Rain Drops Are Falling on My Head

Well boys and girls. The title of this weeks blog just about sums up this weeks racing. The PTRA finally came to my home track this weekend at Carolina dragway. We were pretty amped up about getting to lay the wood to the scoreboards. I definitely had the pick em up, burn em down tune up in the old girl. Rain all night friday, rain off and on saturday. Cancelled the race at 5pm. We loaded up and hauled booty to orangeburg dragstrip. I was determined to make a pass. Got there, got in staging. Strapped in, engine running, RAIN. RAIN RAIN. Not to let the weekend be a bust without a fight. We loaded back up, headed back to carolina dragway. Fired up the blender, Johnson put on a mean low country boil in the cooker. So we had fun but no racing. Im gonna try to make a few hits this week if the weather lets me. This coming weekend is the start of that glorious national pastime we call college football. The Georgia Bulldogs will be kick stomping georgia southern. I'll be in Athens on Saturday, and then Im flying to Indy saturday afternoon to "talk with a man about a horse" so to speak.

Back To The Drawing Board

Holy Smokes What a Week. If racing wasnt my life then i would be lost. What would i do with all the free time and money? Wednesday night at carolina dragway we unloaded the car with high hopes and tired eyes. We thrashed monday and tuesday changing stuff on the car. I was bound and determined to get ole bruhilda off the starting line. Well we did but boy it was a turd. 5.31@ 142.01. Now most of yall that know me know that im a go big, or go home type of guy. Call it my ego or my stupid redneck cowboy attitude, but if im not at the top of the field, im not happy. So with that in mind i put the oooompaloompa tune up in. Poor Chris Johnson. He had know idea what was about to happen to his motor. I launched, i smiled, i shifted, i then mushroom clouded the motor. I blew the heads off it. Now yall dont get the wrong idea here. im not talking about lifting a head, or pushing the gasket out. Im talkin bout i blew the tanks off the radiator. We i tear shit up, its tore up. I hadnt even got the car stopped when i realized we were up shit creek. I had blown up my motor, my friends motor, and all my friends parts. We are SCREWED. We got home and pushed the car in the shop. I have never in life been as depressed as when i turned the lights off. and went inside. I had given up. There was no way to get another supercharger motor together by friday. My championship dream was over and six months of hard work was in the toilet. I went to bed and had nightmares all night about being a failure. I woke up at 6 am thursday morning, and went to work in the midst of a clinical depression. My old buddy Joe called and we were talking about the situation at hand. He is always good about cheering me up when im shot out. He told me to get my stupid cowboy attitude back and figure it out. At that moment the strangest thought crossed my mind. Its wierd the things u remember that u think you never will. When I was in tenth grade in high school, i had an english teacher that had a poster on her wall. It was a picture of a seagull eating a frog. the frog was all the way down the seagulls throat except for his two back legs. which were sticking out of the seagulls mouth and wrapped around the seagulls neck choking him to death. The caption on the poster said, "Never EVER GIVE UP" Boy did that get me. Its kinda retarded but that poster has got me through more hard spots in my life than i can count. Something clicked inside me and i decided i would make this race this weekend no matter what. Sometimes the hardest thing to do in life is to decide that you arent going to quit. Me and Johnson got our heads together and decided the only option we had was to put my old nitrous motor in. Thats right, i said nitrous. But it was in his 68 mustang. So at 5 pm on thursday night i parked the tool truck. Walked in the shop, and went buck nasty. By 10 pm the car was stripped. Motor and trans out, water tanks, plumbing, wiring, fuel system,, everything. Johnson got there with the motor and trans at 10:30. By 4 am we had the engine and trans in. by 7 am we had the fuel system done. at 9.14 am i hit the starter button and it didnt spin over twice and busted off and sat there chirping its ass off. I forgot how that thing sounded. All big and nasty. I love the sound of crickets chirping in the morning. I went to work with no sleep and worked till 1pm. we loaded up the orange car and headed north. Completely unsure of what was gonna happen, but we were on our way. I felt like i had already won the fight. It took three hits friday night to get down the track. 5.18 @145. The converter was way loose and i had no data aquisition on the car so i was tuning by the seat of my pants. Saturday morning we warmed up the hot rod and towed her to tech. You shoulda seen the looks on peoples faces when the hood came off. Where two days ago sat a nice neat mild mannered superchargered motor, now sat a giant balls nasty wicked nitrous motor. There are systems all over this thing. Its was time to finish the piedmont race from two weeks ago. We raced Brian Mcgee in the semis and boy was it a pedalfest. i got there first and we were off to the finals. Where we were quickly crushed. But i was happy just to be there. We qualified 5th for the mooresville race with a 5.13. Gettin better. Made it through first round. In the second round we were matched up against the current points leader Jason Richards. I knew we had to go so i screwed it to it. This was one of the best races of my career. I got him by 2 hundredths on the tree. We had identical sixty foots. He had me by half a car at half track. then my Take Me To Jesus stage came on and i drove by him barely nipping him at the traps. What a race. 5.09 at 146.9 Close races like that are what i live for. We got beat in the semis. But you couldnt tell us anything. We had went from giving up to going to a final and semi final in one day. Sometimes the real victories in life come without a trophy or winners purse. We are now 35 points out of the lead in PTRA points, And are leading Orsca points. The next race is in Jackson, Sc in two weeks so i expect to see all you home town guys there. And remember that no matter how dark the tunnel you are staring down, there is always light somewhere. You might just have to walk a little while in the dark to find it. I cant wait to get the new stator in the torque converter. I think we have some killer numbers in this thing. We will test thursday night.

