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Updated April 27, 2026
NAPIERVILLE, Que. — A week of rain couldn't wash away the anticipation. When the annual Indian Summer Championship finally ran at Napierville Dragway, Kahnawa’kehró:non racers loaded the staging lanes with everything from classic Mopar muscle to factory-built modern drag cars.
In the end, Roy Phillips parked his purple 2023 Dodge Charger Super Bee in the winner's circle. The veteran racer claimed his first Indian Summer Championship title on the quarter mile — more than three decades after reaching his first final in the event.
That first final appearance came in 1988, during the championship's debut. Phillips spent his working years away from the sport, but after retiring he returned to Napierville last year and has been building momentum since.
"I was working away a lot during the last so many years, so I didn't really have that much time," Phillips said.
For those who grew up around Napierville, the track is more than a strip of asphalt. Located not far from the U.S.-Canada border and about 45 minutes south of Montreal, the dragway has long drawn racers from Quebec, Ontario, and the northeastern United States. For the Mohawk community of Kahnawake, it has become a place where family names — Goodleaf, Phillips, and others — are written into the track's history.
A final decided before the tree turned green
The championship race itself had a quick ending. Phillips' opponent left the starting line too early, triggering a red-light foul. Under NHRA bracket rules, that's an automatic disqualification, so Phillips' win was secure before the finish line.
"I knew I won the race right at the line," he said. "It felt good to win."
Bracket racing is as much about brains as horsepower. Each driver gives a predicted elapsed time, or "dial-in," before the run. The winner isn't necessarily the fastest car; it's the one that runs closest to its dial-in without going quicker. A red-light start, though, overrides everything — which is why a single miscue at the Tree can end an entire day.
Phillips had done his part throughout the event, saving his best consistency for the final.
A car built for the track
Phillips has been around cars his whole life. His cousins were always working on something when he was young, and he was a constant presence in their garage.
"They taught me how to drive when I was 11," he said.
That early education turned into a passion for collecting and wrenching. The Super Bee he races is one of just 500 purple examples produced for 2023, with another 500 built in blue, according to Dodge's website. It came from the factory with drag-racing components, including slick tires.
"It comes out of the factory ready to race. It already came with factory racing slicks and all kinds of stuff. It's a ready-to-go race car. That's why I bought it," Phillips said.
The Charger Super Bee name is itself a tribute to the 1960s and 1970s muscle era, when Dodge offered stripped-down, high-performance coupes. The modern revival keeps that spirit alive, a reminder of why Mopar fans hold the brand so close.
Sunday's memorial race
That Mopar spirit takes center stage this weekend. The Second Annual Jimmy Goodleaf Memorial Race is set for Sunday, May 3, at Napierville, and the community is expected to turn out in force.
Phillips plans to race a red 1965 Dodge Coronet 500 that once belonged to Goodleaf, a respected local racer whose influence is still felt at the track.
"I'm looking forward to it. Last year was pretty cool. He was a Mopar guy, so I hope to see a lot of Mopars," Phillips said.
Mopar — the parts division of Stellantis — is shorthand for Dodge, Plymouth, and Chrysler vehicles. For many racers, the term also means loyalty and heritage.
Goodleaf's daughter, Karlie, has organized both editions of the memorial race. She'll bring her Dodge Magnum to the track and run the quarter mile herself. At Sunday's Indian Summer Championship, she knocked down her first elimination-round win.
"That was my dad's thing. I think he'd be proud of me," Karlie said.
She doesn't pretend to be a full-time bracket racer. She just shows up and goes.
"I don't practice racing. I show up and I'm going to race," she said. "I was so happy that I knocked somebody out. It was amazing."
Racing for everyone
Karlie also insists the event is not limited to heavily modified race cars. The bracket format lets anyone with a licensed vehicle jump in and compete.
"That's the whole point. There are tricks you can learn along the way, but really, it's to have some fun," she said.
That open-door attitude is part of what made her father's racing career memorable. It also explains why so many friends and family members want to be part of the memorial race.
A family's beloved machines
Her cousin, Bart Goodleaf, will drive Jimmy Goodleaf's prized white 1965 Plymouth Satellite. Karlie says the car has been a fixture in the family for as long as she can remember.
"He loved that car so much," she said.
She is grateful that the cars are still in the community and still hitting the track. Rather than being hidden away in storage, they're being raced by people who cared about Jimmy.
"Continuing his tradition is so important. I'm glad that the cars are out there, and they're willing to take it out on the road, because they loved my dad," she said.
The buzz around the memorial race has been building steadily, and the event is shaping up to be one of the most memorable dates on the Napierville calendar. For Karlie, the support from fellow racers has already made it special.
"My dad would be so proud that this is happening," she said.
