<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/victoria_car1.jpg" alt="victoria_car1" align="left"borders="0"/>
CAYUGA, ON (July 14, 2006) – Victoria Smith has grown up with drag racing a big part of her life.
The 23-year old has been going to the track as long as she can remember, but now instead of watching her Dad race, she sits behind the wheel.
“I grew up on racetracks on the weekends all summer,” she said recently, adding that the racing was a family affair as her father F.J. Smith was one of the top competitors in North America in the Stock and Super Stock classes.
Now one of the sport’s premier car builders, F.J. has turned over the driving duties to Victoria, who has been running up and down the strips for about six years.
“When Dad decided to stop driving, Mom (mother Betsy) thought it would be worth a shot to put me in the car,” said Smith. “And I was game and eager to try.”
After learning her craft in a Super Stock Chevy S10 pickup, Smith got behind the wheel of the latest generation of car to come from the Smith Performance Shops near the banks of the Grand River.
The 2005 Pontiac Sunfire, resplendent in a striking white, black, and red paint scheme, is not like your average entry-level Pontiac. This front-engined, rear-wheel drive car puts out about 620 horsepower, enough to get Smith down the track in less than 9.5 seconds at a little over 140 mph.
<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/victoria1.jpg" alt="victoria1" align="right"borders="0"/>After six years racing, Smith said she is pretty confident of her capabilities, and the performance of the car. If there is something not quite right, she can tell her crew chief and Father what’s going on.
“We communicate really well,” she said. “We have a good rapport.”
The team runs about 15 events a year in NHRA (National Hot Rod Association), IHRA (International Hot Rod Association), and the Ontario-New York-Michigan Can-Am Stock/Super Stock Series. She has two Can-Am race victories so far this year.
Smith missed a couple of recent races as she was putting her post-graduate courses in public relations and corporate communications to good use. For the past several weeks she was working in the Marketing and Communications Department of the Molson Grand Prix of Toronto, and she said it was a terrific experience.
“That was pretty awesome.” Smith said about the time spent working on the Champ Car race through the streets of Toronto’s Exhibition Place. “It is quite an experience to see the inner workings of a race of that magnitude.” This was a temporary position, but in a field she wishes to pursue on a full-time basis.
Smith, along with father F.J. and the rest of the family will be on hand for the Fifth Annual IHRA Canadian Nationals July 21-23, just down the road from Smith Performance Specialties at Toronto Motorsports Park on Kohler Road just west of Cayuga.
The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) eMax Drag Racing Series, Fifth Annual Canadian Nationals will take place July 21-23 at Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario. For information, call 905.772.0303 or visit www.TorontoMotorsportsPark.com
Smith Performance, www.smithperformance.com, thanks all of its sponsors and supporters including Strange Engineering, Ben Grevers/Phoenix Tires, Autometer, Weld Racing, VP Race Fuels, MSD, Fel-Pro, Jesel, Competition Transmission, Dan the Sign Man, Scott Jahren Paint.
The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA), www.ihra.com has been a leader in sanctioning drag racing events in the United States and Canada since the organization was formed in 1970. The IHRA features 13 classes of competition including Super Stock. It provides drag race fans the opportunity to experience the popular Super Stocks, known as “the muscle car showdowns” for decades. This class is one of drag racing’s most exciting classes, capturing the true spirit of hot rodding and spotlights some of history’s most powerful production vehicles ever built with different types of stock-appearing foreign and domestic factory automobiles and sports cars with limited modifications. Classes of cars and trucks, from late-model sedans and passenger vehicles to vintage muscle cars from the 1960s and 1970s, are showcased. Entries run on a handicapped start, but each must run under their sub-category’s National Index, determined by a power to weight ratio. In addition to traditional Super Stockers, there are also sub-categories for GT entries, front wheel drive conversions, trucks, and Super Stock production entries. The participants, known for their awesome wheelies, are fan favorites wherever they appear.
