Jen Eaton gets the front end of her 1967 Ford Mustang airborne at the start of her race in the no box class at the Eagle Motorplex. Ian Webster/Herald
Sixteen-year-old Danielle ‘Dani’ Eaton’s first season of quarter-mile drag racing won’t be one she’ll soon forget. The Grade 11 student at Merritt Secondary School won the high school championship on Saturday during the final weekend of racing at the Eagle Motorplex facility outside Ashcroft.
Driving her family’s Ford F350 pickup (or grocery-getter as her mom likes to call it), Eaton picked up enough points to defeat Ryleen Ross from Kamloops for the overall title.
Eaton needed a little help from a new friend in order to even be able to race on Saturday. Upon arrival at the track, she discovered that she had forgotten her mandatory racing helmet at home. A call for help over the track’s PA system brought the much-needed response.
“Garfield Coates, a veteran racer and retired school teacher from Kamloops, came over and gave me a brand new helmet,” said Eaton. “He said I could even keep it.”
While Eaton knew that Coates had run the high school drag racing program at Westsyde Secondary for over 20 years before retiring, she only learned this weekend that he had even taught at Merritt Secondary for two years near the end of his career.
“He told me the helmet was a welcome to high school racing,” Eaton said. “That was pretty special.”
Eaton is very proud of her first season stats, which include a best reaction time at the start of 0.012 seconds, a best quarter-mile time of 15.22 seconds, and a top-end speed of 94 miles per hour.
Eaton comes by her interest in drag racing honestly. Her mom, Jen, runs a 1967 Ford Mustang in the no box class, while her dad, Mike, heads up a pit crew that includes Dani’s 15-year-old brother Wyatt.
“That’s what I like about the sport,” said Dani. “It’s all about families. Everybody’s really friendly, and tries to make sure that you have a good time.”
The Ware foursome from Merritt are of the same mind. The husband-and-wife team of Ryan and Carrie take care of the racing at the moment while their two young sons, Charlie and Liam, are their biggest cheerleaders.
Ryan, in his first year of racing on his 2007 Suzuki 1300cc motorbike, had a breakthrough on the weekend, recording the first “nine” of his brief career. In time trials, he hit a 9.972 for the quarter mile, topping out at 134.99 miles per hour.
“I’ve been trying all year to go under 10 [seconds],” Ware said. “This has made my whole weekend.”
At Saturday night’s awards banquet, Ware was chosen Rookie of the Year, while Mike Eaton picked up Crew Chief of the Year honours.
