Chaguanas' Rishi Kanick heads to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the United States National Drag Races this weekend hosted by the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) after coming off an impressive showing at the US regional drag racing. This was last weekend at the Virginia Motorsports Park at Richmond, Virginia.
On Friday, Kanick, the first T&T racer to drive an A Fuel Top Alcohol Dragster, made two passes, doing 5.58 seconds at 243 mph and 5.60 seconds at 265 mph which qualified him for Saturday's elimination rounds.
The following day, the car lifted into a wheelie just before the 1/8 mile mark causing the vehicle to slow for a millisecond allowing his opponent to slip by and beat him by mere fractions of a second.
"By the time I pedaled it I was at the 1,000-foot mark, I hit the throttle, it wheelied again and I managed to control the powerful beast and shoot to the finish line at 5.56 at 249 mph. That was my fastest elapsed time for the weekend with a double peddle and a double wheelie. My opponent clocked a time of 5.38. However, I was highly praised by the officials for this run and my keen ability to control the car as it wheelied twice," Kanick said.
Kanick, 40, said that he hopes to better his time at Charlotte and bring some glory home to T&T before he returns home next Wednesday.
Prior to this, Kanick drove the same car last April at the Zmax Dragway Charlotte, North Carolina, to get his NHRA Top Alcohol license in a best time of 5.54 seconds at 263 mph on the quarter-of-a-mile track. He is yet to beat his personal record on the professional racing circuit.
Kanick's run was not without hiccups as his parachute failed to properly deploy on Friday and the aerodynamics of the vehicle needs to be adjusted by his pit crew. If his crew works out the "bugs" in time for Charlotte, the $2 million nitromethane machine may just bring some glitter to his eyes.
He said, "Going to Charlotte is like going home where it all started for me and I'm very confident that my team and I will give an impressive performance."
Kanick expects more supporters from T&T to make the trip to Charlotte to share the taste of victory along with the smell and tears that comes when one is exposed to burning rubber and nitromethane vapour.