Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

[WildcatOne]

My pick for Racer of the Week is Derek Cesari from Warminster, Pennsylvania. Derek was recommended to me by our friend Rich Panicaro. Thanks, Rich! Derek is an outstanding drag racer and has been in the seat for 14 years. His accomplishments and history in the sport are right at the top of his class, and I’m proud to feature him tonight.
Derek started racing in the NHRA Summit Points Series in 2001 at Atco Dragway. He was named rookie rider of the year there. Since then he’s won 5 Track Championships, the last 2 back to back in 2013 and 2014. Derek won 9 National Dragster Challenge Wallys at various tracks; his 10th Wally came last year at the Division 1 bracket finals when he Won the Race of Champions.

What's cool about Derek’s bike is that George Bryce had the late great John Myers ride this machine in 1990 at a Dragbike meet in Gainesville where he went on and won the race on this bike!! It still has the original paint from 1989.

Derek is very excited for the 2015 season which includes one of his lifelong dreams: a chance to ride a Pro Stock Motorcycle. Between April 13th and 23rd, Derek will compete in The Star Racing Riders Challenge, with George Bryce at the controls. There will be 30 Riders in the Challenge where one champion will win a prize package worth over $25,000 and the opportunity to be a teammate to 3-time NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle World Champion, Angelle Sampey at the NHRA event in Atlanta..There is a Facebook page with all the details, and Derek is entered. Go to Facebook.com/The Star Racing Riders Challenge. George put together a great event, and I expect that Derek will finish at the top.

As far as Derek’s current bike, He races a 1989 ex Pro Stock Motorcycle built by Star Racing. It has a 1428 Kawasaki engine, 5 speed trans. He runs 1.18 60ft. and a clip of 8.40seconds @ 155 MPH in the 1/4 mile. Derek’s team consists of his team mate and brother Jeff, crew chief Tom Tapper and sponsor Brad Nash from the RPM Shop in Delmount New Jersey.

Derek said he texted George Bryce today to remind him to listen to the show. Thanks, George! You’re the best, and I hope the Star Racing Riders Challenge is as successful as everything you do is.

That’s Derek Cesari, Racer of the Week. Good luck, safe racing and best of times in the future, Derek!

I finished reading the book about Led Zeppelin over the weekend. I decided not to talk about it much other than to say it was one hell of a party while it lasted. Robert Plant has had a great career by himself, and John Paul Jones is still very active as a producer and performer. He’s playing in the Dave Rawlings Machine nowadays after spending some time with Them Crooked Vultures, among many other projects. Jimmy Page is as cryptic as ever…sometimes it’s hard for me to figure out exactly what he’s saying.

I had the same problem trying to figure out Robert Fripp in his interviews. As we know, Fripp was the mastermind behind the band King Crimson, and over the years he’s gotten a reputation as being the ultimate enigmatic rock star. He spent years avoiding the limelight, but his playing, songwriting and methods were undeniably beyond cutting-edge and he couldn’t help being famous because of it.

I kind of found out why one night. I happened to stroll into the neighborhood record store one evening in the late 70s, and of all people, there was Robert Fripp, setting up his tape machines, guitar and sound system which consisted of 4 speakers running off of his amp, and he was getting ready to demonstrate the process he had invented called Frippertronics. It’s a delayed series of tape-loops that repeat on separate tracks and is timed to follow a pattern that Fripp enters at intervals with his guitar. A somewhat complicated but totally mind-blowing musical trip when it gets up to full steam.

You can dial in that stuff in in about 20 seconds now on a guitar synthesizer, but this was the before the technological boom and he was the guy creating it. I was standing there watching him set up and he stopped what he was doing and came over and shook my hand and introduced himself. He said he saw my face on a poster for a local band gig I had coming up. He was friendly, talkative, very excited about his project, and he thanked me for showing up to hear it. We chatted for several minutes. He asked all about me and I told him that I’m a musician and artist and I had admired his work for years. He wished me the best in my career and gave encouragement when I told him that I was spending some time writing original music.

I asked him how he came up with Frippertronics and he told me that his idea was analyzed, processed and completed by Brian Eno. And they did it over the phone. There was no internet then, ya know. He said if it hadn’t been for Eno, he’d have never been able to produce the sounds he was hearing in his head…I couldn’t believe that this was Robert Fripp talking to me; this incredible musical genius who behind the media image he had, was just as down-to-earth as my jam buddies were, and he said the same things they did, the same way they did with no pretense whatsoever.

He didn’t have to say anything to me, ya know, but he went out of his way to hang out and discuss music, his and mine, with me. I’ll never forget that. I highly recommend checking out anything Robert Fripp has done, and he’s done more than most have. Everything from apocalyptic rock, through jazz, funk, blues, into techno, acoustic guitar, new age and collaborations with numerous names, both well-known and unknown. Fripp has my vote for living legend, and that encounter with him that night sealed the deal for me. He was precisely the opposite of what I would have expected. By the way, when he played Frippertronics that night, it was the most amazing sonic experience I’d ever had. He took that place into another world altogether and brought us all back again and he had fun with everybody. He’s still at it, never complacent, never stopping to sit on his laurels. I always look forward to Robert Fripp’s next recording. It’s never the same two times in a row.

Y’all be sure to tune in tomorrow night at 7 PM Eastern on Racers Reunion Radio for Racing Through History. I expect that tomorrow night’s show will be a lively Goat Rodeo, with all that’s been happening this past week in the world of on-track motorsports. I’ll be listening to the Legendtorial and the panel discussion preceding and following it. If you want the unvarnished truth about what goes on with NASCAR, don’t miss Racing Through History. Thanks, I’ll see y’all next week.

[WildcatOne]

My pick for Racers of the Week are Greg and Malcolm Price, from Frankton, Hamilton, New Zealand. They are two of the most dedicated drag racers I’ve ever found, and I’m proud to feature them tonight.

Price Motorsport is a Partnership between Twin Brothers Greg and Malcolm. The partnership was formed to enable the construction and racing of a Rear-engined Dragster in 1986. Prior to racing Dragsters they had spent several years racing Hot Rods on Drag Racing Tracks around New Zealand. The Price Motorsport Team currently consists of One Top Alcohol Dragster being driven by Malcolm and Greg Price and four Junior Dragsters.

Greg constructed a 1923 Ford T - Bucket named "Wildfire" which first appeared at a Drag Strip in December 1981. This vehicle was raced with a 370 Chevy V-8 in the B/Hot Rod class for the 1982 through 1986 seasons. The name "Wildfire" was given to it because of its Metallic Black with Traditional flames paint scheme. The car became the New Zealand National Title holder for the Hot Rod Eliminator in the 1985/86 season. Wildfire achieved an E.T. of 10.3 seconds at 127 m.p.h. and is still in complete trim and was retired to the garage in 1986 and occasionally sees a drive around the streets.

