Donald Francis is continuing his assault on American drag strips this summer.
The North Side resident intends to storm New Jersey, specifically Atco Raceway in Atco, with his white Honda Civic Type-R nicknamed Plan B. Francis, whose car is based in Rhode Island, states he plans to finish racing by November.
“It’s a seven-hour drive from Rhode Island to New Jersey to the track,” Francis said. “I was invited to go up on 20 May for the 2012 Import Face-off in New Hampshire. But I’m going on break until June. I’m going to Englishtown, New Jersey, on 23 June for the Imports versus Domestics Facedown. It’s an hour away from Atco.
“I’ll go back to Englishtown for Honda Day on 11-12 August. Then there will be two more races between Englishtown and Atco before the world final in Maryland on 4 November. It’s the last race of the season and it’s a must.”
Francis, 22, is coming off a good showing at the Import Drag Performance Speed Shop Honda Day 2012 in Atco last month. Francis states the National Hot Rod Association track saw his car produce a 1/4 mile time of 10.27 seconds at 140 miles per hour.
For the record, Import DPS is a performance parts company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It sponsors meets geared specifically for Hondas and Acuras on the East Coast. Atco Raceway is the oldest continually operating drag strip in New Jersey and Honda Day 2012 (which was actually a two-day event) drew the largest crowd in the track’s 54-year history.
The Cayman Islands Water Authority engineering assistant states he was pleased to run against a large field.
“It was interesting to go up against all of those cars. The cars from overseas got a lot of love and everyone was loving my car. No one had ever gone to represent Cayman or the Caribbean. It’s an event I’ll never miss again. Thanks to everyone who supported me and the Plan B crew on this journey.
“It’s an experience everyone should experience. If you’re into drag racing you have to experience that.”
Plan B is far from stock, with over $25,000 worth of parts. Francis states it is now rated at 606 horsepower on 21 pounds of boost on the dynamometer at its current garage in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He said more modifications are coming up.
“It did 606hp on 21lbs of boost on the dyno but we had to stop as we didn’t have time to test the car. After the dyno, it had traction issues but still did 10.27s through the traps. I know the car can go to nine seconds.
“There are some little issues with the suspension and transmission and I’m hoping to save some money or get a sponsor for the tranny. It’s a G-Force dogbox, costs US$6,000 and it’s a manual one weighted/built to handle over 1000hp. The axles to go with it cost an extra US$2,700.”
News of Francis’ travels come after the return of Breakers Speedway. Cayman’s lone drag racing facility was revealed to be functional and ready to host a local meet over the weekend. The 1/8 mile race track, which held what was supposed to be its final meet last December, was slated to be sold by owner Robert Campbell to companies that would convert the property into a solar wind farm. Those deals fell apart after Caribbean Utilities Company denied their solar energy bids. Breakers Speedway, which first opened its doors in October 2006, is still up for sale, with 53 acres listed at $2.8 million.
While drag racing rejoins autocross on Cayman’s motorsports scene, Francis states his focus remains on competing abroad.
“My brother Steven sold his Honda Integra Type-R and has a blue Honda Civic EG now. There’s the big race this month and we’re putting an all-motor engine into the car. We’re going to use it for Time Attack (the monthly autocross series put on by the Cayman Motorsports Association) and drag racing, assuming the track stays open.
“Cayman is now on the scene in the US in drag racing. I want to encourage more Caymanians to try taking the step I took. They can never regret that. It is expensive but while I was there I got support from a lot of Caymanians, like Smarnell Thomas, Malcolm Forbes and Jimel McLean.”
Related Videos
