Fortin's Engines Canada West Doorslammers

Kevin Lance goes from Zero to Hero in two weeks and wins a rain shortened 19 car field over another Islander Paul Stretch.

Last race after going out in round one to Rob Charlton, Kevin Lance , in the #1 team car for Lance Racing qualified in the top five and went five rounds to get the win and site near the top of the points standings.

With back weather and an early call to Saturday, the teams would have just two opportunities to get qualified and get ready for round one. At the last race it took all four rounds of qualifying to get all but one car in the field. This week all 19 cars entered made the 8.70 minimum in just one round. The second session just moved guys up or down the ladder. The track was good as witnessed by Kerry Stone. He was out for the first race but the team struggled with the crank trigger (Ignition component), they basically qualified at the last race with only half the power. In the first pair down the track,

Kerry launched hard pedaled the car twice and still ran 6.75 at a whopping 229 mph. Right behind him Darren Wolfram went a career best 7.15/197 to sit #2 with his new Procharged Chevelle.

Phil Davis who had an epic battle with Mike Bedsworth and Kevin Lance for the #1 battle at Race one, ran close to a career best 7.272/188 to sit #3. Bedsworth was right behind him with a 7.30 and Lance was a couple ticks back with a 7.34.

Rick Limb surprised even himself with a solid 7.53/180 .Career marks in both ET and mph for Limb.

Doug Steele went in the '50's as well, running a strong 7.58 @ 180. Rob Charlton, the runner-up in race one sat #8 with a 7.75.

Dave Warren ran a 7.78 and was just in front of the 270 cu in small block turbo Regal driven by Gene Fluery. The Washington driver went 7.82/174 to round out the top half. Dale Grasdal the only driver to not qualify at the first race made up for it big time as he also ran a career best 7.84 right out of the box. He listed all the minor issues he had at the first event and when combined it was around 6 or 7 headaches.

They were all gone at the end of round one With his first "7". Mark Schuppener rounded out the seven second cars (7.92). There were seven "8" second cars lead by Brian Ritchie. He went 8.095/167.

Greg Dowling ran a 8.127/162, Paul Stretch ran 8.238/164 and Gord Bush lit up the scoreboard with a 8.280/163.

Tyson Wells debuted his new engine combo with an 98.397/163 leaving at an idol. Henry Zacharias went 8.406/157 and the final qualifier was Otto Schulte who ran an 8.490/158.

1. Kerry Stone Kelowna BC 69 Camaro 6.759/229
2. Darren Wolfram Kelowna BC 68 Chevelle 7.142/197

4. Mike Bedsworth Seattle Wa 97 Old Cutlass 7.30/188
5. Kevin Lance Campbell River BC 57 Chevy 7.342/184
6. Rick Limb Hope BC 67 Nova 7.537/180
7. Doug Steele Langley BC 67 Nova 7.583/180
8. Rob Charlton Pitt Meadows BC 2000 S-10 7.758/173
9. Dave Warren Cloverdale BC 62 Belair 7.788/177

11. Dale Grasdal Nanoose Bay 68 Chevelle 7.840/174
12. Mark Schuppener Kelowna BC 95 Chev Monte 7.920/171

14. Greg Dolling Port Alberni BC 89 Berretta 8.127/162
15. Paul Stretch Duncan BC 66 Nova 8.238/164

Only one pair in round one was really close and man was it ever close! We'll get to that later.

With 19 cars qualifying, Kerry Stone had a first round bye and it was a troubled run, as at around 200 feet the car started to blow smoke out of the collectors and he coasted down track, with a win light though.

Neither Henry Zacharias or Dave Warren will want to write home about their round one rts., but Zacharias got the win light when Warren took too much stripe and went under his 7.79 dial by .027. Zacharias ran 8.493 on his 8.48.

Dale Grasdal got the win over a red lighting Darren Wolfram. Wolfram continued his quest for a 6 second time slip though and ran 7.14/197. Gord Bush had a great .008 light and got the stripe and win light over a late starting Doug Steele.

