Nostalgia show under the wings of history
The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum will be moving their historic aircraft to the side this week to make room for other powerful historic vehicles as the popular Drag Strip Memories returns this Sunday.
This will be the sixth presentation of the show, the largest of its kind in Canada, and will feature 50 drag racing cars of many classes, plus a wide variety of photos, film, and other nostalgia items related to the sport.
“This is the sixth year for a show that I thought we’d do once,” said Rob Potter, who along with Tony Hayes lines up all the cars and displays in the big hall, some under the wings of the vintage warplanes.
Potter, inducted into the Canadian Drag Racing Hall of Fame for his photographic endeavours over the years, also has amassed an extensive collection of race materials, and this was the impetus for the original show. After making some phone calls, racers stepped up with their cars to display, and the first year was such a success that participants and visitors alike wanted an annual event.
“Tony originally came up with the idea, and since I’d done a couple of shows before, I had some contacts in the race community and we decided to move ahead,” Potter said. “This year
we expect 1,000 to 1,500 people and about 50 drag race vehicles, plus I will have my extensive photo collection and never-seenbefore videos of early Southern Ontario racing action.”
Cars on display will run the whole spectrum of drag racing, from Top Fuel dragsters to jetpowered cars to period Gassers to Stock and Super Stock cars. The Hamilton-based Road Runners, Rod Masters, and the East London Timing Association will have exhibits. Another highlight will be the scale model version of the Cayuga Dragway, complete with buildings, the strip, and lots of model cars in the staging lanes.
This year’s show takes place Sunday, April 15, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the spectator admission will allow visitors to view not only all the drag racing but take in the planes and exhibits of the
museum itself. There is ample parking on the grounds at the Airport Road facility in Mount Hope.
So for Potter and Hayes, this labour of love is just about here.
“We do it for two reasons,” said Potter. “It provides revenue for the museum in its off-season, and brings like-minded nostalgia drag racing fans together.
“We as Canadians don’t always give enough recognition to our history,” he added. “This is our small attempt to change that by presenting awards to select individuals for their service to the sport.”
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Oakville’s James Hinchcliffe may be the best-known Canadian name on the present Verizon IndyCar circuit, but his Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammate
and fellow Canadian is certainly making his presence known.
Robert Wickens, a native of Guelph, placed second in the recent Desert Diamond West Valley Casino Phoenix Grand Prix. It appeared he was going to win the 250-lap race but, with three laps to go, Joseph Newgarden took the lead and the victory with his fresher tires.
But for Wickens, an IndyCar rookie, it was a proud day.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Wickens after the race. “All I wanted to do was finish every lap of my oval debut. So, to come home P2 (in second) and even lead tonight, you can never expect that as a rookie. It’s so hard here, but the team did a great job.”
Wickens qualified sixth in his Honda-powered Dallara and was in contention during most of the
race, round two of the 2018 season. He led for 44 laps, including some of the final ones, but elected to stay out during a caution period and was still on the point after a lap 243 restart. Newgarden, in the Team Penske Chevy Dallara, had pitted for fresh tires during this late caution, came out running fourth after the caution, and got by Wickens with three laps to go.
Wickens, 29, has spent considerable time racing in Europe, first in Formula Two and the Formula Renault 3.5 Series before racing with Mercedes Benz in the DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) where he took six wins between 2012 and 2017.