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

[WildcatOne]

Thanks, Wheelz...I usually sleep between 4 and 8 AM...

My pick for Racer of the Week is Stacey Price, from Cambridge, New Zealand. Stacey was recommended to me by our friend, former Racer of the Week Dave W. Saunders. Thanks, Dave! Stacey sent me a fantastic technical analysis of her racing experience, operation and cars. Kick back and enjoy this ride, folks.

Stacey Koren Price was born on January 13th, 1992 in Hamilton, New Zealand. She currently resides in Cambridge, New Zealand. Stacey works as a Sales Rep at HomePlus in Waikato. Her favourite hobbies and sports are Drag Racing, Going to the Gym, and Reading. She is the daughter of our friend and former Racer of the Week, Greg Price of Price Motorsport. Her Local Track is the Masterton Motorplex. Her Favourite Track is Sydney International Dragway.

Her Current Race Car is Andy Chapman’s 23T Altered. It is an outstanding hot rod that runs in the Modified Eliminator Class. The Future Race Cars she Would Like To Drive are either a Pro Stock or Top Alcohol Funny Car. The First Drive Stacey Had Down A Drag Strip was at the Age of 8 in her Junior Dragster built by her Dad and Uncle.

The Persons Stacey Looks Up To are John Force and Courtney Force of John Force Racing in America, Alexis Dejoria of Kalitta Motorsports in America, and Shane Tucker and the whole Rob Tucker Racing team out of Australia.

People That Have Helped Stacey Start Racing and Further her Career are her Dad - Greg and her Uncle Malcolm Price, And Owner of the car – Andy Chapman.

Stacey’s Best Career Highlight was Running her personal best of 8.65 seconds and 153.26 MPH and placing third in both the New Zealand Nationals event and the NZDRA National Point Score Series for the 2014/2015 Season.

What she Likes In Drag Racing is The thrill of the speed and doing burnouts!

Stacey got her First Start in the 1999/2000 season.

Personal Vehicle: Mazda 323

Stacey’s history as she sent to me: My dad has been involved in Drag Racing in NZ for over 32 years. I was pretty much born in to it. But it has become my life now. I have been crewing on Price Motorsport’s cars for the past seven years, last year was my first year getting to jump in the driver’s seat of a full competition ¼ mile car. My first season was spent coming to grips with the car and ironing out a few teething issues, now for me it’s all about lowering the E.T’s and raising that MPH. This season I achieved a third place in the NZDRA National Point Score Series.

Thanks To: Thanks to my dad, Greg Price for all his help and ongoing support through the trying times to our successes. Thanks to my team, Greg Price, Jordan McMaster, Derek Fowler, Ken Marriott, Nakita Hart and Corey Buxton, for all their hard work and perseverance to get me to this point. Also a huge thanks to my sponsor HomePlus Waikato, engine machinists Kerry Lindsay Engine Reconditioners and the many people who have helped out in numerous ways this season, Malcolm and Kieran Price, Nick Tansey, Kerry Lindsay, Jody Dixon, Paul and Diana Nicol, Gary Davis of Replay XD Cameras, Steve Milliken of GSS Performance, Gav Wellborne, Grant Briffault, Chris Webb, Pauline Lane, Arran Brattle, Robin Silk, Graeme Bates at STR Ltd and to my wonderful friends who stood by me and supported me when times got tough.

And finally, I can never express my gratitude enough for the loan of the car. Andy Chapman, you always had confidence in me right from the start and for that I can never thank you enough.

The Engine in the altered hot rod is a 355ci Small Block Chevy. It has Collector Exhausts, a 7000 Stall Torque Converter and a 2 Speed Powerglide transmission. The car has a Full Tube Chassis, a 23T Altered body, and it sits on a 118 inch wheelbase.
The Front Suspension is New Zealand-Made A Arms. It has a Strange Engineering Differential; sitting in a Head and Custom Fabricated 9 inch housing. The controls are a Mag kill switch, an Electronics Kill Switch, Fuel Shut Off, Parachute Lever, and a Gear Lever
The cockpit features a Chassis Shop butterfly steering wheel with a quick release hub and steering box.The seat is Aluminium with a Seat Cushion. The car has an aluminium Fuel tank, Instruments include a tachometer and oil pressure gauge.
The car runs on methanol. The awesome paint job is by Taupo Panel and Paint.
The SFI Rollcage Padding is from Motorsport Connections Australia.