Malcolm constructed a 1932 Ford Coupe named "Kermit", which first appeared at a Drag Strip in October 1983. This vehicle was raced with a 302 Chevy V8 in the C/Hot Rod class for the 1983 through 1989 seasons. The name "Kermit" was given to it because of its bright Lime Green Paint which was applied and the Frog Painted on the Boot. The Car became the New Zealand record holder for the C/Hot Rod class at 10.3 seconds at 127.47 m.p.h. Kermit is still in complete trim and was retired to the garage in 1989 after a farewell tour of all Drag strips in New Zealand. It is remembered by competitors and Fans as one of New Zealand's quickest Hot Rods. It also occasionally sees a drive around the Streets.

The days of Hot Rod racing were over and the decision was made to pool resources for one car . They settled on a Alky Smallblock Chev Dragster and went about constructing a state of the art frame. Taking the finished and painted chassis home from the Paint shop in January 1987, disaster struck. A truck ran into the rear of the trailer and up and over it, destroying the dragster chassis, the trailer and writing off the towing vehicle, Ironically it was the 13 th January.

They completed construction of their second rear Engined Dragster in 1989 which on its first full pass on the Drag Strip broke the New Zealand record for the BB/Dragster class. Everyone was amazed at the quality of the car, leaving no doubt that this was the most outstanding detailed race car ever seen in New Zealand. It soon proved its go was as good as its show, becoming the fastest and quickest cast-iron small-block chevy ever in New Zealand. That performance was almost 2/10 ths quicker than the record for the equivalent class in Australia. The Dragster was then campaigned in Top Alcohol Eliminator with great success, achieving et's of 7.20 seconds at 193 m.p.h. But with the urge to go faster the Dragster was sold in 1994.

After a short break the team crewed on their previous dragster and assisted the new owner to run the dragster until it was sold. During this time they built two Junior Dragsters and commenced construction of their third rear engine Dragster which was completed in 2002.

The show of the Dragster was as impressive as its go. It obtained First place in Competition Race Car and First place in Competition Engine at the New Zealand Hot Rod Association 2002 National Hot Rod Show held in June of that year.
On the 2nd January 2003, history was made with the current Dragster being the first small-block Chevy engine to run a 6 second pass on any Dragstrip in New Zealand. The first pass in the Dragster was a 6.89 second E.T. @ 186 mph and Malcolm lifted his foot because it had to be a ½ track pass for licensing purposes. The second pass resulted in a 6.79 second E.T. @ 188mph with lifting the throttle again at 2/3 track. These two passes reset the National BB/Dragster record to 6.89 seconds. This record has now been reset to 6.729 seconds @ 199.73 mph.

On the 16 th February 2003 at the New Zealand Drag Racing Association 35 th Drag Racing Nationals the Team became the 2003 Top Alcohol National Champions running e.t.'s of 6.46 seconds , 6.47 seconds and 6.46 seconds at 208.84 mph, 209.07 mph and 208.17 mph.

In the words of Peter 'PC' Callen from New Zealand Rodder Magazine he writes, "It stands to reason that seasoned drag racers with much experience in the workings of tough smallblocks, who are looking to up the ante, are going to come out with all cylinders blazing when they build a new weapon. Not only do Greg and Malcolm build tough small-block chevys, they do it with a meticulous approach that culminates in cars that are always a cut above the norm. Case in point: their stunning new Top Alcohol Dragster! Gleaming from end to end and as fresh as they come, the car is a brilliant showcase of the twins’ talents.

American Top Alcohol father and son competitors George and Rick Santos’ help with engine development has been much appreciated. They have achieved a ton of career NHRA National wins.

Jim Carlyle of Cambridge Engine Services is the engine machinist and builder and has worked with the team since they commenced running Supercharged and Fuel injected engines. Jim has obtained great success with building engines for Stock Car, Saloon Car, Speedway, Hydroplane boats, Jet boats and Tarseal Race Car Engines for many years. The brothers have retained a very valuable crew who have worked together for many years, some since the first day they went Drag Racing, and are prepared to put in the personal commitment to succeed.

Price Motorsport works closely with sponsors to ensure regular exposure for the Dragster and all their associated supporters. They appear at Trade shows, Car shows, Motorsport events, Hot Rod and Horsepower shows, regular sponsor evenings to allow sponsors staff and clients to get together and be informed of the team’s progress. The website is regularly updated on the Dragsters progress and achievements.

Their current sponsors are: Juralco Aluminum Building Products, Ltd., HPC: High Performance Coatings, Auckalnd New Zealand, Homeplus Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand, and Cambridge Engine Services, Ltd.
The team recently took delivery of a brand-new state-of-the-art S&W Racecars Top Alcohol Funny Car, and we’re looking forward to hearing about their success with this outstanding hot rod.

That’s Price Motorsport; in my opinion, New Zealand’s finest drag racing team. Good luck, safe racing and best of times, Greg and Malcolm.

Next week I’ll be talking about my favorite keyboard players throughout my life. I haven’t talked hardly at all about that part of my musical career, even though it’s what I’ve been doing professionally for the last 12 years. I promise that my picks in that regard will be as offbeat and out of left field as everything else I do is. I want to thank Jeff for playing my music on Racing Through History last Tuesday, it was great fun kicking back and listening to my songs. Y’all be sure to tune in to the show tomorrow night at 7 PM Eastern on Racers Reunion Radio. It’s a Goat Rodeo you don’t want to miss! Thanks, I’ll see y’all next week.

[WildcatOne]

My pick for Racer of the Week is Becky Sylvester, from St. George, Utah. Becky has been the pilot of the California Rattler Funny Car for the last several years, and she has worked hard to earn the title of the fastest female in Southern Utah. Her story is special tonight because there have been changes and Becky is looking to the future to resume her driving career.

This is a family racing team, starting with her Dad and gradually handed down to the next generation with Ray taking over as crew chief. The excellent website that the team maintains is www.calif-rattler-racing.com. Definitely worth a visit as it is an entertaining and informative source for the story of a great independent race team.

In 1968, Ray Sylvester’s “California Rattler Racing” started with a 55 Chevy, then a 57 Corvette in C/Altered and a 180’ front engine alky dragster. In 1975, he started racing BB/FC through March of 1980. Ray had to park the car due to a sudden illness that went on for several years, unfortunately. In 1984 Ray started racing with the California Independent Funny Car Association through 1999, but also with a 23’T Altered in the Good Guys Series during 1998, 1999, 2000.

