Voxwagen
Mission Raceway Park
poser?
Can't be a Poser. A poser wouldn't bring that car.

After the Water Jam 2K2 car show my then three year old raised a good question. She asked, "When are they going to race the cars?" After all the cars were all tricked out and polished. Why not see how fast they go.

I knew that part of the Great Canadian Volkswagen Show coming up the following weekend was Friday Night Street Legal Drag Racing. A chance to race your street car down the track under controlled circumstances.

"Well maybe next weekend we can race ours", was my answer. And we did.

The Mission Drag Strip and I go back quite a while. I used to drag my father there a couple times a month in the summer. Get the Pit Pass. Take in the sites, the smells, and the SOUND.

When I was old enough to have been hanging around the track by myself, it was closed down and a fiberglass plant was built on the site. Being closed didn't stop me from making my first and only run though. Before the track was torn up I found a way on to it for a late night run. Now twenty years later I was heading back. And the Christmas Tree would be there.
Start
Sneaking up on the start.
Finish
Creeping up on the finish.

Now taking a nearly stock Fox to the track is pure folly. I was terribly flattered when the Tech Inspector asked if I would be turning 15's. (He must of thought I had a screaming 2  litreunder the hood and knew what I was doing.) But the experience has made lasting impressions.

I remember hearing an interview with Paul Tracy. He was saying that nothing you do on the public roads compares in anyway to anything you do on a track. I got a sense what he was talking about. Just looking out on the track from the prestage area, seeing 1/4 mile straight ahead, purpose built for only one purpose. Wow. Nothing like driving on the streets.

The adrenaline rush... the heart pounding... (and hey when you're slow the rush lasts longer!)
I'm hooked. I want to go back. I want to go FASTER! (Well okay I'll settle for quicker.)( I just need sticky tires, a close ratio transmission, a short throw shifter, and a bit more power.)
New Best Time

April 25, 2003 - It is a new season with a new head. And a new personal best.
Knocked more than half a second off my previous best. Now to get more runs in - Practice Practice Practice. I'm sure times will drop as I learn more.

May 17, 2003 - A run with no wheel spin, shifting early at about 5000 RPM, and lighter - less gas in the tank. Still have to try to remember to breathe.

July 11, 2003 - No spin. Shifted at 6K. 25.5 lbs in the tires. Car felt quicker than the clock said. Go figure.
Date
 60'
 330
 1/8
 MPH
 1000
 1/4 MPH
Aug.16, 2002
 2.609
 7.518
 11.606
 57.67
 15.271
 18.336
 74.01
Apr. 25, 2003
 2.622
 7.419
 11.381
 61.22
 14.861
 17.799
 76.92
May 17, 2003
 2.573
 7.273
 11.209
 61.82
 14.652
 17.553
 78.05
July 11, 2003
 2.506
 7.242
 11.158
 62.11
 14.598
 17.509
 77.76
Aug. 15, 2003
 3.007
 7.825
 11.788
 60.78
 15.293
 18.255
 76.29

August 15, 2003 - This was a terrible night at the track. The First run was OK. A nice quick drive but no new record. The second was awful. I got tripped up in the lights and the run didn't get better. I stayed for a third run just to exorcise the regrets. Figured it would have to go better. Wrong. Bogged down at the start, pulling my worst 60' time. Spun the wheels going into second. But wait. I'm actually ahead of the car in the other lane. And I hold the lead. I get the win. By .0713 seconds. I had been wondering what the little light meant at the end of the track. Now that it was on in my lane I knew. When I got back to the pits, my 4 year old daughter came running out of the stands screaming, "Daddy! Daddy! You won!" Sometimes even a lousy run feels really, really good.

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