VI Performance

2 Issue 1 e Volum

s ’ d n a l s I r e v u o c Van u l t u re

C m o t Cus a z i n e Mag

Centerfold Pin-Up

Movie Cars

s Cassidy Speedway r e t ea B s ’ Rumble on the Runway r e d a Re Motocross

CONTENTS 3 4 5 6 8

Custom Culture

9 10 12 14 15 16 18 22 26 28

Joshua Whitenuts

About the Publisher Braggin’ Rights DQ’s Dirt on the Drift Movie Cars Younger Than Yesterday SEMA Pics Reader’s Beaters Eye Candy Centerfold Pinup Western Speedway 2011 Rumble on the Runway 2011 Rambler on the Runway Motocross: The Greatest Sport in the World!

30 Cassidy Speedway CONTACT: 250-802-5652 viperformance@shaw.ca www.viperformance.ca Publisher: Mona-Lisa Carstensen Logo Design: Don MacKay Editors: Gord MacKay Graphic Design: Mona-Lisa Carstensen Writers: Mona-Lisa Carstensen, DiscoQuinn, Ken Keating, Caile Donaldson, Jim Muir , David C. Atkin & Jarrod Brown of Oversteer Magazine Photography: Powder Puff Photography, Mike Backe, Divine Photography, Many Shades Photography, Patrick Mulvaney Photography, Gord MacKay and Mona-Lisa Carstensen

VI Performance Magazine is published by Static Entertainment & Publishing.

Articles do not necessarily reflect the official company policies or opinions. Although this is a free magazine, Subscriptions requested for direct delivery may incur a handling & shipping fee which varies according to quantity and area of delivery. |2|

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Custom Culture C

ustom Culture is an American neologism used to describe art work, vehicles, hair styles, and fashion. The term comes from the early 1950’s in the United States when the youth wanted to rebel against the system. The sect that this article will talk most about is custom cars, and automotive icons from that time era.

The ideas of the custom culture have survived, and are still strong even today. Obviously, there are a lot more way to customize a car these days then there were back then. The difference between then and now is that the customization happens in shops, rather than in the garages of the car owners.

In the early days of hot rodding, there were many styles and ways of doing things. Over the years this sub culture has evolved into a huge business, making many people famous along with it.

The people who influenced the custom culture back in the day like ED (Big Daddy) Roth, and Dean Jefferies became icons of the people involved in the subset. Still to this day people know who Rat Fink is. Ed (Big Daddy) |

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Roth was the genius behind the creation of Rat Fink to show his dislike for things that were happening.

that came from this era goes on and on. There is probably not enough computer storage space on the planet to name them all.

This sub culture encompassed many different areas of interest, other than just cars. There was a large section of motorcycle enthusiasts who really embodied the idea of anarchy and disdain for the system. These days that section has become ‘hard-core’.

TV shows like American Hot Rod, and Overhaulin’ are throwbacks to the days that developed a huge following of people who watch every episode. As time goes on there will be more of these shows put on TV, and they will always draw a huge audience of viewers.

Graffiti would spring off this culture also, and would become a huge problem during the 1980’s, and 1990’s. People discontinued building custom parts for their cars and motorcycles, in turn leaving it to the aftermarket, and custom machine shops that became destined to make a mint off these parts.

People love to look at custom cars, and watch them being built.

The latest addition to the scene is the kids of today building the import cars, now seen in movies like ‘The Fast & Furious’. Times may change, but the passion for building cool cars doesn’t!

– by David C. Atkin

www.articlesbase.com/authors/ david-c-atkin/251715

Chuck Barris came from this era also. He is best known for building the ‘Bat Mobile’ that was used in the TV show from the 1960’s, Bat Man. This car is still displayed today in car shows, and Chuck is still signing autographs. He is a true icon of the custom culture.

A hot rod was only as limited as your imagination, and people were doing wild things with their cars. The idea was to have a car that nobody else had ever seen and that could beat most other cars in a drag race. Drag racing also came from this sub culture.

You may know a few of the people who grew up during this era.

To name a few of them, Chip Foose learned from his dad Sam Foose who grew up in the middle of this era. He hung out with Vic Edelbrock; who as we all know created Edelbrock Performance Parts.

Sam and Vic were around during this time era building hot rods out of a two bay garage in California. The list of famous people VI PERFORMANCE MAGAZINE

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VI Performance Magazine About The Publisher

People

often ask why I’m publishing a custom culture magazine. I would have to say that the biggest influence driving me to this passion in life comes from my older brother.

I grew up on a little hobby farm in Saanich, just outside of Victoria, BC. My older brother, Shawn Carstensen bought his very first car when he was sixteen. The luck bestowed upon this young, die-hard Chevy fan was incredible! He actually found this beautiful Chevy Malibu in prestine condition from a taxi driver in Victoria. The love of his car kept him busy polishing and upgrading on a continuous basis. For starters, he ripped out the engine the car came with and replaced it with a hungry 454 big block!

Shawn found that traffic lights seemed to get his heart pumping if there was a possible contender at his side waiting for that light to go green. His foot became extremely heavy and from the first time he drove his car home, he managed to collect points. Now this may seem positive, but it wasn’t really the points you want. Shawn’s thirst for adrenalin drew attention fom sources he didn’t necessarily desire, so he took it to the track.

Shawn became involved in drag racing in Victoria and occasionally in the States. He and his friends would often be tuning their pride & joy at our little two acre parcel of land.

I’m pretty sure I was very much a nuisance and always in the way of my brother and his friends, but nevertheless, I grew up in awe of the power and beauty of those machines.

My brother and his friends frequently competed, yet they also helped tune each others’ cars in preparation for racing against each other. Although I heard much rivalry and derogatory comments amongst

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the brands of cars, especially Chevy versus Ford, I can honestly say I don’t prefer one brand over the other. I love most cars!

I’ll never forget the day my brother was babysitting me while on one of the regular cruises to meet up with ‘the guys’ . He hung a hundred dollar bill from the rear view mirror and said, “If you can reach that bill when I step on the gas and release the brake pedal, you can keep it”.

I was up for the challenge! I crouched into my seat with my elbows bent in preparation to reach for the bill while the engine wailed in anticipation of release. The tires screamed as their skin melted to the pavement leaving me gasping for air while trying to see the bill through the ghastly smelling smoke. Then came the release which threw me back into the seat...I was pinned in my seat and hooked for life! I had never felt that kind of rush before and long to feel it ever since!