At 18 years of age in Becky’s senior year for a couple of months she learned all the basics there is to know about how to drive a racecar. So a couple of months passed and she was ready to try her dads AA/FA. It took her one weekend to get used to drag racing her dads AA/FA. The 2nd she kept breaking loose. So the 3rd weekend her and her parents went back to L.A.C.R. to try again. They had some important help from Bernie Longjohn and his track crew. She did make full passes that same weekend and received her ET-4B NHRA license in February 2003. She turned out to be a great driver.
In 2004 Becky and her parents were gearing to run with C.I.F.C.A but they moved in June to Saint George, Utah.
In 2005, 2006 and 2007 she finished 95th/8th/9th in points with C.I.F.C.A while doing that she wound up upgrading her Et-4B NHRA license to a ET-3B, which meant she could go as quick as 6 seconds. And she did.

The Funny Car is a 1990 Olds Achieva body on a DA Racecars 2012 chassis, a Mark Williams ford 9 inch rear end and a Mikes Transmission 2 speed power glide. The engine is a 477 big block chevy . It has a Super mag 4, Dart 345 heads, a Callies crank , Venolia rods & pistons , an Engle camshaft, Milodon front cover & gear drive, a Milodon oil pump & pan, a Mert Littlefield intake manifold, a Mooneyham 10.71 blower, Enderle fuel injection with port nozzles, and a 110 fuel pump running on alky. The engine makes 1460 hp and runs 6.71 @ 198 but it can run much faster. HBR Competition Engines does the machine work.

I found Becky from having watched a video that was on our friend Jim Follkie’s Facebook page. The video contained a recent mishap that neither I nor anybody else I know has ever seen before or can figure out. Becky was in the left lane, getting ready to race another CIFCA car. Everything was cool. Both cars carefully staged, revved up and then at the green light, her car instantly shot straight-up, nose-first, into the sky. Seeing this knocked me back in my chair, it happened so fast and so unexpectedly. We’ve all seen wheelstands from cars coming off the line, but this was not what you’d call a wheelstand. It was some kind of unexplainable phenomenon that defied the laws of physics. Becky told me that her Dad Ray said the same thing. The car is supposed to go forward, ya know. But straight-up it went, all 4 wheels off the ground, and when it slammed back down, the full impact went into the driver. She remained conscious but the car veered across the track and hit the wall. She got hurt. No broken bones, but internally she was banged-up and she decided to take some time off to recuperate.

The car was damaged and went into the shop to be repaired, and when it’s back out there for this season, the team has named Trevor Larkin as the driver of the California Rattler for this year. Trevor has helped crew for the team and he also worked with the IHRA Safety Safari during and after the crash. He owns a cackle car as well, and the icing on the cake here is that he helped to acquire Don “The Snake” Prudhomme’s ’97 Camaro Funny Car body to replace the damaged Achieva. Becky went out to Snake’s shop Saturday with her buddy Skip Allum and picked it up. It’s the black Copenhagen Camaro. Should be an awesome addition to an already awesome car! Pictures are on Becky’s Facebook page.
Becky Sylvester will be back, folks. She took a pretty hard hit. She’s been under a doctor’s care since the accident yet she hasn’t lost any of her enthusiasm and passion for racing.

That is the main reason I asked her to accept being Racer of the Week. She has deferred all credit for her accomplishments to her Dad and the crew, and she is excited to have Trevor come in and drive the car while she recovers, and she’s cheering him on. It’s the spirit of the sport, and Becky Sylvester is one of the greatest we have. Our best wishes go with you, Trevor, Ray, your family and the team in the 2015 season and beyond, Becky.

The March Meet was without question the finest drag racing event I have ever seen. I watched it on Bangshift, and it was fantastic. T-Bone’s run in the final was mind-boggling and Adam gave it everything he had and then some. It just don’t get no better than that. Ditto Funny Car, and all the other classes. GREAT drag racing there, folks. If you ask me, that’s drag racing like it was always meant to be. If I had some extra cash to build a hot rod, that’s where I’d be racing.

Last week I decided that I’d talk tonight about the keyboard players I’ve admired and have been influenced by throughout my career in music. The first was Liberace. When I was 4 and 5 years old, I used to watch his TV show every day. The show didn’t zoom in on his hands so much as it featured his smiling face while the music played. I always liked it when he’d introduce his brother, George. I suppose I felt like I wanted to be like him, but even when I was that young, I thought he was a sissy and I didn’t see the point. Rock ‘n Roll hadn’t quite arrived in white America yet, so this guy was the only piano-playing maniac I knew about.

I never liked classical music, but I was trained and schooled in it for 10 years. There were only a few classical tunes I found interesting. Some Beethoven, some Mozart, some Bach, and some Schubert. But they shoved Tschaikovsky, who I couldn’t stand, down my throat . The good side was that I learned music theory. All of it.

When I was 7 years old, I was at the roller skating rink on the beach one night with my sister and the girl across the alley and her boyfriend in his car. The opening keyboard riff to “Blueberry Hill” by Fats Domino came on the radio, and everything in my world came to a screeching halt. The sky opened up, a bird flew down to me with an olive branch in his mouth, and I knew I had found the truth. My life took a sharp left-hand turn, and I was never the same again. I didn’t want to be like Liberace anymore. I wanted to be like Fats Domino. He was and still is, the coolest Cat who ever put on a zoot suit and sat down at a keyboard. He’s my all-time favorite piano man.

I didn’t relate to Jerry Lee Lewis or Little Richard as such. Their arrogance and wild stage acts didn’t impress me so much as Fats’ easy-going, good-time boogie woogie did. Later on in my teens, I discovered the Animals and their virtuoso keyboard player, Alan Price. To this day I play some of the licks he did with Eric Burdon and company. Of the rock era, my favorite keyboard player was Rod Argent, who is still out there doing it today. My songwriting was mainly influenced by Brian Wilson, who showed me that simple is good.

I liked Elton John’s barrelhouse style when he was coming up, but again, he ended up going so far over the top, I could no longer relate to his style or his songs. Mostly my keyboard style of playing is something that I created myself, but I give the nod to Fats and Alan Price onstage, and Brian Wilson in the studio. It’s been a wonderful party. I wouldn’t trade any of it for anything.

Y’all be sure to tune in tomorrow at 7 PM Eastern on RacersReunion Radio for Racing Through History. It’s a Goat Rodeo you don’t want to miss. Thanks, I’ll see y’all next week.

[WildcatOne]

For my pick as Racer of the Week, I have selected James Thompson, Jr. from Davenport, Iowa. James was recommended to me by his Dad, James Sr. Me and James Sr. have been friends on Facebook for a while now, and when he came up with this recommendation I was delighted to work it up. The racers in the Quad Cities group are a family, and their roots go back to the very beginning of Drag Racing in the Midwest. They’re some of the finest people and competitive racers I’ve ever met. Anyway, about a month ago, James Sr. told me he’d love to see his son on here, and tonight it’s his turn.

