We flew back to Indy on Thursday October 16^th.  The flight was on time, so we were at Jeff Lawson’s shop to pick up the trailer by 11:00 am.  While Jeff had possession of our car and trailer he did some repair work for us.  Among all the over problems we had at Kansas City, we also had a small crack in the rear end housing.  Steve tried to seal it up with epoxy and it worked while the car was sitting in the pits, but as soon as it made a run, the twisting action of the launch would open the crack, and the dripping of oil would start again.  We can’t thank you enough Jeff.  We were on our way to Beech Bend Raceway at 11:45 am.  It rained on and off for the entire 4 hour trip to Bowling Green.   We arrived at the track right around 3:00 pm (central time).  Again, we had on and off rain, but nothing that interfered with setting up our pit area and socializing with our fellow NPCA racers.

We had two qualifying runs scheduled for Friday, and two on Saturday.  Eliminations would be on Sunday.  Our first qualifying run the car ran 7.42 and 167 mph – just a little to fast (we are running in the 7.50 class this race).  Steve made a pulley change, and the car ran 7.65 and 166 mph on the second run.  He slowed it down a little too much!  The fuel pressure was just a tad low, so Steve changed the nozzles to see if he could pick that up a little, and lean it out a little. The first run on Saturday the car improved to a 7.62 and 167 mph.  Steve again made some nozzle changes.  The second run was 7.56 and 167 mph.  Now were getting close! We ended up in the number 3 qualifying position.

We won the first round with a 7.78 and 128 mph run.  Steve was afraid that he might go to fast because the air was so good – the corrected altitude was only at 630 feet above sea level.  Steve was so far ahead of the guy at the eight mile he let off.    Before the second round Steve said that he was going to concentrate on the tree, and cut a good light.  I hate it when he says that!  The car ran a 7.53 and 165 mph – our best run so far with the 10/71 supercharger.  But!!! He went .001 RED!  One one-thousand of a second to soon.  So, we were done.

After the rain on Thursday, the weather was absolutely perfect. Sunny and mid to high 70’s all three days.  We had a great time with all our NPCA buddies at the beautiful Beech Bend Raceway Park.  Even with the red light loss, it was a wonderful end to the 2008 season.

On the way home, we stopped at Fowler Engines in Columbus Ohio to drop off the damaged 14/71 supercharger for repair, and the 10/71 supercharger for freshening. 

In November I will post a 2008 season recap, and a tentative 2009 schedule – based on the limited info we have at this time.

It’s a long haul to KCIR – 1050 miles – a 17 hour drive. The good news is that we had no problems during that 17 hour drive, and the weather was perfect – mid seventies and sunny the entire weekend. The bad news is that everything that could go wrong during the race part of the weekend did go wrong.
When we left Norwalk last month the car was running great. After we got home Steve did some maintenance - changed the oil, and adjusted the relief valve on the oil pump to boost the oil pressure.

Friday afternoon at KCIR we had a time trial at 2:00. An hour before, we started the car to warm it up. We only had 40 lbs of oil pressure – we should have had 90 to 100 lbs. We drained the oil, took off the oil pan (during this I managed to drop not one, but two of the oil pan bolts into the pan of drained oil) and took off the oil pump. Steve took apart the oil pump- found that the relief value was stuck. He fixed it and put it back together again. We put the pump back on the car, put the oil pan back on, filled it with oil and started the car. We now had 95 lbs of oil pressure. Of course we had missed the 2:00 time trial, but we were ready to go for the first qualifying run at 7:00 pm. We went up for the run, Steve did the burnout, but took a long time to back up and stage the car. I didn’t know it at the time, but he was having trouble with the trans brake button, which he has to hold down to back up the car – it kept popping off. Then when he staged the car, the trans brake did not hold, so that messed up the launch of the car, and then it didn’t shift, so Steve had to let off. The car only ran a 12.075 and 53 mph. When we got back to the pits we found that the relay for the trans brake, and the one for the shifter were dead. Steve knew that he had spare relays, but we couldn’t find them – must have left them home. Thanks to Simpson and Shaffer we got replacements and were ready for Saturday’s runs.

