New York-based dragster driver ready for upcoming first event on tour
YOUNGSTOWN, NEW YORK (May 4, 2010) – Michael Kalin may have raced several times so far in 2010, but does not think he will have an easy time when he fires up his race car for the first round in the Top Dragster side of the Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts later this month.
Kalin, who drives a big-block powered dragster, spent some time earlier this year on a drag racing road trip in the southern US, competing in Florida, Tennessee, and Maryland, taking a runner-up spot in the IHRA Tournament of Champions at Immokalee Regional Raceway.
“We’re going to give it a shot,” said Kalin, who won the Grand Bend Motorplex event of the Quick 32 Sportsman Series, and placed fourth in the Championship Point Award Series in 2009. “I will apply some of the stuff I learned down South but these guys in the Quick 32 Sportsman Series are tough.”
Kalin’s success at Immokalee in Southern Florida highlighted his trip, which he says was an eye-opener.
“Yeh, we ran with the big boys,” he said. “I learned a lot. These guys really drive the stripe, and play games at the top end. It is a whole other world.”
Kalin figures he has about 80 runs on his car so far this year, and plans to keep the combination he has now rather than shop around for another car, which has been his habit. He feels his car can be tweaked more and his driving style altered to be successful, rather than start with a whole new car and combination.
“I used to get a new car just about every year,” he said. “But this car now is starting to mesh with me.”
Sitting between the frame rails of the 2008 Mullis Race Cars Monoshock Dragster is a 632-cubic inch aluminum Nesbitt Performance engine, using a nitrous-fed Aeromotive Fuel Systems A2000. An ATI Performance Products – Superglide 3 transmission helps get the power to the rear wheels.
With more than two decades of racing behind him, Kalin runs a tight ship, acting as driver and crew chief for his effort. His sponsors include 24 Hour Tire Service in Niagara Falls, NY and DB Designs in Lewiston, NY. Kalin said he is ready for the first Quick 32 Sportsman Series event, the Victoria Day Weekend Spectacular May 21-23 at the Cayuga Dragway of Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario.
“Everything has been freshened up,” he said. “We are ready.”
