News

 

Melanie Simmons debuts new Toyrific Quick 32 Sportsman Series entry

Top Dragster at Performance World Car Show in Toronto Ontario

Courtesy: Resolution Racing Services

 

ORILLIA, ONTARIO (March 15, 2011) – Melanie Simmons and her Toyrific Racing Top Dragster team from Orillia, Ontario, debuted her new Mike Bos Chassis Craft built dragster this past weekend at the Performance World Custom Car Show.

Simmons and her team showed off the new dragster in fine fashion, winning five prestigious awards including, Salute to Drag Racing- Best Dragster in Show, Salute to Drag Racing – Best Drag Car in Show, Best Engine in a Competition Car, Most Outstanding Competition Car, and Class Champion.

“It’s been a lot of hard work the last  couple of months for my team but this weekend made it all pay off,” said Simmons. “We had an overwhelming amount of guests stop by our display and they all were impressed with the new car. I have to thank all of my sponsors for their support along with my Dad Roger. He is the heartbeat behind this whole deal. His countless hours and dedication out in the shop are what make this happen for me. Now I just can’t wait to get it out on the race track.”

The Toyrific Racing team will once again compete in the Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts which runs in conjunction with the Pro Modified Racing Association. “The Quick 32 Sportsman Series is the perfect series for us to compete in,” noted Roger Simmons. “There are a large number of entries in both Top Sportsman and Top Dragster classes which makes it very competitive. The field gets quicker and faster each year so it raises the bar of competition. It makes all of us better racers. I’m excited for Melanie to get some laps under her belt in the new car so we can remain a competitive force at the track.”

Melanie would like to thank all of her loyal sponsors which include: Delta Faucet, Jackson Transportation Systems, Barrie Harley Davidson, RS Performance Auto Service, Engine Research & Development (ERD), Auto Sense, Auto Logic, Castrol, NGK Spark Plugs, Extreme Collision Centre, G-Force Race Cars Inc. and Resolution Racing Services.

Photo Credit: Resolution Racing Services

 

G-Force Race Cars/MSR Performance

Race Team goes up against the best in Qatar ADRL series

 

Reigning PMRA champs make their mark in Middle-East competition

“I really had to get up on the wheel. These guys are the Best in the World.”

Courtesy: Tim Miller, PMRA

 

TONAWANDA, NEW YORK (March 2, 2011) – The G-Force Race Cars/MSR Performance Race team was honored recently by  Sheikh Khalid Al Thani of Qatar in taking part in an eight-race Arabian Drag Racing League series in the Middle-East nation of Qatar.

Invited to participate with the top teams in the Pro Extreme class, the reigning champions of the PMRA packed up their suitcases and 1968 Firebird for the desert country from their homes in Western New York.

G-Force Race Cars/MSR Performance team members Jim Salemi, Mike Stawicki, and Jon Salemi spoke about their experiences during the three-month racing sessions, which involved a cycle of three weeks of racing in Qatar, and then two weeks back home.

The events were sanctioned by the Arabian Drag Racing League, which began operations in 2009 in a variety of doorslammer car classes, including the Pro Extreme class in which the G-Force/MSR entry competed.

Driving essentially the same car that won the 2010 PMRA championship, but geared for eighth-mile competition, team driver Mike Stawicki faced the best in Pro Extreme racing, including J R Todd, Frankie Taylor, Alex Hossler, Von Smith, Joshua Hernandez, Matt Smith, Todd Tutterow, Rickie Smith, Bader Ali, and Ali Aryan. The team qualified for six of the eight races, no small feat considering the competition, and finished eighth in championship point standings.

Stawicki, who has been behind the wheel of doorcars for over 20 years, said the level of racing was the toughest he has seen.

“I really had to get up on the wheel,” he said. “These drivers and tuners are the best in the world. There was no room for mistakes. Every run you made had to be one of your best to be able to compete with these teams. ”

The team also was also fortunate in this experience which promoted nothing but racing. Citing a 100 percent focus on the car and being successful. A large amount of time was spent on prepping the car and trying different combinations during test laps. The G-Force Race Cars/MSR Performance Firebird was able to make a total of 58 runs on the Qatar Racing Club surface.

“We have never been able to focus on the racing aspect like we did there,” said Jim Salemi, who heads up the team. “Previous in our racing careers there would always be something trying to take away time from the car whether it was family or business. It’s was nice to not have those types of factors while running the car in Qatar.  The racing conditions were basically the best we have ever seen on a consistent basis. We were also blessed with unbelievable track preparation on a day to day basis from the Crispe family. Our hats are off to those guys they really worked their tails off.

“We were given unlimited time to test and try different combinations,” he continued. “We now know a whole lot more about running one of these types of cars. Inevitably it will make us much better racers in the near future you can count on that.”

