Son Brody to drive and father Tom to crew chief new entry in drag race series
CAMBRIDGE, ONTARIO (April 16, 2012) – The VanDerGelds have been in drag racing for some time, but the team will be racing their own Top Dragster for the first time in the Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts this year.
We are about three nights away from getting the car together and we'll be ready to go, said car owner Tom VanDerGeld. We hope to get out testing soon.
Driving the Top Dragster will be Tom's son Brody, a full-time college student and two-time Junior Dragster champ who will be getting into the new car for this first time.
The car is powered by a 706-cubic inch Pat Musi engine with a two-stage nitrous setup and an Aeromotive Fuel System. Sitting behind the engine is a two-speed Powerglide from the shop of Joe's Transmission. The chassis is a Dan Page product which has received numerous and extensive updating from VanDerGeld and his Lowdown Hot Rods shop.
While Tom VanDerGeld has been in the drag racing world for some time, including crew stints on the Pro Modifieds of Al Hinds and Gary Irving, he has never worked with this type of setup, but added he has spent a great deal of time learning about a nitrous-inspired big block combination.
I have always tuned a blower car, he explained. This is all new to me, and I've spent a lot of the off-season learning about it.
VanDerGeld will crew chief for the team, with wife Linda and other son Austin helping the effort. He added that Joe Boniferro, who competed in the Pro Modified Racing Association, will be co-crew chief for the car, and engine builder Kirk Silbermann of Ajax Engines will also assist. Sponsorship for the team is provided by Marken Performance and Joe's Transmission Service.
VanDerGeld said with this new setup, he believes the car will run in the mid-six second range. The engine ran a 6.30 in a door car, and we're conservatively looking to run in the 6.60 range.
The Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts kicks off its 2012 season with the Victoria Day Weekend Challenge May 18-20 at the Cayuga Dragway of Toronto Motorsports Park, the first of six events.
The Quick 32 Sportsman Series, www.Quick32.ca will race six times in 2012. The series also competes with its two companion series, the Pro Modified Racing Association, www.PMRA.ca and the Pro Bike & Sled Series, www.PBSS.ca offering a solid and full package of drag racing action.
For more information contact Bruce F. Mehlenbacher at Bruce@Quick32.ca
