Photo by Brennan Shortall

CAYUGA, ONTARIO (October 15, 2013) – A strong competitor with her Top Dragster entry, Melanie Simmons Salemi enjoyed a good 2013 season in the Quick 32 Sportsman Series.

Driving her Toyrific Racing Team Mike Bos dragster, Simmons Salemi qualified for all six events this year in the fifth year of the series, presented once again by NAPA Auto Parts.

Qualifying fourth for the season opener in Martin, Michigan, Simmons Salemi was eliminated in the first round, and after qualifying eighth for the next race, on the Cayuga Dragway of Toronto Motorsports Park, she made it to the semi-final.

Photo by Brennan Shortall

For the next race—also at Cayuga—she qualified sixth but was out in the first round. But in the fourth race, after qualifying fourth, Simmons Salemi went all the way in the event, winning the Top Dragster eliminations as well as taking the event title over Top Sportsman winner Kevin Wicke of Stratford, Ontario.

For the final two events, held at the Grand Bend Motorplex, she qualified sixth and fifth respectively, and was eliminated in the second round in both events.

The dragster is powered by an ERD built 509-cubic inch big-block Chevy engine, supercharged, and with a Resolution Racing Services fuel system. An Abruzzi two-speed Powerglide sits behind the powerplant.

The car is capable of mid six-second runs at about 205 mph at the hands of Simmons Salemi, whose hometown is Orillia, Ontario.

Photo by Dave Erauw Photography

Crew chief for the team is her father, Roger Simmons, while husband Jon Salemi looks after the tuning for the team. The crew consists of Colin Steels, Mike Scott, Tanner Simmons, Suzanne Simmons, Evan Salemi and Akyra Salemi.

Sponsorship comes from Jackson Transportation Systems, Delta Faucet Canada, Brampton Pallet Inc., ERD (Engine Research & Development), Auto Sense Auto Parts, Auto Logic Service Expert, Castrol, Extreme Collision Centre, NGK Spark Plugs, Resolution Racing Services, G-Force Race Cars Inc. and RS Performance Auto Service.

The Annual “Night of Champions” Championship Point Award Series Banquet for the Pro Modified Racing Association (PMRA), the Quick 32 Sportsman Series and the Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS) will be held at the Burlington Hotel & Conference Centre in Burlington, Ontario on Saturday, November 16, 2013.

The Quick 32 Sportsman Series will compete at all these events in conjunction with its companion series, the Pro Modified Racing Association, and the Pro Bike & Sled Series, providing an exciting, colorful, and complete show of the best in drag racing action.

For more information, contact Bruce F. Mehlenbacher at Bruce@Quick32.ca.

A stalwart for the roots-style supercharger, Daniel Gregorini has made the switch to the screws with a PSI now on his Camaro Top Doorslammer in light of the changes. “We first built the car to run AA/AP in Group 2, the roots combination was more compatible for that class, but every time the Top Doorslammer came to town we would give it a shot, and try to throw a spanner in the works for the big guys to get our name out there,” said Gregorini. “That worked, so we started to travel more, but now that Perth Motorplex has changed our local Top Comp series from National Records to Track Records, the roots combo is no longer beneficial, so we decided PSI is the next step.” In other words, fans can now look forward to seeing Gregorini’s lean, mean Green Machine in full TD trim for the entire season! “Our plan is to run TD in local competition with possibly some traveling. We need a corporate sponsor to come on board for us to go full time with the travel, but as a team we are happy with what we are doing at the moment.”

Everything learned from the roots setup for tune ups will virtually all have to be scrapped, and the team will need to restart their knowledge base from the beginning again.

“Our setup no longer means a thing, we have gone with all new gear along with the engine combination and have also added a lock up clutch to it,” said Gregorini.

“We are basically starting from scratch again, but with Jim Salemi from G-Force Race Cars and Jon Salemi from Resolution Racing Services on our side, we are confident we can get it right and start being more competitive in Group One.”

“The roots deal saw us be the first into the five second zone in Top Doorslammer at the Nitro Champs in 2012 with a 5.95 at 244MPH, we believe it had 80s in it but without running the full Doorslammer combination with a lock up clutch for example…we were limited.”

The unofficial word that Top Doorslammer will be moving to a 16 car field in the future has given the class a boost. “16 car fields will be the next step along with different formats at different meets, this is a huge positive for drag racing, more will be revealed shortly,” exclaimed Gregorini.

“We are hoping to test in September in Perth. If not then, we will be at the double test day in October to prepare for the Perth season.”

Daniel Gregorini would like to say a huge thank you to his sponsors for allowing the team to do what they do, Scratch & Match Autocolour, Kerb Doctor, Kendall Oils, Westcoast Siteworks, Metalux Paints, Speed Torque, Maxus Constructions, Vinsan Demolition, DTM, Subiaco Print, G-Force Race Cars, Resolution Racing Services, MSR Performance, Drag Tech Fabrications, Windrush Composites, and of course a big thanks to his crew.

Resolution Racing Services is excited to be aligned with Dina Parise Racing for the 2013 racing season. Check out Andrew’s Latest blog and keep up to date with Dina Parise Racing by checking out dinapariseracing.com. Updates directly from the track are also available by following Dina @DPariseRacing on twitter.

Sean Renteria driver of the Renteria Bros owned 64 Valiant Outlaw Pro Mod set the Bakersfield Raceway Pro Mod track record with a 5.851 @ 253.09 Mph Friday during testing at the recent WCOPM Fun Ford event May 3-5 2013. Renteria ended up in the 3rd qualifying position with a 5.91 @ 251 Mph blast. Team Renteria then ripped off a 5.89 @ 251 Mph first round to take the win over Rod Burbage who unfortunately lost a blower belt on the starting line. That matched up Renteria with Marc Meadors in the Good Guys Racing 69 Camaro. Sean was first off the line with a .029 reaction time to Meadors .060 but the popular 4 Door Pro Mod started to loose traction about 120 feet out at the same point Meadors did but Meadors pedaled to the win with a 6.21 @ 241 Mph to take the win. “All in all we are happy with our weekend from start to finish. We improved on our personal best and got valuable information to improve our tune up. We will be focused on improving our troubled sections of the race track until we get it right. This team has strong character and our great people and I look forward to the rest of the season ahead”, stated Jon Salemi. The Renteria gang will appear once again at Bakersfield Raceway 5-31-13 to 6-2-13 WCOPM race on Super Chevy weekend.

Chris Mondor from Winnipeg, Monitoba Canada will debut his new G-force Race Cars built 69 Camaro Pro Mod in 2013. RRS offered assistance with the engine package which features a RRS Flowed Fuel System, Acceleration Industries K-11 Supercharger, BAE 8X Heads and a CN Block.RRS also supplied the Neal Chance Racing NSX Billet Converter with a Bruno drive and CS1 Transmission. Gear ratio selection’s were chosen from Jon Salemi’s on track experience with similar combo’s that have brought several 5.90 second runs. Salemi stated, “Chris called for some general info on superchargers and fuel systems and the more we traded conversation’s his deal continued to grow to what it is in this picture, a state of the art Pro Mod car”.  RRS wishes Mondor the best of luck with the sleek looking missile. For more info contact 716-832-7583 or jon@resolutionracing.com