Drag Racers land at Vernamfield on Sunday!

Author : cmunroe

Motorsports fans are in a unique group. They are disciples of a faith that has variety as an integral part of its structure. So varied is its composition, you can, unlike in other sports, have your cake and eat it too! And in this the modern era, advances in technology (read TV), ensure that you are at all times, ideally placed to have your motorsports fill.

Yes we are heavily dependent and influenced by what occurs in ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave’ (USA) and Europe, but thanks to the tireless efforts of local administrators, we have our own championships in several disciplines.

Drag racing is one such discipline and it has more loyal followers and well-wishers than the ‘Worl Boss’. Fortunately, drag racing, like a river, has benefited from a rejuvenation session and in 2013 at Vernamfield, we witnessed countless scintillating battles. Possibly the most memorable being the battles fought and won by circuit racing’s young stalwart, Andre Anderson, when he divided and conquered the 10 seconds class on only his first attempt!

Andre Anderson and machine.

Drag Racing is simply a dash from Point A to Point B involving 2 machines which will be separated at the ¼ mile-away  finish-line, hopefully by milliseconds. But, there is something about this Physics-confronting dash, which transforms adrenalin into a boiling, intoxicating and endless supply of a fuel-driven ‘high’!

Addictive would not begin to describe its appeal! So, when you see machines rolling out on Sunday from all the crevasses in Kingston and St Andrew, St Catherine and its environs,  in a Skunk Nation convoy-style, you have absolutely nothing to fear. On the contrary, the Need for Speed crew is simply teleporting from the castrating and Road Traffic Act-regulating confines of the public roadway to an area tested, proven, accepted and thus appropriately designated, pedal to the metal turf!

Drag Racers will welcome the 2014 season with what should be a stellar event at the historical home of Jamaican motorsports, Vernamfield, Clarendon, on Sunday. The event is the season-opener for organizers, the National Drag Racing Circuit (NDRC), in partnership with series sponsor, Nestle Supligen – Boost You Up!  And I am certain an adequate number of drivers will be on site to demonstrate the Dr Jekyll in their Hyde when their boost-fed machines (thanks to Supligen) will compress space and rocket to an incomprehensible et!

In December of 2013, at the end of year drag racing hoorah at Vernamfield, a lot of unfinished business was left on the table. The machines have been in hibernation for approximately 3 months and drivers and teams are in launch-control mode, yearning to settle past vendettas. The perennial ‘fast machines’ from the various camps will be in the building, torturing pistons!

Incidentally, I saw a ‘blast from the past’ at Heelz n Wheelz at the National Stadium recently – an intimidating RX7 which has undergone a Chip Foose overhaul. I hope it  will be present when the attendance register is called.

But, and there is an abrupt, Brembo brakes but – Dean Shaw has been busy doing what he is rapidly becoming a master at – trash talking – but rumor has it that he is quietly shaking in his boots because his door-slammer record of sub-nine seconds (‘8-mash’) is hanging by an almost invisible thread. The BadBreed Racecraft Mustang is still in its infancy, in terms of track time and despite hiccups everywhere, it has broken the 8 seconds barrier! This is put up or shut up time!

BadBreed Racecraft Mustang

You do not want to miss what will unfold at Vernamfield on Sunday (March 30)!

Is Dean Shaw afraid of the BadBreed machine?

Cecil Munroe Gleaner On-Line Writer

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