In the end, I came out no richer then when I went in that beautiful beast, but man did I ever develop a grin and desire for more! One day, I’ll have my own car to restore and show off and maybe even get behind the wheel of my own powerful machine, but for now I’ll adore and share your wonderful machines with the readers of VI Performance Magazine and viewers of the VI Performance website and social networks!

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I am grateful to my family for their patience and support while I take on this endeavor and thankful for my advertisers for their patience as I struggle to get this magazine published.

Sincerely, Mona-Lisa Carstensen |

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s g g g R i h t r a i n B ’

Port Alberni holds a secret with this busy little shop pumping out beautiful custom rides! VI Performance was at Port Alberni’s “Thunder in the Valley” show & shine, when this one of a kind ‘Rat Rod’ was spotted.

We just had to find the person responsible for such an eye catcher, so we searched the show until first place was awarded to Underground Performance who also received first place for their gorgeous orange & black chopper. (Seen below) We organized a photo shoot with Divine Photography and her models at Underground Performance. The results...

Divine Photography (778) 421-4969 | MUA: Larissa Trites 250-240-9074

Adrienne wagner from Ladysmith, BC prettyin_pink1@ hotmail.com Melissa Thomas from Parksville, BC mel_t_honeybee@ hotmail.com |

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DQ’s Dirt on the Drift New to Drifting?

Catch the drift with DQ from the Capital Drift car club in Victoria, BC!

I

know some of you are not aware of drifting on the island, but it’s here, and to be honest, is one of the premiere places in all of Canada to come drift. It is fair to assume that most people know of drifting, but not everyone. Drifting is the act of making a car over steer purposely around a corner or series of corners. The more sideways you do so, the better. It’s a pretty simple

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concept really, just like in action movies where the bad guys slide around corners, drifting is a stylish motoring activity.

What most people don’t know, and why I call it an activity, is that it isn’t truly a motorsport.

Although competitions exist for it, they are not the focus of drifting at all. The activity of drift is an all inclusive lifestyle with cars, a sport really is defined by competition, but because drifting is not timed or measured with any sort of numbers, it’s focus really is on building a community of good friends, while constantly improving yourself and your car. What does all this mean? It means you can come have fun, while flexing your skills, and learning new driving techniques. Money and resources are not the dominating force of success in this activity, rather driving skill; creativity and ingenuity both in driving

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and building have the greatest rewards. Here competition does exist, but for the most part this rivalry is with yourself. You are competing against your limit of fear, your observations of input and reaction. During our competitions, the other driver is merely a dynamic object to keep up with and/or avoid. Don’t misinterpret this though; drifting is an extremely technical sport. A large chunk of your time is put in building a vehicle that can handle the dynamic requirements of the abuse of drifting. Many technical considerations to the design of these cars can be exciting and engrossing. However, in the end, it truly boils down to bravery and skill when it comes to being behind the wheel, the results are often guessed correctly according to an observation of the driver attitude, rather than what they drive.

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What makes drifting different on the island? The community is extremely strong here; from Parksville to Victoria there is a great group of both guys and girls who enjoy interacting with each other on and off the track.

Small businesses have sprung up from the local drifting events, providing car building services, parts, and maintenance. Teams have started introducing themselves as the scene grows. The events on the island are more relaxed and affordable, than most other places in Canada. This is part of the strength of the scene here. This allows the island drift scene to be very welcoming and inclusive. People have time to focus on their cars, and the relationships of other drivers around them, rather than the useless stresses of thick rulebooks and high entry fees.

Anyone is welcome to come out, have a good time, and learn.

There are always open arms locally, and for the most part, a small social group within the larger one willing to accept more members. There are practices and competitions between the two accepting tracks on the island, Western Speedway and Saratoga Speedway. Both hold events and practices as well as competitions, however, the com-

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petitions are merely a measurement of personal improvement, and a way for the crowd to identify who was doing best that day.

How do you get involved? Strictly speaking, to get off on a good foot you need a rear wheel drive vehicle. Automatic is an option, though most drivers prefer a manual transmission. A working hand brake is a necessity to learn, and most cars have hand brakes. A DOT helmet is all that is required for safety, though we strongly suggest shoes and pants. Go to www.capitaldrift. ca for the dates and time of the practices and events. Event days include a lot of practice time as well, so do not be intimidated, you are more than welcome to join practice on competition

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days. Entrance fees are usually around $60 for the day if you pre-register. In car instruction is also available and suggested.

Remember, this is an activity and not a sport, people will be impressed not with the ending results, but the efforts made at self-improvement and a good attitude! All ages are welcome, we have drivers as young as 15 and as old as 65! Almost all rear wheel drive cars are welcome, though most people use Japanese cars, we’ve had German, Korean, American, British, and everything in between come out to slide, and do well! Please contact Capital Drift for more information. –DiscoQuinn, Speed Hero! www.speedhero.wordpress.com Corolla Parts Exchange

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Movie Cars

So who exactly is behind the wheel of those cars that catch your eye as they drive down the street? There are people out there who go to great lengths to not only admire the cars we see on movies and on television, but actually drive them, collect them, and sometimes even build their own.

Herbie is a 1973 VW Super Beetle, the Jurassic Park look alike is a 1992 Ford Explorer and Steven and his mother share ownership of the “General Lee” replica, which is a 1968 Dodge Charger.

He has been entering every possible show & shine since 2007 when he bought Herbie. Herbie and Steven have won three trophies: 1st place in Prince George, 1st place in Quesnel BC, and 3rd place in Hixon BC.

teven Pavich‘s very first car was S a

1978 GMC Sierra 3/4 ton which he got for free., however, Herbie is the first car he ever restored and it took him about a year.

Steven’s favorite project he finished in May of 2011 is his 1968 Dodge Charger otherwise known as the “General Lee” from the TV show, “ Dukes of Hazard”. The Herbie movies and Dukes of Hazard TV show got him started on his hobby.

Many technical difficulties ensued in efforts of getting Herbie ready for shows. He put a brand new engine in “Herbie” which took three weeks to replace. On first start up the pistons were badly manufactured and he had to pull the motor out again.

