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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1995-08-09, Page 15Times -Advocate, July 19, 1995 This Week in Sports... . • Barracuda Swim Team results - page 15 • Hole in one at Exeter Golf Club - page 16 Dan Butters revs his Top Fuel Nitro Funny Bike on the starting line at Grand Bend Motorplex on Sunday. Butters set a new record for the fastest bike in Canada after he raced his motorcycle down the quarter mile track in 7.05 seconds at 181 mph beating the previous record by .02 of a second. Fastest man on two wheels Dan Butters shatters Canadian record at Motorplex Chris Skalkos T -A staff GRAND BEND - When you in- vite the top two motorcycle drag racers in Canada to your racetrack, you're bound to have a record brok- en. Two of the country's fastest mo- torcycles were at Grand Bend Mo- torplex on the weekend battling for cash prizes and track supremacy. Dan Butters and Geoff Pollard pitted their drag racing skills and their machines against each other at Motorplex's Mid -summer Rock and Roll Shoot-out on August 5-7. The Funny Bike showdown be- tween Butters and Pollard ended when Butters shattering the record for the fastest motorcycle in Can- ada. Butters raced his Top Fuel Nitro Funny Bike down the quarter mile track in 7.05 seconds at 181 mph. Pollard held the previous record of 7.07 seconds; a record he set over a year ago at London Motorsports Park with his Alcohol Turbo Charged Funny Bike. "It really hasn't sunk in yet," said Sports- Lite Butters shortly after his record breaking run. "We've been so close so many times and we couldn't get over the hump, but today was our day," he said. Pollard wasn't upset his record was broken by .02 seconds and he commended Butters for a perfectly executed race. "He deserved it. He did a nice job riding the bike. I take my hat off to him and his crew," Pollard said. The record-breaking race against Butters on Sunday was Pollard's first pass with his newly modified Kawasaki Funny Bike at the track. The bike kicks out approximately 470 horsepower and has a top speed of 194 mph; however he and his crew were still ironing out the bugs. Pollard said he still had a chance to beat Butters during the elimina- tion race the next day and regain his Funny Bike crown, but he ad- mitted he was up against a con- sistent competitor. "My chances are pretty good, but the way Dan has been riding it could be a pretty tough race." he said. Pollard, who has been racing bikes for 12 years, estimates it costs $30,000 in operating cost to race his bike for one year. "That's if you don't break any- thing," he added. His pit crew con- sists of his wife Cheryl, his brother Greg, his nephew Neil and friend Frank Allen. "It's a family run operation. they don't miss a race," said Pollard. Butters, on the other hand, es- timates it costs him $1,500 in oper- ating costs to race his nitro Funny bike for a year. The highly com- bustible nitro methane fuel he runs in his bike costs $50 dollars a gal- lon and the bike consumes two and a half gallons per pass, essentially costing him $150 every time he makes a run down the quarter mile track. That doesn't include the cost of spark plugs and oil filters which are replaced after each race. Butters said the high cost of oper- ating a Top Fuel Funny Bike is the main reason why there are not many around. He figures there are only 15 of these two wheeled racers in North America and many of them are not active competitively. "Only so many people can spend that kind of money on a bike, but this sort of bike is the grand -daddy of the sport. This is as big as you can go with motorcycles," he said. Butters considers his drag racing career a weekend hobby and he credits his crew of Mike Law and Doug Snyder for his success in be- coming the fastest motorcycle racer in the country. "I just ride the thing, they do all the real work," he said. Butters said he enjoys racing against Pollard because they are actually good friends. But when it comes close to race time the two friends quickly become rivals. "When we roll up to the starting line there's no more friendship," said Butters. "It's very competitive that way." 4* == Drag Racing Results Grand Bend Sunday, August 6 Super Pro: Wayne Nielson, London, 10.28 at 124.30 defeated Shel- don Hudson, 10.95 at 121.30 Pro: Tom Craig, Sarnia, 11.84 at 103.92 defeated Mark MacDonald, Seaforth, 13.35 at 93.95 Street: Mark Brand, Exeter, 15.02 at 85.71 defeated Tom Cruder, London, 18.46 at 70.20 Bike: Jack Learment, London, 8.71 at 148.51 defeated Frank Alling- ham, London, 8.96 at 146.58 Jr. Dragster: Jimmy Dunton, 8.48 (dial 8.52) defeated Mitch Elliot, 6.49 (RL 6.45) Pro Comp Quick 16 Qualifying Times First: Jim McCann, Stratford, 6.96; Second: Bruce Boland, Std Creek, 7.42; Third: Shannon Price, Mitchell, 7.43 Monday, August 