James Thompson, Jr. was 3rd in true street points, most improved driver at Cordova and was the only one to be in the points lead since August of 2007, other than Mark or Justin Rosenbohm. He’s one of the most popular and well-liked racers in the region and I’m happy to feature him tonight.

The car James drives is a 1972 Plymouth Duster, part of a Mopar family. It has a small-block stock 360 motor and stock trans with 3.55 gears and street tires. Without open headers he went 13.18, with open headers it went 12.96 @110 mph. James had 5 runners-up in 2014 and One win in points, and he won the Studes’ charity race, beating 3 cars that were running below 10 seconds, He got runner-up at the World Series in 2014 to our November 2013 Racer of the Week, Justin Rosenbohm. James’ Dad and Jim Peterson are the mechanics on the car. This is only his 2nd year of racing but James was given the award from Cordova at the recent end-of-season banquet for most improved racer.

James is 2-1 with Justin and 1-1 with Mark. He isn’t afraid of anyone. He’s beaten Ray Naeve and his son at the St Jude’s race and in the Gamblers Race at the World Series, He’s beaten a lot of 6 to 9 second cars as well. James Sr. keeps the car real consistent and he cuts good lights to win.

James is sponsored by Mississippi Truck & Trailer Repair, where he has worked for the last several years.

Being a member of the Bomb Squad with Justin and Mark Rosenbohm is a notable achievement, as these guys are highly respected and are consistent winners in the Quad Cities area. There are 7 cars in the Bomb Squad with James and James, Sr. They have shirts and hoodies with a bomb on the back of it it cause they blow away the competition. James Sr. has known them all their lives so they have adopted James Jr. into their group. James Sr got them hooked on drag racing when he took Mike Rosenbohm to the track and raced. He was so excited he took Mark and they fell in love with drag racing after that. It’s a great accomplishment for James Thompson, Jr. to be a Bomb Squad member, and I’m proud to feature him tonight as Racer of the Week.

Good luck, safe racing and best of times in the future, James.

I suppose by now we’ve all seen the video of the crash in Gainesville Saturday. When I have thoughts, it’s a good day for me so I figure I’d better give my take on that incident while I can still talk, so here goes. LD is one of my heros. He’s more than just a hot shoe in a Top Fuel Dragster. I watched the crash several times to try to get a perspective on what happened. We all saw that the car broke in half right near the finish line, and then it flew. Over-analyzing something like that isn’t my specialty and I’ll leave it to the experts to say what happened…but what I saw was 10,000 horsepower pushing from one end and 10,000 pounds of downforce pushing from the other end. Something’s gotta give…it all met in the middle and snapped the damn thing in two. That crash was as close as it gets to stepping into the next life, and it was pretty clear to me when Larry climbed out of that wreck and walked away that the Lord must have other plans for Larry Dixon. It made ME do some soul-searching. I can’t imagine what he must be thinking. Thank God he’s OK.

Saturday night, I drove down to Galveston to play a gig with Pee Wee at Crow’s on the Strand in the downtown historical district. We’ve been playing at Crow’s for 4 years straight, once or twice a month. The whole band knows the drill and we have done very well there. However on this particular night, for some unknown reason, the drummer and the guitar player didn’t show up. They are reliable, dependable players, and when the bass player called them, the drummer wasn’t aware that we were playing that night and the guitar player’s answering machine was all Jeff got. The gig was posted on the website a month in ago. I just said, well, OK, but Friday the 13th was yesterday. I guess we’re just a day late. If Pee Wee scratches the gig, so be it. But he and Jeff went up the street to the outdoor stage where a band was finishing up their show, and they recruited the drummer for our gig. It was a great band, too. They were doing excellent Summer of Love songs faithfully with a great sound. Anyway, he’s a big ol’ boy named Dale Robertson. Dude saved our butts. He’d never met us before, but he unloaded from the stage and brought his drums over to Crow’s, 2 blocks away, set up and we played the gig with him and no guitar player.

The crowd went nuts. They jumped, they danced, they screamed, they raised all kinds of hell. I turned my keyboard up, played fancier and gave it 110%. We all did. The gig went down as actually one of the better gigs we ever did there. I think a lot of it was the crowd, which was rearin’ to go from the first note we hit. It’s not that I didn’t miss our 2 guys. We all did. It was just that we compensated for them not being there by bringing our playing up to the level that the band is at when they are there, and for all intents and purposes, it was a very successful night. Like I say, although I missed Jim and Ken with all my heart, the drive home across Hell’s Half-Acre at 3 AM was a lot more enjoyable than it usually is. We definitely earned our pay that night, and it felt good not only to be challenged, but to improvise, adapt and overcome.

We joked a lot about it. Pee Wee told me, John, please be there Friday at T-Bone Tom’s. Please remember to be there! I said, I’ll do my best to try to remember, Pee Wee. I’ll check the website.

Y’all be sure to tune in tomorrow night at 7 PM Eastern for Racing Through History on Racers Reunion Radio. It’s Thee Goat Rodeo. Don’t miss it! Thanks, I’ll see ya’ll next week.

[Wheelzman]

John another fine story of the Racer of the week. Also, another fine tale of the life of Cat.
Sharon and I were down in Columbus over the weekend and stopped in Zanesville for lunch at the
Tumbleweed Tex Mex Grill & Margarita Bar. I looked over my shoulder and saw the Texas flag and
thought of you.... I mean y'all. It put a big grin on my face thinking of DC.

[WildcatOne]

Wish I could have been there with y'all, Wheelz! Sounds like my kinda place!

My pick for Racer of the Week is Doc Stinger, aka Mike Magruder, from Voitsberg, Austria. I’ve been working on establishing contact with European Drag Racers for a while, and when I saw Doc show up in our friend and former Racer of the Week Joe Bond’s friends list, I contacted him using Google Translate. He was delighted to be recognized and featured as this week’s Racer, and he thanked me for the graphic and exposure featuring his business. He is our first Racer of the Week from the Continent!

Doc Stinger’s Mopar Garage is without question the finest hot rod shop in Central Europe. Dedicated entirely to Mopars, it is a fully-loaded, state-of-the-art facility with a great reputation and a far-reaching and enthusiastic clientele. The shop offers service, parts, full and component restorations, engines (from small blocks to Hemis) for every need from stock rebuilds to High Performance strokers, specifically built to each customer’s request. Mike is a very highly-motivated and focused 46-year-old entrepreneur with a singular vision of success and good times, and it’s been great meeting him and learning about his experience.
The website for Doc Stinger’s Mopar Garage is http://www.mopargarage.at

It’s definitely worth a visit. The photo gallery itself is more than worth your time, folks.