After he got the new parts and put it back together a week later, he started it up a second time and the camshaft nearly seized, so again the motor was stripped down. So in the end he took it apart three times but, it’s running for the time being.

Steven was born in Prince George but now calls Salt Spring Island home.

This hobby is his life. It is his favorite thing to do. To Steven, there is nothing better than classic and collector cars. According to Steven, “There is no such thing as how much time one can put into cars. It’s like a lifestyle.

They always need something and always need to be driven of course.”

–by Caile Donaldson

Steven currently has three cars.

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Joshua Whitenuts

“Josh is always up to crazy antics, f luorescent colors and sick lines making him possibly the most vibrant person at any given Capital Drif t event...”

The drift culture on Vancouver Island

has been growing for some time now.

Track Rentals were rare back in the day, as it was a struggle to get enough cars to pool enough funds together. These days, the Capital Drift guys regulate the amount of cars showing up at each event to a maximum of 30 cars and there’s still more showing up at each event!

In a field of RWD cars, the Nissan 240SX seems to be the choice of many Drifters. One Drifters’ car stands out amongst his competitors’ as it’s not red, black, or white like the majority. By the look of the car, it’s of no surprise that it belongs to Whitenuts… that is Josh Whitenuts, from Deadbeats Garage. Joshs’ cars are all coated with mobile artwork, decals, splattered paint, and more graffiti then a train car. Josh is always up to crazy antics, fluorescent colors and sick lines making him possibly the most vibrant person at any given Capital Drift event held at Western Speedway.

Oversteer Magazine caught up with Josh at the Deadbeats Garage, for an interview.

Oversteer Magazine will be submitting articles to VI Performance Magazine from time to time to help drifters gain more coverage on Vancouver Island. The following are the antics that ensued.

Oversteer Mag: What got you into drifting?

Joshua Whitenuts: Initial D, haha. A buddy showed it to me and I used to rip quads on dirt a lot. At one point we used to go tandem and have people come out and watch from the sidelines. Like 20-30 peeps and stacks of tires. But now it’s gotten all heaty and the cops know about the places. We mostly

stick to western speedway events now.

it doing some downhill slides, ha-ha!

Oversteer: What chassis’ have you drifted?

Oversteer: How many 240’s have you owned?

Whitenuts: my first drift car was a bone stock ae86, then I had an FC RX7, a 70’s corona, 240’s, a BMW e30 325is, ’03 BMW M3, and my dad’s 68 fastback mustang.

Oversteer: Wow where do I start: ok let’s go for the M3. How did that happen?

Whitenuts: it was my dad’s friends; supercharged 500+ hp it was sick once we got the track control sorted out ha-ha.

Oversteer: Let’s hear the story on the mustang!

Whitenuts: It’s my dad’s. It’s a 351w, 4 speed coils, cage and a bunch of chassis mods. I took it out 2 times. The first time it was dry and the clutch was kind of slipping, so it was 2nd gear mostly. I hate steering boxes, and it has a foot brake so everything was power in and clutch kick. The second time I took it out, it was a wet day. It was freaking legit! - Linking the big-bank in 3rd gear and downshifting to 2nd for the infield. We were doing tandems and everything was great then, I took it for a 15 minute straight run and parked in the pits. It started smoking so my dad popped the hood and it was on fire!

Later, we found out it was MSD related. My dad laughed about it.

Oversteer: Wow your dad sounds chill!

How was drifting the e30?

Whitenuts: It’s funky. It’s like a corolla, but more power and angle. It was grippy. It just wanted to grab a lot, but when you forced it to slide, it went so well. I once lost a wheel on

Whitenuts: Six. Oversteer: What’s your favorite 240 model?

Whitenuts: I like ’em all. My verts rare, but I just get a hard-on when I look at my hatch with skyline tails.

Oversteer: I noticed you have five 240s at the shop and one SR-20.

Whitenuts: Ha-ha, yea. I just put it all in the car I’m driving at the time. It has an S-15 Turbo, injectors, and a standalone ECU, and it’s running 14 psi of boost. My first Silvia blew up after one month, but I do still slide stock KAs sometimes.

Oversteer: Most of us have seen you drift and I’ve heard rumors…Are you sponsored?

Whitenuts: Yea, by Joel Fox @ Platform Garage and the Tire Exchange.

Oversteer: Rumor has it you have been invited to big events.

Whitenuts: I applied to enter DMCC Pro and Pro-Am for four events. I showed them my footage and they welcomed me, but they have stopped doing events in western Canada now. I also got invited to PGP, and Big-Foot Bash by Pete S. from Neptune Drift.

Oversteer: Well, we wish you the best for this coming season. Keep ’em smokin’ bud!

–by Jarrod Brown

Article submission by Jarrod Brown –Coming to you from Vancouver Island! Find them on Facebook!

Oversteer Magazine is something thats going to spread like wildfire. Our goal is to put out a quartley magazine to start, highlighting canadian drift events, drifters, and photographers...

Stay ‘Tuned’! |

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C ar

Tune s

–Not

just another forgettable wallpaper bar band...these guys actually put on costumes and get into the whole experience! On top of that, they are solid players, tight vocals, tight guitar, and a slick, polished tone. These guys know they’re cover-band shit, and bring a style to it that must be a crowd-pleaser.Their show schedule proves this!

VI

Performance Magazine caught up with the band, “Younger Than Yesterday” and interviewed bassist, Dan Politano about life as a cover band, the band’s vision of success, and why they chose the path they follow. Here’s the juice on this excellent cover band you just have to see live!

Q: First, who is in this band?

This 5 piece band includes: Dan Politano - Bass, Vocals Bryan Politano - Lead Singer Dean Gibbs - Guitar, Vocals Russ Alert - Drums Josh Weed - Guitar, Keyboards

How did this get star ted?

A: I (Dan) put an ad online on livevictoria.com looking to start a sixties band. I has this idea of dressing up like early sixties bands and wearing wigs for the part. Dean Gibbs responded to that ad. | 10 |

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We rehearsed for a while and made lists of songs we should do. He had seen Russ playing in another band, liked him, so he called him up and he was a perfect fit. Bryan, who is also my dad came in a couple months later and joined as lead singer. Josh has only been with us since March.

be cool if I could find a name of an album from the sixties that we could use. I came across Younger Than Yesterday and thought it was great. I suggested it to the rest of the band and they all agreed.

