Third time’s a charm, is what Shawn Bulechowsky is hoping as he takes on this year’s Alberta Streetcar shoot out.
Bulechowsky has been in the winner circle before, but not with his most recent addition, a 1968 Camaro. He came close in his past two tries, but hopefully this will be the year.
“I should have won it the last few years in a row,” Bulechowsky tells The Mail.
His 2013 effort saw him lift the front of the car three times, coming within inches of the wall and yet still ran 9.0. His competition ran an 8.80, and he was out.
“If I had another couple hundred feet, I would have caught her,” he insists.
His effort in 2014 was even more dramatic.
‘I was running at 300 kilometres per hours, and I heard a ‘pop-pop-pop’ noise, so I let up on the gas and I heard a big bang. My throttle stuck wide open at 5,000 RPM and couldn’t slow the car down, so I shut the key off. A big ball of fire came out from under the hood and up inside the car,” he said.
He was okay, but the car was not. It turned out that he had a number of valve springs fail, and while he won the heat, he was not able to continue.
He is back for 2015, and there is no question he has the goods to make a run at the crown. He recently dyno-ed the motor and it came in at 1,050 horsepower, naturally aspirated. Add some nitrous oxide, he could be running at 1,700 or beyond.
He bought the car in Lethbridge, but it’s pedigree goes back to the US and was once owned by an NFL player.
The competition is in Medicine Hat this coming weekend. Last Friday and Saturday Bulechowsky was in Edmonton at Castrol Raceway. While he wasn’t competing he went to test the car to make sure it was ready for this weekend’s run.
The competition is to crown the fastest street legal car. It has to be insured and registered and has all to meet all specifications for it to be drivable on public roads. In fact, the cars all go on a 30 kilometer cruise to make sure they qualify. He says a number of cars drop out in this stage of the competition, before even hitting the track.
The Medicine Hat Drag Racing Association Streetcar Shoot-out is September 11-13.
