Drag Day at Toronto Motorsports Park

May 30, 2009

On May 30th, SVTOA-Toronto gave our members the chance to see how their vehicles performed on the drag strip. From the veteran dragsters to the novice racer, everyone had a blast tearing down the quarter-mile and earning their bragging rights.

It all started at our Annual General Meeting. Long-time members Andy Laquerre and Craig Read gave a presentation about the basics of drag racing. Andy and Craig are very experienced and knowledgeable about drag racing. The object of the event was for us to go out with our cars and trucks, and have some fun. Quite a few of our members were intrigued by the idea, so they booked off their Saturday for a day of learning and fun.

We headed to Toronto Motorsports Park near Cayuga, Ontario so our members could practice what they learned. The sunny skies and tail wind offered up one of the best days to go drag racing.  In addition to the 30 members from our chapter that showed up, we were joined by several of our car club friends, including a group from the Z Car Club, Golden Horseshoe Mustang Association Instructor Mike Laquerre, and Wasaga Beach Cruisers Instructors Don Phair and Mike Phair. Our instructors also rode along during each run allowing our members to pick up on practical tips making them quicker and consistent off the line!

Once we got some runs down the strip, it was time for some bracket racing. Twenty cars. Two lanes. One winner. When the clock struck 2:00, the runs began. One by one, cars were eliminated from their brackets. The winning honours of the day went to Mike Laquerre.

We would like to extend a big thank you to Vanessa and Neil at Toronto Motorsports Park for helping us organize such a great event. Vanessa met us first thing in the morning, and she hooked us up with Neil, the Track Technical Director. Neil allowed us to make student and instructor full passes, which was just the best thing we have hoped for. These people are very easy to work with, and they provided everything we had requested.

Special thanks go out to Craig Read, Andy Laquerre, Mike Laquerre, Dan Phair and George Hadler for helping out with event set-up, instructions, and the bracket race. Thanks also goes out to all our club members and their families for taking pictures (especially to Fern Taylor) and showing up in support of our event.

After our Test & Tune Day, we realize there are some serious Drag Racers in the club. Make sure you keep your eye out for them at our next Test & Tune Day. This is easily the most fun you can have with your clothes on.