Greg and Ty Benzon cruise back to the pits at Saskatchewan International Raceway on Saturday, August 23. Benzon raced the Hemisaurus to the top qualifying time but lost in the final. He marked a 7.31 at 184 MPH.
The Hemisaurus is a monster on the track and last weekend it proved it again, this time in Saskatoon.
After taking a couple years away from the track, Greg Benzon and his crew of Wendy and Ty Benzon, Clayton Brown, Tammy Taylor, Perry Poroznuk and Lorne Ell were back on the track August 23, and they were flying.
Benzon had the Hemisaurus out last season in Edmonton on testing day, and earlier this summer he was in Three Hills for the airport run. This was the first time he had been on a dedicated grippy drag strip in some time, and it was time to put the hammer down.
On August 23, they were among 16 blown alcohol cars from Canada and the US at “The Big One” at the Saskatchewan International Raceway.
“We set it to kill,” said Benzon, explaining this means dialing in the blown alcohol altered Bantam funny car up to its maximum 1,700 horsepower.
While the track had lots of rubber laid down to keep the tires gripping, it was pretty bumpy and Benzon admits he had to lift off the throttle a couple times to keep control. Despite this, he qualified with the fastest time of 7.31 at 184 MPH.
Benzon won his second race, sending him to the finals. In the championship race, they were beat by a car from Montana.
Benzon is very happy with how the car performed. It was a competitive field and most drivers were running similar set ups, but with a larger blower. Right now he says his car is built to run in the 6.90 range, and he is not in a hurry to upgrade.
This is the end of the racing season for Benzon and his team.