<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/weblogo2.jpg" alt="weblogo2" align="left"borders="0"/>About Smith Performance:
Since 1972, Smith Performance Specialties has been known for its innovative chassis engineering which is proven at drag strips through out the U.S.A. and Canada. Back in 1987, the Smith Performance Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera became the prototype of a front-wheel drive car transformed into a rear-wheel drive race car. This Ciera became the model for N.H.R.A.'s guidelines on front-wheel drive conversions.
After that first Ciera rolled out of our Cayuga, Ontario shop, the Smith Performance Specialties work force of talented individuals have constructed more than 160 front-wheel drive conversions for accomplished racers in North America. Their quality and workmanship has earned Smith Performance a place on the Car Craft All-Star Drag Racing Team as Sportsman Chassis Builder of the Year for 1992, 1993, and 2000. The first-hand racing experience of F.J. Smith and his interaction with many drivers allows Smith Performance Specialties to provide racers with custom products for a multitude of applications.
Smith Performance Specialties cars race throughout North America and dominate the final round of N.H.R.A. events. This record of final round appearances is not surprising when you look at the long list of clients who choose Smith Performance quality and innovation. This list includes event winners, best engineered cars, best appearing cars, and many returning customers such as Jeff Taylor, Jeg Coughlin, Wally Clark, F.J. Smith, Abe Loewen, Jim Boburka, and Joe Scott as well as an endless list of others who choose Smith Performance Specialties. In addition, F.J. and employees continue to engineer applications for a variety of unique race cars outside of Super Stock.
For more information visit their web site www.smithperformance.com
About Toronto Motorsports Park:
Although it has been known by several names such as Super Boss, Kohler, and Cayuga Dragway, this track opened for racing in 1954, and is Canada’s oldest drag racing facility. Some of the biggest names in the sport have raced at TMP under NHRA, IHRA, and NASCAR sanctioning. Presently an IHRA track which hosts the Canadian Nationals with the IHRA, TMP is open from April to November. This Southern Ontario track is near the banks of the Grand River just outside of Cayuga.
For more information visit their web site www.torontomotorsportspark.com
For more information, please contact Bruce F. Mehlenbacher at [email protected]
Photo Credit:
MG Digital Media - www.mgdigital.ca
Rob Potter - Rob Potter Photography
Local racer ready for IHRA Canadian Nationals at Cayuga’s TMP
CAYUGA, ON (July 14, 2006) – Victoria Smith has grown up with drag racing a big part of her life.
The 23-year old has been going to the track as long as she can remember, but now instead of watching her Dad race, she sits behind the wheel.
“I grew up on racetracks on the weekends all summer,” she said recently, adding that the racing was a family affair as her father F.J. Smith was one of the top competitors in North America in the Stock and Super Stock classes.
Now one of the sport’s premier car builders, F.J. has turned over the driving duties to Victoria, who has been running up and down the strips for about six years.
“When Dad decided to stop driving, Mom (mother Betsy) thought it would be worth a shot to put me in the car,” said Smith. “And I was game and eager to try.”
After learning her craft in a Super Stock Chevy S10 pickup, Smith got behind the wheel of the latest generation of car to come from the Smith Performance Shops near the banks of the Grand River.
The 2005 Pontiac Sunfire, resplendent in a striking white, black, and red paint scheme, is not like your average entry-level Pontiac. This front-engined, rear-wheel drive car puts out about 620 horsepower, enough to get Smith down the track in less than 9.5 seconds at a little over 140 mph.
<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/victoria1.jpg" alt="victoria1" align="right"borders="0"/>After six years racing, Smith said she is pretty confident of her capabilities, and the performance of the car. If there is something not quite right, she can tell her crew chief and Father what’s going on.
“We communicate really well,” she said. “We have a good rapport.”
The team runs about 15 events a year in NHRA (National Hot Rod Association), IHRA (International Hot Rod Association), and the Ontario-New York-Michigan Can-Am Stock/Super Stock Series. She has two Can-Am race victories so far this year.
Smith missed a couple of recent races as she was putting her post-graduate courses in public relations and corporate communications to good use. For the past several weeks she was working in the Marketing and Communications Department of the Molson Grand Prix of Toronto, and she said it was a terrific experience.
