HOME RUN AT BUD PARK
Words by Ian Tocher
7/703

f you felt a sudden, unexpected breeze late on Sunday, June 29, it was probably just the far-reaching remnants of Bill Bader's sigh of relief after his most recent experiment panned out. For once this season, the IHRA prez and crew were greeted by perfect weather, which drew out the fans in droves and nearly 300 racecars for the inaugural Rocky Mountain Nationals presented by GM Goodwrench Service, held June 27-29 at Budweiser Motorsports Park -- way, way out there in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

TOP FUEL

One guy who certainly didn't mind the 2,000-mile trip to Edmonton from his Indianapolis home was Bruce Litton, who after having lost to Clay Millican in nine final rounds last season, finally beat him for a Top Fuel event title. "Every win is special but this one had extra meaning because we've tried so hard in the past and it just never panned out," Litton said.

Photo courtesy of IHRA

Nine nitro burners were on the grounds vying for the eight-car raceday field, with Millican ultimately shattering the track's ET and speed records in qualifying number one with a 4.666 blast at 317.01 mph. He easily handled John "Doc" Sipple and Don Sosenka in the prelims, while number-two qualifier Litton made solo passes when both Louie Allison and Jack Ostrander couldn't answer the call to stage.

In the money round, Litton left first with a big .112 holeshot and it paid off at the far end when his 4.917 at 299.30 beat Millican's quicker 4.877 at 283.64 mph. "We were very fortunate today and the good Lord blessed us with some good runs," the Lucas Oil-backed driver said. "I feel very blessed to be there in the final to get a shot at winning."

PRO MOD

As usual, Pro Modified attracted the most pro class entries in Edmonton, with 20 cars going after 16 positions on Sunday. Quain Stott led the way in his supercharged '63 Corvette with a 6.280-second pass at 227.73 mph that set low ET and top speed of the meet in qualifying, followed by his brother Mitch in a similar blown machine. Rick Distefano, from Calgary, Alberta, was the fastest of the western-based racers on hand, going 6.317 at 223.26 to slot in third. The bump was a 6.646/215.93 combination put together by Richmond, BC's Glen May in his blown 1999 Ford Ranger.