TOUGH ROW TO HOE!

Im sorry it's been awhile since i've written. Things have been so hectic around the shop that i've hardly had time to sleep. Let's step back to the Ptra Race in Piedmont two weeks ago. We got there friday night for some testing. Came off the trailer, had a good run going till around 500 feet into the run. The motor hiccupped so i lifted. Pulled the valve covers and damn if it wasnt the wierdest thing ive seen lately. One of the exhaust valves pulled apart at the stem. These were not an inexpensive set of valves so im still kind of curious as to what happened. I snatched the head off. Alot of the fellow racers in the ptra helped with time and parts and found us a local machine shop. They took the head and by a miracle the guy had a titanium valve on the shelf that fit. They got back with the head around 2 am. We buttoned the motor up and finished around 4:30. Wheeeww. Talk about tired on Saturday. We qualified 5th with a 5.11. Made it all the way to the semi's and then they called the race due to curphew. So we finish piedmonts race this weekend during Mooresvilles Qualifying. Last wednesday we were testing in Jackson , Sc and blew the cylinder walls out of the block. I mean its crazy looking. you can slide your fingers from one cylinder to the next. Im thinking we are screwed. Then my buddy Chris Johnson comes through for me. He loaned me his procharger motor. Which is similar to mine but there are some differences. We juked the new motor in the hot rod, busted her off, and eased on down to the track saturday. First pass out we ring the keyway in half on the crank. Once again i think were screwed. The Johnson brings a drill over and drills the front snout of the crank, drives the drill bit in there and boom we now have a double keyway crank. sunday in dorchester we smoked smoked smoked the tires. This engine is 120 lbs heavier than mine and im really having a time getting it off the starting line. So we will be testing wed, thurs, and friday this wee. With two points races on Saturday in Mooresville. So yall some on down and hang out with us.