This hot rod is very conscious of Safety Equipment!
The Seat Belts are 3” SFI 16.5 with a Quick Release 5 point Harness. The Belts and mounting points must be covered with fire-resistant material. The Arm restraints are built into the driver’s suit, which is a Simpson SFI3.2A/20 custom. Stacey’s Helmet is a Simpson Carbon Drag Bandit SFI 31.2 with a Fresh-air breathing system. She is Fitted with an SFI 3.3/10 CarbonX fireproof drag sock and Centering Chin Strap. Her Boots are SFI 3.2A/5s. The Neck Brace is a Hybrid Sport Head and Neck Restraint System and a contoured padded SFI 45.2 Neck Collar. Her Gloves are SFI 3.2A/5s. The Parachutes are Simpsons, with Driver Operation. The Chute Pack and Unpacked Shroud Lines must be protected with Fire-Resistant Material.

Right now, Price Motorsports is in the process of building a brand-new Top Alcohol Funny Car. I have a pretty good idea who’s going to end up in the driver’s seat, but names haven’t been disclosed as of this feature.

The Engine is a 521ci BAE Hemi with a PSI Screw blower and 4 Port PSI Magnesium Injector. It has Smiley Headers from California. The Clutch is a Crower 10 inch, 3 Disc. The Transmission is a Lenco 3 Speed and Reverser. It’s Air Shifted and sits in a Browell Steel Bell Housing, 8 1/8 inch, with an SFI Spec of 6.3. The car is a 2014 model S&W Race Cars, Chevy Monte Carlo Carbon Fibre Kevlar body with a Chromoly chassis.It has a Wheelbase of 125 inches.The front Front Suspension is made by Price Motorsport with Removable A Arms. The Differential is from Strange Engineering, with a fabricated triangulated Sheet metal housing with billet brake callipers and rotors, 40 spline spool and axles. The Controls include a Mag kill switch, Wizard air shift buttons, brake lever, dual parachute release, fire system, fuel shut off, and reverse lever. The Steering is a Chassis Shop butterfly steering wheel with a quick release hub, Strange Engineering steering box and billet adjustable front spindles. The seat is a Price Motorsport Aluminium model with a Taylor Motorsport Nomex seat cover
The Fuel tank is Aluminium by S&W Race Cars. The Instruments are an Autometer Pro-Comp, Tachometer, Oil Pressure, Blower Boost, Mini Oil, and Shift Lights. RPM Performance Products Inc, USA made the Data Logger. The Tyres in Front are Goodyear Front Runners, 23x5x15 and the rear slicks are Goodyear 34.5x17x16s. The front rims are 15x3 1/2 Alumnastar Rims, and in the rear are Centreline 16x16 Convo Pros. It will of course, run on Methanol/Alcohol fuel. The Paint is Currently being designed by Warren Houston. The Roll Cage Padding is an ISP Head Support System, SFI Spec 45.2 The Racing Radios are a Chi Town Race Products Drag Racing Radio System with an On-Board Helmet Kit.

The Seat Belts are a 3” SFI 16.5 Simpson Camlock Quick Release 7 point Harness. The Belts and mounting points must be covered with fire-resistant material. The Arm restraints, Helmet, drag sock, Chin Strap, Boots, Neck Brace, Neck Restraint System, gloves and Neck Collar are identical to Stacey’s safety equipment on the Altered. The Fire Extinguisher System is a DJ Safety on-board unit with twin 10lb bottles which are manually controlled by the driver, directed to protect the driver and engine. They are Filled with Cold Fire Foam. The Parachutes are Simpson 12ft Dual Chutes, Driver Operation. Chute Pack and Unpacked Shroud Lines must be protected with Fire-Resistant Material and mounted with a Taylor Motorsport parachute tether system. The Fresh Air System is a Simpson On Board Fresh Air Breathing System plumbed to the driver’s helmet.

I can’t wait to see what happens with this car. It has the best of everything, same as the altered does.

Stacey was selected to represent Women in Motorsport at the annual CRC show in Auckland, which is sponsored by Century Batteries coming up next month. Along with 19 other ladies, she will display the altered and give information about her racing career. Good call by the committee, picking her for this, because She’s great. That’s Stacey Price, Racer of the Week, Racin’ and Rockin’ wishes you good luck, safe racing and the best of times.