The race car in the spotlight tonight is the Stinger II, which is in my opinion one of the finest nostalgia funny cars you’d ever find, anywhere. The story on the car is as follows:

Engine:
Doc started with an old blown 426 hemi alky motor which didn’t match with the 2speed very well. But to become comfortable driving a funny car it was good enough. Doc only had doorslammer experience until 2012. His Best ET was 8.20 @ 185mph. Last year at the famous dragstalgia meeting the old alky warrior went to hemi heaven as it snapped a rod right at the finish line and broke the block into two pieces. Nothing was salvageable besides the intake and blower. The current Engine is an alky-burning 431 cubic inch Chrysler-style HEMI. The Block is an ARIAS AA500 (it’s the Ex-Barry Sheavills UK engine).
It has Alan Johnson Twin plug heads, it runs a Mooneyham 8/71 blower running on 35% Overdrive with Enderle injector (Thanks Bud and Barb!). It runs Twin MSD magnetos, it has a 2-speed Lenco transmission with an air shifter, and a Crowerglide three disc pedal clutch inside a Browell Bellhousing.

Doc said: “Now its time to get serious and switch to the dark side. I'm in the process of building a TFX nitro engine for it. But unfortunately we have no sponsor and therefore it's not easy to come up with the money that it takes to run a nitro operation.” He said to look for the Stinger II competing on nitro in 2016.

Chassis:
The chassis was built by Jamie Sarte in the USA for Tom Hoover around 1978. Tom ran the Showtime Corvette body on it and he brought it to England for match races in the early eighties.
The SEMA number is 106.
It was updated to modern safety specs by Paul Stubbings in the UK and named the Timewarp Funny car in December of 2012 and it’s certified to run nitro.
Wheelbase: 123.5 inches

Body:
The body is a 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T built by Bob Rosetty of Funny Farm Fabrications / USA
The Body modifications are by MEXXSPEED, with Paint by Tom Toxic in Austria in May of 2013.

Owner/Builder:
Built from January 2013 until May of 2013 by Doc Stinger’s Mopar Garage in Voitsberg.

Doc sends Special Thanks to:
Our friends Paul Stubbings and Wendy Baker (of the Timewarp Funny Car/UK)
Ramon van de Weurf (with the Wild´r at Heart Funny Car in the Netherlands)
Kirsten van Croonenbergh and Henk Bresijn (in the Netherlands)
Thomas "Tom Toxic" Nems (in Austria)
MEXXSPEED Racing (in Austria)
Bob Rosetty (USA)
Martyn Hannis (of the Nuthin Fancy Fuel Altered team in the UK)

The Team - mindestens so wichtig wie der Dragster selbst:

Mike "Doc Stinger" Mugrauer (Owner/Driver/Crewchief)
SaBEEne Mugrauer (She’s Doc’s wife: Backup Girl/Heads)
Ernst "Oilmaster" Kopp (Clutch/Startline)
Robert "Topturn" Bauer (Fabrications/Heads/Startline)
Alfons "Alf" Brezina (Food/Tattoos/Startline/Chutes)
Jörg "Jay-O" Ortner (Food/Bottom End/Startline)
Markus "Maxx" Schmölzer (Engine)

Doc said they’ll be at the start of the new nostalgia funnycar series in Europe for 2016. Most of the races will be at Santa Pod in England, which is by far the best and Doc’s favorite racetrack in Europe. By the way, there are no drag strips in Austria…they have to travel 1100 miles to Santa Pod to take the car out. That is another costly factor.... But the love to the sport is stronger and they manage.

Doc told me: “At the track me, my wife and three of my friends are turning the wrenches on the car. Without their help nothing would be possible. It’s a lot of fun being at the track and meeting friends from all over Europe. Hope dies last; I really want to make the first test runs with the new nitro engine this year. I am working very hard to achieve this goal. I want to participate again at the dragstalgia meeting at Santa Pod in July of this year.

Well, Doc, I have no doubt that you and the Stinger II team will be there, and we’ll be rooting for you all the way. That’s Doc Stinger from Voitsberg, Austria, our first European Racer of the Week from the Continent. He said to tell everybody listening tonight: “I want to thank you very much for picking me to be part of your show! That means a lot to me and the team !!!” We wish you Good luck, safe racing and best of times in the future, Mike.

Y’all be sure to tune in tomorrow evening at 7 PM Eastern on Racers Reunion Radio for Racing Through History. It’s a Goat Rodeo you don’t want to miss! Thanks, I’ll see y’all next week.

[WildcatOne]

My pick for Racer of the Week is Ian Bernard, from Pahoa, Hawaii. Ian is the track champion at his home track at Hilo. He was recommended to me by our friend with the Hawaii Drag Racing Association and the 808 Fuel page, Michael Baba Balbarino. Thanks, Michael! The drag racing scene in Hawaii is full of rich and colorful racers and stories, and Ian Bernard is one of the greatest racers in the region.

His car is a ‘79 Toyota Corolla also known as “Preciously Sweet”. It is one of the most photogenic race cars I’ve ever seen, and the beautiful Purple paint scheme makes this car a true work of art. The owners are Tracie and of course, Ian Bernard. The crew is just Ian, Tracie, their niece Keysha Jardine-Chang and friends Keylen Chang and Ricky Fujitake. Ian gets some sponsorship from the errand boy, which is a local business in Hawaii. Other than that he’s pretty much self-sponsored.

Ian’s greatest achievement is winning a Wally and also winning the nostalgia race at Hilo. He’s a dedicated racer and he has 50-plus trophies. He won two points leader brackets for the big island auto club in 2012, and recently Ian was offered a wild card to race in Memphis Tennessee with the IHRA but unfortunately he couldn't attend due to the high costs it would take to make the trip.

The engine in preciously sweet is a thing of beauty for sure. It’s a 3tc Toyota 4-cylinder Hemi, bored out to 2.0 with 10:1 compression, running a stock head with double valve springs and a 125 shot of nitrous. It has 4 carbs on a side-mounted manifold. The car runs as quick as 11.88 at 112 mph in the quarter-mile with the engine power being delivered to the track through a Ford transmission that came out of a Mustang and a truck rear end with 456 gears. Ian sent me a picture of the engine Friday and it is clean enough to eat off of it. You don’t see a car like this on a drag strip very often, and this is one that really stands out.

At this time, NHRA doesn’t have a track in Hawaii and Michael along with Ian and the other racers are trying to get the track on Oahu opened back up as it’s been closed for the last few years. IHRA has had some involvement in the 2 remaining tracks in Hawaii that are open and operating, running a Summit-sponsored points series and such, but the incentive to race is there to begin with. My hat’s off to IHRA for helping these guys race. It’s racers like Ian Bernard and Michael Baba Balbarino who exemplify the true spirit of sportsman drag racing, and I wish Ian good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future.

Some songs are defined by the lyrics, same as some are etched in our memories by the music. The hooks; the certain part of a song that you end up humming to yourself later, or as in tonight’s segment, singing the words while you’re driving. There are countless examples, but I’m going to try to siphon who I consider to be some of the best lyricists I ever heard.