7 Funny Car Shootout: Paul Noakes, 6:30 at 218.46 defeated Todd Pa- ton (Broke) Fram-Autolite Quick Run $1,000 bonus went to Todd Paton for previ- ous run 6.13 Super Pro: Bill Klomps, Bayfield, 9.04 at 151.01 defeated Rob Atchi- son, London, 10.31 RL 127.47 Pro: Steve Schrans, Dashwood, 11.98 at 108.69 defeated Fred Ellis, Stratford, 11.41 at 116.58 Street: Don Major, Woodstock, 14.92 at 82.71 defeated Beth Kremer, Sarnia, 16.15 at 85.55 Bike: Mike Scharon, Chatham, 14.77 at 80.50 defeated Frank Mathe, Belleville, 9.67 at 121.29 Jr. Dragster: Clint McAdams, 6.14 defeated Jim Dunton, 8.49 • Lawn bowling Exeter July 25 Lawrence Russell Shari Palen Ray Smith Doris Hamilton Henry Drachenberg Marion Dearing July 27 Marshall Dearing Ray Hodgson Roy Triebner Stan Roth Shari Palen July 29 Lorna Spencer Chad Smith John Batten Frank Palen Howard Johns August 1 Wilmer Adkins Bob Thompson Roy Triebner Har Brintnell Marg Deichert August 3 Peter McFalls John Cooper Bob Thompson Chad Smith Frank Palen August 5 Fred Mommersteeg Gretta Richard Lorna Spencer Marshall Dearing Frank Palen 2W55 2W26 2W25 2W23 2W23 I W45 2W28 2W24 2W23 2W23 1W15 2W22 2W19 2W18 IW12 1W12 2W27 2W27 2W27 2W25 2W24 2W28 2W25 2W22 2W19 1W15 2W29 2W29 2W25 2W25 1W17 Shuffleboard Exeter August 2 4 game winners Pat Davis Joe Gosar Doris Miller Myraline Desjardine Steve Hrapchap August 3 4 gan, je winners Marge McCurdy Hugh McKay Gordon Hoggarth Ann Northey Gil Northey Hensall August I 6 game winners Pat Davis Lorne Archer Hazel McEwan Gertie Moir - Ina Williams Jim Davis Hugh McKay John Pepper 334 290 275 263 261 431 373 358 330 317 621 572 519 513 510 508 502 450 Got a sports tip? CaII the Times - Advocate 2354331 'Equestrienne shows Arabians Chris Skalkos T -A staff Rebecca Darling has a hobby that has become a way of life. Darling owns and trains two Arabian purebred horses at her barn on Alexander street in Exeter. Her horses, Amas, a 18 year-old male, and Gaileecka a 12 year-old female, are specially trained show horses that Darling trains and shows herself. Before she was introduced to horses, Darling tried many hobbies. She learned how to play the piano, she has tried skating, she has tak- en swimming and dance lessons, but none have held her interest until she took her first riding lesson on a Arabian horse seven years ago. "I've taken other hobbies when I was young but nothing was as thrill- ing as this," said Darling. "When I first started lessons I fell in love with the breed. I knew someday 1 would have my own horse." Darling has been exposed to other types of horses but she quickly de- veloped a fondness for the Arabians. "I've tried standard breeds but for me there's nothing like an Arabian. To see one out in a pasture riding around is exciting, 1 would never change," she said. Arabians are characterized by their elegant postured and distinct chiselled heads. Darling said they sometimes get a reputation for being hyper because they are very alert, but they are no more hyper than oth- er breeds: Darling enjoys working with both her horses, but she admits it in- volves a great deal of work, and it's very time consuming. "You can't always depend on the horse. 1t takes a lot of hard work conditioning the horses to get them ready for a show. The real chal- lenge is trying to work together as a team. Rider and horse are both equal parts of that team, you depend on each other rather than de- pending just on yourself," Darling said. Many owners hire professional trainers to work with their horses but she doesn't agree with that because "it doesn't mean that much when you do very well [at a competition]," she said. Darling insists on training them herself and consequently it has led to a strong relationship between her and her Arabians. "We've developed a strong bond between each other. I've grown very attached to them. Each one has their own distinct personality," she said. Darling attends over 30 horse shows either as a competitor or a spec- tator and this year her horse Amas did very well the Great Lakes Ara- bian Horse show held in London last month coming in first or second in every class event. "He's done well before but I was really happy with him," said Dar- ling about her horse's performance. After graduating from South Huron District High School next year, Darling would like to go to the United States and work with Mary Trowbridges, a professional horse trainer. Eventually she would like to show Arabian horses at a US national competition. "That's my goal, to be a national champion someday," she said. Darling is prepared and willing to dedicate her life to working with, and showing Arabian horses. "This started out as a hobby but now Fm looking towards a career," she said. "I love to be at horse shows all day. That's when I'm the hap- piest." Rebecca Doling and her Arabian horse Ames. •