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Q: USTREAM describes you as a “sixties cover band.”

Would you say that’s an overQ: From looking at your show simplification of what you’re schedule, there seems to be a trying to do, or are you nothbig demand for you guys. Is ing but just another group of the cover-band scene in Vic- people using someone else’s toria pretty cutthroat, or are hard work and creative expressions to make a name you guys the kingpins? for yourself? What sets you A: All of us in the band want to apart from all the other cover play as much as possible so we bands? try and book as many shows as we can. I know other bands A: Yea we’re a sixties cover around town are happy with band. People enjoy hearing playing once a month. There and dancing to old hits. The are others that play as much as difference with us is we look the part. No other band in Vicwe do. toria that plays the bar scene is Q: So I notice you took your doing that. name from the Byrd’s fourth album. Is that because they Q: Well, despite the fact that influenced your musical style, you’re not even playing anyor because you just liked the thing you wrote yourself, you play it well; the guitar is suwords? per tight, I liked that part a A: I was searching online for a lot. How long have you guys band name. I thought it would been playing together as a VOLUME 1

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cover band? And why even do the cover-band thing? Because you’re extremely solid players...you could be ripping up some originals, maybe.

A: We’ve been together for about 3 years now. Most of us have done the original thing.

I’ve personally released two EP’s, have had four singles played across Canada on Hot AC stations, was a finalist in the 2006 David Foster Star Search, licensed a song to the CTV/ Global series Falcon Beach, and have opened for Bands like Jets Overhead, The Grapes of Wrath and Matthew Good. Doing the covers keeps me home. My dad, Bryan, was in a band called Roxxlyde in the 80s. They were pretty popular and did a lot of touring.

The Decades of Rock Concert.

Three bands, three decades: 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. We started these other bands to fill in dates when Younger Than Yesterday isn’t playing. Since we’ve started, we’ve lost 6 venues that we were playing at. They either decide to not have bands anymore or close down. www.rockofagesband.net www.freeriderockband.com

Q: I checked out your performance on Youtube of the Saanich Strawberry Fest. You guys played Satisfaction by the Stones. Do you only cover the popular sixties numbers, or have you ever thought of doing something a little different, like maybe busting out some Strawberry Alarm Clock or David Axelrod or Electric www.danpolitano.com Prunes? Ever consider expandQ: Do you guys do lessons or ing out the ol’ set list besides studio work or even your own the traditional top 40 ones? projects?

A: We only play hits. We’ve A: Some of the band [is] in a been doing it long enough now band called Rock of Ages. All of that we see what works. If we us are working on a 70’s band play one that nobody really now called Free Ride. We’re go- knows than it clears the dance ing to do the whole dress up floor. We don’t want that. thing just like Younger Than Yesterday but play rock hits Q: Does Younger than Yesterfrom the 70’s. We have our first day ever leave the island, or is show on December 3 at Me- the band a Vancouver Island tropolis Nightclub. It’s going specialty? to be all three bands. It’s called

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A: We have never played off the island and have no plans to yet.

Q: So when you were all young musicians, did you ever envision yourself doing the coverband thing, or did you have other ideas?

A: I can’t speak for everybody else but I never thought I’d be playing covers or playing with my dad. I’m having a great time doing it though. We’re all making more money than we ever have with music. I think deep down every musician wants to “make it”. But as I see now there are definitely different levels of success. This band has been successful.

Q: Tell us about your weirdest experience on-stage. Ever have any old ladies throw their bras at you when you bust out the Floyd or anything?

A: The weirdest thing was at one of our first shows. This big drunk guy decided to start taking off his clothes while we were playing. He got all the way down to his underwear. He cleared the dance floor. It was at the end of the night so we played our last song. He gave us $100 to play a few more songs and then walked out the door.

– by Caile Donaldson

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Las Vegas OCTOBER 2011

Photos by Mike Backe

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Reader’s Beaters T

his beater looks like an average pick- up truck at first glance, but upon inspection, you can see its true potential. Paul Gouda of Friends Dining Lounge uses it as a workhorse for dump runs and various chores, but looking at the interior is what grabbed my attention. This ‘ol truck makes me think of old soda shops with checkered floors and girls in bobbi shorts with pig tails, playing tunes and going to drive in movies.

–Sure would love to see this restoration project completed! –by Mona-Lisa

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E y e Ca ndy

Jayda

Lady s m it h S h ow & S h i n e 2011 brought out all sorts of beauty! VI Performance Maga-

Hailey Cassandra

Ashlyn

zine was there with models, snapping photos, but with so little space to display, we can only show you a few.

You’ll just have to go next year to experience it all!

Models: Ashlyn Surprenant, Hailey Eakins, Jayda Mclauchlin, Cassandra Van Mierlo, Brandi Dawn-Marie and Patrick Justice McNulty.

Brandi

–by Mona-Lisa

Ashlyn

Ashlyn

Hailey

Many Shades Photography | www.manyshadesphotography.com

Cassandra

Patrick

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p.mulvaney187@hotmail.ca

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Kevin Wayne Roberts free-handedly channeled

a ‘47 International cab, over a custom frame, to achieve his desired look for this rat rod! The grill is from a ‘39 dodge that he cut down to match the lines of the stance. The box is off a late 40’s to early 50’s Chevy long box that he cut 14.5 inches from the length and 3.5 inches from either side of the tailgate so that he could keep the Chevrolet emblem intact. It sits in the custom 2x4 boxed frame with a 4” dropped axle up front and a shortened Ford 9” with 3.42 gears and a mini-spool. The cab, grill, box and tunnel ram were bought at the Portland swap meet at separate event years.

The motor is a 383 stroker with a dual tunnel ram manifold and topped by two 525 CFM Demon Jr. carbs. The transmission is a TH350 with a 3500 stall B&M torque converter. The headers are custom made. The rad is in the bed of the truck and the gas tank was found at his grandpas’ farm, which was originally an air tank. He foraged the bomber seats out of a WWII spotter plane from a farm in Duncan, BC. The gauge cluster, also from the Portland swap meet, is from a 37 Plymouth. When he got the cab the entire thing was rusty except for the doors. Those were a dark minty green. So, he stripped the paint off and set them outside with road salt on them for 2 weeks to restore the rusty appeal. It took him about 3 years on and off to build the truck. In 2009, before the Port Alberni drags, he did a 3-week thrash to get it ready in time to race. Last year he drove it to Port McNeill and back with no issues.