Racing School Recap

Tuesday I started off with a 1000 ft blast down the track. After spending hours in the hotel practicing clutch moves, feet swapping, shifts, chute dumps and brake control. I was feeling pretty confident. I have a problem if i think too much about what i'm doing while im doing it. Especially in these cars. I'm not sure if my mind works too slow (keep laughing) or because the car is moving faster than my mind can tell my body to react. But if I think about it too much i screw up. So tuesday i decided to stop thinking about it. Get my ass in the car and have fun. I was joking around and having a good time when it was my turn. Let me touch a little on safety here. If you think some of the tracks are a little strict making you wear a triple layer jacket and pants, then you need to drive in one of these space suits. You start with pants and a jacket that could withstand a hiroshima bomb. Then fire shoes. Then knee high fire boots that cover the fire shoes. Then a Hans or R3 helmet restraint device, Followed by a head sock, helmet with helmet skirt, arm restraints and a chin strap. Let just say that when your in the car. You Are IN The Car. Im used to it now and i like it. Anyways they towed me around and busted of the engine. I have gotten used to the clutch now and really like it. I dont know what ill do with my left foot anymore in the mustang. I burned in, backed up. Staged and left. Straight as an arrow to the 1000ft mark. This car is really getting fun to drive. Frank said it was a very good clean run and gave me the nod to take old girl all the way to the stripe. I way hopping around the pits like a mexican jumping bean. We towed around and the crew gave me the thumbs up. I burned in like a champion, staged and off we went. One shift, two shifts, Man this thing is hauling ass. Here comes the stripe, boom the chutes are out. Until you feel two full size chutes blossom at 230mph, you havent lived. Forget about having to push the clutch in at the end of the run, the chutes throw your foot on the clutch for you. Another clean run down. Only one more full run left and i would be done. Today we got to the track around 8:30. We had 3 inches of rain last night and water was coming up through the track. It was 1pm before i got to run. Talk about icing the kicker. Man the pressure was on. But i just told myself that i was just a kid out here having a good time driving a hot rod. I made a near perfect run buzzing the clocks at 230 mph again. I earned my NHRA Top Alcohol License. Talk about happy. I think i shook the whole crews hands twice. Frank invited me back in a couple months to drive the alcohol funny car. Three runs in that beast and i can cross over my license. So im gonna try. Now im back home and real life has set in. The orange car is still in the trailer and we have an event next weekend. It needs an engine, transmission, brakes and some overall TLC. So thrashapalooza is here again. I guess if it wasnt for the last minute nothing would ever get done. I have to go play in a charity golf tournament Saturday. It'll be fun. But time isnt on my side. So im off to the shop. I hope Kmart has a special on midnight oil.

Getting Down in Gator Town

I am down here in gator ville, I mean Gainesville Fla. By gosh this whole town is orange and blue. All these poor misguided souls are convinced that the ole raggedy Florida Gators are goin all the way this year. I stick out in my Georgia Bulldog red and black like a sore thumb. but then again, fitting in has never really been my thing. I got up this morning at 6 am fired up ready to burn in the Top Alcohol car. After a problem was found early, it was 3 pm before i got in the car. Its hard to anticipate how this thing feels when you burn it in. It's fun. I staged and dumped the clutch. the car made a move to the wall and i gently coaxed her back in the groove, Made the one-two shift at 9700 rpms, then the two-three shift at 9600 rpms. ran to about 800 feet and hit the chutes. oh crap no chutes. I hit them again and nothing. Moved my hand to the brake and pulled the car to a stop. good thing it was only an 800 foot shakedown. Im not sure why the laundry didnt come out but the crew said they were fixed now so hell yes. Tomorrow I get to take it a 1000 feet and if all is done perfectly, ( and boy thats a big if) I'll get to make a couple full passes. These cars are a handful to drive to say the least. There is so much to do in such a short time. You manipulate almost every action the car makes. And they are the only car or bike in professional drag racing that you have to control the launch rpm with the gas and clutch. (no 2 steps here) This thing makes the orange car seem like a caddilac on a sunday drive. Ill update on tomorrows progress tomorrow night.

