Local auto racing this week
Yvonne is living her dream working on a Top Fuel Dragster
There are only a handful of Top Fuel Dragsters in Canada, the fastest-accelerating vehicles in the world. These 10,000-horse power cars can accelerate from a standing start and cover the quarter-mile in about four seconds or less, at speeds in excess of 300 mph.
Maintaining these cars takes a big effort from a dedicated team. And for one of the crew members on the Paton Racing Team, her involvement has been a dream come true.
“It is still sometimes surreal to me that I am living my dream and it’s better than I ever imagined,” said Yvonne Potter recently between rounds at the Canadian Nitro Nationals at the Cayuga Dragway of Toronto Motorsports Park. “I feel blessed with this opportunity and have a big part in this race car going down the track.” /PX 1PUUFS JT JO IFS lGUI ZFBS
with the Paton team, which is based in Paris and is celebrating its 50th season in drag racing under the tutelage of Canadian Motorsport Hall of Famer Barry Paton. After pleading for an opportunity to help on the team, she started small and through hard work, dedication, and a thirst to do well, has become a big part of the 11-member team which travels throughout Canada and the US to major NHRA meets as well as special events such as the Nitro Nats to give the fans that unique experience of nitromethane smells, groundshaking noise, and jaw-dropping acceleration.
“I started out washing parts,” she said, “and I worked my way up and learned with the team. I started doing more precise jobs such as building the rods and pistons and mixing the fuel. I can jump in and do just about anything now.”
A Top Fuel Dragster demands high maintenance, and must be virtually disassembled and put back together between each round. Internal engine parts must be checked, clutches must be adjusted or rebuilt, and the car’s tune-up must be worked on to achieve maximum performance the next time it comes to the starting line.
And the expense of running one of these cars is not cheap. It costs a minimum of $5,000 for each run, and that’s if nothing major gets destroyed. The car eats spark plugs like peanuts, using 16 of them for each pass. The large rear tires, or slicks, cost about $1,000 per pair and are good for 10 runs, and the special fuel used in the 496-cubic inch supercharged engine, the specially formulated volatile nitromethane, also known as “fuel,” now costs $31 per gallon.
And for a typical quarter-mile pass, the car will go through 17 gallons of fuel.
A Dundas native who now lives in St. George, Potter’s mom Joyce and dad Rob are highly supportive of their daughter’s involvement. She comes by her love of the sport naturally with her father who has long been associated in drag racing, from photography to track announcing to being regarded as one of the sport’s top historians in the country.
“It’s in my blood,” she added. “My Dad is very proud with what I do but I think he is a little jealous. He has always told people I am living his dream.”
Yvonne’s quest is to get in and drive her own Fueler someday. Right now she is working on a dragster of her own, a car somewhat slower which will run in Super Comp and will hopefully be competing next season, but she plans to continue her work with the Paton car.
Drag racing is at the forefront of motorsport in embracing women. Since icon Shirley Muldowney won world titles to today’s top competitors in the sport such as Brittany Force, Leah Pritchett, and Alexis DeJoria, women have played a major role.
But women in drag racing has never been made an issue, such as Danica Patrick’s involvement in NASCAR Cup racing. Women have always been equals in drag racing, and perhaps Funny Car driver Laurie Cannister said it best: “Men or women, we all put our driving suits on one leg at a time.” And Potter would agree. “There was never any of that ‘you’re a girl, you’re not strong enough’ with me,” she noted. “It’s not just a guy’s thing.”
“Working on a car, especially a 10,000 horsepower racecar, is not usually deemed a ‘girl thing’ so it’s empowering to be able to grab a wrench and hold my own,” she continued. “I feel blessed to have been given every opportunity to become a well-rounded crew member. From servicing racks and blowers to mixing fuel and packing chutes, backing up the car and even warming it up from time to time. Let me tell you putting the fuel pump on then feeling the engine breathe nitro is an adrenaline rush.”
“I feel blessed with this opportunity and have a big part in this race car going down the track.”