He also drove it almost every day during the summer. Kevin would like to thank Terry and Dan as well as his parents for their help, and putting up with all the tire smoke.

Check out his burnout on “Canadian Hot Rods” YouTube page under the title, “Crazy rat rod garage burnout” – by Mona-Lisa

Powder Puff Vixen Photography www.viperformance.ca

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Model: Lissie Loveless Age: 20 Occupation: Sales Associate for Culture Craze Sign: Capricorn Hometown: Woodstock ON Current City: Victoria BC Favorite Tunes: Why don’t you do right- Peggy Lee Bourée- Jethro Tull If I had a boat- James Vincent McMorrow Favorite Vehicle: Mercedes Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe Must haves in life: Love, music, family, and art supplies

Favorite place on Vancouver Island: MacKenzie Beach, Tofino

Contact for paid modelling work: miss.lissie.love@gmail.com

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Western Speedway 2011 Season Review

by Ken Keating

Western

Speedway opened the 2011 race season on April 9th with the Demo Cars, Demo Trucks, Figure 8s, and Bombers. This would mark the start of twenty-eight race events of regular racing plus eleven events with the Wednesday Night Fever, Hornet Series beginning in June. Last year’s Bomber Champion, Brandon Steen, was the first to victory square when he won the Trophy Dash. Drivers were quick to adapt to the twenty second lap time as a result of his win, and even though some drivers received the penalty, it made the Series interesting. Four drivers were in the mix for a Championship by year’s end with Steen, Aaron Cameron, Dennis Stewart, and Jamie Morgan – all in contention on Championship night of October 1st. Steen won his second consecutive Championship by seven points over Cameron with only thirty-six points separating the top four drivers! Over the course of the year, Steen won four Feature events.

Troy Tarbuck set the table on the first night in the Demo Car Series by setting fast time and winning

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the first Feature race for the night.

Greg Sagmoen also had a fast car, placing second in this feature.

Greg put together a season that included six fast times and four features that included a “Clean Sweep” on his way to a Championship. Tarbuck kept the pressure on all season, but Sagmoen had a fifty-two-point advantage in the end. Sagmoen also stated he would retire after this season to spend more time at home.

Kevin Knight served notice that he would be a force to reckon with in the Demo Truck Series. Driv-

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ing one of three Paul Scotthorne owned trucks; he set the fast time and then put together a “Clean Sweep” on the first night. He also set the fast time on four occasions and won five feature events over the season on his way to his first Championship. He has raced a lot of different cars over his career, but excelled with the Demo Trucks.

Kevin had a margin of sixty-three points over last year’s Champion George Haywood. Richard Milne did not race every week but put together quite a run toward the last part of the year taking the fast time five times and four feature events that also included a “Clean Sweep” with an extremely fast truck.

Kyle Rizok, Ashton Campbell, and Rhett Szevics were all in contention for the Figure 8 Championship on October 1st after trading top spot a couple of times.

Sean Welsh and Dan Madden won a feature. Ashton Campbell won twice as did Rory Smith. Kail Beck won five features even though he did not run every event. Kyle Rizok actually thanked Beck for that, on the final night, as he accepted the 2011 Championship by seven points over Campbell and eighteen over Szevics for a very tough Figure 8 season. |

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The Stock Cars, I.M.S. 4 Mini Stocks, and Dwarf Cars made their 2011 debut on April 16th, beginning a season that few could imagine for a couple of drivers. Jim Pridge was fast out of the gate by winning three of four races and setting the fast time for the Dwarf Car Series on opening night. Alex Mouner in the Mini Stock Series duplicated this feat. Over the course of the season, Pridge had two “Clean Sweeps” while setting the fast time on three occasions. Sean Sanger immerged as the season’s Champion. Mike Meeres did not run each event nor did Pridge. All three drivers had extremely fast cars and put on some great races throughout the year.

Mouner, on the other hand, dominated the Mini Stocks most of the season winning seven feature events, two “Clean Sweeps”, and set the fast time in seven events capturing his second consecutive I.M.S. 4 Championship. Rory Smith won the initial race for the Stock Cars while Aaron Wilkie won the feature on the final night of September 24th. In between those events, the #95 car of Ryan Wade’s visited victory square every other event during the 2011 season. Kirk Rompain drove for Ryan on April 30th winning that feature, and from there, Ryan put together six consecutive feature event wins. He was running in third place and threatening to go for the lead, which would have given him a seventh win, but unfortunately, a broken rear end forced him out of the race on championship night. Wade won his fifth consecutive Stock Car Championship, – a feat that had never been done in a single Series before.

The Old Time Racing Association and the WilRoc Lites made their debut on May 21st and for the first time the Lites appeared without their counterparts, – the Winged Sprints. The numbers of cars grew for the Lite Series while the winged cars diminished significantly for 2011. Both Series put on some great racing, especially when the N.S.R.A. cars joined the local Series. Jesse Dardengo captured another Lites Championship, and Darren Yates took the title for the WilRoc Sprint Car Series. The OTRA Series do not race for points, but they did show up to compete each and every event with their brand of open wheel excitement. Tom Cinnamon returned after a long absence in the OTRA Series and made the competition even greater as he also drove a fast car and promising to return for the 2012 season.

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The local Late Model Series opened their season on April 30th with Bart Smith taking the win on opening night. Jason Tarasenko would immerge as the Champion for this Series, – a title he held previously. Wade Bland and Tarasenko were the other feature event winners. One event rained out before the feature event could run.

One of the best-run feature events for the Late Models was held on September 3rd as the ASA Advance Testing Tour ran their last race for 2011. They also crowned a Champion for the tour formerly called the Katana Boat Sportsman Series. All of the cars could be loaded with little difficulty as there were no major accidents throughout the 200 lap event. Korbin Thomas won this particular event but it was Victoria’s Geoff Morris who won the first ever ASA Championship.

Western Speedway hosted several “special events” over the course of 2011 with the first one held on June 10th and 11th. The first special event was the two day Billy Foster / Strawberry Cup with the WilRoc Lites and WilRoc Sprint Car Series. Guy Barrett, Jeff Montgomery, and Scott Aumen all set qualifying speeds under the 14-second mark in the Sprint Car Series with Barrett having the best mark of these three at 13.926.

