Cal Barnes has waited 20 years for this celebration.
Two decades of drag racing paid off in the biggest prize of his career at the Super Chevy Show Sunday in Edmonton when Barnes and his 1961 Bel Air won the no-box (no electronics allowed) ET class.
Barnes, the only Prince George racer at the Super Chevy event, rolled into the pits at Castrol Speedway hauling his car on an open trailer. He pitched his tent next to drivers who showed up with motorhomes and big-budget racing operations.
But all that money proved no match for Barnes on the track. After qualifying fourth out of 70 in his class, Barnes won seven elimination races to claim his trophy.
"I still am in shock about it," said Barnes.
"Super Chevy is a pretty big magazine and they host 12 events a year in the United States and this was the first time they brought it to Canada, and I went there and put all the rich folks into their trailers and brought home all the loot. I don't know how I did it, but I managed to come out on top."
He was nearly perfect in the final against a GMC short-box truck driven by Dennis Reilander of Innisfail, Alta. Barnes rocketed out of the start with scintillating .076-second reaction time (.050 is considered perfect), then covered the quarter-mile course in 10.896 seconds, perfectly matching his dial-in time of 10.89. After a .179-second start, Reilander broke out of his 10.78 dial-in, running a 10.76.
"That was best race of the event, he was a pro and the little guy from Podunk shut him down," said Barnes. "I'm not a beginner, I've won a few in town, but this is by far the biggest thing I've ever won and the best. It was a dream come true for me."
The 50-year-old auto body mechanic has been a diehard drag racer since the early 1990s, when he bought his Bel Air for $3,300 and a transmission at at the Show and Shine car show at Prince George secondary school.
Drag racing in Prince George almost died a slow death in the early 2000s when the sport suffered through years of low car counts at what was then called North Central Motorsport Park. But the sport has been revitalized the last two seasons under new track owner Shane Lodjn. Friday Night Street Legal racing and the P.G. All-Out ET bracket elimination events at Prince George Motorsports Park have renewed interest and created a competitive environment that helped set Barnes up for his big weekend in Edmonton.
Barnes takes pride in his candy-apple red two-door Bel Air and among 200 entries in the pits at Castorl Speedway caught the eye of the Super Chevy magazine it was picked for one of 10 Editor's Choice drag car awards. Barnes and his car will be featured in an upcoming issue of the internationally-distributed American magazine.
"There were a few cool looking cars, but none like mine," Barnes said.
Jim Warner at Jim Engine's of Prince George built the blown 350 small-block Chevy motor Barnes for the Bel Air three years ago and built it to last. Barnes drives the 700-horsepower beast on the P.G. streets.
"Jim calls me every Monday and asks, 'How did it perform', and the thing hasn't missed a beat," said Barnes. "I think I was the only guy there not babysitting my car. I haven't touched the carburetor or distributor and I'm running 10s. The guy in the final had four crew members checking his tires and wiping his brow."
Barnes won't have much time to rest on his laurels. He plans to be back at PGMP on Friday night (starting at 6 p.m.) for the start of the three-day, season-ending PG. All-Out event.
"It's the last race of the year, the car still runs good, and I have to go out and prove I'm the champ," Barnes said.
