When you show up to race at the World Cup Finals there’s a certain level of electricity in the air that you don’t feel at most races. The vibe that this mega-event produces comes from the excitement of the racers who have made the trip to Maryland International Raceway to prove they are the best in the world. The WCF also gives racers from different regions and countries the opportunity to see how quick they can go using the outstanding track prep at this event and the crisp Mid-Atlantic fall weather.
Jason Ostrem is a racer from Alaska with an eight-second Civic that is making the 11,000 mile, nearly cross-continent trip to Maryland to compete in the WCF this year. For him, making the journey to this race started after seeing highlights on YouTube and progressed into a full-blown obsession.
“Last year was the first year I could attend the race and it was worth it. You get to see all the best racers from all over the world in one place. There’ a reason this event has a minimum elapsed time for all the classes — because you have to be elite to make the show,” Ostrem says.
The great competition pushes some to come to the WCF, but for racers like Nelson Aleman Cortes it’s all about trying to break records. Cortes is bringing his low eight-second Hatchback Civic to the event to not only win the Super Street Class, but to become the fastest in the world in the category.
“My goals for this year’s event are to win the category and also break Shawn Ramey’s record. My car has been running consistently all year so if the weather and track cooperate we will break the record. Being able to set the record will mean everything to my team and it will show that hard work pays off,” Cortes says.
The WCF is the kind of event where racers become legends and have the opportunity to race with them. Ed Bergenholtz is an icon in the import drag racing world and has two NHRA titles to his credit. Jason Park, owner of FCSrace is bringing Bergenholtz out to the WCF event to wheel his 2001 Acura Integra into the seven-second zone, and to bring home the victory.
“Our goal is simple — we want to win, period, with Ed behind the wheel. We don’t have these weather conditions and track prep like many East Coast facilities have out west, so we try and take advantage it at the WCF. We gather as much data as we can to prepare for the next year. We’re shooting to go into the seven-second zone, so data is important,” Park says.
Racers like Steven Oliveria are attracted to the WCF because it gives them an opportunity to really see what their cars are capable of. Every year Oliveria looks forward to making the trek to Maryland and turning the wick all the way up on his all-wheel-drive Honda Civic.
“The WCF is one of the best events of the season every year. Due to the cooler weather and the great track prep, it’s the place where records fall and personal bests are run. Not to mention the best cars from around the world all at one event makes for awesome side-by-side racing. My goal for WCF is the same every year: run a personal best and go rounds, all while having fun with all the other racers,” Oliveria says.
For established racers like James Kempf, the WCF race provides him with the ability to try new things with his wicked 1992 Honda Civic. Over the years, Kempf has been able to run deep into the seven-second range at over 200 mph in the Street Fighter Class, but in 2017 he’s looking to dominate the new Fuel Injector Clinic Wild Street category.
“We’ve always been the only FWD car in Street Fighter which was a lot of fun, but as the years go on and ET’s in the class continue to drop, we just haven’t been able to keep up. We tried a lot of different things since going 7.60s at over 200 mph last year, and just haven’t been able to make any progress keeping the car setup as a stock chassis FWD car without a wheelie bar. We decided that this new class is a much better fit ET-wise for now, so we are going to drop down from the 86mm turbo we’ve been using for the past year, and go back to the 76mm we’ve run in the past. We feel that this combo should be very competitive in Wild Street,” Kempf explains.
Make sure you don’t miss any of the record-breaking passes and exciting action at the World Cup Finals. You can see all the racing live RIGHT HERE on SpeedVideo November 1-5 from Maryland International Raceway. This broadcast is brought to you by presenting sponsor ProCharger, along with Strange Engineering, SCAT Crankshafts, UPR Products, Driven Racing Oil, ATI Performance Products, Neal Chance Racing Converters, Moser Engineering, Miller Electric, Ferrea, Racepak, and OStar Motorsports.
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