Grand Bend: Paul Lee preview

McGaffic and Lee looking for continued improvement in Grand Bend

GRAND BEND, Ont. - IHRA Nitro Funny Car driver Paul Lee and the Rislone Engine Treatment/J&B Motorsports team are hoping for continued improvement during this weekend's Mopar Canadian Nationals presented by Castrol in Grand Bend, Ont. Lee reached the semifinals two weeks ago in Edmonton, Alb., and hopes for more of the same during the second leg of the 'Canadian Swing.'

Lee, from Bala Cynwyd, Pa., feels the team should be able to pick up where they left off with the Rislone Monte Carlo. In Edmonton, the team debuted an updated chassis with new light weight body.

"We hope to continue where we left off," said Lee. "Grand Bend is a nice track. Besides being a good track to run on, it's near the resorts, so that makes it even better. The weather is supposed to be cool this weekend, so we're really looking forward to the night qualifying session. We just want to qualify well and take it one round at a time from there."

Team Owner Jeff McGaffic shares the team's optimism going into this weekend.

"We're looking forward to the weekend," said McGaffic. "Jimbo Ermalovich was our Crew Chief last year and even though he's not our Crew Chief this year, he's always a phone call away or will come look at something at the track if we have a problem. We really appreciate the fact he is still willing to help us when we need it despite working for Scotty Cannon's Top Fueler this year."

"We made some good progress in Edmonton," McGaffic continued. "Our goal this weekend is to build on that and see if we can keep the cylinders lit. If we can do that, we should be able to go fast and not hurt parts. Bottom line is we want to make a good showing for Rislone and our associate sponsors Bar's Leaks, Allied Machine & Engineering, Permatex, Perryman Specialty Titanium Products, Goodson and M&R Products."

-credit: jbm