Although the 2004 season has not been the best for the Stratford, Ontario based IHRA Top Sportsman Team they finished up their year on a positive note at the JET WARZ at Toronto Motorsports Park. They did have a few tense moments over the weekend but got things worked out and made it to the semi-finals before running too quick on a breakout run.

With ideal weather conditions the team was looking to run some good numbers on the weekend but things did not start out to smooth. On the first qualifying run the transmission broke what looked like an input shaft early in the run. After further investigation the transmission seemed ok but just to be sure they decided to put the spare transmission in. The second qualifying went a little better but the car was still down on power and only ran a 7.71 @ 177 mph. Once back to the pits they realized they had a dead cylinder again. With no qualifying left they changed the spark plug, plug wire and nitrous nozzle on that cylinder and hoped they fixed the problem. They entered first round with a 7.70 dial-in knowing if the problem was fixed they would run way too quick. Thanks to a red light start by their opponent they were able to run full out and recorded a 7.44 @ 187 mph. The problem was solved and they were going into round 2. They were once again the benefactors of a red light I the other lane. In the semi-final both drivers had excellent reaction times but unfortunately the K&K/FRAM LeBaron was too quick, recording a 7.41 at only 177 mph. “I caught him real early and dumped it hard, I though we had it for sure. This thing would have went a 7.30 for sure.” stated driver Kevin Wicke. Although they lost that round the team was upbeat, “We had a rough year and a rough weekend but we kept our heads up and kept plugging away. That last pass was the quickest the car has went on that tune-up. It was a good run to tend the year on.” said Crew Chief Kevin Zimmer.

The team will now begin to prepare for the 2005 season. They are planning on making some modifications and improvements on their current combination. The team would also like to thank everyone who supported them this past season. The teams marketing partners are : FRAM, AUTOLITE, PRESTONE, PARTS PRO, FASTPIXS.COM, RPM CLASSIFIEDS, CVR, JIFFY-TITE, RON’S PRECISION MACHINE, PERTH AUTO DISMANTLERS AND ERIE DRIVE-IN