A Dodge Neon has 132 horsepower. An Acura MDX has 253 hp. A Ferrari F340 has 483 hp. Rick Ball has a car that eats them all for breakfast. Say hello to his top eliminator dragster that pumps out more than 1,000 hp. In it, he recently revved his way to the winner’s circle when he won the championship for his class.
“This year, there was a new class created in Alberta called top eliminator,” says Ball. “It is a mixture of two IHRA classes, top dragster and top sportsman. Any car that can run (the quarter mile) in 8.90 (seconds) can run in this class. The banquet is on November 25. I think the top prize is $10,000.”
Top eliminator is a bracket class that allows cars of different capabilities to race by establishing a handicap. Slower cars get the green light before faster cars.
“It takes all the fastest bracket cars in Alberta and runs them in this class,” Ball says. “It started out as a 10 race deal for points. They had (many) cars come out and we did well. I won five of the 10 races and (placed second) in the sixth. We won the championship and were ahead by several hundred points. It was a good year.”
Ball’s father was an automotive mechanic so he was introduced to cars at an early age. With a self-admitted need for speed, it was only natural that he would try his hands at racing.
“I’ve been racing for nine years. I started out with a fixed up streetcar and worked on it so it went faster and faster until it was in the mid nines,” referring to how many seconds it takes to go one quarter of a mile. “But, to go fast, you got to have something that’s built for it.”
That’s when he bought a genuine dragster. It would rocket down the track at 187 mph but it wasn’t fast enough for Ball. He had a new dragster built specifically for him by an Indiana company called Spitzer Enterprises. In fact, he traveled to Indianapolis to have his measurements taken so the cockpit would be no bigger than it absolutely had to be.
“They fitted me for it then and they finished it in June. I fit the motor and rear end myself. This is a 632 cubic inch based on a GM and it makes 1,150 horses. This car will run it in 7.05 @ 192 mph. It can be as light as we can make it. With me in it, it weighs 1,680 lbs.”
On the track in Mission, British Columbia, a lower altitude and wetter atmosphere allows his car to break the 200 mph barrier. Racing rules stipulate that any car that goes faster than 200 mph must have two parachutes. Driving a car that requires him to pull the pin eight seconds after popping the clutch is the thrill of a lifetime.
“Well, after you’ve been racing for a while, you learn to block everything else out. You don’t see the crowd, or hear anything. You concentrate on the lights. Once you let go of the button, you just hang on. In 660 feet, this car is doing 156 mph.”
Like other area racers, Ball’s son Ethan drives a junior dragster. Rick is happy that his passion stays in the family but admits he would love to see more activity in and around Slave Lake.
“We’ve got quite a few racers from this area already. Dale Giroux and his two sons race, Trevor Lebsack races. There is another fellow from Canyon (Creek) that comes out and races too. It would be nice if we could get more racers to come out of Slave Lake. Racing is phenomenal.”

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