Mike Bedsworth, one the favorites to win the series this year defeated a really late Brian Ritchie. He had .25 at the tree but tightened up the stripe to .03. Gene Fluery got a great in round one when Otto Schulte had ignition issues on the burnout and Fluery singled with a .021 light and an off the gas 10 second et. Paul Stretch had almost a tenth and a half at the tree on Rick Limb and got a 2/10ths victory.

Mark Schuppener got a break as well when Phil Davis rolled the beams before the tree was activated. He too eased off the gas well before the finish line.

Rob Charlton was way late (for him, he was late), but Tyson Wells would let him off easy as he was wild at the starting line and was well off his 8.39 dial.

The only real close match-up in round one was the Kevin Lance vs Greg Dolling race. Dolling was solid (.011) at the tree, to Lance's decent .040, But Lance reeled him in right at the stripe, running dead on his 7.33 dial (with a 0). The margin at the stripe was .001 What a race!

Paul Stretch got a single in round two when Kerry Stone could not make the call. Gord Bush took a .026 stripe against Dale Grasdal in the first pair down in round two. Bush was .029 at the tree to Grasdal's .048. Both drivers were just over 3 off their dials.

Mark Schuppener went to round three for the second consecutive race as he took out the biggest hitter the series has ever had, Rob Charlton. Schuppener was deadly (.010) on the tree and was within .011 of his 7.92 dial. Charlton was dead at the tree, as he is one of many who struggle at times leaving second. He was .066 at the tree and it was all over. he ran right on his 7.93 dial (7.933) but had no way of catching Schuppener without going way under his dial.

Kevin Lance and Gene Fluery were within .001 of each other on the tree (solid .02 lights), but Fluery had issues and ended up a half second slower than his 7.82 dial. Lance cruised to victory easing off the gas for a 3/10ths stripe.

The final pairing saw Mike Bedsworth get the break most guys need in elimination's in at least one round, as his opponent Henry Zacharias broke out despite having almost 2/10ths at the stripe.

Zacharias ran 8.441 on his 8.48 while Bedsworth had a troubled start and could only manage a 7.51 on his 7.33 dial

Round three: Gord Bush in the top half of the ladder, got the third round bye run and he ran it out for an 8.296 on his 8.30 dial.

The stripe was in Stretch's favor by a scant .0.010, but Bedsworth broke out by .015 to make it that close. Stretch ran 8.260 on his 8.24 and Bedsworth ran 7.315 on his 7.33 dial.

Kevin Lance nailed the tree again (.005) in his race against Mark Schuppener but "Schup" went red (.-003) anyway handing the automatic win to the Island driver. Lance again was real close to his dial in (7.355 on his 7.34 dial).

Semi finals: Lance got the single and just took the stripe, while it was a battle of 8.20 cars in the only pairing for the second to last round.

They left almost together, (only .007 apart) but Bush took too much stripe running .019 under his 8.29 dial. Stretch went 8.273 on his 8.24

Final round: Paul Stretch would have almost a second handicap in the final round with his 8.26 dial. Lance had 7.34 on the reader board, so he had a long wait at the tree, this is usually a real handicap for the quicker driver as he can see his opponent almost at the 60 foot clocks before he gets to leave.

But to Kevin's credit he stayed focused and nailed the tree with a .005 light. Stretch was no slouch as he was .017 to the good. Lance was quickly playing catch up and went around Stretch at the 1250 foot mark. He got the win running 7.352 just .012 off his dial. Stretch's Nova fell off the pace by .054 on his 8.26 dial in.

A great win for Lance after being first round fodder in the first race. If you look at Kevin's lights in elim's he was no worse than .040 and had two .005's. and his car was within .02 on every run as well including one perfect run. With the win and near top qualifying points he takes the point lead by two rounds heading to Ashcroft for the huge Langley Loafers race at the 'Plex.

