Boland, Vardy, Cryderman win drag racing openers at Grand Bend Motorplex
GRAND BEND, ON – Two series champions and a fourth-year team scored big in the opening round of the Pro Modified Racing 
Association, the Quick 32 Sportsman Series, and the Pro Bike & Sled Series over the weekend.
The event, the RPM Magazine / Lucas Oil Spring Blowout, was held at the Grand Bend Motorplex and was the first race for all three series of 2014.
Three-time PMRA champion Bruce Boland won his opener, as did last year’s PBSS champion Dan Cryderman, while the Quick 32 Sportsman Series win went to fourth-year racer Glen Vardy.
Boland, of Stoney Creek, drove the B&B Racing 1968 Firebird Pro Modified to number one qualifier spot at Grand Bend with a 6.131, 233.10 posting. He took out Jason Kalso of Clarkston, Michigan in round one and Quebec’s Denis Lachance in the semi to meet up with number six qualifier Jack Grainy of Basom, NY in the final. Although Grainy was away first, handling problems on the 1967 Camaro made him back off, while Boland went on to a 6.181 at 239.74 and the win.
The win was Boland’s 11th in 10 years of PMRA competition.
Grainy eliminated Al Martorino of Cobourg, Ontario with his 2006 Mustang and Jason White of Syracuse, NY in his 1951 Chevy to advance to the final.
Leading the Championship Point Award Series for 2014 at present is Boland with 356, followed by Grainy with 341 and White with 335.
Glen Vardy claimed his first victory in Quick 32 Sportsman Series racing over the weekend with his Top Dragster entry. The Burlington, Ontario driver had been knocking on the door several times but it all came together at Grand Bend.
Vardy defeated 2013 champion Bill Wilson with the Wilson & Gray Top Sportsman entry out of Ingersoll, Ontario in the final. The series is presented by NAPA Auto Parts.
Vardy qualified number two on the Top Dragster side, and went rounds through the field, eliminating Sydney Hyde of Stratford, Rob Hachie of Oshawa, Ontario, and taking a bye run to meet up with Tony Positano of Toronto in the Top Dragster final. Number three qualifier Positano had mechanical problems in his Mike Bos dragster, which allowed him to advance to meet up with the Top Sportsman finalist.
Wilson qualified the 2002 Cavalier in sixth, and eliminated Mike Leger of Hampton, Ontario, Dan Flanigan of Buffalo, NY, and drew a single to meet up with number one qualifier Wes Goddard of Guelph, Ontario with his turbo-charged 1958 Nash entry for the Top Sportsman final.
Wilson got off the line first, posting a 6.798 at 185.98 on a 6.97 index while Goddard ran a 6.946 at 220.27 with a 6.93 index.
For the event final, Vardy ran a 6.177 at 228.25 for the win over Wilson’s 6.940 at 198.98.
CrydermanQualifying number two in the PBSS event with his 2004 Suzuki, Pro Bike rider Dan Cryderman of Thamesville, Ontario rode through the field to win the first race of the season, which is presented by Wiseco Performance Products.
Cryderman faced number three qualifier and former PBSS champ Ted Glinny of Milton, Ontario with his Pro Bike Kawasaki entry in the final, but Glinny red-lit while Cryderman went on to a 8.18, 161.17 win.
Mark Catanzaro of Kimball, Michigan and Curtis Beck of Milton, both Pro Bike riders, were defeated by Cryderman in the opening rounds, while Glinny eliminated Jessica Tourloukis of Innisfil Ontario on her Pro Sled and Marty Kuiack of Pefferlaw, Ontario to advance to the final.
Presently Cryderman leads the Championship Point Award Series with 320, with Glinny next at 299 and Beck with 279.
The next event for the PMRA, the Quick 32 Sportsman Series, and the PBSS will be the Super Chevy Show featuring the “Saturday” Night of Thunder at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan May 30 – June 1. For more information visit www.us131msp.com
The Pro Modified Racing Association (PMRA), www.PMRA.ca enters its 10th season of popular Pro Modified racing this year, while the Quick 32 Sportsman Series, presented by NAPA Auto Parts, www.Quick32.ca will begin its sixth season, and the Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS) presented by Wiseco Performance Products, www.PBSS.ca begins its fourth year of operation. Several times during the race season all three series compete at the same weekend events, offering a colourful, diverse, and exciting package of drag racing action.
For more information contact Bruce F. Mehlenbacher at Bruce@PMRA.ca
Photo Credit: Brad Turk