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around Western Speedway as she set a qualifying time of 13.664, – just over the track record of 13.62.

Scott Aumen won the Billy Foster Memorial Trophy on the Friday night while Rob Scott won the Strawberry Cup on the Saturday night. The Sprints returned for the Cast Iron Nationals on July 16th and Matt Mansell won the Feature event in the Sprint Car Series. This was supposed to be a two-day show, but Mother Nature rained out the Friday night portion of the event. The next major event that featured the Sprint Cars was the prestigious Daffodil Cup held on August 19th and 20th. On the restart, after a crash, Scott Aumen blew past Alberding, coming out of turn four with his patented slide job taking over the lead. Aumen came away with the win followed by Alberding, Jackson, Guy Barrett, and Jeff “The Hurricane” Montgomery in a thrilling race to the finish. Aumen also captured the Kershaw Cup on this night.

Saturday night, Jeff Montgomery

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put on a driving clinic not seen at Western Speedway in some time as he threaded his way through lapped traffic picking off cars on the outside and then the inside, as he literally drove away from the pack to win the Saturday night feature event. After calculating the points over the twoday event, Scott Aumen walked away with his fourth Daffodil Cup victory by a two-point margin over The Hurricane. The top five drivers for the two days were: (1) # 44 Scott Aumen - 369, (2) # 33 Jeff Montgomery - 367, (3) # 76 Andy Alberding - 349, (4) # 25J Sierra Jackson - 328, and (5) # 98H Matt Hein - 326 points.

The Wednesday Night Fever events sponsored by Steve Copp Construction began on June 22nd and continued each week until the final event on August 31st.

With five Trophy Dashes, twelve Heat races, and three feature events, most nights produced several different winners. Young Cole Schuurman surprised many people driving a very fast car like a pro, winning his share of races, including feature events in the Rookie class. Glenn Rand also won his share of races becoming the 2011 Rookie Champion. Cam Stanfield retained his title, winning the Hornet Expert Championship on the final night with a thirty-four-point edge over Garrett Smith. Brenda Leslie was the top Bumblebee driver, winning several feature events over the course of eleven events.

Other Special Events included the Princess & Pirates night held on May 28th with several kids, big and small dressing up and parading their costumes along the front

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stretch. Elton John Night returned again on June 25th, which featured a spectacular car jump. Mr. Dizzy (aka Mike Buse) brought his “Combined Chaos” team from Munroe Washington to perform a four-tier car jump and explosion on this night. Mike Buse is veteran racecar driver and has had much success in auto racing. Mr. Dizzy was born, raised, and still lives in Monroe. His son Wylee (aka Dizzy Jr.) is a huge part of this team and is part of the joint stunts, originally done with his dad. This year Mr. Dizzy has brought on the Crusher and they have become one of the hottest acts out there. The Crusher (aka Josh Beckel) buckled up in his car as crews assembled the ramps and stacked four cars on top of one another as well as a few catch cars to be used as a cushion. Given the green light, Josh hammered the car to about 60 mph, slamming into his target, three cars up the tier. The sheer force pushed his target forward several feet while the fourth highest car was literally thrown nearly two hundred feet down the track! He proceeded to do a couple of nose flips, thus settling him down on the roof. Crews quickly rushed to make sure the driver was OK. Much to the delight of everyone in the stands, he exited the crushed Ford unhurt and nary a scratch. This team was not finished. After the conclusion of the Total Destruction event, Josh and Wylee entered a van rigged with about ten pounds of dynamite and gasoline. Once given the green light, they set off the charge igniting the gasoline into a huge fireball and quickly exited the van again unhurt and unscathed, raising a big cheer from the appreciative crowd and ending this program with a bang.

Western Speedway also held a school bus race on July 9th with Kevin Knight taking the win.

Someone forgot to tell Knight this was a no contact race as he took out another competitor. Everyone involved enjoyed the event including the many race fans. Boat races and trailers races were also part of the season. Gary Williams performed a limo jump coming up short, but pulled off a pretty good jump in a semi truck as part of the event with the Big Rigs on August 27th. |

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Cam Sully took the Big Rig feature with Langford’s Glen Creed placing third. August 11th and 12th brought the crazy Canuck, Colin Heacock out to play. He succeeded once again in another great car jump over three buses parked end to end, hitting his intended target of catch cars, much to the delight of the many spectators.

Champions For 2011 Billy Foster Memorial - Scott Aumen; Strawberry Cup - Rob Scott; Roy Smith Memorial: Lites - Deter Lejeune; Roy Smith Memorial: Winged Sprints Matt Mansell; Jim Pridge Memorial: Dwarf Cars - Sean Sanger; WilRoc Sprint Cars - Darren Yates; WilRoc Lites - Jesse Dardengo; Daffodil Cup - Scott Aumen; Kershaw Cup - Scott Aumen; Denny Rand Memorial - Jeff Montgomery; Hornet Experts - Cam Stanfield; Hornet Rookies - Glenn Rand; Bumblebees - Brenda Leslie; Canada 200 - Korbin Thomas; ASA late Models - Geoff Morris; I.M.S. 4 Mini Stocks - Alex Mouner; Stock Cars - Ryan Wade; Bombers - Brandon Steen; Demo Cars - Greg Sagmoen; Demo Trucks - Kevin Knight; Figure 8s - Kyle Rizok; Late Models - Jason Tarasenko; Ron Mayel Memorial Cup: O.T.R.A. - James Campbell.

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Trophy Girls For 2011 Tianna Metzger, Samantha Eldridge, Chahala Leanne Boyce, Chelsea Jeune, Rockell Kroppmans, Shanna Amaral, Marciia Gringe, Kyra Sheard, Kayla Reid, Willow Webb, Arden Baker, Carrie Leippi, Kaya Hunter, Betty Kate, Elsa Josionek, Kecia Bremner, and Carolyn Fortune.

Singers In 2011 Kaya Hunter, Ashley Armstrong, April Reidie, Dezi Thorton, Natalie Vardy, Stephanie Edwards, Jessica Graham, Cassidy Steen, Jenny Rhodes, Heather Senkler, Misha Gervais, and Carrie Leippi.