Okay, now it’s Saturday. A new day. We have gotten rid of all the gremlins, and we are good to go – right? We take the car up for the 2nd qualifying run. Steve does his burnout – has a little tire shake. He stages the car – it has fuel leaking from one of the fuel lines, then stalls. We push him back and tow the car back to the pits. Steve tightens the fuel lines, checks the fuel pump, and then we start the car to make sure everything is okay. At this point, Jeff Woolard, the crew chief for Dave Damron racing is standing on the opposite side of the car from Steve. He says he hears a “clunking” sound from the Supercharger. NOT GOOD. Steve and I take off the “bird” hat and look into the Supercharger. We see a lot of gear oil, which means the bearings and the seal have died. Also, the rotors have some scrapes on them – so basically our Supercharger is dead.
I go to tell the NPCA officials that we are broke, and done for the weekend. I get back to the pits, and Jeff has talked Steve to putting on the 10/71 Blower that we brought to sell on the car and continue to race. So I go back to the NPCA officials and tell them to “Hold that thought.”

The next few hours were unbelievable. We had all kinds of help changing the Supercharger. Rob Davis, Richard Edwards, Jeff Woolard, and several others just took over and got things done. Wayne Sears cooked dinner for us. Someone stopped by and said that it looked like a crew chief orgy in our pits. I can not thank everyone enough for all the help. At 8:00 pm we went up for the final qualifying run. The car only ran a 7.89 and 168 mph, but we were in the show. Steve changed the pulley and the main pill, and we were ready for Sunday Eliminations.
The first round, we had to run Richard Edwards – the guy who worked hours on our car. We knew we couldn’t run in the low 7’s with this smaller supercharger, but you never know, the other guy could red light, smoke the tires, or just have a bad run, so we went up for the first round with high hopes. The car ran a losing 7.60 and 168 mph.

We drove back to Indy, left the car and trailer at Jeff Lawson’s shop, and flew home. Thursday 10/16 we will fly back to Indy, pick up the trailer and head to Bowling Green Kentucky for our last race. We will race in the 7.50 class in Bowling Green instead of the 7.00 class. We should be able to tune the 10/71 blower to run in the 7.50’s, so maybe we will have a chance.

One last race and the season is done. Check out our sponsor – SpecialtyToolsUSA.com, and wish us luck.
 

Sally’s Night

Steve and I belong to the Rochester Street Rods Club.  The third Wednesday of each month during the summer our club, and the Good Ole Boys Club and the Mopar Club of Rochester meet at the local track for a drag race event.  Each club has their cars run four runs for points, but only the same # of cars from each club get points.  Any extra cars still run-but not for points.

I took my 1966 Mustang (289 4 speed) to the track to run with the club.  I ran 3 runs in the points runs and one run in the overflow (non points) runs. I broke out in the non points run, but it didn’t count.

I won the the first round of points run because the other guy went red.  I won the second round because the other guy broke out. I won the third round because the other guy went red.

My reaction times were TERRIBLE!!!    I did not win any rounds – but because of luck, I did not lose any either.  I made points for the club- which ended up winning the trophy , and I had a really great time.  So it was a win-win situation for me and the Rochester Street Rod Club

We arrived at Summit Motorsports Park on Thursday 9/4 at 7:40 pm, about 10 minutes to late to pull into the pits, so we parked in the lot across the street for the night. We were first in line for pre-registration the next morning.  The booth for pre-registered vehicles opened at 7:00 am.  The rain started at 7:05 and continued throughout the day. 

So we had all day to set up our pit area, eat, talk, walk around, check out the track – everything but run the car down the track.

Saturday the weather was good – temps in the mid 70’s and partly cloudy.  We had two qualifying  runs, one at 1:00 and the other at 4:00.  The first run we went 7.123 and 181.50 mph. The second we went 7.124 and 183.94 mph.  This put us in the #6 qualifying spot.

The car is running great in the 1^st 1/8 mile, but the second 1/8 mile is BLAH!!!

Sunday morning is cloudy and spotty rain. But the rain in done by 10:00 am. 

