Delta Secondary automotive instructor Casey Mynott has been appointed as the National Electric Drag Racing Association's regional director for Western Canada.
Being part of the organization is an honour, says Mynott.
"Some of the individuals active with in NEDRA are some of the very few individuals in the world pushing the envelope in regards to electric drag racing," he says in an e-mail to the Optimist.
His role is to help promote the sport of electric drag racing in regards to safety and showing the "exciting power" that electric vehicles have, he notes.
Mynott and his students set Canada's first electric drag racing record last year with their electric drag racing truck.
Mynott's group got some good news recently when it was announced that the International Hot Rod Association, the largest drag racing sanctioning body in Canada, had formally recognized electric drag racing.
It's a big step in regards to the acceptance of electric drag racing in Canada and throughout North America, he says, adding it gives the DSS program the ability to travel.
"So, to show up at, for example, Ashcroft, now is a possibility. Before it would have been not an option as electric were not covered in their rule book and therefore we would not be racing on that track or it would not be as straight forward if electric were a part of that specific rule book," says Mynott.
There are plans (doubling the torque, lowering the rear differential ratio) for the program's truck, a converted 1989 Toyota pickup, to get faster.
As high school participants through the (British Columbia Secondary School Motorsport Association), the truck is limited to a 12-second quarter mile time, Mynott notes.
"So, our job right now, is to get as close to or bang on that 12 second time limitation. A 12 second quarter mile is fast for any vehicle let alone an electric vehicle that burns not a single drop of fossil fuel."
The program has also recently acquired a junior dragster and is in the process of converting the vehicle to 100 per cent electric drive.