On a Roll

I could definitely get used to this. We tested the Orange car at Carolina Dragway thursday night. It's first time out on slicks in awhile. After two unsuccesful hits at it, i was getting discouraged. The engine is beyond its due rebuild time (120 passes) and it will be monday before i can get it out and give the old girl a much deserved overhaul. It's amazing how different a radial tire tune up, and a slick tune up is. I changed everything on the car from fuel and timing maps, to weight, to shock settings. Finally it payed off. Shaking loose a modest 5.081 @143.1 MPH Which was good, except for the mile per hour. Where was it and why? I decided to make one more pass and load the car for bear. Wheelstandapalooza. The car came down pretty hard and punched a hole in the oil filter. Not happy with the results from thursday, Friday night me and Brian headed to the new track in Bowman, Sc. After two passes we got the hot rod to run a 5.12. But the MPH was only 141. I was looking over the engine and there was our problem. A crack in the supercharger charge pipe. I was happy as a pig in slop. We welded up the pipe and left for Darlington, Sc saturday morning. First round qualifying, 5.18. Problem. Broken rocker arm. Again. We thrashed and fixed the motor. Thanks to everyone that helped us. I don't even know who all brought me tools and parts but thanks again. Second round qualifying we blew off a 5.06. That was good enough to give us the number two Qualifying spot. Which was good because it earned us the first round bye. We used that as a test pass and loaded the super swamper tune up in. Of course it stood up and i had to pedal, still bumping the clocks with a 5.09. Man i wish the front end wouldve stayed down. That thing was on a pass. Second round my opponent broke. It was getting late by this time. Like 1:30 am late. Me being a night owl was loving it. In the Semi's we squeeked by with a 5.19 getting the win. I absolutely couldnt believe it. Were we really going to our third final round in a row? Bad news was, our opponent was the current PTRA record holder Jason Richards. And on his last pass he went a 5.02. Holy smokes how was i gonna get around that. I went big nasty with the tune up and did a monster burnout. Brian put me dead in the groove and radio'd to me to get his ass on the tree. We staged and bam we were off. I was actually winning for about 30 feet. Then the tires shook. But thank goodness his did too. It was a pedal fest. He was still there. I burped the thottle once and it shook again. He was still there. I blipped again and nailed it. The old girl bit. We won the race with a 5.19. Not the most impressive e.t but we will take the win. I cant thank everyone that helped us enough. For example, Just to show you how good the people we race with are, The thread repair kit that fixed my engine in qualifying, came from Jason. The guy that i ran in the finals. The Orange car will be down for a few weeks for some much needed TLC. That will give me time to concentrate on my NHRA deal. Time is ticking away to find a sponsor for 2009. We leave for Gainesville, Fla this coming weekend. I'll be attempting to finish getting my NHRA top alcohol licsense. Boy am i excited about matting the throttle on the blown alky dragster again. Hopefully we'll get some video this time. I'll keep you guys and gals updated on how its going.

Here Comes The Boom!!!!

