The Fourth Annual Miles of Mayhem In Canada Is a Wrap – Pat Myker, Chris Hein and Dennis Drummond Leads List of Class Winners
After a little over a week between our last drag-and-drive event coverage, we jump back into the action with the recently completed fourth annual Miles of Mayhem event.
Covering just over 1700 kilometers across Canada (over 1000 miles), contestants can compete in ten different classes.
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Generally considered Canada’s biggest drag-and-drive, Miles of Mayhem started the week at Saskatchewan International Raceway (SIR) in Saskatoon, then motored to Rad Torque Raceway in Edmonton for day two.
Central Alberta Raceway (C.A.R.) in Rimbey was the site of day three, MHDRA Drag Strip in Medicine Hat for day four, and then return to Saskatoon for the final day.
The Outlaw class would once again see Pat Myker as the top competitor after a week of work. His supercharged ’67 Chevrolet Chevelle backed up the 2023 performance to score the Outlaw class crown for a second-straight year.
A trio of 4-second runs on the eighth-mile distance, led by a best of 4.80 on day one at SIR, got Myker a 4.91 average for the win and the lowest average for all classes. Steve Groenink’s turbocharged ride would land second with a 5.52 average, and Trent Law in third.
Dennis Drummond and Jake Bueckert staged up a good battle in the Small Tire for the top spot. Drummond opened with a 5.35 to 5.50 advantage, and strengthened that advantage on day two with a 5.38 pass to Bueckert’s 5.48.
Drummond’s 5.41 at MHDRA Drag Strip kept him in front of Bueckert’s 5.50 pass, getting them to the final day. Both competitors would produce a 5.430 pass on day five, Bueckert’s best of the week, but Drummond’s 5.39 average would get the better of Bueckert’s 5.48. Darryn O’Connor rounded out the top three.
James Dick just missed the top spot in the Pro Street class one year ago, but made amends for it in 2024. Opening with the lone 5-second pass of the first day in the class, a 5.84, Dick added a 5.81 on day two, and then a pair of 6.02 runs to complete his week with a 5.92 average and the win.
Tyler Gaudet claimed second with a 6.24 average, and close behind in third with a 6.26 average was Andrew Whalen.
The biggest heads-up class of the event would be the popular Manpedal category, and when defending event champ Bill Armstrong didn’t return for 2024, the favorite roles swung to Chris Hein and Richard Guido. Hein established himself as the right out of the gate, posting a 5.35 timeslip on day one, and added a pair of 5.3-second time slips from Rad Torque Raceway and the final day at SIR, to compile a 5.44 average for the class win.
Brent Stephens put together a 5.76 average for the second spot, and Guido’s Pontiac delivered a 6.24 average to round out the top three.
The second repeat winner of the Miles of Mayhem came in the Modern Muscle class, where Kelly Prosser backed up the 2023 class win. He continually posted the quickest times of the class each day, but CJ Quinton stayed close throughout the week.
Both competitors posted mid 6-second times until the end, and the averages fell at 6.478 for Prosser to pick up the win, and Quinton’s 6.525 would claim the second spot. Jon Radchenko used the quickest lap in the class on the final day to compile a 6.39 average for the third place accolades.
Thanks to a trio of 5-second runs, Stephen Grundke owned the Truck and SUV class. A best run of 5.80 on day two at Rad Torque Raceway, combined with his slowest run of the week at SIR on the final day at 6.45, gave Grundke a 6.000 average, just missing a chance to challenge the class e.t. record.
Shelisa Frey claimed the second spot with a 6.461 average, and Quintin Pike was close behind in third with a 6.476 average.
A new class for the 2024 event, the N/A (Naturally Aspirated) class brought out thirteen competitors to battle for the first class title. Ron Thiessen produced the quickest passes at three of the four tracks to arrive at a 6.8795 average, the top average in the class, and collect the win.
Stephen Betker completed the week with all 6-second passes for a 6.92 average and the second spot, and Adam Bailey rounded out the top three with a 7.21 average.
The Bracket class puts an emphasis on staying as close as possible to a single time throughout the week, and the tightest margin rises to the top. Over 50 vehicles jumped into the Bracket class, and at the end of the week, a nine-hundredths of-a-second spread or better was needed for a top five spot.
The crown would be claimed by Norm Johnston, who collected his second-straight class win with an .0465 of-a-second margin off his base, an improvement over his 2023 results of .0488 of-a-second margin.
Danny Setter claimed second with a .0708 of-a-second margin off his base, and close behind in third was Riley Hillis with a .0733 difference for the week, Hillis’ second-straight top three finish. Randy Hastings claimed fourth with a .0750 variance off their 8.9616 base, and Cliff Rupertus capped the top five with a .0902 of-a-second differential.
The 7.5-Second would be the second-largest field, and put the focus on hose close a competitor could get to a 7.50-second time slip, without being able to run quicker than 7.50. Last year’s second-place finisher in the Bracket class, Kyle Robb, would be the top finisher in the 7.5-Second class this year, varying just .0475 of-a-second average off the 7.50-second mark.
Raymond Dueck claimed the second place spot for the third-straight year, and Jared Seal landed third thanks to a .1602 of-a-second average result.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Miles of Mayhem, Dennis Drummond, Richard Guido, Pat Myker, Khaos Diesel Performance & Repair.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com