Five other teams that usually run Doorslammers were in attendance on the weekend testing their new combos.

Terry Shuflita was out with more power and a 5 speed Liberty and he made three runs. The first one was a check out pass and then he went 7.12 and 7.15 both at over 195mph. Rob Leclair was out for the first time as well and he broke the transmission on his first run and was done for the day.

Dave Heans has a new combo in his Camaro and he made one check out pass and ran 8.21 @ 166mph.

Dave Marcus ran his career best in testing his Duster. He went a nitrous assissted 8.30/160 in his best lap.

Wayne Thompson had issues in the pits and did not get a chance to make a run in his 40 Ford. Wayne has Terry Shuflita's bullet from out of his Camaro between the frame rails.

The next event is this weekend at Mission Raceway. It is presented by Fortin's Engines. Who will come out on top? Will Clarke repeat, or will Charlton be the one in the winner's circle. Will Tyson Wells make it out for this event, he was not able to compete at the last event as his powerplant was not quite ready. Will we see Grant Howell or Terry Shuflita or any of the other Islanders? How about the guys from Northern BC. Drivers like Mike Lucas (who bought Chad Barclay's Dodge, or Carl Fedderly who has more power this year). Lots of questions and they will be answered in five days.

20 cars were in attendance on Saturday for the second race (race one was rained out) of the nine race schedule (eight of which are points races). Ogilive Mountain Holdings was the presenting sponsor for the race.

The weather was awesome and the first session was a solid first outing for most of the drivers. Campbell River's Kevin Lance and Seattle's Mike Bedsworth battled throughout Saturday for the #1 spot and it was the Washington driver who ended up on top after the first three sessions.

Both ran a 7.34 at over 185 mph but Lance had a 3 as his 3rd digit and Bedsworth had a 2 giving him the #1 spot by one thousandth of a second.

Phil Davis went 7.38 Saturday to sit #3 and First time Doorslammer competitor Dan Provost went 7.431/185.

The guy expected to be at the top of the field was Kerry Stone in the Cutting Edge twin turbo Camaro.

He was testing the new bigger inch combination in hopes of running low 6's and getting a tune-up for the Doorwarz event in two months. They were really soft for the first couple runs but the final lap on Saturday did not show any improvement and the best they could run was 7.58. Darren Wolfram was out with his new Chevelle. He too is going to run in Doorwarz in the Pro Street category and he is slowing moving up in et's and he ran a 7.58 as well at only 158 mph so you know there is more et in the Procharged big block.

Doug Steele was out for race one and he ripped off a 7.632/179 best at was #7. The weekend sponsor, Rick Limb of Ogilvie Mountain Holdings sits #8 in his Chevy II, running a 7.649/179.

Dave Warren was back in the class and back with his old standby, the Blue Max 62 Chevy Belair.

He went 7.829/176 and it was just like putting on a pair of old slippers, it just felt right.

Rob Charlton, the guy who will have a target on his back for the third time to start a season (as he is the defending series champion for the x3) slipped into the #10 spot with a 7.856 right in the middle of the field. Rounding out the Seven second drivers on Saturday was Kelowna's Mark Schuppener.

He went a 7.973 best. Greg Dowling from Port Alberni was the quickest eight second car and he went an 8.149@164, but had a convertor trans issue and unless he was able to make repairs over night he would be out of action come elimination's time. Brian RItchie found more power over the winter and ran in the teens as well, with an 8.15 best.

Henry Zacharias was back out with his rebuilt 55 Chevy (he crashed in the first race of 2012) and ran 8.47.

Otto Schulte went 8.51 in the #2 Lance Family team 55 Chevy and rounding out the qualified cars was Joe Mayzes in his 67 Chevelle. He ran an 8.626.

The Naniamo driver is going to debut a new Pro Mod style Corvette later this summer.

Outside the field so far was Kirk Lanz in his Cavalier as he wheel stood and aborted two runs (he did not make the first round) and Dale Grasdal had issues throughout Saturday and could not make a full run under power. 18 of the 20 cars entered were in the field.

