Napierville Dragway hosts locals 

Corey Diabo still remembers his first ever burnout.

It was on a side road, in the early 1980s, and all Diabo had was his learner’s permit.

“My brother Duane, his first car was a 1969 Oldsmobile 442 and he let me try it,” said Diabo. "He explained how to do a burnout, and he let me do it, in his car, a muscle car, and I got to do that at a young age.”

Diabo said Duane and his other brother Keith were the ones who helped him start drag racing, as something they could do together as a family.

The experience in his brother’s car led to him finding his own 442.

“They had a restoration shop, and still do. We restored the car slowly and got it to be working and running well,” said Diabo.

Diabo said that the first time he drove at Napierville with that car, he won an elimination round with it, starting his – and his Oldsmobile’s – foray into racing on a high point.

He was on hand for this year’s edition of the Indian Summer Championship races at Napierville Dragway, where he drove that same car once again.

“I still have it. We've gradually made it faster than it was when we started, and it's been good to us. So, I think I'm going to have it forever,” said Diabo.

Muscle cars like Diabo’s Oldsmobile were not the only kind of cars at Napierville on Sunday. Among the participants were also old-school hot rods, newer race cars, and even recent production vehicles – including a Ford Explorer SUV driven by Kahnawa'kehró:non Clint Stacey, who won the day for the tenth time.

“That's a good example of someone who's a very good driver, that they can even do well in a regular passenger vehicle, it doesn't have to be a race car, per se,” said Diabo. 

The annual event is where Kahnawa'kehró:non racers and car enthusiasts go to see who will be this year’s best on the quarter-mile, but also to enjoy the day and each other’s company.

“The camaraderie and just meeting back up with all our fellow drag racers from the community is something we all look forward to,” said Diabo.

“You get the privilege of seeing how everyone's else's car has progressed, and I think there are some rivalries out there, but in general, I think everybody's really pulling for each other.”

Sixteen racers from town took part in this year’s edition of the event that has been running since 1988.

The first part of the day is spent doing time trials, timed runs to see how the car is doing and the average time it takes to run the quarter-mile.

After that comes the elimination brackets. Drivers must predict how much time they will take to run the course, and mark it on their windshield, with the goal being not to beat it and stay consistent.

At the same time, they also need to beat the person in the other lane to the finish line.

“It comes down to who has a good reaction when the light turns green. If you go too soon, you'll foul, and the light will go red, and you lose immediately,” said Diabo. “Or you can leave a little bit late, and maybe your opponent might leave a little bit sooner than you and they might beat you. It comes down to hundredths of a second sometimes.”

Unfortunately for Diabo, after good performances during the time trials, he fouled in his first elimination race, ending his day on track early.

“It was my first time on the track this year. I was not exactly prepared as usual, but the car ran excellently,” said Diabo.

According to him, practice makes perfect, like anything, and some take the day very seriously, tuning their cars and practicing for several weeks in advance, and using computer programs to simulate the starting lights to hone their reaction times.

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