga Sportsman Series title, at the October 23 finale at TMP. (Below) Footbrake racer Bill Thompson blasted out of the starting
blocks quickly, in 2022, and cruised to the championship. Photos by Blake Farnan
RACE CAYUGA SPORTSMAN SERIES Story by Deryk Stevens
The Race Cayuga Sportsman Series (RCSS) wrapped up its 2022 season on the October 22-23 weekend.
It was a season full of great times and even better racing, with some new faces appearing in the Winner’s Circle, joining some familiar ones.
In Bike/Sled action, the 2021 points champ, Mike Konopacki, continued his success and raced his Kawasaki ZX10 to multiple event wins in 2022 en route to his second championship in as many years.
Konopacki wasn’t the only one to secure back-to-back championships at the final race weekend, as Mark Menicnin pulled off the same feat in the Modified class.
Blake Sutton was able to pull ahead of the pack to take the top spot in Super Pro, holding off Bob Jennings and Jeff Digman, who were close behind him.
Bob Richards also had a notable season, posting multiple wins in Super Pro, making the finals in Modified (against Sutton), and also putting together a perfect package at one point during season.
From the first race of the season, it looked to be Bill Thompson’s year in Footbrake, as he was in the first three finals of the campaign, winning two of them. He rode that momentum to the end of the season to become the class champ.
The Quick Sportsman division championship went to KC Kovacs, while Mya James closed out her Jr. Dragster career on a high note, as a points champion. She has not ‘aged out’ of that division. IT
