Ray Commisso (Toronto, Ont.) pulled off an upset of sorts when he drove his ‘67 Camaro to the Grand Bend Winner’s Circle. He was able to get past Mike Janis in the final round to become the second consecutive No. 13 qualifier to end up in the Winner’s Circle on the
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The Alky Funny final was a match-up between Canadian’s Paul Noakes and perennial IHRA Champ Rob Atchison. Noakes won the battle of local talent when he knocked off Rob Atchison in the Alcohol Funny Car final. Noakes, a school teacher from London, Ontario, defeated the three-time World Champion Atchison by tripping the win beams with a 5.947 at 241.50 mph. to Atchison’s closing 6.024/ 242.41 effort. This was Noakes’ first IHRA event of the season and his first win. Noakes was tuned by former Atchison crew member Les Mellows who moved over to Noakes’ team after last season.
“Les Mellows, my Crew Chief, has been my friend forever,” Noakes said. “He made all the right calls this weekend and the car responded. We came to this event just hoping to qualify, but we were able to take home the win. I’m very, very happy right now.”
Steve Spiess, the 2005 IHRA Pro Stock world champion, last won an IHRA national event in 2005 when he defeated Frank Gugliotta in the final round at that years Mopar Canadian Nationals. Spiess, from Manhattan, Ill., carded a 6.389 at 219.22 mph to claim the championship against Gugliotta, who lifted out of the run.
“I’m very pleased with the car,” Spiess said. “We qualified well and were able to go some rounds. We made a few adjustments to the car over the weekend and they seemed to work out for us. I can’t wait for the next race.”