Sunday morning in the first pair down, we lost a qualified car unfortunately, as Joe Mayzes hurt his transmission on the top end and delayed the rest of the final session.

He would not be able to make repairs for round one. Phil Davis made a move to try and capture the #1 qualifier, but he fell .005 short running a 7.346/187. Both Kevin Lance and Mike Bedsworth ran 7.36 and their position would not change. Kerry Stone was the guy who had the shot for #1 but the turbo Camaro driver still had issues (sounded like ignition) and he could not take the #1 spot.

Kirk Lanz lined up and was obviously hoping to keep the tires on the ground and get in the field. He did wheelstand the Cavalier but it stayed straight and he ran a career best 7.45/183 to leapfrog most of the field into the #5 spot. Kirk sold his old motor and updated to a bigger Sunset bullet.

Then right at the back of the pack, Kid 'Kaos' rolled in as a literal last second entry (thanks to Stefan Kondolay). Zak CLarke also ran a career best number (with new power under the Chevy II's hood), a 7.558/178. Dale Grasdal could not sort out the issues he had and his best run, a 9 something would not be good enough to make the field. 20 of 21 cars would be eligible for round one of elimination's.

When the field was laddered (a sportsman ladder) There would be a few bye runs due to breakage. Joe Mayzes was out, Greg Dolling was out Kerry Stone was out (found out the Mag was bad in the turbo Camaro) and Darren Wolfram decided to finish off upgrading his licensing.

Bedsworth would race Dave Warren, Zak Clarke would race Paul Stretch, Phil Davis would take on Mark Schuppener, Kirk Lanz faced Brian Ritchie Kevin Lance and Rob Charlton would face off in the biggest battle of round one, and Doug Steele was up against Otto Schulte. The round singles due to breakage were Dan Provost (Dolling out), Gord Bush (Wolfram out), Rick Limb (Mayzes out) and Henry Zacharias (Stone Out).

Dave Warren was .009 red handing the automatic win to Mike Bedsworth. A good thing too as Mike was late (.238) at the tree.

In Round two, it was pretty much the same type of results as round one with only one real close finish line.

Rob Charlton had .022 on the tree against Gord Bush and ran his dial to within .004 (7.89 dial). Bush being the slower car tried to stay out in front of Charlton and was forced under by .006 (8.42 dial). The actual stripe was only .012 but it was mute due to the break out.
Henry Zacharias and Mark Schuppener was close at the tree as well, within .019 of each other but Schuppener broke out by .012 on his 8.03 dial. Henry was .083 off his 8.44 dial.

Mike Bedsworth could not hold the starting line and left before the tree came down on his side, handing the automatic win to Zak Clarke. He legged it out and ran his 7.59 dial to within .009.

Dan Provost was late in his race against Otto Schulte while Schulte was deadly with a .012 light and he forced a break out by the rookie in the class.

Round three. Schulte took on Charlton and had a double 0 five light to Rob's .029. He held the lead through the 1320 but took too much stripe and broke out running well under .037 his 8.59 dial. Charlton eased off the gas at the stripe running a 7.938 on his 7.89 dial.

Ritchie ran on his 8.16 dial (8.163) and took the win over Zacharias who broke out by .016 on his 8.50 dial. Zak Clarke had the odd car bye run and ran 7.570 on his 7.60.

Semi Finals. Rob Charlton got the single and he just took the green and back out.

Clarke and Ritchie were in the other semi and it was a pretty close stripe. Clarke had .03 at the tree and caught Ritchie at the 1200 foot mark. He pedaled his Chevy II and took a .028 finish line stripe.

This match-up always gives a great results as both Zak Clarke and Rob Charlton are series champions and have won multiple events over the last half decade. Charlton would leave first with the clean tree and he had a great .012 light.

