WESTERN DRAG RACING

By Patrick Lambie

The summer of 2023 is proving to be a scorcher in Western Canada, especially out on the dragstrips in Mission, BC and Edmonton, AB with two of the year’s biggest events of the year kicking off the season along with record setting Pro Mod action.

Drag race fans in British Columbia’s lower mainland received a Canada Day long weekend treat with Doorwarz 11

Since its inaugural running in 2013, Doorwarz has grown to be the premiere event on the Mission Raceway calendar and the 2023 edition did not disappoint with one of the largest fields ever including hometown favourite and current NHRA Pro Mod points leader Justin Bond.

Friday qualifying action was intense with Bond setting the bar high with 1/8th mile Pro Mod track records for ET and MPH with a 3.684 second run at 205.2 mph, only to have Jordan Lazic follow up and increase the ante with a new record 208.82 mph.

Saturday’s Pro Mod action included final qualifying as well as an added bonus of the semi finals and finals from May’s rain interrupted Full Blown Frenzy, which saw Lazic pick up the winners trophy for the first West Coast Pro Modified event of the season.

Sunday Pro Mod action saw a full day with four complete rounds of eliminations. While Bond would go one to take the final win and a $10,000 cheque, the depth of the 16-car

West Coast Pro Modified field meant that he had to deliver his A-game, which included a final round 3.73 second 1/8th mile run at 202.89 mph to defeat Lazic and pick up his first ever Doorwarz trophy.

Other winners at the 2023 edition of Doorwarz included Jordan Brandon in Outlaw X275 and Vanessa Richards in Unlimited Street, both picking up their second successive Doorwarz trophies.

Fan favourite Nate Gagnon took home the win in Top Fuel Harley with a 6.54 second ¼ mile run at 214 mph, while John De Jonge prevailed to work his way through the packed 42-car Door Slammer ladder to defeat Scott Robinson in the final.

Rad Torque Raceway

Just a few short days later, Western Canada’s drag racing attention turned to RAD Torque Raceway, in Leduc, AB.

The track is 20 minutes south of the province’s capital city of Edmonton, where the 20th anniversary running of the Rocky Mountain Nationals brought together a top-shelf field of Nitro Funny Cars and Fuel Altereds as well as the third round of the West Coast Pro Modified 2023 season.

With this round being run as a West Cost Pro Modified promo points event, where racers get 10 points for each completed run, the potential points haul was substantially less than the four major points events on the 2023 schedule, but the Pro Mod race still drew a ten-car field including cur- rent season point leader Jordan Lazic.

Following qualifying sessions on Friday and Saturday, the final field of eight cars that would head to Sunday’s elimination rounds was set with Saskatoon’s Mike Gondziola narrowly edging out Lazic by less than .03 of a second to relegate him to second and take top stop on the ladder with a 3.852 second 1/8th mile run at 193.63 mph.

Sunday eliminations saw Lazic make his third appearance of the season in the final round, this time lining up against Gondziola, who had successfully struggled through the quarter- and semi-finals.

At the line it was Lazic picking up his second win of the season and, thanks to the ten points per run, extending his healthy lead in the season standings.

Other highlights from the Rocky Mountain Nationals included event wins by Ryan Hodson in the Nitro Nostalgia Funny Car class and an appearance by NHRA Pro Stock star Dallas Glenn who took time out between signing autographs to compete in the Top Dragster class.

The West Cost Pro Modified series will remain focused on Edmonton for the next couple of events, with a second promo points race scheduled for the August 9 Hot August Nights followed by the major points Just Send It event August 11 to 13.

After that, they return to Mission for the Augst 25 to 27 Smoke, Fire and Thunder race and the September 30 to October 2 West Coast Outlaw Shootout IT