With the passing of Chris Squire, another chapter has ended in the history of Rock n’ Roll. Chris was the only continuous member of the band Yes for 40 years. I got to see him play once in the mid-70s and he was absolutely fantastic. The whole band was, of course, but Chris Squire was at the dawn of what is termed “prog-rock” today. Along with John Entwistle, Roger Glover, Greg Lake, John Wetton, Mike Rutherford and a few others, including Felix Pappalardi, Dusty Hill and Paul McCartney. Yes, King Crimson, Argent, even the Who, and Genesis were all at the forefront of that genre. But Chris Squire, if put to the litmus test, was arguably the originator of the whole deal and a progenitor of the style that was later termed jazz-rock fusion.

As well as being extremely active for a bass player, he was also rock-solid. Anything I’ve ever listened to by Yes had the best bass lines I ever heard in rock music. He was completely self-taught, he played with a pick, in a style similar to a guitar player, and he had a signature sound that was unmistakable to my ear. He was one of a kind, a self-made man and a self-made rock legend. In my opinion it is a crime that he and the 18 members who passed through the band called Yes are not eternally enshrined in the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. I don’t understand how they can leave some of these guys out, but Chris Squire was one of a handful of master musicians who has been denied that status. However, in my mind, and in the minds of millions of his fans, he was the greatest. Chris, may you rest in peace. Your suffering is over now, and your legacy is solid gold for the world to enjoy forever.

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]

My pick for Racer of the Week is Mike Lacey, from Chippenham, Wiltshire, England. Mike was recommended to me by our friend and former Racer of the Week, Karen Stevens, who also happens to be Mike’s finacee. Mike’s a great drag racer and he has it going on. His story is a classic drag racer’s biography.

Mike Lacey’s passion for motor sports, particularly Drag Racing, started while he was living in the USA from 1982 to 1985. While there he bought his first Mustang, a ‘75 notch back in gold, and then his second, a brand new 1984 20th anniversary edition GT350, which he brought back to the UK with him in 85. He has also owned a 1970 Mach 1, 351 Cobra Jet, which he fully restored between 1988 and 1990. He spent time as a marshal at Santa Pod Raceway from 1991 – 1993 and has crewed for various drag racing teams over the years, putting blood, sweat and tears into his work for other teams and in the construction of his own race car. His time came in 2004 and he has been racing ever since. He has in excess of 25 years experience with Mustangs and has been a self-employed car mechanic since 1994.

Mike’s race car is a 1967 Chevy Camaro which Mike has owned since 1996. He did a total ground-up restoration. Every last nut and bolt, and he turned it into the great car it is today.

The engine is 555 cubic inches with a TH400 gearbox. It has been dyno’d at 918 Horsepower. The car has an aluminum prop shaft to a 12-bolt Moser rear axle with 4/11 gears. With a full steel body, all glass windows and all chrome as original, with a fiberglass hood, it weighs 3350 pounds with the driver. It has the original wheel arches and the original fuel tank. The car features a Chris Alston front chassis with coil-over shocks and rack and pinion steering. The suspension is monoleaf springs and Cal Tracs with 29 X 10.5” Hoosier tires on American Racing Wheels. He named this gorgeous race car the Metamorphosis, and his team consists of himself, Karen, and Adam and Sam Shuttleworth. Mike said that without these guys’ help, he wouldn’t be racing.
Karen told me yesterday that Mike recently ran a personal best of 9.15 at 147 mph. He is currently second in the UK Championship points. He has been in two finals this year, winning one and finishing as runner up in the other.
Mike has his own company called ModUrSTANG. He does everything from brakes to blowers, from spark plugs to superchargers, and he is very successful in his business in the UK. He said: “I look to produce for customers, what I would expect for myself, which is excellence.” The website is:
http://www.modurstang.co.uk The website for Mike’s Camaro is linked to the home page of ModUrSTANG. Great work all around by Mike’s website guys, it is a very enjoyable site.

That’s Mike Lacey, Racer of the Week. We wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future, Mike.

Congratulations to our buddy Rich Panicaro for making it through 5 rounds at the Atco Points Race last weekend when he got back from York on no sleep. Rich had a semifinal finish and he had quite an adventure getting to the track with the brakes on his truck, but he’s a tough hombre and he figured out how to get there without incident. Rich cut psychic lights all day….004, .008, won a round when his opponent redlighted, and won the 4th round with a .009 light. He was also battling a vaccum leak and couldn’t hardly stage because the car would try to stall when he touched the gas but he got through it on sheer skill and talent. Way to go, Rich!

