[Probird]

Since I won the Division 5 Summit Super Series in Mod class last weekend, I've qualified for one of the 16 spots to race for the World Championship. I'm pretty excited about being able to be part of this deal. It should be a blast. Does anyone here race at Memphis? If so how is the rollout compared to say Norwalk? If you run a box how much difference in time do you add or subtract? I'd like to get a baseline to adjust my button to start with so I can find the tree quickly. We only get 2 qualifying passes unless I can get there early enough on Thursday to run the test n tune which I'm going to try to do.

We were told that we are the main attraction, with the best pit spots and VIP treatment while we are there. There will be catered dinners, tower access, and all kids of cool stuff all provided by Summit Racing. Not to mention $10,000 to win, a new 26' car trailer, a trip to Aruba, a 2 post lift, Jones transmission cooling system, $2500 gift certificate from Trick Flow, Gold card, Iron man, and a World championship diamond ring. All I have to do is win 4 rounds. Lol! It will be tough for sure but I'll give it my best shot. It will be live streamed on IHRA.com on Oct 10th I believe. Cheer me on and I'll do all I can to get a Pontiac to the winners circle one more time this year.

[johnta1]

WOO HOO Rick!

Congrats on the win.
About like NHRA winner going to Pomona I guess?

Anyway, can't help with your question, but can give moral support!

[ponyakr]

"...Cheer me on and I'll do all I can to get a Pontiac to the winners circle one more time this year."


Congrats again on a great season !


Keep it going. Whup up on some more off brands !


Put Pontiac power in the winner's circle again !

[twooldgoats]

Good luck! You've sure got a lot of incentive to win.

Jim

[mgarblik]

Good luck. That would be quite an accomplishment.

[PAUL K]

Congratulations and good luck!

[Probird]

Originally Posted by johnta1

WOO HOO Rick!

Congrats on the win.
About like NHRA winner going to Pomona I guess?

Anyway, can't help with your question, but can give moral support!

Ya John. It's IHRA's Pomona only a lot closer to tow to.

Thanks guys.

[Probird]

It was quite a weekend. I had issues from the very start. First I broke a rear end gear on the Saturday night before. I ordered one that night. It showed up Wednesday afternoon. We were leaving Thursday at 7:00am. I get it put in and go to load the car and it won't move. Pulled the transmission and found a broken input shaft. Tore the tranny apart, fixed it and got the car loaded by 10:30.

Made it to Memphis Thursday afternoon. First pass the engine is popping and banging all the way down the track. Check everything and find a lot of play in the distributor. Go back out to make another pass and notice it has about 10lbs of oil pressure at idle. Make the pass and it goes up to about 40. Coming back up the return road it drops to zero. Cut the filter open and find nothing. But still no oil pressure. The gauge, the warning light, and the gauge on my oil accumulator all read zero so I decide it's done for the weekend.

We decide about 9:30pm to head back home 6 hours to get another car. Made it home about 3:30am and get the car loaded. We made it about 260 miles from Memphis and my Dad lost control of the truck in the rain and we ended up in the median with the cable barrier all wrapped up under the truck and 2 flat tires. The truck is in pretty bad shape and can't finish the trip. The tow truck driver (John Stuppy at Stuppy's towing) took us all over the place to try to find a truck to rent. With no luck and 260 miles from the track, his brother insists we take his truck for the weekend so we can make it back in time for qualifying. We were hesitant to take a guys truck we didn't know but had no choice. What a great couple of guys. If you're near Ste. Genevieve, Mo and need anything I highly reccomend these guys. I couldn't believe a guy would just give their truck to someone they had never met before. He was a racer himself (circle track) till a few years ago. Racers are the best.

