It’s difficult NOT to notice when a sleek new COPO Camaro comes up to the starting line. The gorgeous lines scream modern-day American muscle. That’s what first attracted James Elias, his father, Terry Elias, and their friend and mechanic John Harder, all from Winkler, Manitoba, Canada. The trio only began participating in NHRA events this year, and so far, they love every minute as they compete in the Super Stock ranks. 

Eleanor Elias, Terry’s wife and James’s mother is actually responsible for getting these guys into the drag racing scene. 

“I was 17 or 18 years old, and I wanted a street car to race,” James recalled. “So I went to my dad and asked if I could borrow $5,000 to get this ’68 Camaro. He said, ‘No. Absolutely not.” 

“And, respectfully, my dad thought I would buy the thing, and it would sit in the shop for ten years, and then it’s going to end up in the garbage.”

So James did what most typical teens would do. He went to mom. 

“I went to her and asked if I could borrow $5,000 to get this car,” James explained. “She didn’t know that I’d already asked my dad. She was thinking it might keep me out of trouble, keep me in the shop doing something hands-on. So she said, ‘OK. Here’s the money.”

After a few uncomfortable evenings around the dinner table, Terry came around to the idea of refurbishing a car alongside his son. Terry, the president and CEO of a large manufacturing company in Canada, is quite mechanically inclined, and this car was a good project to get them through the long Canadian winters. Drag racing the Camaro at a local airstrip gave James his first taste of racing, and he was hooked.

Fast forward a decade, and James was branching out a bit. He got a 2012 COPO transmission from ATI, propelling him into more competitions. Soon his dad caught the driving bug. After procuring two 2020 COPO Camaros, they quickly learned that modern-day muscle requires less wrenching and more tech. Thankfully, over their years of competing in local drag races, they became friendly with John Harder, a local mechanic who understood the intricacies of advanced tuning for newer, fuel-injected machines.

“We needed someone who understood the Holley system in these cars,” James said. “John is the brains. He’s the brains mechanically; he’s the brains electronically. Because we drive cars, we’re not computer ner… We’re not programmers. So he started tuning the thing.” (Good save…)

Around that same time, they connected with the folks at Patterson-Elite for engine work, and things really started to come together. 

“When we ordered the second 2020, we also ordered a Patterson engine. We told Patterson, ‘This is what we want to do. We want to go fast.” 

“He built us an engine that could get us there.”

The Patterson family took the group under their wing and helped them get ready to compete in NHRA Super Stock. Along the way, they picked up one more COPO Camaro so James, Terry, and John could each compete. James and John both drive red FSS/A 2020 COPO Camaros. Terry pilots a white FSS/B 2022 COPO. This year, they’ve had fun competing at divisional events in Brainerd, Minn., and Topeka, Kan. Most recently, they participated in the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.

“I’ve always said that racing is 95% the community that you build, and 5% racing,” James said. “We are faith-based people. We pray before dinner. We feed whoever wants to join us. That’s who we are. One of the guys pointed out to us that we really have six chefs and one of our chefs also happens to be a mechanic. It’s all about creating community and an atmosphere where you can build relationships and just have a good time racing.”

The Elias Racing bunch is not fooling around when they say they will feed anyone who wants to join them. At the Topeka Division 5 doubleheader, they prepared 70 steaks for their crew, the team at Patterson-Elite, and any friends they made that day.

“We’re probably not the most competitive group in the bunch. We always say, if we win, we win. But if we lose, we’ve got to have a drink together. So it’s a win-win, either way. The people we’ve met over the past year have just been phenomenal.”

Their gorgeous fleet of cars did more than turn heads. It inspired fellow Canadian drag racer, Larry Dyck, to try something new in Stock Eliminator. He asked the Elias group about their COPOs and they pointed him directly to Patterson-Elite.

“Since we’ve started traveling with the Pattersons, it’s like family. We pit with them; we eat with them. It’s awesome.”

Speaking of family, that’s been the best part for these newcomers. 

“My dad says this is the bucket list in his life, to be able to come out here and do this,” said James. “He said if he never races another national event, he’s happy. This is my dad. I’ve never had this kind of relationship with him. It’s always been business. I’ll do anything I can to make this experience for him the best. I think everyone would want this kind of relationship with their fathers. For me, this is what I’ve always dreamed of.”