I only have a few more of my songs to put on my SoundCloud page. I started uploading mp3s of my music a little more than a year ago, and checking on the page this week, it’s down to some finished recordings and a few rough demos. Right now there’s about 60 songs there, and I’m more or less pleased with every one of them. I have a recording system ready to go, but I need to do some upgrades on this computer in order for it to work properly. It seems that I take one step forward and two steps back, but I’m slowly but surely getting my stuff together to make that album happen. I have all the songs for it in place, it’s all in my head and it’s the best music I ever wrote. Since I’m an old guy now, I see it as my final and lasting statement before I retire from music after 60 years of playing. I think if I kept going after that, I’d only be repeating myself, and I’ve been careful not to do that, all the way.

Once I finish that album, I’ll probably kick back and write the book that my friends have told me I should do. Writing the book would be a lot harder than recording an album, because I don’t have it worked out in advance like the music is. But I’ll give it a shot and see how it goes. Right now I feel like I’m on a merry-go-round in my life as a musician, and I have to admit it’s money that keeps me riding it. I make top-dollar on a weekly basis for showing up and tickling the ivories, playing oldies and not really having to push myself too hard. It could be that I’m just tired because it’s so damn hot out there and a lot of our gigs are outside. It takes twice the physical toll on me to perform in miserable weather, but as far as I can tell, I play the same show every time and nobody says anything, except the audience goes crazy over us at every show.

There is no question that I have been truly blessed to have landed the gig, and I’ve been through hell and back with this band in the 10 years I’ve been with Pee Wee. Guys died. Guys got fired. Guys quit. Guys played both ends against the middle. Guys also stayed the course. Through it all, we perservered, and as it stands now, we’re one of the top 5 bands in this region. Even in a steam bath like last couple of weekends were, we play to standing-room-only crowds that jump and dance like there’s no tomorrow when we play. And we’re paid quite well for doing it. But one of these days I’m going to decide to call it a career, and focus entirely on doing graphics from then on and let the cards fall where they may as a result. I am starting to think it’s what I do best, anyway. We’ll see.

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. I, for one, can’t wait to hear y’all’s take on the incident that took place between Danica and Junior over the weekend. I’ve never been disappointed when I tune in to your show.

Thanks, I’ll see y’all next week.

[WildcatOne]

My pick for Racer of the Week is Aaron Phillips and the Phillips Family Racing Team, from Hamilton, New Zealand. Aaron is the pilot of the team’s ’23 T Altered, and he is a consistent competitor in the NZDRA’s Modified Eliminator Class. The team is unique in many respects, first of all because it is the only Mother-and-Son Drag Racing Team in New Zealand and Oz. Aaron’s Mom Carol created the team some years back, and she is the force behind the entire operation. Aaron finished third in points this season in the brand-new car, getting very close to running in the 7-second zone, and the whole team are very pleased with this year’s results.

So far, the best et and mph is an 8.0 @157 The engine is a Big-Block Chevy with dart 360 heads. It has 600 cubic inches, running mechanical methanol injection with a 3500 stall converter , a 2- speed Powerglide Transmission and a Strange Engineering top loader differential. The car was brand new at the start of the 2014/2015 season. The first year went OK, but the engine gave up at the last meeting so it’s getting the full rebuild. Aaron said he will be adding another 300hp to get them well into the 7 second range and they’re hoping to hit the 170 mph mark. Aaron would love to say a huge thanks to Alert Motorsport , CSI Signs , Priceless Auto Car Care , Daemon Trailers , and Morice and Monique McMillin for all their help and the whole team, which consists of Aaron and Carol Phillips, Kieran and Ryan Phillips, and Lauren and Nicole Robinson.

Aaron mentioned something called teen faithfull as well. I’m not sure what that means, but he added that to his thank-yous so I’m saying it here…

The car is getting a full re-spray and airbrushing done at this time. A new paint job is on the way. The team is in full-rebuild mode right now, as it is winter down under, freezing in fact right now, but next season it will be Carol’s turn to drive. According to Aaron, she hasn’t driven in 24 years, so she is hungry and aiming for that elusive 7-second ET.

I’m looking forward to seeing Carol’s numbers with that extra 300 horsepower…We wish Phillips Family Racing good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future, Aaron.

In the world of JB, Drag Racing is Rock n’ Roll. It always has been and it always will be. That’s why I am so blessed to be doing this. I would never in my wildest dreams have imagined that some day I would be co-hosting a drag racing radio show and get to give my take on rock n’ roll while I’m at it. I believe that it is the greatest good Karma I have ever had in my life. This, and meeting Debby, having my sons, being picked to play in a regional Top-5 band; when I look at all of it, I’ve had a charmed life.