We had our first round of eliminations at 1:15.  We had to run  the Renegade  car of Don Slout.  Steve had a GREAT reaction time, and the car went 7:08.  We won our first round win in the 7:00 Pro Comp I Class. I couldn’t believe it.

The next round we had Sean DeWitt, the #1 qualifier.  Steve tried hard, a little too hard, he went .007 red – so we were done.  Steve was upset with himself, but I was really happy.  Our first time in the 7.0, Pro Comp I Class, and we made it to the semi’s.

The car ran great, the crew did good – what else can you ask for? (Have a look at some pics from the event...photo page).

We have decided not to go to the Match Race Mania in Muncie, IN, so our next race with the 32 Bantam is in Kansas City – Oct 3 – 5, 2008.  See you there

We found out that Ralph, the new owner of the track, had booked “Ruby Shooz” to play at the track on Thursday evening, so we decided to get there a day early relax and enjoy the band.  When we arrived at 5:30 pm the rain had just ended.  We went out to a local restaurant for dinner then headed back to the track.  The band was great. Ralph joined in with the band for a set of “Elvis” songs and did a great job!

We had all day Friday to set up our pit area and get the car ready. The temps were in the high seventies and we had a mix of sun and clouds, but it stayed dry all day.  Steve made some adjustments to the throttle.  He was trying to adjust the launch rpm so the car would not “dead hook” and go into tire shake as it did when we tested at NYIRP. There was a nostalgia “bracket” race on Friday evening, but we decided to just make a test run and see if Steve was making progress. 

The car launched beautifully.  It ran 4.706 and went 128.19 mph with Steve letting off early (he didn’t need to test that short shut down at this point).  We recorded our best 60 ft time ever on that run – a 1.0711.  It looks like Steve’s adjustments were perfect.

It rained overnight Friday, but it was clear by 8:00 am Saturday.  The temps were in the mid 70’s with a mix of sun and clouds all day.  Saturday’s race was a nostalgia race with a 4.20 index, a 4.50 index, a 4.80 index and a 5.10 index.  The number one qualifier would be the car that ran the closest to its index.  We chose to try for the 4.50 index.  Most of the other cars were in the 4.80 index and there were a few in the 5.10 index.  Our best run was a 4.644 and 147.54 mph.  We won the first round when the other driver left before the tree was even activated, and won the second round because that driver went red. We were going to the semi final round when the rains started.  By the time it quit, it was almost 8:00 pm.  The track officials announced that the radar showed more showers on the way, so they called the race.  The track took the total purse for each class and split it between the remaining cars.  We collected our share, and put the car away for the night.  Our Daughters and Granddaughters were in town for the race and had a motel with a pool so Steve and I went over there, took a shower, had a swim and hung out with the girls.

Sunday the weather was great.  Temps between 72 and 78 with just enough cloud cover to keep things comfortable.  Sunday was the big race.  Heads up, pro tree, no index, no breakout – first car to the finish line is the winner.  WE KICKED ASS!!!  We were the #1 qualifier with a 4.61, and got better with each run.  Our best time was a 4.54 and the fasted mph was 149.  Remember “our best 60 ft time” of 1.0711?  Well forget that – every run on Sunday had 60 ft times of 1.04 and even one 1.03.  The car went straight and fast every run, and was untouchable.  The only two cars at the track that posted faster times was the Nitro Dragster and Nitro Funny Car

At was so great to do so well at this event, as it is the only race we have in NY, and we had lots of family and friends there to cheer us on.  We had a couple of mechanical problems on Sunday that required some work in between rounds.  Thanks to the help of all those friends and family members we were able to fix those problems and make the call for the next round.

The track announcer did a great job getting our sponsor’s name out every time we ran, and our granddaughters passed out Specialty Tools, Inc. flyers all weekend.

Both Saturday and Sunday, the NPCA cars that attended this event were the dominate cars.  If you like this nostalgia racing, you should plan on attending one of the NPCA events.  We have a link to the NPCA website – check it out.

