Off-season no drag for young racer

This is the off-season for Blayz Verge.

During the spring and summer, the 12-year-old spends much of his time at Saskatoon International Raceway (SIR), strapped into his blue and yellow dragster, blazing down the strip at speeds in the neighbourhood of 75 miles per hour (120 kilometres per hour).

But when the cold weather hits, drag-racing season ends and Verge spends a lot of time indoors.

While his dragster hangs next to his sister Lexi's in the family garage, Verge can often be found in his room - trying to hone his skills.

There, amidst all his model cars, racing awards and other automotive paraphernalia, Verge sits on his bed and plays drag racing games on his Playstation.

Either that, or he picks up his hand-held drag-racing video game and works on his start times.

"He's always in here playing," said Verge's dad, John - a former drag racer himself. "It helps keep his reaction time sharp."

And whatever he's doing seems to be working.

In 2006, when he was just 10 years old, Verge won the prestigious Junior Golden Crown. He followed that up with an SIR runner-up finish in the 2007 point race series

This season he again placed in the point race series - finishing third in a field of 17 competitors.

He received his award in November during the SIR awards banquet in Saskatoon. However, a third-place trophy wasn't the only thing Verge won that night. He also took home an award for the best-engineered car.

"That was really a surprise," he said.

A step up in speed

Not only was the 2008 season a success for Verge, it also gave him a glimpse as to what his near future is going to hold.

At an event this summer in Estevan, the young drag racer was allowed to run his car faster than he ever had before.

Normally, because of the size and power of the new motor in his car, Verge's dragster has to be weighed down with 36 pounds of lead weights, while the engine must be cut and choked and cued down to make sure his vehicle won't exceed the 75 mile per hour limit.

But in Estevan, because the races held there aren't run under a sanctioning body, Verge was allowed to see what his new engine could do.

"We asked them if we could open the car up a bit," said his father. "They said it was OK, so we took the weights off, took the restriction plates out of the carburetor and he had it up to 85 (miles per hour)."

This is an important number because next year, when he turns 13, Blayz will step up in class and speed - jumping to an 85 mile per hour speed limit.

It's a jump he is anxiously awaiting.

"I can't wait."

The drag-racing season begins early in May.

ahawboldt@paherald.sk.ca