Sitko Family Racing West Coast recap

Sitko Family Racing West Coast recap

The Sitko Family Race Team made the long drive to Seattle for the Schuck's Northwest Nationals with both the top alcohol dragter, driven by Troy Sitko, and the Funny Car, piloted by brother Nathan. The team assembled all the spare parts they could to be ready for battle, and were hoping for fast runs, qualifying positions for both cars, and hopefully a round or two.

Friday started out great for Nathan Sitko in the funny car, as he rattled off a 5.93 at 238 miles per hour. The dragster did not fare as well, as it unexpectedly smoked the tires right on the starting line. Not being sure what caused the loss of traction, the team visited the Goodyear tent for new tires, loosened the clutch, and backed the power off a bit for the next run. The moves resulted in Troy's first 5 second run, a 5.93 at 234 mph.

The funny car was qualified solidly in the field, but the team decided to try for more competitive numbers so they had a chance to advance a round or two. Disaster struck though, as they kicked the rods out in the next two subsequent runs, relegating them to being "dead in the water" for the rest of the race, and perhaps the balance of the season. The dragster made one more qualifying pass, which started out promising, but ended up going sideways at 900 feet after slipping on some fluid on the track.

Since the dragster was not qualified for the stout field, both cars were being packed up for the NHRA Canadian Open in Mission. The funny car was without a motor though, as both had gaping holes in them. The first thought was to park the funny car, but after a day of reflection, the team decided to try to repair the damage to one motor. To make a long story short, one crankshaft was able to be fixed, and Tim Nemeth made his shop available for Ken Sitko to weld the block back together. 8 good pistons were salvaged from the carnage, and the team had another set of rods in the trailer. After working all day Thursday and Friday on the repairs, the engine finally started going together on Friday night at 9 pm.

The funny car had to be ready for the first qualifying session on Saturday at 5 pm. Crew chief Shane Reykdal fired the car at 2 pm on Saturday, and everything sounded perfect. The only question was, how would it run, and would all the patched parts hold together. At 6:30 pm (a little behind schedule), the team had their answer, as the funny car pounded out a 5.94 at 234 mph, qualifying them #2 on the A side of the field, only a few hundredths behind Tim Nemeth's 5.91. The dragster struggled with traction again, as the team has yet to find the perfect clutch combination; Troy managed a 6.88 after shaking, pedaling, and going sideways at mid track, which put them at the back of the B field.

On Sunday both teams were confident they could go rounds. Nathan squared off with Tim Nemeth in the semi finals of the A division, and they put on a great show, with Nemeth's 5.81 just edging out Nathan's 5.91 at a career best 240 mph. Troy then laid down a good 6.03 at 234 mph, defeating Cal Tebb's tire shaking effort in his top alcohol funny car. The dragster team had to step it up a bit against Randy Parker in the semi's, but the move proved to be self defeating, as the dragster's tire shaking and smoking reared its ugly head again.

Not too much to complain about though, both cars came out of Mission intact and ready to race at the next scheduled event, Hot August Night in Edmonton, Alberta. Tim Nemeth wen on to win his first NHRA Wally against Garrett Bateman, and Bill Edwards won the B side with a consistent string of 5.60's. Congratulations to both, and special thanks to Tim Nemeth for helping us get our stuff back together. Thanks also to Paradise RV and S&S Aluminum (Medicine Hat) for helping us get to Seattle, and to Randy Parker for welding up our leaky oil pan.