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EDMONTON - The 2008 edition of the Rocky Mountain Nationals is Laurie Cannister's third trip to Castrol Raceway. Even before she takes part in today's alcohol funny car final, it's by far been her most rewarding.
As a member of fellow racer Thomas Carter's crew for three years, Cannister watched Carter compete in Edmonton the last two years when the International Hot Rod Association made its stops here. On Saturday, Cannister's '99 Camaro finished third in the alcohol funny car qualifying round, at 5.902 seconds.
Off to a promising professional career, Cannister was named the 1999 pro rookie of the year by the IHRA. Competing in a sport that relies heavily on its sponsors, her funding ran dry after 9/11. It would be five years before Cannister would get behind the wheel again. Her time away from driving was anguishing for the Johnstown, Ohio, resident.
"I was probably the biggest cheerleader for alcohol funny car there ever was," she said of her time away from driving. "(My husband and I) were still coming to races and I would just stand up at the track between the two cars and just cry because I wanted to be in a car so bad.
"I just cheered for everyone and hoped they all had a good run. It was very hard not to be in the car. When you're a driver, it's difficult to be on the outside. Because what you want to do is drive." "I think it was very tough on her," Carter said. "She missed driving. Anyone who drives one of these cars, it's hard to get away from. It's fun, the competition ... you have that inside of you. When you don't have that it hurts." Cannister attributed her continued involvement in the sport over her five-year hiatus as one of the reasons Kevin and Wendy Sims came looking to sponsor Cannister and her crew.
"We were very fortunate that Kevin and Wendy Sims gave us this car and all the parts," she said. "It's a win-win all the way around: I get to drive again, my husband gets to be the tuner, and they own it and get to be proud of it." Cannister got back on the drag strip again in 2007, hungry to make up for lost time. She won the Carquest Auto Parts Mid-Atlantic Nationals Funny Car Championship, set a new best elapsed time with 5.775 seconds in the quarter-mile and her speed of 246.26 m.p.h. was an IHRA world record. She said her time away from driving serves as motivation in her pro career.
"It gave me -- and still gives me -- the determination to do really well," Cannister said. "Because none of this is ours -- you kind of have to go at it with the thought that it could end at any time. We do the best we can, we have fun and if it falls out, it falls out." This season has been Cannister's best thus far. Going into this weekend's Rocky Mountain National event, her team has led the alcohol funny car division in points all season.
"We've been doing so well," she said. "It's been a storybook year. It's been a lot of fun." Competing in a male-dominated sport, Cannister admitted that she had to prove herself to her peers when she joined the pro ranks in 2001. Today, she focuses on being a role model to aspiring women drivers.
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