Unfortunately, the team suffered a serious setback when the crankshaft failed in their first round match up against Matt Smith during Round 7 competition. Luckily Stawicki wasn’t injured and a safely built car allowed Mike to walk away after a huge engine explosion and one of the worst door car fires in history.

“Jim Salemi and his guys at G-Force Race Cars build a great race car,” he said. “That’s why I have exclusively been partners with him since 1987. I was just cruising down the track and shifted into high gear and BOOM all I could see out of the windows were flames. Soon after that I couldn’t see anything as all of the windows in the car turned black as night. I just knew I had to remain clam to come out of this situation. There were zero flames inside the car until I stopped and opened the door, I just couldn’t see anything and unfortunately it tapped the right wall before coming to a stop. The safety built into the car and the extinguishing system did exactly what it was intended to do. Give me enough time to get out” 

Although the end result will be a huge financial quest to overcome, the G-Force Race Cars/MSR Performance team was pleased it was invited to take part in the 2010-2011 ADRL events in Doha, Qatar.  “We realized many essentials to make us a more successful team and to be able to be a top contender at this level of racing.” noted Jon Salemi. “We have always been able to make the most of the budget that we put together as a team and will continue to do so. It may take us a bit of time to be back on the ADRL tour after the accident but when we come back we will be stronger than ever, rest assured”.

The G-Force Race Cars/MSR Performance team is supported or sponsored by the following companies: G-Force Race Cars Inc., MSR Performance LLC, Stawicki Used Cars, LAT Racing Oil, Strange Engineering, Mickey Thompson Tires and Wheels, Ross Pistons, R&R Connecting Rods, Victory 1 Performance, Mastin Engineering, Hot Rods by Burke, Cynergy Composites, Scott Jahren Paint, Dan the Sign Man, Manton Racing Products, Titan Speed, Castle Products, RBS Superchargers and Resolution Racing Services.

For more information, contact: www.stawickiracing.com, www. gforceracecars.com and www.resolutionracing.com

Photo Credit: Khalid Abdul Karim

 

Gregorini Keeping His Stride

 

            Daniel Gregorini, from Perth Western Australia, kept his stride at the 2011 ANDRA Western Nationals at the Kwinana Beach Motorplex March 5-6 2011. Competing in the coveted Top Doorslammer class Gregorini had his work cut out for himself and his talented Scratch and Match Motorsports team.

            Being the only roots powered doorslammer attempting to qualify amongst a slew of screw blown cars Gregorini stepped up to the plate and swung his bat with authority. During the first round of qualifying Daniel’s 6.05 @ 234 mph was good enough for the second spot in the stat studded field led by Aussie doorslammer kingpin John Zappia. Round two of qualifying brought an interesting twist on things as Gregorini snuffed the burnout and stuck the tire consequently heating the clutch and he wasn’t able to properly reverse the car and the team lost the run. This put added pressure on the Scratch and Match team heading into the final qualifying session. With conditions as stellar as a tuner could want the team could only muster a 6.09 @ 234 mph in the final session. Tuner Jon Salemi, owner of Resolution Racing Services in New York stated, “I just wasn’t aggressive enough. I under estimated this surface and it bit me a little. The car was unsettled through low gear but all in all was still a decent run. This race track is as well prepped as anything we have in the USA. You can bet on that”.

            Gregorini ended up in the 7^th spot in the tough 8 car field and would face Maurice Fabietti in the first round of competition. As the burnout was completed Gregorini’s G-Force Race Cars Inc. built 68 Camaro would lose fire and sit stagnant on the track, a broken crank trigger would be the downfall of yet another strong effort put in by the Scratch and Match team. Daniel stated, “It’s been electronic gremlins in both doorslammer rounds that have bitten us. I guess that’s part of racing. You have to find all the ways to lose before you can win”.

            The team decided to make another test run once the trigger problem was found and subsequently improved on their personal best with a 6.03 @ 235 mph. just 1 hundredth from the roots doorslammer record in Australia. Salemi stated, “We went out to see what the tune up for first round would prove to do. I was happy that it ran a couple of #’s better. It’s just really hard to make large jumps in ET when you lose runs for silly situations and parts failure but that’s all part of it”.  

            The Scratch and Match team will compete locally in Perth a couple more times this season before making the trek across Oz for the ANDRA meets in Sydney and Brisbane.

            Scratch and Match Motorsports team thanks its loyal sponsors and supporters including Scratch & Match Autocolour, Kerb Doctor, Metalux Paints, Maxus Constructions Westcoast Site Works, Vinsan Contracting, Sikpac Performance, G-Force Race Cars, Resolution Racing Services and MSR Performance.

Pic Credit: circlework.com