There is no doubt about Bob Dylan. His words evoked imagery and full-length movies in my head on most of the songs he wrote. Frank Zappa was just as good. Me and Sylvester would sing Zappa songs in the van on the way home from gigs and laugh our asses off. Some of the Beatles’ lyrics are all-time poetic statements that hold up to this day. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote some unforgettable lyrics to their great music as well. Pete Townsend put together a few masterpieces himself. There are some that go past just making words rhyme and go much deeper into a spiritual, almost revolutionary sphere. The modern lyrics that I’ve heard from Green Day and the Kings of Leon as well as Lady Gaga have impressed me with their depth and compassion.

Throughout my life in music, a few lyricists stand out. Starting with Cole Porter, who wrote the words as well as the music for his Broadway shows, running through the early years of rock ‘n roll, Tommy Edwards and the Platters delivered first-rate words to go with their first-rate songs. Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Lieber & Stoller defined youth angst and the need to party and find free love better than anybody did back then.

Into the sixties, I always appreciated the Beach Boys’ lyrics, later with the help of Van Dyke Parks, Brian Wilson and Mike Love created an all-American scene of fun, surf, girls, hot rods and good times. Another lyricist who never got his due was Tommy Hall, who wrote all the words to the 13th Floor Elevators’ songs. Great poetry that got put into motion by a great band. It was often difficult for me to fully absorb Ray Davies’ lyrics, probably because I’m down here in South Texas and he’s talking about life in swinging London, but I still bought all his records and listened intently to them because I saw the Kinks as being just as good as the Beatles were, if not better in many respects.

If Tom Waits is the Jack Kerouac of rock ‘n roll, then Steely Dan is the Franz Kafka. Ernest Hemingway would be well-represented by Randy California or even Jimi Hendrix, but Captain Beefheart was in his own world. He mixed beat-era poetry with surrealism and Dadaism that melted together in a complete mess, but to me and my friends, it was beautiful. Go get yourself a copy of Trout Mask Replica and give it a listen. I guarantee it’ll get your head together. I can’t say’s I’d recommend reading Jon Anderson’s lyrical output with Yes, as it can turn one sentence or one thought into an entire paragraph of questionable reality that borders on babble, but Peter Sinfield with King Crimson conjured up visions of doom and end-of-the-world apocalypse like nobody else could. Peter Gabriel is still one of the most visual of all prog-rock lyricists, and I always look forward to his special perspectives on life when his records come out. Bernie Taupin made the most of his years with Elton John with his awesome lyrics. Gerry Rafferty had a gift for perfect words to go with his perfect songs, so did Jeff Lynne.

If I had to pick the best of all these, I’d have to lean toward getting back to the roots. Robbie Robertson wrote “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”. There is probably not a better modern song in existence. It could be narrowed down to just a few songs, ya know. Bob Dylan’s “Blonde on Blonde” album in its entirety. Since he and Robbie Robertson were together with The Band for so many years, I’m giving the nod to Dylan with all respects to the others, including Tom Petty and Roy Orbison. Dylan’s decades of incredible songwriting defined a generation, and he made a lot of gutsy moves during his storied career, but it’s his lyrics that have stayed with me after the lights dimmed and everybody went home. That ain’t even half of it. I could go on all night, but you get the picture.

Y’all be sure to tune in tomorrow evening at 7 PM Eastern for Racing Through History on Racers Reunion Radio. It’s Thee Goat Rodeo you don’t want to miss. Thanks, I’ll see y’all next week.

[WildcatOne]

My pick for Racer of the Week is Phil Toppin, from London, England. I found Phil in our friend Carla Pittau’s friends list on Facebook. Thanks, Carla! Georgina Smith is Phil’s crewchief and best friend, and she has been very helpful to me in putting Phil’s feature tonight. Thanks, Georgie!

Phil Toppin is an old-school drag racer in an up-to-date race car. He has made his hot rod a personal statement, and I have found since I started Racer of the Week, that drag racers from the UK particularly have a very personalized and colorful race car, as the sport of drag racing is to many folks an outlet for their personality to be put on display out there on the track. Phil does awesome fire burnouts, which Georgina is thankful that she doesn’t have to chase him down from, he races with his foot to the floor all the way, and puts on a great show for the fans. There is no other way he knows how to do it, and he does it 100% flat-out every time.

Phil has raced a few cars in the past. He’s been racing 30 years and has had a some different cars, a pop called my little pony..a mark 1, a 2-ltr Capri and a Cosworth (which he blew up), then he got a 1927 T Altered from the USA in 2005.. paint and body is still the same as what it was in America.. It’s a 555 cubic inch big block Chevy. Phil’s Best ET is an 8.72 at 162 mph. His goal is to get a 7-second ET. They are now running fuel injection on methanol but sadly at their first race meeting of the year there were gremlins in the car so they didn't get a run. So far Phil doesn’t know how the car handles or what it will run when it’s healthy. That aside, the car is one of the finest Model T altereds I’ve ever seen.

Phil named the car “T41”. It has a cut off system and a parachute, no sponsors they just race out of his pocket... Phil would love to race in the USA with his car or with one of the fuel altered Big Boys’ cars. In the graphic I made for his feature, the trophy in his hand is to remember his buddy and mechanic Big John which is made out of his old engine that he blew up a few years ago...

Phil would like to thank Georgie his crew chief, All the folks at FUCC racing, Billy, Joe, Dave x2, Yorkie, and all the Super Pro Teams. Phil said we all help everybody out; we are like one big happy family... also thanks to the staff and crew at Santa Pod and the great folks at Shakespeare County Raceway.

Right now they’re working on getting the car sorted out for next month’s meet. I have no doubt that you’ll be there and racing that altered for all it’s worth. Good luck, safe racing and the best of times ahead, Phil Toppin, Racer of the Week.

I talked last week about lyricists in Rock ‘n Roll; I think this week I’m going to give my take on songwriters. I’ve been working on a 15-song CD that my late brother-in-law Andy Quinn wrote over the years and I was fortunate to have his tapes. After Andy died in 1992, my sister Sylvia gave me his Les Paul guitar and all of his copyrights. Andy was one-of-a-kind as a musical creator. I was recruited to play on his studio sessions, and by the time he got through with me, I was thinking in another dimension entirely. The CD is targeted for a July release and I will be posting details on that event soon. Being a songwriter myself, and my best friends in music are also songwriters, I have those who I favor and those who I don’t favor so much. It’s all a matter of opinion, so whatever I say is open to debate or disagreement and I respect everyone’s opinion, but I it’s who I don’t mention are the ones I am not a big fan of, ya know. It wouldn’t be fair to diss a songwriter in my segment. One thing I’m not is an elitist snob in that area of musical performance.