Yall forgive me if i seem a little excited but by goodness i am. We left off with us about to make the first round qualifying sat. morning. We were slap tired after the all nighter friday night. I was napping in my hammock when they called us around. Brian looked like a walking zombie. The poor old boy just isnt used to good old hard work i guess. LOL He is gonna kick my butt for saying that. Anyways we were first in line and elected to go with the right lane. I was semi skeptical if my bandaid patch job on the engine was gonna hold up. I figured if it was going to grenade, then i might as well go ahead and help it along so i rolled through the water and dropped the hammer for the usual Steve Jackson style long burn out. I always burn in with the windows down and there is nothing better than stopping about the 330 and when the motor comes back down to idle hearing the people in the stands screaming. Im addicted to this stuff. I backed up and brian keyed up the radio and asked if the rods were still in the motor. I brought the hot rod up on two step and turned loose. 5.10 @146. Hell yes thats what we wanted. After about 3 seconds of talking about what to do next round, we decided to turn the wick up a little. Me and the orange car have this understanding that if she will do what i tell her to, then i wont wheel stand her and beat her up and blow her tires off and stuff. She blew off a 5.06, second round qualifying. Thats a new EZ Street World Record. But we still had to back it up. I was having nightmares about the Carolina race, Remember went i went John Wayne on the tune up in the finals going for the record and almost gave the race away? I decided if we were going for the record this time, that we were gonna do it right now. No more pussy footing the tune up. I loaded in king kong. The track was cool and the air was good, and as my old buddy Dean always says, I Let That Bitch Eat!!!! We went a 5.01. The new record was set. And we were tired. We planned on going out to celebrate, but after about 30 minutes into dinner at the Outback, me and brian elected to get some sleep. Well Sunday morning we got to the track with high hopes. We were Qualified 2nd and drew a first round bye. It was hot so I loaded the bracket tune up in and she did what i told her. 5.11. Good enough for me. But there is a problem. Brian checked the oil overflow and ouch it looked like a vanilla milkshake. Crap the head gaskets are torched and leaking coolant into the crankcase. I guess the 110 passes the poor motor has on it has taken its toll.oh well we came to race so we kept the oil changed and our fingers crossed, Second round we won with a 5.11. . Earning us lane choice in the semis against none other than Charles "smack talking" Hull with his new buddy David Reese doing the tuning. Well lets just say this ass whipping has been a long time coming. We staged and i never looked back. Another 5.11 secured the win. Thats 3 5.11's in a row. WOW. Well we headed to the finals against super nice guy Chad Hendersen. Chad went a 5.16 in the semis. It was gonna be a good race. Unfortunately he broke something in the water box. I hope it wasnt anything major. I know they thrashed all night friday night too. The starter flagged me to stage. I went a solo 5.06 @147 plus. Which may be a new MPH record. Orsca is checking on it. Lady Luck was definitely on my side this weeknd. Hopefully i didnt tear up the motor too bad. A special thanks to my crew chief Brian. He is always there through thick and thin. We win together and get our butts kicked together. We will be in Carolina thursday testing for the PTRA points race in Darlington, Sc this weekend. I'll keep you guys posted on how she runs.

Sleepless in Montgomery

Well boys and girls, We got to Montgomery Motorsports park Around 6pm friday. The line to get in was out to the road. This place is absolutely packed. We unloaded the orange car and loaded a safe tune up in the old girl. We were just trying to make a clean pass to start the weekend. The car launched hard and straight. We were on a hell of a pass when. dun ta daaaaa. Disaster strikes. The car lays over and start making the boat motor sound. You know that sound race engines make when they are really eating parts. That low loud mercuiser inboard sound. I shut it off and coasted around. Spun the motor over and it sounded like a pinball machine rattiling around. got back to the trailer and pulled the valve covers. Lets just say it looked Stanky. Two broken rocker arms, a shot out pushrod. one broken lifter, and the rocker stand pulled the threads out of the head. Yummy. We snatched the intake off and lo and behold, the lifter is stuck in the block. Will not come out. After four hours of prying, beating, banging, heating and framming. NOTHING. I put on my mad Scientist hat and welded a piece of all thread to the lifter, took a weight bar out the car and welded a washer on the other end. in other words a makeshift slide hammer. Me and brian put the oompaloompa on it and by goodness the lifter came out. We rethreaded the holes, and put the motor back together. Got in bed at 5. We just busted the old girl off this morning and she sounds like a champion. Bout to run first round qualifying. Yall keep your fingers and toes and whatever else you can cross crossed.