Monday, June 9^th I flew home from Indy so I could spend a few days working.  Steve headed for Bowling Green with the truck and trailer.  He had to make a slight detour to meet a guy that was selling a 14-71 supercharger.  We currently have an 8-71 on the car – but not for long.  Here we go again – more changes – got to go faster.

Steve was able to take the trailer to the track on Wednesday.  Because there were so few teams there he got a prime location.  Thursday he picked me up at the Nashville airport and we were at the track by 3:00.  We took the car to tech and as we sat in line the sky got darker and darker.  One of the techs (Bobby from Texas) took pity on those of us in open cars and pushed us thru pretty quick.  We got the car back to the trailer and covered up before it started to rain.

We were in ProComp A which is a combined class. A is 7.50 index B is 8.00 C is 8.50 D is 9.00 and E is 9.50.  The class runs on a handicapped Pro Tree.  So if we were paired up with a 9.50 car, that car would get one yellow light then green THEN TWO SECONDS LATER Steve would get his one yellow then green.

Friday morning we had our first qualifying run at 10:45.  It was 88 degrees and humid.  The car went 7.48 and 181 mph – first time over 180!  Because the car went under the index, we did not qualify with that run.

At noon it started raining.  Racing resumed at 2:00, and then it started to rain again at 3:30.  At 4:00 the track officials decided to call it a day.  So we went to town for dinner and spent the evening socializing.

Isn’t it great how Mother Nature gives us these frequent breaks so we can visit with our friends?

Saturday morning it was cloudy but dry.  We made our 1^st run at 11:25.  At that time it was 80 and still humid.  The car went 7.56 and 177.  Steve didn’t want to break out again so he let off before the finish line.  That run put us in the top half of the field.

We found out that there were only 2 cars in the Super Eliminator class.  We were told that this was also a combined class. A is a 6.50 index and B a 7.00 index.  One of the two cars was in A and the other in B.  We decided to move up to the Super Eliminator B class.  We had to take the car thru tech again then make a qualifying run.  We made that run at 5:30.  It was 84 and still very humid.  The car went 7.44 and 179 mph.  The other B car ran 7.02 on his 7.00 index.  The A car ran a 6.85 on his 6.50 index.  The way we figured it the B car would be #1 qualifier, as he ran closest to the index.   On Sunday morning when they posted the race ladders, they had the 6.50 car as #1.  We asked about it and we were told that there was a mistake – there was no B class – all three cars were running on a 6.50 index.  They also had the Pro Comp class all screwed up, so Sunday was very frustrating for a lot of people.  We finally made are first (and last) run at 3:00 pm.

We were up against a much faster car so we knew that we didn’t stand a chance, unless the other car made a mistake, smoked the tires, or broke.  Steve left first, and ran a 7.48 and 181 mph, but the other car went 7.09 and 191 and turned on the win light.

Even with the class screw ups and the rain delays we had a great time, but we have been to four races in five weeks and traveled over 2000 miles – not counting airline miles, so we are looking forward to staying home for a few weeks.

We were interviewed on Speed Scene Live.  Click on the link to that site and then click on archive of past shows and select 6/17/08.  Our car is shown about 2 minutes into the video and again at about 5 minutes followed by the interview.  We got a chance to talk about our sponsor Specialty Tools and got their web address mentioned a couple of times.  You can check out their site by clicking on their logo that is on our home page.

Our plane landed at Indy about 20 minutes late.  We picked up the truck and trailer and pulled into the track at 5:03 – registration closed at 5:00.  No big deal, we were still able to get into the pit area and set up, then go to the registration trailer Friday morning to pick up our tech card, wrist bands, etc.  Thursday evening and Friday were sunny, hot and windy.  We had two qualifying runs scheduled for Friday and two on Saturday.

We were called for our first run Friday at 11:00 am.  It was 85 degrees and 55% humidity with a corrected altitude of 3445 ft.  This was very close to the conditions at Gateway so Steve left the tune up as it was.  The car ran 7.56 and 177 mph.  That put us in the #4 spot.  By the time we were to make our second run the corrected altitude was up to 3632, so Steve changed to a smaller pulley.  This should have given us a 7.53 to 7.51 run, EXCEPT for the fact that I didn’t have the air bottle turned on.  There was enough air in the system for the burnout, but that was used up by the time Steve staged the car.  At the launch it just barely got off the line and idled down the track.  So we remained in the #4 spot.

