It was just under three short years ago late in the 2008 season that Calgary, Alberta, Canada native Jirka Kaplan laid down the shot heard ’round the world, an incredible 6.06-second, 225.71 mph blast from his AA/AM Competition Eliminator ’23 T Altered, in what many consider to be one of the single greatest passes in drag racing history. And now, on his own Canadian soil, Kaplan has trumped that stunning performance with a record-shattering lap that will be will talked about for decades to come.
During Saturday’s final Competition Eliminator qualifying session at the NHRA Northwest Division Lordco Auto Parts BC Nationals at the Mission Raceway Park in Mission, B.C. – a facility known for record-breaking mineshaft conditions – Kaplan blasted his way into drag racing lore with the first five-second pass in the history of the category with a 5.974 at 229.53. In a class where running seven-tenths under the index is mighty impressive, Kaplan’s monstrous effort was a full second and change under the 7.07 AA/AM index. And in cracking the five-second mark, Kaplan pleased the legions of Comp racers and fans by beating the “outsider” Pro Modifieds to the historic benchmark with what most consider to be a legitimate Comp car.
It was at the final Division 7 points meet in Las Vegas in November of 2008 that Kaplan cranked off the mind-numbing 6.06 previous best from the rather small 371 cubic inch, supercharged Rodeck Chevrolet powerplant commanded by famed tuner Les Davenport. Kaplan’s wicked altered now sports a larger Hemi-based mill between the framerails.