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This is the home of Brent Hackl's Drag Racing Team, sponsored by Mac's Convenience Stores and Universal Cycle.  We race a purpose-built 1927 Ford/Brogie Roadster, powered by a 502 cubic inch big-block Chevy.  Please send an email to tell us you've been here.  Include your comments, or just say "Hi".

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Brent in the #6333 Mac's Motorsports 1927 Ford Roadster

News

The last race for the Calgary Drag Racing Association (CDRA) 2011 season is on Sunday Sept. 4 at Calgary's Race City.  Come out to watch the Mac’s Motorsports team in action.  Barring an unlikely miracle at City Hall, this will be the last CDRA drag race in Calgary EVER, as the track is being forced to close in a few weeks.

Practice starts at 10 am, spectator gates open at noon.  Racing starts at 1 pm.

Admission: $10 (children $5)

We compete in the IHRA Electronics (or “Box”) class.  Hope to see you there!  The pits are open at all times, please drop by and say hi.   Wander through the entire pit area - it's a high-performance car show.

Here are directions to Race City.

L to R:  Tim, Doug, Brent, Chris, Don (in front),

Carmen (behind the camera)

We were a DNS (did not start) because, well, the car did not start!  L  It started the day before in the garage, but the starter cratered Sunday morning.  We've installed a new starter, and we're ready to go again (and now we have a spare too!).

We lost in the first round by "breaking out".  L  At 9.11 seconds, we ran the quarter mile quicker than the 9.14 seconds that we "dialed in" (chose) before the run.  Not allowed!

We lost in the first round by "breaking out".  L  We ran the quarter mile in 9.146 seconds after "dialing in" (choosing) a time of 9.20.  An automatic loss.

Then we entered the Buy Back competition between all the first round losers.  4 races later we emerged as the WINNER of the Buy Back Group!!!  Not nearly as good as winning on the "A" side, but not a bad consolation prize.  J

We lost the race in the first round.   L  The car ran well all day, and the driver did okay.  We got beat by a few feet.  Brent thought he had the other driver covered, so he eased up a bit on the throttle at the very last moment to ensure he didn't "break out" (run quicker than the time he had dialed in).  He didn't realize, but the other driver was gaining on him at the end, just behind what he could see, and the instant Brent's foot came up the other driver's nose poked ahead.

It's a double-header weekend at Race City.  The first two races of the Calgary Drag Race Association (CDRA) 2011 season are this Saturday-Sunday June 18-19. On Sunday, the Father’s Day Classic includes feature cars such as Jet cars, Funny Cars, Dragsters, Altereds, and the Full Tilt Boogie Wheelstander. The Mac’s Motorsports 1927 Ford Roadster is ready to go.

We compete in the IHRA Electronics (or “Box”) class.  The pits are open at all times, please drop by and say hi and wander through the entire pit area - it's a high-powered car show.

Sunday May 15 was to be the first race of the Calgary Drag Race Association (CDRA) 2011 season.  However, the race was cancelled because of the wind.  Not a single pass was made by anyone.  It was unload, tech, wait, and load up again.  That's a first for us.  We've had lots of rain-outs in the past, but never a wind-out (if that's what you call it).

Oh well, we're tied for first!

We've had a lot of help in our thrashing to get the Mac's Roadster ready for the first race of 2011. 

Many thanks to:

Chris Huntley  Crew (long days in the garage)

Don Fergin  Universal Cycle (& Mac's Motorsports racer)

Jason Loader  Concept Metal Works (fabrication)

Hugh Williamson  Top Gun Coatings (racing expert)

We're proud to announce the return of the following sponsors for 2011:

Wow, It’s Fast:   Our fastest 1/4 mile run was 145 MPH. Our quickest time was 9.177 seconds.  That’s a completely different race than our Legends Car on the oval, where races that could be up to an hour long!

