As you read this months report please be aware that this report has been prepared over a several week span. The reason I am doing it this way this month is that there is a lot that goes into getting ready for a race. This way here you will kind of follow us thru as we prepare for the IHRA Mopar Canadian Nationals. This is the biggest race in Eastern Canada. Race teams come in from all over the USA and Canada to participate in this event. It is one of the biggest races that our team attends.

Our prep time is longer with more checks than our friendly voice over person can count. It is two weeks before the IHRA National event and the work has started. We have taken the back racing slicks off the car as we have found that the tires have been slipping on the rims. The tires have been removed from the rims and they have been sent down to Doug and Steve in Elmira Ontario to be drilled with holes around the rims in order that we can put screws in them once the tires are put back on. We got the rims back Saturday and remounted the tires and placed 8 screws on each side of the rims, 16 per tire. While all this was going on I was on the phone with Andy confirming that all the crew would be able to make it.

Although we are not a top fuel team we still take a full crew to all National Events. Our 2009 crew for this year has been confirmed.

Brian Heans	Crew Chief
Andy Morrison	Head Mechanic
Rob Heans	Statistician
Gary Morrison	Crew
The Professor	Crew
Bob Heans(AKA Snakebite)	Driver

There are many more people that help out at the shop also. Tom Charlie and I know there are more that just pop in to turn a wrench or run to the beer store for parts.

As I am writing this just to give you an idea, it is Monday night and I am in Gary Indiana working my day time job as a truck driver.

Even though I am busy working driving the truck there were racing jobs that needed to be done today. Such as to check in with Brian and make sure the battery charging started today. As we have two battery's we start charging them four days before each event.

The People's Journal logo being applied.

Today I had to write and send out a press release. And sometimes just the simple jobs take time to do. So you want to own a race car do ya??? Be prepared for tons of work because there is lots of it!

We have sponsors and they love to have there name mentioned as much as possible. At Snakebite Racing we have two such sponsors that have been with us since day one; Consolidated Accounting Services Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

Steve is our Accountant. Great guy comes out to races and watches me red light and never says a thing. Thanks Steve for your continued support.

And then there's my good friend Andy Morrison owner of Morrison Automotive in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. Andy is the best tuner a race car could have. We take the car to a engine dyno every fall just to see were we are. Andy has that car perfect every time. Thanks for all you do Andy and thanks for not handing in last months parts bill.

And then there is our new sponsor as of this event and we are glad to have them. The Peoples Journal. Since you are reading this you have found the web site. We look forward to a long eventful run with The Peoples Journal. More to come from them in the future. Flash Forward it's Sunday night and the car is all put up. We store our car on jack stands to give the suspension a well deserved rest. What a big four days we had with The Peoples Journal, Morrison Auto Motive, Consolidated Accounting Service's Chevy Malibu. Try saying that ten times fast!

The People's Journal logo being applied.

I got home from truck driving Wednesday night. After a quick shower and a shave the race starts. We have to load the “war wagon” with tools, supplies, fuel for the car & food for the crew. This all takes about two hours as there is a check off list that has everything we need at the track from the weather station to tools even the lazer gun we use to check the track. And we have not even got to the car yet. The car will be loaded in the morning as it is now 11pm.

“Good morning Campers” is the call at 7am. What is it with Teenagers and 7am? They do not go together. But Brian is up and slowly getting ready to go. The car must be loaded and over to the decal or sign shop for 9 am sharp.

We arrive at the decal shop at 9am and Kelly is there awaiting us. Kelly at Keltech signs is the only one that decals our car. Kelly is great! After spending two hours having ThePeoplesJournal.com decals applied along with some touch-ups we start heading to Grand Bend. This is a 2 and a half hour drive from Fergus. We always make a pit stop along the way.

We get to Grand Bend check in and are assigned our pit stall for the weekend and start setting up. Everything we loaded must now be unloaded and set in its proper place. After unloading finally we can have some dinner and a bit of a rest. After dinner we jump on the golf cart and go visit with old friends. Catch up with old drag racing stories and who is not here because they are broken down. It is now 11pm and we are two tired racers. Goodnight!

