Rough-N-Ready Racing laid down a marker after powering their way to victory in the 2026 California Independent Funny Car Association season opener on their home track at Redding Motorsports Park in California.

With deputising driver Chaysse Trimp behind the wheel of their 1965 Mustang GT funny car, the Bermudian-owned amateur drag racing team successfully defended their 7.0 Pro class title in the Kool April Drags to start the season with a bang.

“It was a really good feeling to get the win and I was so happy for my crew,” team owner Harvey Williams Jr told The Royal Gazette.

Williams was forced to swap drivers for the event as regular driver Tony Trimp was unavailable, which proved to be a seamless transition as Trimp’s son Chaysse was more than equal to the task.

“Tony couldn’t do it because he had to work the track so his son Chaysse drove the car,” Williams said.

“I actually started with Chaysse when he was about 17 years old and told his father, who owns the track, it’s best to put your son in the car because Kool April Drags is his biggest race of the year.”

After producing the second fastest time (5.923) during qualifying, the younger Trimp beat rivals Todd Ross in the elimination round, Ken Breneisen in the semi-final and for the second straight year reigning CIFCA champion James Maher in the final.

Williams is especially proud of his team to have achieved victory in his absence having departed for home after qualifying.

“I was so happy for my crew because they always depend on me so much and for them to do it, I was beyond myself,” he said.

“Over the years you train people and you hope they learn and catch on. So for me I’ve seen all my hard work pay off.

“I told them I wasn’t going to be there and that you guys are going to be running the show. I told them you guys should be able to do it yourselves and if need be to call me over the phone and I’ll give them the information on what to do to with the car.

“The other competitors were like ‘Wait, Harvey isn’t here, oh we got you guys’. But I told them ‘My team has got this’, and they were like ‘Yeah Harvey, you’ve got to be there to run the show’.

“I told them I tune people’s cars from California to Texas to Florida. I can tell them what to do over the phone or watch the video and explain to them. I did the same thing to my team as I would do for anybody else, so it was a good feeling.

“Everything happened for a good reason. Everything worked out perfect and I could not have planned it better.”

The great-nephew of late road running legend Stanley Burgess was also delighted to have savoured another victory on his home track, which he stressed is no easy feat with expectations always high for his team to deliver.

“A lot of people think the odds should be in your favour racing at your home track, but it’s actually harder because of the pressure on you to do good,” the 52-year-old said.

“It’s very hard and people don’t understand because the expectations are very high and there’s a lot of pressure on you.”

The Sacramento-based team were all the more determined to win heading into the event as a pre-wedding gift for Williams’s sister, Jacqueline, who is poised to tie the knot soon.

“I wanted to do this for my sister and that was my goal,” Williams said.

“I had a big board at my house which read ‘Win April Kool Drags for my sister’, and all my crew members looked at it and said ‘We are going to do it’, and they delivered.”

Rough-N-Ready Racing are hoping to build on last year’s success having been crowned 7.0 Pro class national champions and finishing runners-up to Maher in the CIFCA championship with three victories under their belt.