The objective for 2010 was to learn the ropes for this new beast called Drag Racing, develop and learn a “pre-starting-line” procedure, improve reaction times, and focus on consistency.

June 5:  Brent’s first full pass down the ¼-mile drag strip, EVER, was in early June at Race City in Calgary.  It was a combination of test-n-tune, new car shakedown, and driver orientation.  Best run was 10.301 seconds @ 130.17 MPH.  And Brent learned how to do a burnout (kind of).

June 12:  The following weekend in Medicine Hat he fulfilled the requirements for an NHRA sub-10 second competition licence. Best run was 9.177 seconds @ 144.89 MPH.

June 20:  The Calgary Father’s Day Classic was our first competition event.  We won our first pass!  Full disclosure..... our competitor was also a rookie, and his reaction was even slower than our horrid .174 seconds.  We also won our 2nd pass, but more legitimately.  Lost in round 3 on a double break-out (where both racers go quicker than their dialed-in time). I ran 9.373 on a 9.41 dial-in, but our competitor broke out by less than broke out by less than .037).  A great first race-day!

July 3:  We made it to the finals!!! J  But lost. L  We had good reaction times (including one of .007 seconds!) and ran close to our dial-in every pass.  We lost the final round on a stupid technical mistake.....  After staging at the starting line (breaking the beam with the front tires), I engaged the transmission brake (button on the steering wheel) and released the brake pedal.  The tranny brake should hold the car in place, but due to slack in the rear end gears, the car rolled back ¼” or so, ROLLING OUT OF THE TIMING BEAM!  That caused a red light, just as if I had launched the car before the green.  There will be an electronic / mechanical mod to the car this winter to prevent it from happening again.

July 24:  Not a great race day.  Won the 1st round despite a horrid reaction time.  Lost the 2nd round after spinning at the line due to an oil-down from one of the cars racing before me. 

September 12:  Disappointing day.  Lost round 1 due to the worst reaction time of the year (aka “having a nap”).  Paid to race in the “buy-back” round, but lost the 1st race after cutting a GREAT light (.020 seconds).

All-in-all 2010 was a great rookie year.  We didn’t even break anything!  Next year - we'll open the throttle!

First Time Out.....  We took the Mac's Motorsports 1927 Ford Roadster to Race City (Calgary) on June 5 for its maiden voyage – to shake down the car (newly assembled), break in the engine, and break in the DRIVER!  It was my first time down the drag strip in ANY vehicle (not counting my 17 second / 60 mph putt-putt run 1.5 years ago immediately after I bought it).  Best pass of the day was 10.30 seconds @ 130 mph.  We also got some publicity – see story AND VIDEO in the Calgary Beacon.  The video isn’t obvious – click on the empty black box at the bottom of the article.

Licensing.....  On June 12-13 I went to the NHRA drag strip in Medicine Hat to get my sub-10-second license (required to go quicker than 10 seconds in the ¼ mile).  I completed the licensing requirements.  Best run was 9.177 seconds @ 143 mph!  A huge thrill!

The car is substantially de-tuned right now, including a throttle-limiter to prevent full throttle, so it’s capable of going a LOT faster.  But first the driver needs to get comfortable, familiar, and experienced.

So I’m ready to LEARN how to drag race.  Before I go faster, I’ll try to learn how to be consistent and predictable.  That’s what wins in bracket racing – pick the number you’re GOING to run, and then run it.

Special Thanks to the following who were instrumental in building this race car and/or providing expert advice.....

Don Fergin, Universal Cycle (& Mac's Motorsports racer)

Stewart Schabert (custom metal & fiberglass fabrication)

Jason Loader, Concept Metal Works (welding)

Hugh Williamson (Top Gun Coatings, drag racing expert)

Greg Westling (Mac's Motorsports racer)

Click here for a video of burnout and licensing pass at Medicine Hat. (7 MB)

After 10 years of Legends racing, Brent is switching to the dark side - DRAG RACING.  We're buying a new racecar!