“That was pretty awesome.” Smith said about the time spent working on the Champ Car race through the streets of Toronto’s Exhibition Place. “It is quite an experience to see the inner workings of a race of that magnitude.” This was a temporary position, but in a field she wishes to pursue on a full-time basis.
Smith, along with father F.J. and the rest of the family will be on hand for the Fifth Annual IHRA Canadian Nationals July 21-23, just down the road from Smith Performance Specialties at Toronto Motorsports Park on Kohler Road just west of Cayuga.
The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) eMax Drag Racing Series, Fifth Annual Canadian Nationals will take place July 21-23 at Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario. For information, call 905.772.0303 or visit www.TorontoMotorsportsPark.com
Smith Performance, www.smithperformance.com, thanks all of its sponsors and supporters including Strange Engineering, Ben Grevers/Phoenix Tires, Autometer, Weld Racing, VP Race Fuels, MSD, Fel-Pro, Jesel, Competition Transmission, Dan the Sign Man, Scott Jahren Paint.
The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA), www.ihra.com has been a leader in sanctioning drag racing events in the United States and Canada since the organization was formed in 1970. The IHRA features 13 classes of competition including Super Stock. It provides drag race fans the opportunity to experience the popular Super Stocks, known as “the muscle car showdowns” for decades. This class is one of drag racing’s most exciting classes, capturing the true spirit of hot rodding and spotlights some of history’s most powerful production vehicles ever built with different types of stock-appearing foreign and domestic factory automobiles and sports cars with limited modifications. Classes of cars and trucks, from late-model sedans and passenger vehicles to vintage muscle cars from the 1960s and 1970s, are showcased. Entries run on a handicapped start, but each must run under their sub-category’s National Index, determined by a power to weight ratio. In addition to traditional Super Stockers, there are also sub-categories for GT entries, front wheel drive conversions, trucks, and Super Stock production entries. The participants, known for their awesome wheelies, are fan favorites wherever they appear.
<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/weblogo2.jpg" alt="weblogo2" align="left"borders="0"/>About Smith Performance:
Since 1972, Smith Performance Specialties has been known for its innovative chassis engineering which is proven at drag strips through out the U.S.A. and Canada. Back in 1987, the Smith Performance Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera became the prototype of a front-wheel drive car transformed into a rear-wheel drive race car. This Ciera became the model for N.H.R.A.'s guidelines on front-wheel drive conversions.
After that first Ciera rolled out of our Cayuga, Ontario shop, the Smith Performance Specialties work force of talented individuals have constructed more than 160 front-wheel drive conversions for accomplished racers in North America. Their quality and workmanship has earned Smith Performance a place on the Car Craft All-Star Drag Racing Team as Sportsman Chassis Builder of the Year for 1992, 1993, and 2000. The first-hand racing experience of F.J. Smith and his interaction with many drivers allows Smith Performance Specialties to provide racers with custom products for a multitude of applications.
Smith Performance Specialties cars race throughout North America and dominate the final round of N.H.R.A. events. This record of final round appearances is not surprising when you look at the long list of clients who choose Smith Performance quality and innovation. This list includes event winners, best engineered cars, best appearing cars, and many returning customers such as Jeff Taylor, Jeg Coughlin, Wally Clark, F.J. Smith, Abe Loewen, Jim Boburka, and Joe Scott as well as an endless list of others who choose Smith Performance Specialties. In addition, F.J. and employees continue to engineer applications for a variety of unique race cars outside of Super Stock.
For more information visit their web site www.smithperformance.com
About Toronto Motorsports Park:
Although it has been known by several names such as Super Boss, Kohler, and Cayuga Dragway, this track opened for racing in 1954, and is Canada’s oldest drag racing facility. Some of the biggest names in the sport have raced at TMP under NHRA, IHRA, and NASCAR sanctioning. Presently an IHRA track which hosts the Canadian Nationals with the IHRA, TMP is open from April to November. This Southern Ontario track is near the banks of the Grand River just outside of Cayuga.
For more information visit their web site www.torontomotorsportspark.com
For more information, please contact Bruce F. Mehlenbacher at [email protected]
Photo Credit:
MG Digital Media - www.mgdigital.ca
Rob Potter - Rob Potter Photography
