Patio Passport providing primary sponsorship to Quick 32 Sportsman Series entry
 
With new major sponsorship involvement, the Top Sportsman team of Mike Wagg and Dave Bell should be a contender in this year’s Quick 32 Sportsman Series.
 
Thanks to funding from Patio Passport, the 1994 Dodge Daytona will be receiving big mechanical and cosmetic changes, according to Waterdown, Ontario’s Mike Wagg, who shares the driving chores with teammate Dave Bell of Grand Bend, Ontario.
 
“We’re getting rid of the red color on the car that everyone has seen for years,” said Wagg. “I don’t want to divulge the paint scheme yet, but we plan to debut the car at the Performance World Custom Car Show in Toronto in March.”
 

Patio Passport providing primary sponsorship to Quick 32 Sportsman Series entry
 
With new major sponsorship involvement, the Top Sportsman team of Mike Wagg and Dave Bell should be a contender in this year’s Quick 32 Sportsman Series.
 
Thanks to funding from Patio Passport, the 1994 Dodge Daytona will be receiving big mechanical and cosmetic changes, according to Waterdown, Ontario’s Mike Wagg, who shares the driving chores with teammate Dave Bell of Grand Bend, Ontario.
 
“We’re getting rid of the red color on the car that everyone has seen for years,” said Wagg. “I don’t want to divulge the paint scheme yet, but we plan to debut the car at the Performance World Custom Car Show in Toronto in March.”
 
The Eddy Bryck chassis on the Daytona will be receiving a new KB block, which will be a lot lighter than the former 620-cubic inch Indy cylinder head engine.
 
A major change will be the tossing of the four-speed Lenco transmission for a state-of-the-art Powerglide automatic, something Bell will take some adjusting to.
 
“We had to get on the same playing field as the others,” explained Wagg about installing the Powerglide. “Now I’ve got to learn, but I’m not too concerned.”
 
Wagg added that he and Bell have been receiving a great deal of help and support from fellow door-slammer racer Kevin Wicke, who won the inaugural Quick 32 Sportsman Series Championship in 2009.
 
“We’re following Wicke’s lead,” Wagg said. “They have been showing us the chassis changes with the new transmission, and how to go about setting it up. We shouldn’t hopefully have a huge learning curve.”
 
Wagg said he will drive half of the six races for 2010, and Bell the remainder. Wagg will also continue his crew team involvement with the Pro Modified car of Al Hinds in the Pro Modified Racing Association.
 
For Paul Delicata of Patio Passport, his involvement comes as a progression from his drag racing days.
 
He started racing in 1983 with a Camaro Super Gas car, but said his interest started earlier: “I go way back,” he mentioned. “I go back to the days of John Rossiter, Alan Marsh, and the Vanni Brothers.”
 
After a stint in a Top Sportsman Trans-Am in the early 1990s, Delicata stopped racing, built street rods, and developed his firm Patio Passport, one of the largest retail and wholesale manufacturers of outdoor furniture.
 
But he kept his interest in drag racing, and decided to get back into the sport late last year.
 
“I was at Cayuga for the final Quick 32 race last September,” he said. “I have known Dave for years, and we worked out a deal. I’m really going to enjoy this coming season.”
 
Wagg mentioned that Delicata’s involvement in the sport is just what he needed.
 
“This is therapy, him going to races,” said Wagg. “He totally understands what we’re doing. He is so gung-ho.”
 
Along with major funding from Patio Passport, Wagg and Bell thanks sponsors Auto Clinic Of Flamborough, Pro Racing Fuels, Valvoline and NAPA (Waterdown Auto Parts). Crewing for the team will once again be Janet Ferguson, Bill Meehan and Paul Connolly.

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