BUSY WEEK

THE TOOL BUSINESS IS A FUNNY ONE. SOME DAYS YOU ARE RELAXED AND KIND OF COASTING THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. THEN THERE ARE DAYS LIKE THIS WHOLE WEEK, WHERE YOU WORK LIKE A MANIAC AND CANT PLEASE ANYONE. AT ANY RATE IM READY TO GET TO SOME WEEKEND DRAG RACING. WE HEAD TO MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA THIS WEEKEND FOR THE NEXT STOP ON THE ORSCA SCHEDULE. I AM PUMPED AFTER THE CAROLINA WIN. I KNOW THE COMPETITION WILL GET STIFFER, BUT HOPEFULLY I HAVE A TUNE UP FOR THEM. WE MAY TEST IN CAROLINA TONIGHT. I FEEL THE CAR IS ABSOLUTELY READY AND I HATE TO RISK HURTING ANYTHING, BUT MAYBE THERE'S A TOUCH MORE LEFT TO BE FOUND IN THE OLD GIRL. WISH US LUCK. I'LL UPDATE AS THE WEEKEND GOES ON.

Hard Work Pays Off

What a week at the races. The Outlaw Racing Street Car Association (Orsca) came to Jackson, Sc this week. We headed to Carolina Dragway thursday afternoon for some testing. This was the first time we had radials on the car in two months and only the second time ever. The first four hits were pretty much the same. Tire Smokeapaloooooza. I was getting a little frustrated. With time for only one more pass that night, me and Chris Johnson loaded a ridiculous crazy should not ever work or go down any racetrack tune up in the old girl. I burned in and staged with no expectations other than immediate tire smoke. I brought the engine up on the two step and turned her loose and bam she sat me in the seat and off we went. I couldnt believe that aggressive tune up actually worked. We buzzed the clock with a 5.14 @ 146.mph. I got out the car and was jumping up down like a kid. We left the car at the track and I tried to work friday. By lunchtime the phone was ringing off the hook. Everyone was fired up about going racing. I knocked off at 1 and me and Brian headed to the track. Boy it was hot. 99 degrees at 5 pm. Which was perfect test weather for what we would be qualifying in Saturday. Second pass, The old girl started showing a little attitude and busted off a 5.09 @146.8. I was estatic. Had i really found a tune up that would work in the heat? We would find out on Saturday. Around 10 pm the track cooled off and the air got good. Now if you arent familiar with Carolina Dragway, Let me just say that when Jason is working the track, and the sun goes down, you better have your drivetrain up to par. Cause there is no track anywhere that works like it. I got ballsy and loaded a pour the coals to it, no holds barred, let it it all hang out, lift up your skirt and show me what your workin with, Steve Jackson tune up in. Keep in mind now that we are on street tires here. I staged and turned loose. WWWWHHHHOOOOAAAA. The orange car carried the left front tire six inches off the ground for 3oo hundred feet. I didnt know how fast we were going but i knew we were slap hauling ass. 4.98 @147.97 mph. I was so excited i could hardly get out of the car. i bear hugged some poor guy on the top end that i didnt even know. After 93 passes in 3 months on the procharger motor. WE ARE FAST. Saturday it was 100 degrees. First Qualifying pass we shook and went a 5.40. Second we rocked the box with 5.10. Which put us number one. Third round i loaded old girl up and went a 5.03. A new Ez Street world record, if i could back it up on sunday. We drew the first round bye and i put the slick track tune up in it. It was 102 degrees and the track temp was 138. We busted off a 5.10 @146.9. good enough to earn lane choice for the next round. We burned in and my competitor lit the top bulb. I lit mine and then we sat. I guess he was trying to rattle me. They must have not got the memo that i have been grudge racing my whole life. I don't get rattled. I was talking to Brian on the radio for what seemed like forever while we sat there prestaged. We talked about the weather. And about whether or not The Georgia Bulldogs were going to win a National Championship this year. (I definitely think so) Poor brian is a lost Florida Gator fan. Anyways, Im rambling. So he stages and i click in and off we go. We won with a 5.11 @146.9. Next round we won with a 5.12 @146.7. So we are off to the finals. Now most people would take a car that is running that consistent and leave it alone. Which is always the smart thing to do. But then again im not too smart. we had to go a 5.083 to back up the record and i knew the car wouldnt do it on the 148 degree track like it was. So like Tin Cup on steroids i let my balls overload my brain and i put the go fast tune up in it. We Staged and for a split second i thought the track would hold it. The tires shook and i had to pedal it. We still got lucky and won only running a 5.40. The good lord helped us out on that one. So maybe next time I'll listen to good judgement in a situation like that. but probably not. we missed the record but got the win. So it was a weekend for the books. One of my best ever. Thanks so much to everyone that believed in me when all the rest said i was lost. It's gonna be an interesting rest of the year.