Right off the bat, Brian Wilson is my all-time favorite songwriter. Not just for his Fun Fun Fun, Dance Dance Dance hits of the 60s with the Beach Boys, but for the incredible depth and soul-touching masterpieces he did after he got through topping the charts and got serious about expressing his feelings. The Pet Sounds album stands head-and-shoulders above anything else that came out in that era. His work inspired the Beatles to make Sgt. Pepper, which changed the world and of course that album stands right next to Pet Sounds in my book. But we can take a step aside from the obvious hits and take a look at some of the songwriters that didn’t necessarily change the world but had more of an influence than the big hitmakers did. Just damn good songs is what I’m talking about.

Some material that I’d recommend if anybody wanted to check out some great songwriters, would be Gerry Rafferty’s City-To-City album in its entirety. There ain’t a dog in that record, anywhere, and it tells more of a story than an A-list novel every could. Roy Orbison contributed timeless classics to the vernacular of rock music, with the voice of an angel and the lifestyle of a black-leather jacketed streetwise rock ‘n roller. Tom Waits has written songs that get you where you live, his material being covered by many artists who can relate to his depth. I always thought Ray Davies was one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century. Not so much for the musical aspect of his talent, but for the visual imagery that his words evoked in my imagination. I could say the same thing in reverse, with music first and words second, about Tom Petty. Russ Ballard, formerly of the band Argent, created several songs that I consider to be masterpieces.

Going back into the 60s, Gene Pitney, Carole King, Neil Sedaka and Neil Diamond brought a lot of hidden emotions to light and their songs have stayed fresh and vital in my life. Stevie Wonder is in a class by himself, with his gorgeous arrangements and heartfelt lyrics. Prince, Smokey Robinson, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Bob Seger, Randy Bachman, John Fogerty and Willie Nelson are all songwriting geniuses who rewrote the modern American History book of love. Bob Dylan’s work with The Band, Hoyt Axton, Joni Mitchell, Jackie DeShannon and Neil Young are right there with them.

Topical writers like Lou Reed, Todd Rundgren, David Bowie and Peter Gabriel added a certain element of entertainment to their songs, and I always appreciated that about them. The current-day superstars took a lot of their ideas and amplified them a hundred times to create the spectacles of rock concerts in this day and age.

For the Blues, which is almost another subject, Willie Dixon is in my opinion, not only the greatest Blues songwriter who ever lived, but debatably THE greatest songwriter ever, period. Before I get too far out, I’ll let it rest for another week. Behind the hits lies the soul of the writer, and this is what I was working on bringing out tonight.

Y’all be sure to tune in tomorrow evening at 7 PM Eastern on Racers Reunion Radio for Racing Through History. It’s Thee Goat Rodeo you don’t want to miss! Thanks, I’ll see y’all next week.

[WildcatOne]

I’d like to ask for a moment of silence in memory of the great Percy Sledge. Percy, your contribution to modern music was unmatched in the amount of passion and elegance that you put into your 3 minutes of “When A Man Loves A Woman”. It has been said that an entire generation was conceived in a million back seats with that song playing on the radio, and I agree. Thank you, Percy, and may you rest in peace.

My pick for Racer of the Week is Dave W. Saunders, from Taupo, New Zealand. I found Dave when I was browsing through the NZDRA website, and his Black 1969 Chevy Nova with the tall cowl really stood out. It is one of the coolest hot rods I’ve ever seen, and the vibe it gives is the definition of drag racing badassery. Dave asked me how I found him and I couldn’t remember, but since I’ve been putting his feature together, it all came back to me. I found you myself, Dave! And I found out over the last few weeks that Dave Saunders is 100% drag racer.

It’s rare when a racer returns to the track after an extended break and performs better the second time around, but Dave Saunders’ return to racing in 2012 after a 15 year hiatus took him straight to the winner’s circle and the National title in Super Street, and now he’s working on getting the Super Sedan title.

I talked to Dave a few times recently; he said it’s summer in New Zealand at the moment. Warm and a few thunderstorms around the last few days. But better than freezing . Right now he’s got the car in the middle of a rebuild. He’s putting in a Big-Block Chevy that will be blown with a 10/71 supercharger topped with an injector. He’s adding a few additional roll cage bars, doing a full re-wire, putting in new polycarbonate windows all around and still hasn’t decided on a fuel system but it will of course be different than the one he had with the Small-Block Chevy with carbs that carried him to quarter-mile times of 10.75 seconds at 125MPH.

Dave’s first season in the car won him the New Zealand National title . He said he’s in- between motors at the moment. He has the blower and injector on the motor but he’s having his engine guys fix it up so it won’t break. The car is a Toy Shed Nova. It’s all stripped down at the moment but he expects to have the car race-ready and back on track soon.

Dave wishes to thank Kendall Racing Oil and trans fluid, Popeye Pics for the great pictures, Chuck Mann Auto Transmission, The Lake House Bar and Restaurant, The Toy Shed in Rotorua for his engines and tuning , his better half the lovely Charlotte Rose, and Dave himself who is known as Nude Nut Racing.

When I put Dave’s graphic online, another Race Team from New Zealand got in touch with me as well as one who Dave recommended to me. I followed up on both leads and I’m happy to say we’ll have Racers of the Week from New Zealand coming up in June and July. Thanks for the great input to our friends in Kiwi Land.

And to Dave Saunders, good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future. I look forward to hearing about how that Nova runs with that new powerplant.

Over the last month or so, I’ve taken up reading as my favorite pastime. I have been reading a book called “One-Hit Wonders”. I’d say that aside from the novelty hits that came and went over the years, “Wonder” is an apt description of a lot of the amazing talent that I’ve heard on the radio, just once. For one reason or another, these folks just had one shining moment. Their 15 minutes of Fame came and went like the wind. Artists like Bob Lind, Jonathan King, the Music Machine, I could list hundreds but what I realized from reading this book is that my all-time favorite songs were all one-hit wonders.

It’s not like these artists didn’t have more in the tank. The majority of reasons why they didn’t continue and climb even higher in their careers were due to record company and management screw-ups. It’s a shame to see such promising careers take a dive for reasons that were not their own doing, although some also brought about their own demise. On the other hand, guys like David Gates, who was an unknown songwriter from Tulsa, Oklahoma penned a one-hit wonder with “Popsicles, Icicles” and Kim Fowley put a girl-group together to sing it called the Murmaids. 5 years later, one of the greatest bands of the late 60s and early 70s called Bread emerged with a dozen wonderful hits, all penned by their front-man and bandleader, David Gates.