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A

Rumble on the

RuNway 2011 [A] Collin Shaw 2nd in Super-Pro [B] Dave McRae 1st in Pro [C] Howard Hillborn 1st in Super-Pro

B

More

more racers are coming out to Port McNeil’s Rumble on the Runway as it’s quite popular with grudge matches, time trials & eliminations on both days of the weekend. It has grown tremendously since it’s grand opening only two years ago. There are three events now with the summer of 2012 bringing racing on weekends that don’t interfere with other drag racing on Vancouver Island or other large events so you can get to everything! North Island Timing Association just signed a contract with Port McNeil Airport & the city for guaranteed racing at the airport for the next three years! Put these dates on your calendars: June 23/24th which is the weekend before July 1st, July 21/22 is 2 weeks before Thunder in the Valley and Aug 25/26th being the final weekend before school is back in session and summer holidays are over. Check out their Facebook page & their website for up to date news and pics: www.northislandtimingassociation.com More racing pics on the pages to follow...

C

[D] Tim Martell 1st in Pro [E] Ron Clark 1st in Super-Pro [F] Gord MacKay got a ‘Perfect Light’ [G] Ken Anderson 2nd in Super-Pro

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More Rumble on the Runway

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Rambler on the Runway!

This ride may not be your typical “eye

Gord MacKay purchased this precut gem from Bowser, BC in May of 2009 for a mere $800 ready to run at the turn of a key. This was not good enough for Gord. He wanted more power. Gord ripped out the stock 232 cu in (3.8 L) overhead valve straight-6 engine to fit his new 401, V8 taken from a 1976 AMC in preparation for

candy” with its factory corral cordovan brown paint job, but it sure gets your heart pumping as she screams down the runway in the eighth-mile!

At 98.25 miles per hour, it only takes her 7.2 seconds to reach the finish line.

Most people associate drag racing with the quarter mile so, to be fair, 7.2 seconds in the eighth mile translates to 11.3 seconds in the quarter mile.

Although she’s rather plain looking, it really is what’s on the inside of this baby that counts. This muscle car pumps a good 400-horse power even before she swallows a 170hp shot of nitrous in which Gord tuned by adding bigger jets for a bigger shot to the AMC 401 V8 engine.

drag racing. The Rambler won second place in its first race at Rumble on the Runway in Port McNeill of 2010. This was before she even started using nitrous! Gord still holds the crystal trophy on display, but the winning payout has long since been re-invested in It’s not what Richard A. Teague had the car itself. in mind when he designed this third and final generation Rambler American. At a time when the “Big Three” domestic automakers (GM, Ford & Chrysler) were the dominant car designers, Dick Teague brought this non-conforming competitor on board as the lowest priced car built in the US with the best fuel economy proven through numerous wins in the Mobilgas Economy Run championships.

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When we imagine a hot rod, the 1965 Rambler American 330 station wagon isn’t a typical one that comes to mind, even though station wagons are well known for their great front to rear weight transfer making the Rambler an excellent choice for running a perfect light, in which Gord did accomplish in the summer of 2011. (Meaning he launched on the green light at exactly the right time) The Rambler still isn’t a common car to see at the track as it’s a rather rare vehicle. There were only ever 313 of these produced in 1965 and one is right here in Nanaimo!

Interestingly enough, this particular Rambler was born and raised in Vancouver, B.C. and even passed air care in 2008. The rear 26” Mickey Thompson ET Street Slicks on 10.5x15inch

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rims work just as well on Nanaimo’s city streets for use as a street legal grocery getter as they do on the track as a racing machine.

I personally benefited from a ride down the runway as a passenger in this powerful beast. What a rush! I tried to video tape the event, but as smooth as this unibody on front coil springs with soft rear leaf units is, I really only caught the ceiling after we launched from the start line. I was lucky to ride in that race because it was apparent that the Rambler went beyond the limit of allowable speed

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for passengers to be safe by the racing liability guidelines. So, needless to say, she has a few secrets hidden under the rear chassis…Gord made some good ol’ handmade custom modifications: Sub-frame connectors stiffen the body, while traction bars are in place to prevent axle wrap with the addition of a 4.56:1 posi narrowed Ford 8.8 rear end and 50/50 rear drag shocks. The intake manifold is nothing less than a 2130 Edelbroch aluminum Torker under a 750 Demon carburetor. All this allows the car to perform a 1.57 second, zero to sixty foot launch. AKA, head snap! Not bad for a 46 year old station wagon.

candy’ I can’t wait to get a taste of!

When he’s finished the final touches and she’s ready to rock, you’ll have an opportunity to see this fine machine in a future issue of VI Performance Magazine. Until then, check the website for updates on the new modifications to an AMC 360 engine he’s working on for his Rambler beast to shred the track with close to 700hp this coming summer of 2012!

by Mona-Lisa Carstensen

Gord has been interested in AMC’s since he was just a kid in the back seat of his Dad’s 1964 Classic 660 four door. He’s also the proud owner of the beautiful scarab gold 1969 AMC Javelin SST that I am dying to get pictures of as she really is a piece of ‘eye

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Motocross:

Studies consistently rank motocross among the most physically demanding sports in the world. A Pro motocrosser wrestles with a 200+ pound bike for 30+ minutes in each of two motos on a typical race day. Take my word for it; you can’t relent for even an instant. It requires both phenomenal aerobic and anaerobic fitness. You are holding on and bracing yourself under braking, when you accelerate (motocross bikes have the highest power/weight ratio of any production vehicle), and every moment in between. Motocross bikes often seem to have a mind of their own; they are constantly trying to get away from you! Add to these demands, the constant, unforgiving impacts of landing off large jumps. Even with modern suspensions, you definitely feel it when you fall out of the sky from heights equivalent to a fourstory building! Broken ankles and wrists caused by landing impact are common. The danger factor adds to the already astronomical physical demands. There are not a lot of fatalities, but the surgical pin industry could be completely supported by the compound fractures suffered in motocross!

When you break a bone in motocross it’s rarely a ‘clean’ break; you tend to continue rolling, tumbling, and generally flopping about long after the point where the bone fractures, and the bike is always lurking about somewhere looking for an opportunity to crush you in the process! The Xrays are often ugly!

