MANA — John Ishibashi reset the Kaua‘i Raceway Park track record when he piloted his top alcohol dragster to a 5.87 elapsed time down the quarter mile, the car reaching 243 mph on the top end during the two-day Fourth of July drag races presented by the Garden Isle Racing Association at the Mana track.
Racing over Saturday and Sunday, Lacin Montemayor was the sole dual-day winner in his ‘87 Chevy S10 pickup. Montemayor was unfortunate in his Saturday run when he broke out of his 12.10 dial-in, despite the S10 clocking a 12.05 ET and reaching 102.08 mph. He re-grouped for the Sunday outing to take the Muscle V8 class on a clean run of 12.12 ET, and reaching 106.22 mph on a 12.11 dial-in.
And, it was not all serious racing at the Kaua‘i Raceway Park when Mayor Derek Kawakami was given an opportunity to pilot Alma Koetje’s red Corvette down the quarter mile. Koetje was a winner Sunday, finishing runner up to Montemayor in the Muscle V8 class.
This year’s Fourth of July races, sans fireworks since the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Mana hosted its Stars and Stripes on Friday, marked the second year GIRA hosted the event following the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year’s races marked the group’s re-entry onto the quarter mile following the pandemic shutdown.
The next scheduled drag racing at the Kaua‘i Raceway Park is on Aug. 6. All-event gate entry tickets need to be purchased online at TheFOAT Ticketing.
July 2 results
• Top Gun: Wayne Costa, ‘68 Chevy Camaro, 9.89 elapsed time, 137.34 miles per hour, dial-in 9.71; Robby Silva Sr., ‘00 Chevy Beretta, 9.23 ET, 122.81 mph, dial-in 8.95; T’Ryane Sakamoto, ‘00 dragster.
• Pro ET: Vince Generalao Jr. (no car info), 10.09 ET, 131.04 mph, dial-in 10.00; Solomon Ruiz, ‘71 GM Opel, 10.17 ET, 131.08 mph, Dial-in 10.17; Jason Barros, ‘68 Camaro.
• Muscle V8: Tyler Clark (no car info), 12.67 ET, 111.70 mph, dial-in 12.57; Lacin Montemayor, ‘87 Chevy S10, 12.05 ET, 102.08 mph, dial-in 12.10 (break out); Kevin Suga, ‘85 Toyota pick-up.
• Sport Compact: Brandon Fujishige, ‘18 Cadillac ATS-V, 12,26 ET, 115.50 mph, dial-in 12.24; Robby Silva Jr., ‘91 Honda CRX, 12.12 ET, 105.80 mph, dial in 12.20 (break out); Kory Uemura, ‘96 Honda Civic.
• Super Pro: Brian Dow, ‘65 Mustang, 9.80 ET, 131.73 mph, dial-in 9.80; Rob Nelson (no car info), 10.18 ET, 135.14 mph, Dial-in 10.19 (break out); Terry Ricard, ‘65 Ford Falcon; Wendall Nonaka, ‘87 Buick Regal.
• Street: Matthew Kaleiohi, ‘05 Honda, 18.98 ET, 74.46 mph, dial-in 18.77; Samson Sutton Sr., ‘99 Honda Civic, 15.56 ET, 82.10 mph, dial-in 15.40; Courtney Clark; Ethan Ramos.
• Bike: Kahale Kaleiohi, ‘98 Suzuki, 12.07 ET, 110.15 mph, dial-in 11.58; Laurence Palmeira, ‘13 Kawasaki ZX, 9.64 ET, 143,54 mph, dial-in 9.50 (red light); Angel White, ‘08 Suzuki.
• Junior Dragster: Layne Montemayor, ‘00 Jr. dragster, 8.70 ET, 74.53 mph, dial-in 8.60; Kasey Carveiro, ‘06 Jr. dragster, 7.89 ET, 82.16 mph, dial-in 7.90 (break out); Kyra Medeiros, Jr. dragster.
July 3 results
• Top Gun: Koty Ka‘iakapu, ‘67 Chevy Nova, 9.46 ET, 139.12 mph, dial-in 9.45; Chris Bonilla (no car info), 9.53 ET, 140.89 mph, dial-in 9.44; Jesse Kealoha.
• Pro ET: Mary Kealoha, ‘69 Chevy Camaro, 10.02 ET, 117.40 mph, dial-in 10.00; Esteve Fernando, ‘89 Toyota truck, 11.05 ET, 114.97 mph, dial-in 10.90; Solomon Ruiz, ‘712 GM Opel; Ricky Uemura, ‘93 Honda Civic.
• Muscle V8: Lacin Montemayor, ‘87 Chevy S10, 12.12 ET, 106.22 mph, dial-in 12.11; Alma Koetje, (no car info), 12.15 ET, 113.17 mph, dial-in 12.15; Tyler Clark; Kevin Suga, ‘85 Toyota pickup.
• Sport Compact: Brandon Fujishige, ‘18 Cadillac ATS-V, 12.28 ET, 114.15 mph, dial-in 12.24; Robby Silva Jr., ‘91 Honda CRX, 12.14 ET, 102.55 mph, dial-in 12.24 (break out); Micah Robley, .92 Honda Civic; Kory Uemura, ‘96 Honda Civic.
• Super Pro: Wendall Nonaka, ‘87 Buick Regal, 9.68 ET, 141.96 mph, dial-in 9.69 (break out); Terry Ricard, ‘65 Ford Falcon, 10.17 ET, 130.07 mph, dial-in 10.30 (break out); Vince Generalao, Jr., Donaven Gomes, ‘80 Dodge.
• Street: Courtney Clark (no car info), 15.57 ET, 87.11 mph, dial-in 14.60; Matthew Kaleiohi, ‘05 Honda, 19.31 ET, 70.98 mph, dial-in 18.65; Christina Dow.
• Bike: David Debtiaco, ‘12 Kawasaki Ninja, 8.96 ET, 131.10 mph, dial-in 8.60; Adam Beetles, ‘09 Kawasaki Concours, 11.41 ET, 122.93 mph, dial-in 10.88; Matt Kaleiohi, ‘03 Suzuki GSX 1300 R; Josh Mersberg.
• Junior Dragster: Danika Braun, ‘00 Jr. dragster, 7.91 Et, 82.10 mph, dial in 7.95 (break out); Kyra Medeiros, ‘00 Jr. dragster, 7.98 ET, 81.69 mph, Dial-in 8.03 (break out); Khairah Lawrence, Jr. dragster.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