Finally made it to Memphis around 2:00 with qualifying to start at 3:00. Got Dad's car teched, switched over to alcohol with my carb just in time for first run. I go .068 red with his quick button. Get back and build a bracket to put my slow button in the car and it starts raining so we lose 1 qualifying run. The next morning we make a pass and go .024 on the tree and car doesn't shift and goes 6.13, I caught it fairly quick and got it shifted. Looking at the half track numbers it was on a 6.11 pass. Next pass it shifts and goes 6.11 and had a .028 light. That was the end of qualifying. First round I go .008 on the tree and pedal it to a 6.15 for the win (would have run 6.114 if I hadn't lifted). Down to 8 cars. I'm feeling pretty good about that pass and know what the car will run. Then the dew and fog rolls in and they call it for the night. I wasn't too happy about that knowing we won't get a time run in the morning and trying to dial a car I very rarely drive with a carburetor thats never been on the car before.

The next morning we had to dial the car. I decided to put 6.10 on the car thinking I can run it out the back door if needed being he was faster than me and you can't see anything behind you out of that car. Very hard to see out of except the side windows. The guy I'm running qualified last with a .098 light and somehow won first round with a .068 and .02 over his dial pass. He dials 5.65 against my 6.10. I decided I wasn't going to try to kill the tree knowing his previous record of all his previous passes. That was my first mistake. He was .029 to my .034. Thinking I wouldn't break out on my 6.10 dial was my second mistake. He runs 5.660. I take .008 at the stripe thinking I have a little room to hit the brakes but decided it was going to be real close and I was fine with the 6.10 dial. I run 6.097 breaking out by .003. Looks like I had .005 to get inside and couldn't make myself lift on that pass which ends my weekend. He did go on to win it although and figured out the tree in the semi's and finals which were both .00 lights. Congrats to him for winning the world championship from the wildcard qualifying spot finishing ahead of all the Division champions and runner ups that made the show.

Except for my Dad wrecking his truck it was still a great weekend. Came home with $2000 for my efforts and my engine is still in one piece with an oil pressure issue to figure out but no major damage and neither one of us was hurt in the accident. I'm ready to try to make it to Memphis again next year already. That was a pretty cool experience.

[johnta1]

WOW, Rick, don't know what to say?

Lots of perseverance and lots of good help, what a job.

Congrats on getting it your Dad's car there and running so good.



PS sorry to hear about your Dad's truck though.

[grandville455]

Wow , That's dedication Rick!! Congrats on some cash!!, Sorry about the truck, just glad you guys are all ok!

[twooldgoats]

Great job! I would have been out with the broken rear end gear the weekend before.

Jim

[mgarblik]

Wow Rick, that sounds way too much like a typical weekend traveling around the country with Arnie Beswick! No doubt about it, you are a REAL racer. Your going to feel allot better all winter now knowing you gave it 100%+ effort that weekend. Great season. Hope all your hardware gets straightened out.

[jm455ho]

Amazing story of real racing dedication. I'm in awe.

[Jack Gifford]

I'm all tuckered out just reading about such an effort!

Congratulations on the good finish.

[S/st 54]

Dang Rick, that's what I call giving it every ounce you have.....then finding a way to give 110% more! I watched the round you lost via IHRA TV. My SST buddy was giving me crap cause the Pontiac lost....I called him and told what you went through after we talked earlier and he said "DANG you Pontiac guys are more hard headed about racing your Pontiacs than us Texans are about our football teams".

I gota say great job even Keith can't flip you chit after a effort like that.

[Probird]

Thanks guys. With all that went on I didn't get to enjoy all of it. My wife stayed behind and went to the awards banquet on Friday morning. The whole story was explained to Clay Millican, by my friend Todd Silvy, the editor of IHRA Drag Review. CLay told the story I guess and my wife who is a big fan got to meet him. So that was cool. I was told the whole tower was cheering for me and rooting me on. He said Taz(the IHRA announcer) went crazy when I won first round. It was pretty cool. I just wish we had been able to run it all Saturday night. I'm betting things would have turned out a little different.

Jason- I have no doubt I would have won that round if I had been in my own car. I just didn't know what to dial my Dad's car for sure. I trusted it like I would have my own and it picked up a little more than I thought it would. I'll hopefully get another shot at it in the future in my own car.

If that's like a typical weekend with Arnie he must be super human. Very many like that would kill me for sure. Lol!

[GTO Dan]

That is just awesome. Well earned and deserved. Congrats!