Drag Racing: Hi boost at Jamwest (Part 2)

 
Jamwest Speedway will be transformed into a huge theme park for car enthusiasts this weekend. The main attraction will be the cars and drivers who have stepped up to the plate and have taken the challenge to Drag or be Dragged, as the title of the event suggests. For reasons discussed in earlier blogs, drag racing in Jamaica has its official home at Jamwest Speedway, a facility which accommodates our fervour for speed and shredded rubber.

As the fumes of spent racing fuel punctuate the atmosphere, the latent battles suppressed by months of inactivity will gain renewal. Where the burnout ends, the staging of the car begins and when the green light appears the only voices to be heard will be those of engines talking in a loud voice as they seek to bring honour and glory to their owner/driver on the fastest quarter mile in the country.

Battle lines which were drawn at previous events will enter a new phase once the ‘tree’ lights up. A battle will be fought for each round and only one racer will emerge victorious and claim the title of class champion (for the respective classes).

The fans have waited and their patience will be rewarded when the quickest cars on the island will rev to appease them, take their rightful place at the start line and as if rehearsed, will unleash a tirade of speed, designed to record a champion’s e.t.

Boost fest

Last weekend’s Pre Jamwest boost fest, opened a can of worms for some drivers and their machines. The internet wasn’t spared their wrath. The ‘my car is faster than yours’ debate covered ground quicker than the dragsters in the NHRA and despite the coarse nature of some aspects of the discussion no one lost sight of the role Jamwest would play in resolving the differences.

Today marks the beginning of the first chapter in the book – Drag or be Dragged. Will you win on race-day or will you be dragged wallowing in shame which was imposed by defeat. Test and tune is slated for today (Saturday) and at this session the last minute details will be addressed,  inorder to ensure that the machine will answer the driver’s call on Sunday.

On Sunday, a new page in the history of Jamaican drag racing will be written. Who will shine like a star? Who will be dethroned? How prepared are the seasoned contenders – ‘Spi’, ‘Spoon’, ‘Herbie’ Edwards, Seymour, ‘Haggi’, ‘Brownspeed’ and others. Everyone seems to be gunning for the scalp of a particular yellow Integra (14 seconds class) and in an attempt to collect silverware some drivers are contemplating a class switch – think Hulk – green mean, muscle bound speed machine (Crx) but, we will see if the strategy works.

On Sunday, words have no value – horsepower, torque and reaction time – priceless. One thing is certain, the accolades await the victor in each class and on Monday the defeated will return to their kingdom, the internet, to make excuses for their loss.

Cecil Munroe Gleaner On-Line Writer