News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

By LeRae Haynes

Williams Lake racers enjoyed a roaring success at the ‘Scotty’s 100 Mile Mud Drags’ in 100 Mile House last weekend. ‘Ricochet’, owned by Curt Morben and driven by Tony Kranjc and ‘The Boss’, owned by Jack Maunu and Curt Morben and driven by Curt, both continued their top-notch performances at the exciting event.

(‘Ricochet’ is air born during the Mud Drags in 100 Mile House.)

Both cars run the Points Series in the North West Mud Racing Association (NWMRA) and put their owners and drivers on the map when it comes to speed, power, and free-flying adrenalin.  

“The El Camino ‘Ricochet’ is the most exciting car to watch in a mud race. That car is crazy—one bump and it’s air-born, with 200 foot runs in four seconds,” Curt said. “The Ricochet brings huge action to the track.”

He said that in 100 Mile the El Camino took first place and got ‘Fastest Pass’, as it has in every race this year—a speed spree. “Our rookie driver Tony Kranjc did a great job--we gave the Ricochet a super-duper clean up last week and Tony really had his eyes opened in this race,” he stated.

“The Boss did really great, but blew a rear end on the first pass. We had it rebuilt and took it out again for the second pass and got First Place and Fastest Pass again, winning the Point Series.”

This was Tony’s first season behind the wheel in this series. “He’s good friends with all the guys I race with. When I interviewed him I asked him if he wanted to have some runs. He had no idea what he was getting into the first time behind the wheel. I had just done a bunch of work on the car: you don’t really know how it’s going to go,” Curt explained. 

“Two weeks before Tony’s first race the car wasn’t running well at all. We had to get the engine down to Kelowna. We did a lot of work on it in two weeks, and were still tightening bolts on the engine 20 minutes before his first race started. His first pass was terrible: we had to adjust a few things, but when it came to his second pass, he came out incredible.”

He said that the NWMRA race at Chilliwack two weeks ago at Heritage Park was the most spectacular show that anyone will ever get to see. “It’s just amazing—the wheelies and the power. I got scared at 110 mph and at 4 feet in the air. We gave everybody a really good show and did the Fastest Pass to date, and my long-time racing buddy Brad Astbury broke the 2.2 second record for 200 feet,” he said.

(‘The Boss’ is pictured here in the Heritage Park race in Chilliwack. Photo by William Snow.)

“The super-charge guys and the paddle guys do the Pro Pits. If we get in the thick mud we’ll tear our cars to pieces. The Pro Pits have less mud, giving you more control, and because we’re faster, we need the control.”

He added that ‘The Boss’ is in the top four cars in the whole North West series, and that the El Camino is the biggest crowd favourite in all the years he’s run it. “We get out and do the autograph thing with the posters,” he said. “Everyone loves it.”

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