The orange car is finally getting sorted out. We raced in Nc on Saturday, And in Sc on Sunday. The Supercharger is definitely making the power to get the job done, Now it's just up to me to get it down the racetrack. The Ptra gave supercharged cars a 200 lb weight break.I believe the car will be faster, I again just have to get down the track. We are in negotiations with several companies regarding my Nhra Top Fuel deal for 2009. Any and all help you guys can give as far as leads is greatly appreciated. We will be testing in Jackson, Sc Thursday night. We are getting ready for the ORSCA Race next weekend.

Crazy Week

Saturday we headed to Julian, Nc to Piedmont dragway for the 3rd stop on the PTRA tour. We qualified 5th with a 5.17 @146.3 mph. In the Second round I drew the ptra world reord holder and lets just say he put it on me. I treed him with a .020 light to his .059. But he ran me down going a 5.09 to my 5.19. We are expecting the PTRA to even the rules up but havent heard anything yet. Today I left at 6am to fly to Brownsburg, Indiana to meet with one of the sports prominent owners. We are trying to get a deal together for 2009 and have 2/3 of the finiancing secured. I just need to secure the other 3rd by August 1st. Please email me if you know any corporate people that may be willing to advertise nationally. Thanks guys

Wednesday May 7th

We loaded up Saturday May 3rd and headed to Orangeburg Sc for some in the heat testing. This was our first test on a 125 degree racing surface with the procharger. We made 7 passes, with each getting faster than the one before ( always good). The car is definitely close to being where we want but We still need a little more. Mph is way off PTRA and ORSCA pace. The new Torque converter picked us up to 143.9 mph. We have our third points race in Piedmont , Nc this weekend. We are changing rear gears in the car now. Im gonna try to get the car through the sixty foot a little smoother. It's really wanting to rattle the tires about 50 feet out. We'll be At Carolina Dragway testing thursday night.

Tuesday April 25

What a weekend we had. Let's begin with last thursday night. I made 3 passes. The orange car is sixty footing decent, but will not run on the big end. So after about 2 hours of looking at the data logs and talking with Mo and Chris Tuten, I decided the camshaft profile wasn't aggressive enough. We headed home around 2 am. I got up early Friday morning and began searching for an in stock cam grind that would work. Bci in atlanta had one so Brian was on his was to pick it up. I tore down the engine and got ready for install. He got back to augusta around 4pm. We needed a part that was in columbia Sc and they closed at 5. So we pushed the car in the trailer and brian drove while i put the cam in going down the highway. We got to Rockingham too late to make first round qualifying. So i finished the engine. Saturday on second and third round qualifying the supercharger blew the coupler off. which resulted in only running a 5.52. Sunday morning in the last round of qualifying we changed the coupler and the old girl went a 5.27 @ 139.54 mph. Still off but it put us in the field 9th. First round we won with a 5.28 @ 139.43mph. So we have a consistent car. We just need more power. Second round we were defeated by the class mph record holder. Our setup is the only one with a limit on power. I know it sounds dumb, but Nitrous and Turbo combo's are unlimited. Yet we have to run a small procharger. None the less i will make it competitive. The new camshaft loosened up the converter two percent. So that means we are making more power. Tonight we will tighten up the converter and test Thursday night at Carolina Dragway. Saturday Night we will race in a ss race in Sylvania, GA.