SPORTS FLASHBACK 2012: Grunthal dragster sets new Canadian speed record

Grunthal drag racer Cliff Blatz and his race team continue to lay down rubber while making waves in the North American drag racing circuit.

As the team prepares for races in Topeka, Kansas this weekend, they are savoring their monumental victory at Cordova Dragway Park in Illinois, two weeks ago.

Bakx got into drag racing about seven years ago with his Wild Cow Racing Team, and now is enjoying considerable success on both sides of the border.

But the nitro injected The Bull they are running now is a whole new animal, according to Bakx. With the 3,500 horsepower dragster, the Bakx racing team set a new Canadian record for a Top Alcohol Dragster at Mission, BC, earlier this summer, as they hit 271 mph (about 430 kmh) in a quarter-mile.

Bakx is entering the alcohol dragster in a series of regional races this year, opting to stay away from NHRA national events, such as the one in Brainerd, Minnesota. There are 12 to 14 cars competing in the category at each of the seven regional races. All go into qualifying races and from there the top eight move on until a winner is declared.

It all came together at Cordova, although they had qualified in each of the previous races, they took it to a new level at the Illinois races. Coming into Cordova, The Bull had only broken 5.4 seconds on one occasion. They burst out of the gates at Cordova, ripping off a 5.348 second run (269.19 mph) and qualified second overall. Consistently running similar numbers throughout the weekend, they clipped the line at 5.379 seconds and 267.96 mph to win in the final.

In an interview with DragRaceCanada.com, Bakx said when that 5.34 showed up on the board in qualifying, they all had to look twice.

“Then came eliminations and The Bull just kept pounding out 30’s, hoofing it down the track.”

Winning an event like this was a bit surreal, he added, as the racing team has only been at this for such a short time.

Bakx and his team just started racing in this category last year, in what amounted to a series of test events for them. And it has all paid off for them this season, with a lot more racing ahead of them.