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[h=2]IHRA: Bowen, Turner top Mopar Rocky Mountain Nationals[/h] Sunday, 17 July 2016


Steven Cole Smith (words and images)
The records show that Edmonton, Alberta, Canada can expect rain during July on 42 percent of the days, but for the finals of the IHRA Mopar Rocky Mountain Nationals at Castrol Raceway on Sunday, it was 100 percent – total rain delays topped six hours, pushing the show's last race to near 1 a.m.
And while it caused the schedule to be juggled a bit, the fans who persevered were treated to a couple of memorable final rounds in AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car and Nitro Motorcycle.
The final round in Funny Car, which finally took to the track shortly before midnight, pitted current champ Jason Rupert in the Rupert & Littlefield Chevrolet Camaro against a surprisingly strong Shawn Bowen in the Violator Dodge Challenger. Rupert seemed to own the weekend right up until the final round, when Bowen, with slightly quicker reaction time, laid down a run of 5.706 seconds at 258.03 mph.
Rupert's pass wasn't quite as quick at 5.724, but his top speed was 266.11 mph. Rupert, in fact, had made a run earlier in the weekend that would have been an IHRA record had he been able to back it up with a subsequent run, but he couldn't. The win moves Bowen into second in the points behind Rupert, with Mike McIntire, whose McAttack Camaro was taken out in the semifinals by Bowen, dropping to third.
The Nitro Motorcycle finale wasn't quite as dramatic, as current champion Jay Turner was by far the most consistent biker on the ever-changing track – on Friday, the rain was so persistent that one of the Friday qualifying sessions was cancelled, with two run on Saturday, the only day rain wasn't an issue. Even so, Tracy Kile, who lined up against Turner in the final, had made a stellar run earlier in the weekend of 6.6075, with a speed of 246.98 mph. That speed would have stood as a record, but Kile wasn't able to back it up.
In fact, Kile was lucky to make the finals – in round three, his bike broke, and he turned at 21.581, at 38.53 mph. But he won the round, because Jake Stordeur, who ran a 6.512 at 214.69 mph, lost the round because he red-lighted at the start.
Kile came into the final round with a sick motorcycle, but he gave it a shot, and after a strong launch, his cycle broke, resulting in a run of 11.210 at 84.92 mph. Turner ran a solid but conservative – for him, at least – 6.495 at 212.56 mph. The win just added to Turner's already healthy points lead. Bob Malloy, the only biker who seems capable of handling Turner's rocket runs, lost to Kile in eliminations – neither bike ran well, but Malloy's ran worse.
The Pro Mods fell victim to the rain, but because all the competitors are from the area, they will finish their eliminations at a near-future event that was already scheduled for Castrol Raceway. The Pro Stock class had the weekend off. Several other classes will finish their eliminations Monday morning.
Racers were unanimous in praising the IHRA and Castrol Raceway crews for preparing the track under profoundly trying conditions.
All four Pro classes will battle for the season championship on August 12 and 13 at the Northern Nationals at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan, a favorite with competitors. For information on that race, log onto US131msp.com.
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