The Crew Chief watching the races.

Good Morning Racers its 7am and it is race day. The rest of our crew will filter in thru out the day. But right now we have a car to set up and get ready for our first time trial of the 2009 Mopar Canadian Nationals.

Now 10:57 am we are in the left lane with lots of people watching. We need this race out of the way to get rid of the butterflies. Get a not too bad reaction time, .030 with a 60 foot of 1.659 (just another day at the office). Our 330 4.769 at the 1/8 mile 91.87 1000 foot 9.755 and at the ¼ mile a mere 112.67 mile an hour with the time of 11.744. The air was heavy and it was hot so not to bad for the first pass of the day.

The next pass is the Dash for cash. Here is how it works. You place a dial in on your car. We dial in a 11.65. This is what Crew chief Brian has determined the car should run. And I never second guess him at this cause he knows his stuff. That's why he is nick named “The Brain”.

The car that runs right on or as close to their dial in wins. So here's the tail of the tape. Our reaction time .059. Our 60 foot 1.633 the 330 4.737 the 1/8 mile 7376 at 92.98 mile an hour. The 1000 foot 9.679. And at the quarter 113.81 mile an hour. We ran an 11.65. Right on the money. See why I love my crew chief? And we won it clean too! So the first win for The Peoples Journal.

Tuning up. Preparing for the next race

Our 3rd pass was a good one too with an .48 reaction time and out the ¼ mile at 112.81 at 11.673.

After all these passes the crew starts to arrive at the track. First my wife Joyce and other son Robbie. And then Andy, Michel, Carlos and his wife Betty.

We are finished racing for the day now comes the work we need to tune the car ,drop the oil and reset the valves. So another late night for team Snakebite.

Seven in the morning rolls around way to soon. Welcome to Saturday. This is the big day today although our crew at The Peoples Journal, Morrison Automotive, Consolidated Accounting Services Chevy Malibu will only get one pass in today we will get to see some great racing.

One thing we have learned over the years is that Joyce makes a great breakfast. So for this meal everyone leaves her alone. After our belly's are full we start to check over the car and air up the back tires again. Since that little mishap in New York a month ago we really pay attention to the rear racing slicks.

All is well with the car so we wander around and visit with old friends and watch racing. On Friday before the racing started I had a chance to get a interview with Ron Biexx. Ron is the general manager of Grand Bend Motorplex. Ron is a great friend and to take the time out of his day to do the interview was great.

I think Bob likes the Decal.

Dateline Grand Bend Ontario. It is now 230pm in the afternoon. And it is the Snakebites turn to have a burn down the track. Here's the tail of the tape. -.103 Red! Man I hate that colour. So in a nut shell cutting a red light in drag racing is not a good thing. If this was anything but a time trial I would be done like dinner. The 60 foot was 1.638. The 330 4.737, at the 1/8 mile 7.376 at 92.91 mph,1000 foot 9.676. And at the ¼ mile 114.09 in 11.641. That is the big pass for the day. I have neglected to mention that on the way back from the track to the pit there is a weigh scale and we have been weighing the car. Somebody has to lose some weight here me or the car. Anyhow the car weighs with me in the car 3065 lbs.

So next winter we will be trying to loose some more weight out of the car to try to get it down under 3000 pounds with me in the car. So I guess I'll start helping the cause,as of today I am going to start watching what I eat and try to lose some weight there. One hundred pounds of loss is a tenth of a second on the track.

I love Saturday here. I must say if you have a chance to watch drag racing at this level get out there and see it. There is nothing like it in the world. Watching all the Pro Mods, Alcohol funny cars ,Top Fuel man there is nothing like it!

We watched a rain shortened Night of Fire show because it never rains at Grand Bend during the week it seems, only on weekends. So true to form the rain came in and that was the end of the show for Saturday.

Meanwhile back at the pit it is time for the Saturday night BBQ. Food, food, and more food. From start to finish this four days is just jam packed with food ,racing and sponsor obligations. I would not trade it for anything else.