Vernon drag racer (Buick) Bill Hartford split a few events and had one fellow driver hit the wall doing 120 miles per hour at Thunder Mountain Raceway in Kelowna last weekend.
Hartford hit it hard on the throttle against David Cyr in the final round Saturday night. It was a double red for both, while Hartford dialed in a 7.38 seconds and ran a 7.381, recording a red light of .008 at 92 mph. Cyr matched Hartford’s times, but Hartford won because he shot off the line first.
In the King of the Hill later that day, featuring 20 cars, Hartford races Cyr again and dialed in at 7.38 seconds and ran 7.43. Cyr dials a 7.01 and ran a 7.07, but Hartford again red lights at .013 for the win.
In Sunday racing, Hartford was laddered against Cyr again but this time, Bill cut a green light, .009 against Cyr’s .097 and smoked him off the line and down the track at 93 mph.
Paul Rudy’s Toyota then went head to head against Bill Bolts’ Camaro with both cars pushing 1,000 horsepower and running speeds of 120 mph. Rudy’s car went out of control at the finish line and hit the wall and into the cinder blocks on the first turn into the bush.
Emergency crews were on the scene immediately.
“Paul was still conscious and rushed to Kelowna General Hospital and was in stable condition,” said Hartford.
After the cleanup, Hartford race in the Super Pro semifinals against Wes Thomas. Hartford dialed n a 7.36 and ran a 7.361 at 93.30 mph. Thomas dialed in a 7.15 and ran a 7.17 but Hartford again reds and loses at the starting line.
Thomas advanced to the final round and won the race of the day.
“The entire weekend was spectacular,” said Hartford. “The people, the races, the weather, the food and all the volunteers who make this a great family event.”
Next card is Aug. 23-24, followed by the Friday night drags Sept. 5-7 featuring the street-legal shootout.
