Top Sportsman racer will compete with a 1968 Camaro in popular drag race series
STRATFORD, ONTARIO (March 30, 2012) – Spencer Hyde will be racing a new car in the Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts this year, and he will be concentrating on more consistency.
And with the new car, the driver of the Hyde Racing Top Sportsman added this car will not use nitrous.
We were having trouble with the nitrous setup, said the full-time college student. We wanted to get rid of it completely as we found it finicky.
And without the nitrous, we think it will be one more positive step to help us get down the track.
Hyde will be driving the former Keeling Motorsports 1968 Camaro, a Jerry Bickel Race Cars product which will be powered by a 762-cubic inch engine running carburetors, built by Engine Research & Development (ERD). A Coan Engineering transmission sits behind the big-block, which also utilizes and ERD-inspired fuel system.
Hyde said he anticipates no big issues getting into the Camaro this season. He raced a Top Sportsman Cobalt last year, and the engine in that car went into his sister Sydnie's Top Dragster for 2012.
I don't think I'll notice any difference between the Cobalt and the Camaro, he said. The Camaro has a 113-inch wheelbase like a Pro Modified and it should handle better. Also the new car is set up inside identical to the Cobalt.
Hyde qualified the Cobalt well last year, including a couple of number one spots, but the team had problems going rounds, and Hyde believes the team will have more success and will be more consistent with the new set-up. The Cobalt would run the quarter-mile in the 6.77-second range at speeds over 200 mph, and he is expecting this performance from the new car.
Crew chief for the Camaro is Ron Hyde, with help coming from Jack Hyde, Murray Hyde, Peter Hyde, and Dominique Bushfield. He also wanted to thank Carl Spiering, Rob, and Terry at ERD for their help with the effort.
Sponsorship for the Hyde Racing Team, which is owned and operated by Peter and Lisa Hyde, comes from NAPA Auto Parts, Ideal Supply, Hyde Construction, Transit Petroleum, Hyde Electric, Dordan Mechanical, Raedon Excavating, Ronnoco Sales, NA Engineering Associates, Wilhelm Concrete, Steve Smith Construction, Sutton Group (Paul Graham) and Orr Insurance, Coors Light (Jeff Carr), Ramseyer Earthworks, Schultz Plumbing, Remex Trucking, iLOOKABOUT and the Tim Horton's at Ontario and Erie in Stratford.
Hyde believes with the new car and a new focus, the team will be a player in the upcoming Quick 32 Sportsman Series, but he does realize the competition will be tougher than ever.
The racing gets tougher each year, he noted. The competition is getting stiff and the cars are now going real fast.
Hyde is thankful to his Dad and Mom, Peter and Lisa Hyde and his sister Sydnie.
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
Photo Credit: Dave Erauw Photography ~ www.erauw-photo.com