Friday evening the NPCA group was invited to a cookout at the ARC Racing Engine shop in Brownsburg.  While we were there the black clouds moved in and the winds picked up even more.  It started to pour and then the tornado sirens went off.  It looked like the world was coming to an end for a while, but then it got a little brighter and the rain quit.  We went back to the track and were treated with a beautiful double rainbow.  By 9:30 it started to rain again and continued throughout the night.  The next morning it was still raining and the low spots in the pits were starting to flood.  We could tell that there wouldn’t be any morning runs, so we decided to go to Flap Jacks – our favorite breakfast place in Indy.  On our way there we passed a McDonalds that had a “wireless internet” sign in the window.  After breakfast we went back to the track to get the laptop.  It was still raining so we might as well go to McDonalds and check email, weather & NHRA racing results.  At McDonalds we ran into Keith “Rooman”.  He told us he was going to ARC to help Brendon Murray get his top fuel dragster ready for Sunday.  On Friday Brendon had another fire – it wasn’t as bad as last years in Columbus, but it was bad enough to destroy his firesuit, seatbelts, parachutes and every soft part on the engine.  Because it was now 10:00 am and still raining we decided to go over to ARC and watch.  There was another top fuel dragster there owned by a fellow New Yorker, Jim Didio, from Auburn, NY.  We talked to Jim at length as his crew repaired some damage to that car.

It finally quit raining around noon so we headed back to the track.  We could not believe how badly the track and pits were flooded.  Steve and I walked up to the track, at the finish line.  We were standing in water up to mid calf.  They had pumps trying to rid the track and pits of water.  By mid afternoon they were making progress, but you could see that if any more rain came it would be over.  The sun came out, the breeze picked up and things continued to dry up.  The rest of the day and evening was a social event.

By Sunday morning four cars in our class had left due to breakage or they thought the event would be called due to the rain.  The NPCA decided to fill in the empty spaces by moving all qualified cars up and combining classes.  This put us in the #2 qualifying spot, and that in turn would give us the Bye run in round two – if we won round one.  That would not be easy, as we were paired up against Dave Waters and his ’40 Willys – one of the best in the NPCA.  But we did win!  The car ran another 7.56, but only 159 mph.  Steve knew he was out front, and was a little concerned about exceeding the 7.50 index so he let off before the finish line.  As I mentioned before, round two we got the Bye run.  In a lone run it doesn’t matter if you break out (exceed the index) so Steve didn’t let off.  The car ran a 7.48 and 178 mph – we need to slow it down a touch for the next round.

Round 3 – the Semi Finals – we are up against Bob Lair in the Wild Thing front engine dragster.  Last time we raced him it was VERY close, but we won.  This time it was again very close but he won.  We ran a 7.495 (broke out by 5 one thousands of a second) and 178 mph.  Bob ran a 7.51 and 182 mph.

All in all we did great.  The car was flawless, the driver excellent.  Except for some rain and my screw up with the air bottle the weekend was perfect.

Our car was filmed by Speed Scene Live.  Check them out at www.speedsceneracing.com and remember to check out the site of our sponsor SpecialtyToolsUSA.

Gateway International Raceway June 1, 2008  -  Courtesy Nostalgia Pro Comp Association

We arrived at Gateway International about 1:30 pm on Friday May 30^th.  Gateway is just across the river from St. Louis.  We could see the “Arch” from the track, and we could hear the tug boats on the river.  It was sunny and hot, but we were told that a strong storm was on the way, with winds up to 60 mph, so we should NOT set up shade tents or awnings.  We had all afternoon to set up and get the car ready for Saturday qualifying runs.  By evening the pits were packed, the clouds were rolling in, and the wind was picking up.  Steve and I sat in our lawn chairs after dark and watched a great light show provided by Mother Nature.  There was constant lightning off to the west that was truly spectacular!  It started to rain around 10:30, and it rained hard for hours, but by daybreak it was over.  Saturday was hot (90) with 45% humidity.  We did have a nice breeze, so it wasn’t bad at all.

