Grand Bend: Rick Kopp final summary

                 Kopp pleased with performance of new dragster

    "We've just scratched the surface. There's a lot more in this car."

BURLINGTON, ONTARIO (July 23, 2007) -- After some initial mechanical setbacks, drag racer Rick Kopp is ready for some serious seat time in his new Team Husky Top Dragster.

"We're back in town," said Kopp recently after some testing sessions with his new Mike Boss-chassised, ERD-powered alcohol burning dragster. "We've done enough testing to know we've entered a new level of racing."

In a recent Quick 8 Shootout at Ontario's Grand Bend drag strip, Kopp drove the 2000-horsepower car to a 6.39-second, 217.28 mph pass on the quarter-mile track.

"This is the fastest I've ever gone," said the owner/driver of the Kopp Motorsports entry after the run. "The car was flawless. We were straight down Broadway."

There were some teething problems with the new car earlier in the season, and the dragster would just not make it down the track. A faulty pump in the two-speed GM Powerglide-based transmission was the culprit. When it was replaced, the car was in top form, and ready for the team to get some laps on it.

In a more recent Quick 8 show at Grand Bend, Kopp and his team qualified number two in the 15-car field, and ran another personal-best with a 6.27-second, 217.88-mph run.

But for the next round, one of the car's two parachutes (used to slow the car down when the race is over) failed to deploy properly. Kopp said he got the car under control with no problem, but the faulty parachute wrapped itself around the stabilizing read wing and strut work, demolishing the necessary airfoil.

But Kopp added a new wing has been ordered, and will be installed ready for the next race event.

"We've just scratched the surface," he said. "There's a lot more in this car."

The Team Husky Top Dragster will run at several drag race events for 2007, including several International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Knoll - Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series events. The team will also be a highlight at several Home Depot locations as part of the Team Husky promotional tour across Ontario.

-credit: Kopp Motorsports