Paton Top Fuel team gearing up for success
When the Paton Racing Top Dragster fires up this weekend in Gainesville, Fla., for the 49th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, it will be the start of what should be the best season for Canada’s only competitive team in the top level of the sport.
“We’ve been making lots of progress,” noted car driver Shawn Reed, who hails from Washington state.
“We have more money this year and better parts. We are making progress.”
Now in his fourth year with the team, based out of Paris, Reed has known car owner Barry Paton for several years, and has been the main driver of the TF.
Paton’s son, Todd, drives the car for special shows, such as the Canadian Nitro Nationals at Toronto Motorsport Park.
And for Reed, who never raced a vehicle with wheels until he took the steps to get his NHRA class licence, has persevered after driving a car that has as much power as 13 NASCAR Cup cars.
Reed, 52, has spent the past 15 years racing a drag boat in the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series.
And he has been the champion in its Pro Modified division several times.
But getting into the TF car, firing up 10,000 horsepower, and accelerating from a standing start to over 300 m.p.h. in under four seconds has been a new experience for him.
“I never raced anything on asphalt until I got in the Paton car,” Reed said.
“I thought doing 190 (m.p.h. in a quarter-mile) was quick in the boat, but driving the car sure gets your attention.”
While not a front-runner in tight NHRA competition, Reed has powered the dragster to a best of 325 m.p.h. at 3.81-seconds.
The team’s goal for 2018, however, is to get some quicker elapsed times.
“We’ve improved where it really counts,” said crew member Yvonne Potter, who is from
St. George when not on the road with the team.
“The big thing for us this year is to get into the 70s (elapsed times in 3.70 seconds).”
The team will race at 10 major NHRA events this year.
That’s thanks to the sponsorship involvement of Hughes Oilfield Transportation and Global Electronic Technology, which will help offset the costs of running the car.
A car of this class initially costs at least $175,000, but it is the constant maintenance and tuning that is expensive, according to Potter.
She noted that parts such as an engine crankshaft cost $4,000, a carbon-fibre body costs $10,000, and the rear slicks are about $1,000 a pair.
The engine is powered by a synthetic fuel known as nitromethane, which costs about $780 per 45-gallon drum, and the car will use about 16 gallons of nitro each time it goes down the track.
And these amounts are in U.S. dollars. To race a Top Fueler, the cost is about $1,000 per second.
Aside from Reed, the team consists of eight techs, each with their own specialty.
Some work on various sections of the engine, such as Potter, while other members work with the clutch, cylinder heads, or fuel system.
Heading this effort is car chief Mark Morris, while owner Paton oversees all this activity.
The Paton entry will be one of 16 in its class in Gainesville this weekend, and the only Canadianbased TF entry.
There are several other Canadian teams racing this weekend, including Stoney Creek’s Jeff Veale with his Top Alcohol Dragster, and Pro Modified racers Eric Latino of Port Perry, Ken Lang of Manitoba and Alberta’s Rick Distefano.