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CANIDAE Racing Summer Recap & Race Store!

It's been a very busy 2009 season for Team CANIDAE. We haven't updated you much on the season's standings but a lot has been going on at the shop and around the country keeping us busy! First off I would like to extend our deepest condolences to our extended racing families in the Boat and Sand Drag Community. We have lost a few Great People - legends in the sports they chose. All of us at Team CANIDAE are deeply saddened by the loss of so many of our friends this year. We know they are all in a better place now and GODSPEED to Don Ermshar, Dan Chittenden, Richard Monteil, and Barbie Erwin. All were very sudden and unexpected and again our sincerest regrets go out to all their families.

As for the different CANIDAE Teams, we are currently doing very well in our MX outdoor ranks with a first place at the last race. The SCORE Class 10 car is currently 2nd in points coming out of Primm. The NHRA Funny car has been having its share of gremlins this year and hasn't had very much success. They do look great doing it though and are getting our message of Responsible Pet Ownership out to fans across the world. In the Sand Drag world we have had our share of trials and tribulations. With both Top Fuel and Top Alcohol in the top spots coming into this season, we have met with some great competition that has stepped up to battle with us race by race to try to keep us out of the “Top Dog” standings.

In Top Fuel, Scott and the Team CANIDAE Crew have been burning things up in the class and doing everything possible to take back the records and keep in the top spot in points. In March we actually raced the Baja 250 in Mexico one morning and then flew into Yuma from San Felipe Saturday night to qualify the fuel car for the Sunday race. It was pretty amazing, although fleeting, due to a very unexpected loss in the first round to the CWK team - great job guys! So far we have two wins in the New 300" Chassis that debuted this year and are #2 in points, only 10 behind Geoff Gill. The former Yankees Dragster took a lot of work and was a slight learning curve to get the combo down but after one race it was in the 30’s and soon to be 20’s with a personal best 2.26 at Avenal in May. Unfortunately we could not back it up for the National record. Not yet anyway. We have been torchin' parts and burnin' nitro to keep the CANIDAE Top Fuel car in the points race. Next race we will again be in Avenal on September 25th to 27th and we hope to see you there.

For the Team CANIDAE Top Alcohol gang we also were out in our new (new to us) chassis this season. Scott upgraded and we stepped into his old fuel chassis which is slightly longer, lighter, and stronger than the old chassis we had been running all these years. It got a proper retirement hanging from the rafters in the shop. It is a piece of art now for all to enjoy! Starting this season was very rough for us as our tune-up was a lot off and was hurting parts again at the first race of the season and we went out 1st round. Thankfully, with a collaboration of minds, we consulted Joe Bettencourt to assist in creating the new tune up for the car. At race 2 we were back in the game running in the 50’s the first day and made it to the finals but spun a main bearing and could not contest Nick Januik for the event win. By the next race we were back in the 40’s and were able to post a personal best 2.489 in Avenal this past May. Again, I have been coming up a little short against the current points leader Gary Mink. Gary and crew have been doing an amazing job with his new Hemi and again we swap rounds almost every time we meet. Love to race against them and this whole class has stepped up this year with blistering times from all the cars. Our cars are all prepped and ready with a few new tricks up our sleeves to edge out some of our competition. Thanks again, Joe! We have been running consistent 40's and the car could not be happier!

We hope everyone had a safe and fun summer and we can't wait to see you all at the races very soon! Please don’t forget to check out our New Online Store at store.canidaeracing.com for shirts, hats and apparel for you and your family! And keep in mind that for every 15 dollar item you purchase, CANIDAE will donate $1.00 to the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation to fund cancer research in pets. Also, the first 200 orders will receive a free CANIDAE Racing Hat! Every day is a CANIDAE!

Mike DeNunzio
Team CANIDAE Racing

Team CANIDAE at Primm Spring Nationals April 2008

We had another successful weekend of racing at the Spring Nationals in Primm. Hope those who drove home in the wind on Sunday night made it without incident. Thanks to all of our team and friends who helped make it an excellent weekend of racing. Thanks to our guys that were there early to set up our massive pit and Dave and Shorty with the Hospitality trailer, you guys are awesome! We all had a great time despite the wind, but hey, it’s Primm!

Qualifying was tough in our classes as the track was there, but not. We had a fierce competitor, Dan Allen, crash in qualifying which woke us all up just after Charlie Brown took the finish line jump at the BITD race behind Buffalo Bill’s! What a sight to see; a trophy truck and then a Top Fuel dragster off the same jump. Dan and the team are all doing fine and we hope to see the Lucas Oil T/A dragster back at the track soon. We are glad that all incidents ended without too much injury and that no spectators were involved.

Team CANIDAE was sporting some additional new sponsor colors that just came aboard. NOS energy drink has joined our team and as anyone who was there saw; the fans were drinking NOS all over the pits. Red Devil Pizza in La Verne, CA joined us this year too. He keeps us well fed at the shop and donates a lot to the team for the races… gotta love ‘em! Another addition to our Sponsor list this year is LAVA propane. He has given us patio heaters to keep us warm and all the propane we need for all the events. A big Thank You to all of our sponsors!

Scott and I both ended up #1 qualifiers in our class. It would have been great for Team Canidae to sweep the Spring Nationals two years in a row but I think I had a few too many NOS energy drinks and was a little too quick on the tree… -.021! I’m looking forward to lining up against Shane again. Whenever we meet it's guaranteed to be an excellent race!

On the T/F side, Scott and the team started off with a 2.401 out of the trailer but found it difficult to improve while Dennis and Team Hammerdown were making runs in the 2.30’s. Fortunately, Team CANIDAE pulled it together in the finals to take our third event win of the season blasting off a scorching 2.335 in the finals to take home the trophy! Way to go T/F Team!

It was great to see Rick Cameron out with his new car and posting what I think is his best time ever, and Pete and Gary got a handle on the Turtles Toy / Canidae T/F dragster. 2.41!!! Way to go guys! Big thanks to all the Michigan folks, and all for that matter, that take the time to travel half way across the U.S. to come drag racing! Especially at 4.15 a gallon for diesel! CONGRATULATIONS to Nephew who finally went rounds in Jr. dragster class too! Way to go Mikie!!! Oh, and his crew chief Uncle Tony went a few in his jeep too! All in all a great weekend!

Sorry it took a while to finish this, but it took a few weeks to pick up all the pit flooring from Primm! (lol) We have a lot of work to do this week to prepare for Soboba. Put the motors in the cars and packing takes a lot of time. Not like the old days when we just washed it and drove it in the trailer. So we’ll be packing and prepping all week to make our outrageously long drive of 45 minutes to get to the track! We hope everyone can come out for the last race before the river, I mean summer break! It should be another awesome weekend of racing with the NSDA. Bring your sun block and bikinis… PLEASE! SEE YOU AT SOBOBA!

See you at the Races!

Mike DeNunzio
Team CANIDAE Racing