Some of the one-hit wonders didn’t do a follow-up because they died. Some of them lost interest in the music business and just walked away and found new careers. A lot of them kept at it but weren’t able to come back to that glorious moment when they were riding the wave of success but they never gave up. These acts are still going and they are worth seeing. I mean, look at Percy Sledge. He had the hit of the century with “When A Man Loves A Woman”. His entire catalogue of songs is awesome. He made fantastic records. Yet he only had one big hit. But that big hit gets you where you live and it don’t let go. He is only one example of a gigantic talent that we only heard from once. He knew Pee Wee Bowen. Pee Wee sang some backup for him and our guitar player Jim Fulton played in his band when he came to Houston. We did a 2-song tribute to Percy both nights this weekend.

As for me, well, they never heard from me at all on the charts. I’ve heard some of my material done by hitmakers who have scouts lifting ideas from the Library of Congress and taking the hooks into the studio for the singer to do. That’s how it works in the Big Leagues. I got my education in that stuff. But looking back, I have no regrets that I didn’t try to sell out. I did the perfunctory exercizes that are required to sell albums that I made. I joined ASCAP, I have a bar code, I have a dba, I own a music publishing company, and I copyrighted all my material.

Since I joined SoundCloud, I’ve been able to post mp3s of my music online and the results have surprised me. Folks I don’t know have complimented my music and encouraged me to keep going. Right now I have about half of everything I’ve recorded on SoundCloud and I recently found another hour’s worth of material I wrote and recorded 30 years ago that my friend Colin is remastering to digital, so I’ll be posting that stuff, too.

For me, it’s OK. I continued to compose songs for years but I didn’t leave my career and my family in pursuit of a dream that the odds were really against ever happening. It’s been a wonderful party, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I wanted to be sure to thank Jerry Smith with STARS Radio tonight for tagging me in his weekly flyer, which advertises all the shows on RacersReunion Radio. Every Monday his great flyer shows up in my notifications and I put it on my page. Thanks, Jerry! STARS Radio is an excellent program and I encourage everybody to tune in. It’s great motorsports entertainment!

Y’all be sure to tune in tomorrow evening at 7 PM Eastern for Racing Through History on Racers Reunion Radio. It’s Thee Goat Rodeo you don’t want to miss! Thanks, I’ll see y’all next week.

[WildcatOne]

My pick for Racer of the Week is Anthony Fetch, from Colonia, New Jersey. Anthony was recommended to me by our friend Rich Panicaro. Thanks, Rich! There are a lot of heavy hitters in Division 1, but Anthony Fetch is without question one of the very best racers that represent the Division. His 2 cars, a ’69 Camaro and a ’92 Camaro, are both multiple National, Divisional and track champions, with his years of racing experience going back to his days as a junior dragster pilot, being put to its fullest potential in each and every run.

One example of Anthony’s prowess on the track is that he scored a rare double win on May 2, 2009, during the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Division 1, at Virginia Motorsports Park. Anthony powered his '92 Camaro to the win in Super Stock while wheeling his '69 Camaro to the win in Stock Eliminator. He won at Atlanta in 2010, and since then, he’s put together winning seasons every year. He has PCRICHARD.com on the door of his ’69 Camaro.

Anthony is a popular and well-known Racer, and his accomplishments are truly outstanding. Just taking a look at his race cars tells you right away that you’re looking at a serious drag racer and his room full of trophies backs up that statement.
Anthony Fetch is a dominant force in the Eastern States, and we wish him good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future.

Last weekend, the band played one gig. But it was a gig I’ll never forget. We played at the Southshore Harbor Resort in League City for the 1965 Stephen F. Austin High School 50th reunion. It was in the Crystal Ballroom, a full semiformal event with programs, speeches and a 3-course dinner was served. We showed up at 6 PM to be set up on the stage by 7, but the program pushed us back from playing until 8:30, so we just hung out and waited.

I ran into the mayor of La Marque, Texas, who happens to be one of the finest rhythym & blues singers I’ve ever had the pleasure to play music with. He pulled me aside and told me that his secretary is a girl who I went from kindergarten through seniors in high school with and she said to be sure to tell me hello. I was knocked out. She’s a real sweetheart, she’s married to a great guy I went to high school with and they live in Texas City now. Anyway, the mayor got up and sang a couple of songs with us and it was awesome to run into him and get to play those songs with him.

As for the Pee Wee Bowen Band, I’d say that night ranks as the number one gig this band has ever played in the 9 ½ years I’ve been a member. That crowd went absolutely ape when we played, and they wouldn’t let us stop when we finished. It did my heart good to see these folks, all in their late 60s, doing the dances we all did in the mid-60s and they threw the wildest party I’ve seen since we played Mardi Gras for the gay crewe in Galveston 3 years ago. It was non-stop, no-holds-barred boogie from the word go, and the energy and excitement that the crowd was putting out caught on with the band. We stepped it up a few notches and blasted ‘em and they jumped, they screamed, they laughed, they danced and they loved every second of it…I was amazed at first and then I went, OK, you asked for it, here it is, baby. We all did.

I told Pee Wee at the end of the night, I’d play for these folks EVERY night and not get tired of it! Pee Wee told me that they told him they never danced at their reunions before either with bands or with a DJ. We connected with them right off the top and they flipped over us. See, a lot of the songs I am doing with the band are hits from the mid-60s, and when we went into the opening riff of “Gimme Some Lovin’” by the Spencer Davis Group, they roared. There wasn’t enough room on the dance floor for everybody, it was unbelievable. At the end of the song, they screamed! It just felt so damn good! Pee Wee was in top form. He made full use of his 4-octave range and the songs he called got crowd response like I’ve never seen before. The whole band was sharp and we enjoyed that gig as much as they did.

Pee Wee called me this morning and told me that we got 5 gigs out of that one night. 2 Christmas parties and 3 private gigs. That’s some pretty decent coin. I drove home feeling pretty good. Here’s the reality of it, though. Glory is fleeting. For all of the adulation and praise that those folks laid on us, it was back to normal pretty quick. You just roll with it. Great gigs don’t go to my head, they go to my wallet. I’m paid to do what I do and it’s been successful with this band. Each member is hand-picked, and each guy knows his part and plays it to his best effort. It certainly paid off in spades Saturday night. This band never fails to get over, but some shows stand out, ya know.

We have a 1 ½ hour set coming up Saturday at the Strawberry Festival and it’s gonna be an easy gig, plus we’ll get free barbecue dinners and strawberry shortcake, which is the best I’ve ever had.

Before I call it a night, I want to congratulate BP on two major achievements. First, he got a super promotion at work and he’s riding a skyrocket to middle-class! Also, he is now 2 pounds away from a 150-pound weight loss. That is an incredible achievement, and with the promotion, BP has shown us all that hard work pays off! I’m proud to know the guy.

Y’all be sure to tune in tomorrow evening at 7 PM Eastern on Racers Reunion Radio for Racing Through History. It’s Thee Goat Rodeo you don’t want to miss! Thanks, I’ll see y’all next week.