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 GRAND
BEND, ONTARIO CANADA (June 11-13) -- The Hooters IHRA Drag Racing
Series made its first (of three) stops in Canada last week with nine
drivers being carried into their respective class finals on Hoosier
tires at the 5th annual IHRA Mopar Parts Canadian Nationals. Of the
nine Hoosier-shod drivers in the finals, five came away winners.
Ironically, the only time a member of Team Hoosier did not win in the
finals was when they were facing another Hoosier-shod car. Those
drivers battling their way to the finals included Mark Thomas and Rob
Atchison in Alcohol Funny Car. In Top Sportsman, it was the only event
final with just one Hoosier-shod competitor with Gary Wojnowski
looking for the win. In Top Dragster, Marco Abruzzi and Scott
Winkleman both were finalists on Hoosiers. In Quick Rod, Ron Folk and
Steve Hoyt were the two remaining pilots in the class. Hoyt was
looking to double-up on the weekend when he also made it into the
finals in Super Rod (photo) against John Vineyard who also competes on
the Hoosier brand. It was the series' fourth event of the year on its
12-race schedule.
ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR
In Alcohol Funny Car, it was the highly anticipated pairing of 5-time
World Champion Mark Thomas and current World Champion and hometown
hero Rob Atchison. This one was over early, however, when Atchison
left early (red lighting) handing the victory to Thomas. It was the
fourth consecutive win for Thomas this year. Both drivers run
exclusively on Hoosier tires.
TOP SPORTSMAN
Top Sportsman was the only final of the event where a Hoosier-shod
winner was not guaranteed with only one finalist competing on
Hoosiers. Gary Wojnowski did not disappoint, however, defeating his
opponent in his Chevy Monte Carlo with a pass of 7.357 seconds (182.88
mph).
TOP DRAGSTER
In Top Dragster, Marco Abruzzi and Scott Winkleman locked horns in the
final round to determine a winner. Abruzzi, in a brand new car,
defeated Winkleman with a 7.665 second (171.36 mph) run.
QUICK ROD
In the Quick Rod final, Steve Hoyt and Ron Folk would line up to
determine a winner. Hoyt took the win with a run of 8.925 seconds
(166.26 mph).
SUPER ROD
Steve Hoyt was looking to become a double winner on the weekend with
his appearance in the Super Rod final against the Hoosier-shod car of
John Vineyard. A double was not in the cards this time though with
Vineyard, in a Ford Roadster, taking the win over Hoyt driving a Chevy
Corvette. Vineyard posted the win with a 9.910 time and a speed of
153.11 mph.
Overall, it was a very successful event for Team
Hoosier with nine finalists and five winners.
The event was serviced by Hoosier Tire Canada (HTC).
Ron McKay of HTC provided the details used in this report.
Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. would like to thank all the
teams and drivers trusting the Hoosier brand at the 5th annual IHRA
Mopar Parts Canadian Nationals.
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