Clarke was a bit tardy but still had a decent tree (.045). He played catch up all the way down the track and Charlton was looking over his shoulder from 1000 feet to the stripe. Charlton took the stripe but was .008 too quick. Clarke also ran under his dial but was only under by .004. He got the win and the point lead, a good way to start the season.

Zak Clarke, a last minute entry Sunday morning defeated Rob Charelton in the final round in race two of the nine race 2013 season. Full results were planned to be posted today, but as many know I was quite under th eweather on the weekend and it was as bad today. I have lung infection (finally saw a doctor today) but am under medical care and hope to get to the story over the next couple days.

The weather looks awesome for this weekend's race, hopefully all the doorslammer racers are primed and ready. There is no reason why there shouldn't be 20+ cars out.

Last weeks race was completely washed out both Saturday and Sunday. All drivers who attended the event (and are members) will receive 10 points. The next event is May 4-5 at Mission Raceway, and it is presented by Ogilvie Mountain Holdings. Ogilvie is a Hope BC based company (604 795-0459) specializing in road building and services in the construction industry.

Race one is just over a week away for what will be a very exciting season. Rob Charlton is the defending champion and has more wins than any driver in the series. He also has 3 titles to him name. My guess is there will be at least a dozen or more drivers who want his name off the trophy.

TCS Products is a family owned and operated business located in Langley, BC Canada. As a leading manufacturer of performance and extreme automatic transmission parts for over 48 years our first priority continues to deliver the best possible products to our customers. Along with the use of several optional high grade alloy and exotic metals, our billet shafts, drums and internal components are made to excel in all extreme gas and diesel applications.

Our 3 divisions consist of Performance Parts Manufacturing and Sales, CNC Machining and Manufacturing, and Competition Torque Converter Manufacture/Re-Manufacture. Our technicians and project managers have an extensive and diverse background and presence within the motorsport and drag racing industry.

As a manufacturer TCS Products is driven to recognize and address the ultimate needs of performance professionals and enthusiasts. Our modern CNC Machining Services Division produces performance parts year round to meet local and international demands. We rely on customer and dealer satisfaction to measure our success and ultimately maintain the highest standards of our product lines.

We produce a variety of performance parts for major suppliers and racing teams.

Don’t forget to ask about our Private Label Program!

Our Converter Shop opened 48 years ago as Torque Converter Specialties and is charged as being the forerunner of TCS Products. TCS Converters continue today as the first choice for many drag racing, performance diesel, towing, sled pulling and off-road applications. Efficient as in the beginning, keeping detailed records of every custom built high stall converter has enabled us to accurately control performance adjustments. Our CNC Machined Solid Aluminum and Steel (Billet) Stators enable us to create a host of performance reactions otherwise unattainable. TCS Products Custom Billet Stators are available to Performance Converter Manufacturers everywhere. “THE BEST CONVERTER JUST GOT BETTER”

Call Steve or Paul for more details. Toll Free in Canada & the U.S.A.: 1-800-960-1177

The Doorwarz qualifying schedule has changing but is still subject to adjustments based on how the frist two day goes at this event. The Friday Doorslammer qualifier will now be a test session. There will be two sessions on Saturday and one is now scheduled for Sunday morning . This is of course subject to change. If doorslammer members can, please try and make the Saturday sessions.

This will be the largest Door car race ever in Canada. Because of the potential size of the event, it will be a three day race with qualifying starting Friday evening. The CW Doorslammers will get three qualifying sessions, one on Friday and two Saturday.There is a slight chance of a fourth session (depends on overall car count). But all qualifying runs will be on Friday and Saturday, there will be absolutely no qualifying on Sunday due to the size of the event. No classes will have any time or qualifying runs on Sunday.

Again because of the potential for this event, we would like to see all competitors who have run with the doorslammer group over the last few years and even those who are thinking about it and have never run with the DS group before, to enter and compete at this history making race at MRP.

Please email me at speedzone1@shaw.ca, and confirm your entry ASAP. That will guarantee a pit spot with your name on it with the Doorslammer group.

