Laurie Cannister is the real deal

Good evening from Maryland International Raceway. This is the track that saw the return of IHRA competition earlier today, and my recap of that event will be avaliable soon on IHRA.com. This is a town that has seen tragedy. Two months ago, eight people were killed and many more were injured in an illegal street race. That tragedy was 5 minutes away from me, and 40 minutes away from this racetrack.

MIR is now experiencing it's first Sportsman competition since the tragedy and turnout is much greater than anticipated. That shows that energy prices combined with an economy spiraling toward a "deep recession" is not going to bring racing down.

I just got done talking with my good friend and drag racing legend Bunny Burkett. In 1986, Burkett won the IHRA Top Alcohol World Championship, breaking all expectations that a woman could not succeed in Drag Racing. It is that piece of history that brings me to my next point, Laurie Cannister.

Laurie is clearly a talented racecar driver. Last year, she came to Maryland International Raceway with a new team and no sponsorship. She won in the Alcohol Funny Car bracket in the Torco Fuels President's Cup Nationals at Budds Creek. Now, she's winning again in IHRA.

CompetitionPlus.com has predicted she will win the AFC Bracket Championship. I agree. Expect her to win more. Folks, Mrs. Cannister is the new Bunny Burkett.

If you do not know who Bunny Burkett is, I don't expect you to know what I'm talking about. If you do not know drag racing, I don't expect you to know who Bunny is. She ran at Aquasco, and she now comes to MIR every chance she gets.

There is a very good chance Laurie Cannister will break out in 2008. There's an even better chance she will go unnoticed on ESPN and SPEED. But, folks, expect to hear more about her on here and on the other grassroots websites. She's looking like the best driver in the hardest form of racing there is in drag racing.

That's all I've got from Maryland. If you've got the need for speed, please, keep it on the racetrack, the Pros do.

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