Surrey school drag racing clubs back on track
Gary Klose (left) inspects the Frank Hurt Malibu being driven by Grade 12 student Sukhman Gill.
After a two-year hiatus, secondary school car clubs are back on track.
Last Friday (April 29) marked the first time at the race track since the start of the pandemic for Frank Hurt, Guildford Park, Lord Tweedsmuir and Queen Elizabeth secondary after-school racing clubs.
“It’s nice to be back into the swing of things,” said Gary Klose, a retired district EA, tradesperson and current volunteer with the Frank Hurt Drag Racing Club. “It’s been difficult this year, because of COVID and how it hit, it’s been hard finding kids to get involved. We lost a few years due to COVID.”
The cancellation of racing club activities not only removed the opportunity from interested students, but also deprived clubs of students that would typically join in younger grades and continue through their senior years.
A drag racer from another Surrey club, the Queen Elizabeth Secondary Race Team.
“Usually, the kids come up as members of the pit crew and then when they get their [learner’s licence] they can begin racing in the later years,” explained Klose. “Thankfully we’ve got a good group of Grade 8s this year that we can hopefully bring up.”
The drag racing club at Frank Hurt Secondary, spun off as an extracurricular club from the school’s automotive program, is just one of a few left in the district. While there were previously more auto programs and car clubs in the district, only a handful remain active today.
“This auto-shop has been here pretty much since day one of the school opening,” said Klose during a tune-up session at the school’s garage.
He’d like to see programs at more schools because they have not only helped students decide future career paths, but also provide a good place to learn about vehicles and racing.
“This is a safe and controlled environment for students to learn about this stuff and that’s rare,” he said, adding that they also vet students in the program. “We make sure the kids are caught up on their studies, and if I hear that they’re racing on the streets, they’re done.”
He said the club has been a career turning point for many former members, with several becoming Red Seal mechanics, and others working in high-performance shops, in dealerships or for large companies, maintaining fleet vehicles.
“It’s made such an impression that they still want to be involved and will book off time to come see the students race if they can.”
For Grade 12 Frank Hurt student Sukhman Gill, the club is a chance to pursue an interest that he may not have otherwise had an opportunity to explore.
“I’ve taken automotive classes since Grade 8 and always wanted to join the drag racing club because it’s just more time spent around the cars,” he said. “I’ve always been interested in cars and now [with races starting up again] I have an opportunity to work on them more. I just want more experience.”
Friday was Gill’s first time behind the wheel of Frank Hurt’s main drag car, a 1980 Malibu. Prior to that, Gill, who has his ‘N’ license, had only test driven a few of the club’s other slower and less-powerful vehicles.
“The Malibu has a 383 stroker [engine] and it’ll lift the front wheels off at full power,” said Klose. “So we tune those down for the kids before they get behind the wheel. There’s a rule for the school races, that they cannot go faster than a 12-second quarter-mile. If they go under 12 seconds, we get a fine.”
Klose said he hopes the team's sense of camaraderie and community will keep the program running years from now and encourage the next generation of mentors to help run similar clubs.
While last Friday was meant to be the start of the race season, organizers later decided to turn it into a practice and test-run day to iron out any kinks accumulated during the two-year hiatus.
The next races are scheduled for May 6 and June 3.