It will match the largest purse in doorslammer history and maybe even be bigger.

Here is the doorwarz web site. The Doorslammers have their own page on the site, and there are a number of the doorslammer competitors already added on the page (due to their regular attendance). Confirm your entry by emailing the webmaster.

The biggest doorcar race in Canada July 5-7 at Mission Raceway Park will have the biggest CWDS payout with the winner getting a minimum of $2000.00 thanks to Rutland Auto joining up with RH RaceCars to sponsor that event.

Well I guess you waited for it long enough. The big announcement to start 2013 is.....We have a new series title sponsor. As you can see above, Fortin's Engine has signed on for the 2013 season. RH Race Cars our sponsor for the last few years is looking at other opportunities for the future and we wish them well. They are not completely stepping away from the series though, as they want to remain with us as a race sponsor and for that the Doorslammer assoc. is extremely thankful.

Fortin's is one of the Fraser Valley's largest suppliers of automotive/industrial parts and machine shop services. Established in 1946 (67 years old this year) , Fortin's is still a family owned and operated company.

Fortin's gives you over 270 combined years of experience in the parts and machine shop industry. It boasts a fully equipped complete custom engine rebuilding and machine shop.

Fortin's is a member of the the Automotive Engine Rebuilders Association and Canada's premier parts buying group Auto Sense Auto Parts - Auto Sense was originally formed by a group of independent jobbers. But company founders could hardly have foreseen the decades of steady growth that have made the company, today, the largest organization of its kind in Canada.

Lot of buzz around the Doorslammer group not the least of which is a huge announcement coming soon regarding the assoc. Stay tuned for that.

Secondly after my post a week ago regarding the future of this web site I have received lots of feedback. So far, the consensus is.... not a single member, racer fan or crew member want to see it go. Not one person was negative or said they did not car either way. That being said. I would appreciate the ones who were not satisfied or the one(s) who did not think they were getting their $50.00 worth to email me, and let me know why they did not think they needed the site anymore and I will send them their $50.00 back. They also will be free to decide if they want to pay the $50.00 next year. I have had a number of teams state they will make up any difference because they do see the value in a pretty successful independent 25-40 member web site that attracts over a 1/4 million page views a year. Please, those unsatisfied, send me an email.... for these reasons. 1. To get your money back and, 2. For me to try and improve the site so you will see the value in it, and will return.

We will be working on the changes to the site over the next few weeks so check back often

Long time since an update, but this update is big... Below is the 2013 Schedule.

Racers collect points from their best seven of the eight races. Ashcroft race is non waivable...It must count for points!

In talking to Marcy has it been stated that a some of the members (and one or two sponsors) do not see the value in the web site or don't care if we keep it. The racer membership does pay $50.00 per team per year to keep it going and that includes the domain name(s) and web hosting for the year (cost $300.00 per year). This is a real surprise in this day and age with the way the internet and social media plays a role in all of our lives. This web site's page views have jumped by almost 400% since 2008 (that is the most important stat in my opinion). Unique visits have topped 73,000. In 2008 they were 35,000, so they have more then doubled. Below are the stats from this past year including the first 10 days of December. That being said the web site is paid quarterly it did just expire (Dec 1) but I have paid it until March 1st. This site has grown in popularity and receives substantial web views for a small independant race series. All the racers I have talked to in the last few months were surprised to hear that it might end in the near future. If you want to keep it live, or if you don't care one way or another send me an email to let me know (also if you are not happy the way the site is being maintaned contact me at the above link. The forum was taken down due to all the spam and the lack of use. If you want it resurrected we need to find an administrator to moderate and get rid of the spam. Only two or three were using it.

Below are the stats for the last year. They look pretty decent in my opinion and are a great tool for the sponsors.

Results for the second half of 2011 are here

2010 results Archives are here

Everything on this site is copyright © Speedzone Magazine 2001-2013. All rights reserved. Nothing can be reproduced in any way without written consent of the publisher or the individual copyright holders of images and/or text.