Laurie Cannister Budds Creek wrap up

Cannister Fans Wonder “Just What IS IN That Kalbones Sauce?”

Virginia Beach, VA – Four races in the books on the 2008 IHRA Nitro Jam tour and four final rounds for the Kalbones Grill’n Sauce Alcohol Funny Car and driver Laurie Cannister. The latest, at Budds Creek, Maryland, yet another win for the current point’s leader from Johnstown, OH making it the third overall in 2008.

While the team did seem to make winning look rather easy during the first two events of the season, lately that hasn’t been the case. The Kalbones crew suffered a computer loss at the last event in Milan and had quite a few parts to replace between that event and the latest at Maryland International Raceway.

The Kalbones crew was certainly looking forward to the Budds Creek race for a couple of reasons. First, for the simple fact, it was the return to where they debuted as a new team last fall and enjoyed their first victory. Second, they had lots of new parts and a brand new computer to put to the test. With only three scheduled qualifying passes, the team had a little work cut out for them. Add to the task at hand, all this on a Budds Creek track that, due to the change in dates, would be a whole new experience.

Reflecting on the first qualifying pass, Laurie explains they weren’t sure what the car was going to do. “Not knowing how to tune for the humidity, we were pretty happy it came up on the board as a 5.82, since we just needed some kind of baseline pass to work with.”

Saturday afternoon’s session, which is oh so important to racers as it is usually the closest to race day conditions, wasn’t much help to the crew. The Kalbones team was unable to make a good stab at the track during this pass and it all came down to a clutch malfunction on Cannister’s burnout. “For some reason it didn’t act the same when I went to do my burnout. I don’t know if I had my RPM’s too low at the same time, but it looked like on the graph that the clutch malfunctioned to the point that I never had a burnout. In these cars you have to have a burnout so you can heat up the carbon brakes so you can hold yourself at the starting line. We hold these cars at about six thousand RPM and without heat in the brakes, the car just kept creeping though and I couldn’t hold it. Luckily they dropped the tree in time so I got a time slip, plus we had computer data,” Cannister explained.

Mother Nature put a halt to any hopes of making a third hit at the track Saturday evening and possibly a better qualifying position. The Kalbones team was ready to tune it up and see what the track would hold, but as luck would have it, the session was cancelled due to rain and the fields were set for Sunday’s eliminations.

That left Cannister in the number five position and paired up against Dale Brand who had more than a tenth on the Kalbones car. Although the Kalbones’ crew continues to stick with their philosophy of racing the race track, Laurie admits Brand’s proven capabilities to run big numbers is something they definitely took into consideration. “You still can’t take your opponent lightly. It’s a fine line you have to dance between, knowing what your up against and knowing what you think the track will hold.”

“I typically I hate first round, but, I really like racing Dale Brand. He’s a lot of fun to race, he’s a great person. For some reason I don’t feel as nervous running first round, when I’m running him. I can’t explain why, it’s just how it is,” she added.

The track held quite well for the Kalbones crew, as Brand went into tire shake and Cannister drove to the semi-finals, but not without some work to do in-between rounds. When the team needed some extra help during the turnaround, it was none other than Cory Brand who offered that help to get a cylinder head changed.

Cannister went on to her fourth straight final of the 2008 season. Next round she nabbed a hole shot win over seven-time World Champion Mark Thomas in the semi-finals and the eventual event victory over Paul Noakes in the Alcohol Funny Car Final. Noakes is known for being killer on the tree and did his best to lay one on Laurie. This time though, it was the car’s turn to do the winning as The Kalbones’ team posted their best time of the event to take the win, 5.780 to Noakes 6.015.

Still talking though the big smile that seems to be almost permanently planted on Cannister’s face, she pointed out something else she loves about racing with IHRA, win or lose. “We could not race without Craig and his crew with Track Rescue. They are the unsung heroes at the race track every weekend. I just want to make sure they know how much I appreciate the fact that they are there, ready to help. They’re always there if you stop short, if you’re in trouble. We could not run the event without them being there.”

With fans and fellow racers alike starting to ask the question...”just what is in that Kalbones Grill’n Sauce”, Laurie just laughs. “Kalbones is on everything we eat at the track, you know it could be anything. We do save the spicy sauce for race day...who knows....maybe that is our secret to success!”

She adds, “I’m just pinching myself as our success is still pretty surreal for all of us!”

The Kalbones Grill’n Sauce team continues to hold on to the number one spot in the championship points as they prepare for the first stop north of the border in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada just three weeks away. The next event is the Rocky Mountain Nationals at Castrol Raceway, July 4-6.

(Release courtesy of Kathy Fisher - Photos courtesy of Roger Richards and CompetitionPlus.com)

Laurie Cannister Fast Fan Facts
Birthday - July 23
Hometown - Johnstown, Ohio with husband, Tuner Dale Cannister
Children - Samson "Our Son" - Norwegian Elkhound
2008 IHRA Alcohol Funny Car Champion - Texas Nationals (San Antonio), Spring Nationals (Rockingham) & President’s Cup Nationals (Budds Creek)
2008 IHRA Alcohol Funny Car Runner-Up – Motor City Nationals (Milan)
2002 & 2007 IHRA Alcohol Funny Car Champion - President's Cup Nationals (Budds Creek)
2000 IHRA Pro Outlaw World Champion
1999 IHRA Pro Rookie of the Year
Career quickest Quarter Mile elapsed time is 5.669
Career fastest Quarter Mile speed is 246.89
Career quickest Eighth Mile elapsed time is 3.731 (Current IHRA ET Record)
Career fastest Eighth Mile speed is 198.32 (Current IHRA Speed Record)
Cannister is the fastest and quickest female driver in IHRA Alcohol Funny Car history (Eighth & Quarter Mile)


About Kalbones Grill'n Sauce:
Serious Sauce for Serious Grill'n! We make it easy for you to become a grill master with our unique family recipe using only the finest and freshest ingredients. There are two secrets to producing great barbecue. The first is the slow cooking process which allows the meat to tenderize while maintaining all of the moist, natural, mouth-watering juices. The second is the sauce. Kalbones is a Southern Virginia style sauce which enhances and compliments the natural flavor of the meat with a distinctive home-style barbeque flavor. Whether the occasion is a pig pickin', tailgate party, or a backyard barbeque, Kalbones is your essential ingredient to success. Six mouth watering flavors to choose from and a new rub.

Better yet - Try them all! Mop Kalbones on beef, poultry, and seafood too - It's "not jus' for yer butts!"

For more information about Kalbones Grill'n Sauce, ordering, contests and great recipes visit - http://www.kalbones.com

Special Thanks to – Flatout Gaskets – www.flatoutgaskets.com

For More Info or Photos Contact – Kathy Fisher
Performance by Fisher Productions
Lima, Ohio
Web – www.performancebyfisher.com
Email – team_pr@performancebyfisher.com