Drag Racing : Reloaded!

“I’m reloaded!” If you are a rap head (a fan of rap music), you may remember this line from a popular Jay Z song, back in the day. If you are not a fan, then you now know that this line is from a popular Jay Z song, back in the day! The race meet was labeled Reloaded and apparently the drag racers travelled with rounds to spare because the grudge matches ran without pause when the official event ended a few ticks after 5pm.

Clear tropical skies,moderate cloud cover and a comforting wind, created ideal conditions for drag racing. It was abundantly clear, however, that possibly due to the austerity measures imposed by the global economic downturn, pockets aren’t as deep as they once were and the pinch is being felt in all quarters. We have come to expect a massive turnout of spectators at Jamwest, buttressed by a loaded pit area. It is indeed commonplace to see race-drivers/ cars jostling for space as they line up to qualify but this time around, a different and unpopular gear was selected. Unfortunately, there were few race cars at Reloaded and a sprinkling of spectators in the stands, but such is life.

Too many cooks spoil the ackee and saltfish they say, but, at Jamwest last Sunday, the few cooks(racers/drivers) who turned up to do battle, waged a brutal war and delivered a meal that would rival the best that the Food Network has to offer. The duels were as hot as an exhaust manifold after an endurance race!

Herbie Edwards

‘Spi’ was his usual surgical self, displaying profound mastery at the ‘tree’, leaving everyone for dead at the light and blasting away to victory.

For Herbie Edwards, age is just a number and he is as sharp as a razor’s edge. During his matchup with ‘Big Rat’s’ machine, his bucking bronco, a Nissan Pulsar GTIR had to be reined in as it left the line on all fours, snapping sideways before being restrained and then given full throttle as punishment, the fans loved it!

‘Spoon’s’ flight to victory was cancelled by the Massive Evo VIII, spouting fire as it burnt a quick 11.821 seconds on the time slip.

The class that was erupting with excitement and spilling low elapsed times over the track bite prepared surface, was the 10 seconds class.

SIMTECH

Do you know what happens when a deer wanders into a hungry lion’s den? You would expect similar annihilation when a Nissan B13 lines up against the established powerhouses – Evos, GTIR Pulsars, Wrx’s and company. Always expect the unexpected was Errol’s (SIMTECH) motto at Jamwest last Sunday. Errol, after years of trial and error had the super lotto numbers on Sunday. With 660 horses on tap, re-enforced by 500+lb. ft of torque, Errol terminated his foes. It was an awesome display of what a B13 (Attesa) can do when tuned and built accordingly.

The only person/machine spared the Attesa’s wrath was Adrian Randle (Evo VIII), who, in the view of many at the track, escaped, when Errol’s exuberance, mated to an unforgiving right foot directing unruly horses, led to the car crossing the lane divide, thus handing victory to Adrain, despite (Errol) crossing the line first. Errol has a lot to be thankful for though, having recorded 10.00 seconds earlier, thus obviously knocking on the nine seconds door. He can truly say in a loud voice – “I’m reloaded!”
Nb. Big up ‘Fu$ion’ and Biggie Bee Tuning – 13 seconds class winner!

Cecil Munroe Gleaner On-Line Writer