CANADA HEADS UP SERIES

Profiling The 2022 Class Champions

With files from CHU

While Mother Nature spent much of the summer of 2022 cooling things down with sub-normal temps and rain, the point chase of Canada Heads Up – Shootout Series (CHU) presented by Speedwire Systems, Maxima Racing Oil and Nash Competition Engines managed to crank up the temperature with every race.

The CHU point series consisted of five races. Championship awards were funded with a mixture of the Points Membership fund and moneys collected from the series’ sponsors.

Each class champion receives a special, one-off, large plaque that features their championship vehicle.

The second- and third-place finishers will also receive a recognition award, at the year-end banquet.

Paul Bhawan won the VP Racing Super Street points series. The team’s blue Datsun qualified No. 2 at two races and won the third race of the season. Add those results to him going a few rounds at the other races and Paul narrowly clinched the championship by less than two rounds.

Sokoloff Injury Laywers EZ Street’s Rob Orafiamma and Team

DIRCAM had an outstanding season. They became the first nitrous-powered entry in the class to hit the 4.5-second range and set the class ET record, all en route to winning the points championship. In addition to winning one race, Team DIRCAM earned Top Qualifier honours at three events, and timed in No. 2 at another.

Chris Brohman drove the team’s ‘69 Camaro Pro Mod to the championship in the Bears Performance 4.20 Pro Mod class, last season. While this newly introduced class drew a limited number of entries, the Brohmans’ performance numbers were not limited, in the least. Chris drove to three No. 1 qualifier top spots and added a win to take the championship.

Bryon Treveld overcame the competition in what was probably one of the hardest classes to win, in the Pro categories, in 2022. Five Nine Motorsports Street275 is easily the largest class on the Pro category side of the ladder, and the top-five finishers were all within striking distance all-season long.

Treveld took the championship by twice taking top qualifier honours and a single event win. The effort was good enough to end up just one round’s worth of points over the runner-up.

Dylan Stevens drove the team’s Fox Body Mustang to the championship circle by posting No. 1 qualifier times on two occasions in 2022. He added a win and set the ET record in the Sokoloff Injury Laywer’s 5.0 Warriors class. Not only did Dylan drive to a record run, but the team nailed it, ‘dead on,’ with a 5.000 ET to lock up the record for all future races!

The RM Racing Lubricants King of the Streets class (KOTS) saw Jesse Vanbetlehem (Mr. 200 MPH) climb to the top of the points chase, at the season finale. After a consistent battle with his nearest challenger, Jesse and his team drove to the top powered by two event wins and three No. 1 qualifier efforts.

Nick Kempers’ rode the clutch to perfection in 2022. And the championship he won proves he is one bad-ass driver! Kempers qualified within the top-three at every event during the season. Throw in an event win and the class MPH record, and Kempers earned his trip to the champions’ photo shoot.

Mike Pereira tallied three No. 1 qualifier awards, two #2 markers, a pair of event wins and an ET record last season, collecting enough points to win the Crazy8s class by more than three rounds over his nearest rival.

Kory Staveley won his championship based on a season-long stretch of consistent runs. Boosted by one top qualifying spot and one win, Staveley was able to hold off the rest of the field to secure the title in the Low9s class. He also finished the season as the division’s MPH record holder.

The ICD Insurance Sportsman classes all grew in popularity in 2022. And aside from the 7.50 index, all the class champions dominated their respected classes.

The 7.50 championship was won with a four-point spread. Congratulations to the following racers on their division championships: 5.50: Dan Morrison; 6.0: Mike Thompson; 6.50: Joe Muro; 7.0 Chevy: Lightheart; 7.50: Peter Spinelli; and Priority Collision’s Jr. Dragster champion Cole Ferri. IT