We made our first qualifying run at 1:21 pm on Saturday.  With the high temp and humid condition, the corrected altitude was 3120 – not very good air, so Steve changed the pulley to compensate. The car went 7.69 and 170.21 mph, which put us in the #2 qualifying spot.

Steve made another pulley change and leaned out the fuel system a little bit.  We went for our second qualifying run at 6:43 pm.  The car went 7.52 and 175.78 mph.  Another car went the same ET, but with a higher mph, so he bumped us out of the #2 spot and into #3.

Again Saturday night it rained for a couple of hours, but it was a light rain with no wind, and again it was sunny and dry by morning.  It got up to 91 very quickly, with 35% humidity.  The corrected altitude was over 3000 again.  Because we ran so close to our index with the same weather conditions the day before, we left the tune up alone. 

We went for the first round of eliminations at 1:44.  Steve was paired up with a car that had been having problems all weekend, so we had a good chance of winning the round, as long as we didn’t beat ourselves.  Well, that’s exactly what we did.  Steve went RED.  After both cars were staged, the lights on the other lane flickered for some reason.  Steve saw the flash of yellow, and took off.  He was really pissed at himself for letting that flicker distract him.  Then to top it off, the other car broke before the finish line and only ran 8.09.  We went 7.61 and 174.39 mph, so it could have been an easy win.

Except for the Red light loss, the weekend was a ton of fun.  We handed out quite a few flyers for our sponsor Specialty Tools USA, so maybe they will make out better then we did.

Match Race Mania
Route 66 Raceway, Joliet IL
May 17, 2008

We arrived at the track a little after noon on Friday May 16^th.  The sun was bright, the sky blue, the winds brisk and the temp was in the low 70’s. We had all afternoon to set up and prepare the car as our first test run was scheduled for 10:00 am on Saturday.   By 5:00 the pits were filling up, and we walked around to visit with all our fellow racers that we hadn’t seen for months.  It rained overnight, but when we woke up Saturday morning the sun was out.

We made our first test run at 10:39.  It was sunny but very windy with a temp of 67 and a corrected altitude of 1827 – very good air.  The car launched good, but after half track started pulling toward the wall.  Steve kept turning the steering wheel, but the car would not get back in the groove, so he had to get out of it.  Even so, the car ran 7.67 and 149 mph. 

Our second test run was at 2:13 (should have been at 1:00). It was still sunny and windy but the temp was up to 75, and the corrected altitude was 2371 which is still pretty good air.  This was a great run.  The car ran a 7.51 and 177 mph – right where we need to be.  Now we need to run those numbers in the qualifying run.

We made the 1^st qualifying run at 6:05. The sky was now partly cloudy but it was still warm, and the wind was starting to die down.  The corrected altitude was now 2289.  Steve said he got his monies worth on this run because it went from one side of the lane to the other about three times, so he figures he went an extra eighth mile.  Even with all the dancing around the car ran 7.61 and 175 mph, which put us in the #2 spot.

We were in the lanes for our second and final qualifying run when it started to sprinkle.  It stopped, and racing resumed.  Then it started again.  This time it didn’t stop but got steadily harder.  At 7:30 the event was called.  We headed back to the trailer and started loading up.

We knew when we started out that there was a slight chance of rain, but it is still disappointing when it happens.  On the plus side – the car ran great, we are getting a handle on the tune up, we got to see people that we had not seen all winter, and for the most part it was sunny and warm, which I found out was not the case in Rochester NY.  This event is not really a race, but an exhibition, so we got paid to show up and make some runs.  So even through the event was called off before the final run, we will still get paid.  All things considered, this event was a success for the SS3 Race Team.  I handed out a bunch of flyers for our sponsor, Specialty Tools Inc., so hopefully it will be a success for them too.  Don’t forget to check out their website – just click on their logo (it’s on the home page of this website).