The Greatest Sport in the World! by Jim Muir M

otocross racing is the greatest sport in the world! I believe this emphatically. I love all motorsports, and I love team sports as well, but motocross is a cut above.

It is, I’m convinced, the most challenging sport on the planet, and it comes with dire consequences when you fail. It’s a motorsport, but it’s much more about the rider than the motor. It requires incredible skill; it’s almost always necessary to start the sport about the same time you start kindergarten, and then ride several times a week for about fifteen years if you want to develop enough skill to ride at a professional level.

Finally, motocross is a mental game. You need to be smart, and have your emotions well in check, to be successful in motocross. In motocross, ‘yahoos’ tend to end up on the ground, or worse, in wheelchairs. Every time a motocross racer takes to the track there are butterflies in his/her stomach.

Every motocrosser knows it can all go wrong in a heartbeat. This adds to the intensity of the racing battles; there is not only competition between riders, but also battles between each rider and the track itself!

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All the manly ‘tough guy’ stuff aside though, motocross is a beautiful ballet of man and machine when it’s going right. There’s no

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sport that comes even close to the beauty of a bike skipping across deep whoops, floating high in the sky, or riding the back wheel down a rough straight. When you get several bikes doing all this in very close quarters battling for position, the racing intensity can be through the roof.

There’s nothing that gets your heart pounding like touching elbows with a guy beside you when you are thirty feet in the air! The beauty of motocross is especially evident if you ever get a chance to watch it in slow motion. Things happen fast on a motocross track, but when you slow it down you can see how the bike is constantly bouncing and shifting every micro-second, and how the rider has to be constantly compensating for this. By contrast, try watching a Nascar race in slow motion; I guarantee you it is dull as ditch water! Which brings me to another distinction between motocross and other motorsports.

Motocross is more about the rider than the machine. I love the spectacle of Formula 1 racing, drag

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racing, or even Nascar, but in all these sports the guy with the best vehicle tends to win. Not so in motocross. Of course all the top riders have very well prepared bikes, but there’s little about them that you can’t buy yourself, and if all the top riders swapped bikes the same guy would still win. If you’re good enough, you can pop into your local bike dealer, buy a bike, and then go out and win a National Championship. This makes motocross an ‘every man’ motor sport. It certainly helps if you have a little spare cash, motocross is not cheap, but you don’t need a hundred thousand dollars to race at even the highest levels.

Depending on what age group you are talking about (big bikes cost more than little ones!) you can get your kid into motocross for about $2,000-$5,000.

Which brings me to what I have come to regard as the greatest thing about motocross; it’s a fan-

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tastic family sport. In fact, the motocross community is like a tightknit family itself. Each weekend we all drag our trailers out to one of the Island tracks and camp for the weekend. The kids run amok in various packs while the parents sit around the campfire drinking beer and eating ‘Cheezies’. It’s just like regular camping, but better, because there’s something really fun to do during the day! Racing provides a lot of quality time with both my immediate family, and my motocross family.

Unlike most other motorsports, motocross is ‘kid friendly’ and it caters to the geriatric crowd as well. There are racing classes for kids as young as four, and as old as ‘Plus Forty’.

Yo u c a n a l s o lo o k f o r w a r d t o p e r i o d i c w r it e - up s o n t h i s a n d o t h e r m o t o e ve nt s i n t h e f ut u r e i s s u e s o f V I Pe r f o r m a n c e M a g a z i n e !

Vancouver Island currently has five tracks in operation: Victoria, Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Campbell River, and Port McNeill. Island racing is divided into a Spring Series, and a Fall Series, with eight rounds in each. The tracks often have ‘double-headers’ where two rounds are run on a single weekend (one Saturday and one Sunday). Victoria’s Westshore MX track currently operates as a separate entity and is not part of the CMRC (Canadian Motocross Racing Club) sanctioned Island Series.

Despite its relatively small racing community, compared to say Ontario or the BC mainland, Vancouver Island has a knack for producing top caliber racers. Dusty Klatt, for example, who hails from Campbell River, is a four time National Champion; this season he finished second in the country. On the horizon we have young riders like fifteen-year-old ‘SG Power’ sponsored rider Ryan Lalonde, and Crofton’s Corey Cardinal getting ready to step into Dusty’s rather large shoes! If you come out to events at Westshore MX you will almost certainly see Lalonde and many others doing what they do best; go really, really fast on a dirt bike! Be sure to come out for the AMA Supercross season which started in January; that’s motocross at its best!

Check out all the island races in my blog! (seehorsecreativemedia.com/blog). | VI PERFORMANCE MAGAZINE |

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Cassidy Speedway was originally designed as

you see illustrated here, with the racing courses having been laid out since the speedway began.

That is the reason it is named Cassidy Speedway Park. It is an ambitious undertaking and a dream of many racers to complete the entire facility and become the center of motor racing in the Pacific Northwest. Time will be the true test and if history provides us with the building blocks for the future then Cassidy certainly has a strong foundation and will flourish. Thank you for supporting racing and its sponsors.

(Published in souvenir program guide in 1998)

utting up the old gate after clearing the road access to the I have to thank all the volunteers who have come out P north end of the track...Gord MacKay, Steve Joyce, and Doug to our Cassidy Speedway Society meetings in efforts to create and promote a motor sports facility at Cassidy Speedway Park. It has been a slow start, but we are moving along, nonetheless. We have formed a Site Committee to take care of cleaning up the track as you see in the pictures here, and a Community Committee to develop a plan that is suitable for and benefits the community closest to the track as well as the surrounding areas. I have displayed some old pictures provided by Vic Hilborne & Joe Pullen to remind everyone of the excitement this speedway once brought our community. If you are on Facebook, join the Cassidy Speedway page to see old videos of racing at Cassidy. Remember the great plans for the future?

We have some similar ideas, but we’re doing things differently in order to develop a plan to suit a variety of people, but this time, with some compromises to be considerate of the local community. Please go to www.viperformance.ca for up to date news about this and join our campaign to put tires back on the track in the regional district of Nanaimo!

Carlson helped while Joe Pullen & Sheldon discussed old times at the track and its possible future.

– by Mona-Lisa C.

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Powder Puff Vixen

PinUp Photography

Ra ndy Allen (25 0) 619 -9756

rdallen@shaw.ca

www.powderpuffvixen.com