When you’re hot, you’re hot. And Derek Ouellete has been akin to burning rubber on the track this summer.
The Argyle-based drag racer revved up another win at the Wild Rides Cash Days, held at the Interlake Dragway in Gimli on Aug. 24, marking a clean sweep and three consecutive victories in the eight-second index class.
Ouellete and his 1987 Chevrolet S10 truck, which he modified to include a more powerful eight-cylinder engine eight years ago, bested 26 other racers over five rounds on the 1/8th-mile strip and earned $2,300 in hard cash for his efforts.
It was a nice addition to his $2,900 in earnings over the two previous events in June and July. Indeed, it’s been a profitable summer for Ouellette. Of even greater importance, his three victories were the first three wins of his career.
“It was exciting. You go so long without winning any events and you just take it round by round and it’s exciting to get to the finals and actually win these things,” Ouelette said.
The 28-year-old, who grew up in Alberta and moved to Manitoba in 2009, has drag raced casually for the better part of the last decade. His interest in the niche sport stems from exactly where you’d think — he likes to go fast.
“One day, a couple of buddies just decided, let’s go to the drag strip and see what happens. And then you kind of get hooked on it and theses events that they’re throwing now, they’re right up my alley. It’s a good fit for my truck,” Oulette said.
“I have a buddy with a similar vehicle and we’ve just built them, we’ve both swapped them to V8s and it’s just one of those things where you like to go fast and it’s probably best to do it at the drag strip.”
The eight-second index class challenges racers to be the first one to reach the finish line, with the caveat being that the winner can not cross in faster than eight seconds. Ouellette, whose truck will reach 144 km/hour in the 1/8th mile race, said winning often comes down to reaction time and a consistent driver who knows how hard to push their vehicle and test the eight-second limit.
Ouellette said he’s noticed that the numbers in drag racing have dwindled in recent years, with more people interested in showing up to a periodical event like the Wild Rides Cash Days rather than a weekly or bi-weekly event that counts toward crowning a season-long champion.
The Interlake Dragway extended its longtime partnership with International Hot Rod Association earlier this year, permitting sanctioned drag races to continue at the track. Races are held on weekends throughout the summer.
“I think it’s definitely kind of dwindling. The numbers are definitely going down for drag racing but the events like these bring the other people that aren’t there every weekend,” he said. “There’s a lot of guys that are there but these events kind of promote to bring other people that don’t go there every weekend and aren’t interested in doing a whole series of them.”
Count Ouellette in that group of more casual racers. He has no plans of ever attending the National Drag Race Championship but is adamant about continuing his run of three years at Wild Rides Cash Days.
His friends are into it, and his family has come to accept his participation in the spot, as well.
“I guess they probably appreciate me do it there than on the street.”
