Ian Hill’s ‘Canada Heads Up’ (CHU) Drag Racing Series is returning to Motorama with another packed, eight-vehicle display. The large Racing Zone feature, in the northeast corner of Hall 1B, is part of the 7th annual Motorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo presented by eBay Motors. The show takes place April 29, 30 and May 1 at Toronto’s International Centre.
According to Hill, each vehicle at the show will be appearing in the five Canada Heads Up – Shootout Series events this year, on the dragstrip at Toronto Motorsports Park – Cayuga. Ranging from Junior Dragsters, to quarter-mile motorcycles, to a collection of Detroit racing iron, each entry is either a race champion, a record holder, or both.
“We’ve been a regular participant at Motorama for several years and this year we wanted to make an impact, so we put together a really nice line up of vehicles,” stated Hill. “On any weekend, we will be racing 16 different classes, so we wanted to showcase as large a variety of cars as we could, just to show the fans what we have to offer.”
For two-wheel drag racing fans, there will be a trio of examples in the Canada Heads-Up display. Fronting the motorcycle exhibit will be Jesse Vanbetelhem’s 204 mph King Of The Street (KOTS) Championship Bike. It will be sharing floor space with Tanya Teetzel’s Crazy 8s Class bike (below) and the SWB Championship ride of Damian Tong.
Sixteen-year-old Cole Ferri, the 2021 Junior Dragster champion, will be in attendance with his new-for-’22 racing mount, as will the 2021 Street 275 Class runner-up Mustang of Jason Gallant.
Another Mustang, Wajdy Khalil’s Super Street Mustang, will help to satisfy the desires of the Blue Oval fans at Motorama.
Hill has not forgotten the ‘Bowtie Brigade’ aficionados, as he will be bringing his own Quickest Stock Suspension Leaf Spring car in Canada, his EZ Street 1968 Camaro – Grey Areas (photo on previous page). The famed ‘68 Camaro started life out racing the quarter mile in the early ‘70s in Stock Eliminator and since has set numerous records throughout the 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000’s in G/SA NHRA trim.
An oddity by certain definitions, Chris Corrado’s Chevy S10 EZ Street Pickup will complete the line up for the CHU Series racing machinery.
During the three-day Motorama show, many of the Canada Heads Up drag racers will be interacting with fans and signing autographs at the Canada heads Up booth, while offering copies of the 2022 racing schedule.
“We’ve been operating the Canada Heads Up tour for three years, and our fourth looks to be the best yet as far as entries go,” noted Hill. “We had solid numbers when we started with anywhere between 85 and 90 cars at each event. Last year our car count climbed to between 120 and 135 entries per weekend. With a recent flood of new drivers, I believe we can hit almost 150 cars every time out this season. I don’t want to sound overly bold, but I truly believe that quality speaks for itself, and that’s a big reason for our growth.”
ABOUT THE CANADA HEADS UP DRAG RACING SERIES: Presented by Ian Hill Racing Promotions, Canada Heads Up is the country’s premiere Shootout Class of drag racing. Awarding points in 16 different classes, the series will see action on five race weekends in 2022, all of the events run on Cayuga, ON’s Toronto Motorsports Park drag strip. For further information, including a 2022 schedule, visit their website at www.ontariogrudgewars.com.