I haven’t seen where any rock stars died this week. That’s a good thing. We’ve still got a lot of the old-school rockers, and I’d like to recommend to folks that when they do show up in your town, go see ‘em. It’s the foundation art of a medium that has conquered the universe in its breadth and scope since its humble inception some 70 years ago. The people who started rock n’ roll were taking unfathomable risks with their lives and careers. Most who started the phenomenon made it, so to speak, but others fell by the wayside along the way. I know a few myself who weren’t able to sustain their momentum and ended up being out of the scene, some ended up being out of life altogether. My love and prayers are with them now and always.

The same can be said of the first of the drag racers. I don’t mean the street racers who proliferated before organized drag racing came into its own, but it all started around the same time that rock n’ roll did, and both art forms were branded as a bunch of delinquent hoodlums looking for trouble for the first few years they existed. It took great men with vision and know-how to get it together for us. C.J. and Peggy Hart, Wally Parks, and Pete Petersen, and on the technical side, Ed Iskenderian, Art and Jack Chrisman, Joe Hunt, Vic Edelbrock, Mickey Thompson, Dean Moon, that list is endless. The racers themselves who risked their lives by pursuing drag racing as a profession. Don Garlits, Emery Cook, Setto Postoian, Red Gireth, Calvin Rice, Eddie Hill, Vance Hunt and there are still some from the early days who are still doing it because it’s what they do. Big Jim Dunn, Chris Karamesines and I know one of our friends, Dave Jamison up in Iowa is still at it. Those we lost were tragedies that involved irreplaceable people, from the beginning up until present times. I was a Pete Robinson fan. Mike Sorokin, John Mulligan and Marvin Schwartz were some of my favorite drivers from the golden years. Snake, Mongoose, TV Tommy Ivo made it to retirement but not without driving through hell to get there.

Overall, I feel fortunate that I was around to see both drag racing and rock n’ roll get started, and I’ve watched them both evolve and develop into the major sports and music empires that they are now. Along the way, there were a few mistakes. We’ve all seen that. But true talent has and will prevail. I still get a thrill when I get to see, hear and feel both of these great art forms, and like I said earlier, to get to be a part of it is beyond the impossible dream. I don’t think I would be as involved as I am if I had missed out on the beginning of those things. But I’m glad I was and I’m sure as hell glad I am! To both drag racers and rockers, JB says Rock on!

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 theWeek is Ricky Fujitake, from Hilo, Hawaii. Ricky was recommended to me by our friend in Hawaii, Michael Baba Balbarino. Thanks, Michael! Ricky won the 6th annual Import Car shootout at Hilo in April, on a holeshot. He is super-deadly on the tree, ultra-consistent on his runs, and his car is fine-tuned to perfection.

Ricky Fujitake is 29 years old. He was born and raised in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii. He’s been racing since he was 17 years old so he’s a12 year drag racing veteran now. Ricky started off helping his brother and friends at the races and grew into this sport that he loves with a passion.

His Race Car is a 1972 Toyota Corolla. Ricky believes he is the 4th owner of this car. He got it as a shell with no interior and no windows, just a pure shell! His brother Keylen Chang decided to start body working the car because it was just sitting. It’s a good thing he did because it gave Ricky the motivation to complete the project, this was back in 2010.

The best ET Ricky’s run with this car is an 11.72 @ 112 mph with nitrous. The Best Naturally Aspirated (AllMotor) time is 13.37 @ 98mph.
The car runs on a 1980 Toyota Corolla 1.8L 3T-C engine, High compression, Arias Pistons and Eagle Rods. It runs a VW valve train (with Oversize Valves, Springs and Retainers). It also runs with a Norris Cam.

It has a W-50 Manual Transmission and a 1974 Toyota Hilux Rear axle with 4.38 gear ratio . The nitrous system is a Old School NOS powershot direct port system (100 shot).

Ricky’s notable accomplishments are winning the 2009 11.90 pro index driver of the year Along with a "Legends Trophy" from the AHRA (American Hot Rod Assoc). Ricky is a 14- time winner at Hilo Dragstrip.

His ultimate goal is to run in the 10s on just nitrous, (no turbo) with this car. I can see him doing that, as he has put a ton of work into this hot rod, and he’ll get there soon.

Ricky gives Special Thanks to Russell at R&R Machine Shop in Hilo for allowing him to do everything he needed to do in the shop, His brother Keylen Chang for the bodywork and paint and all the knowledge he’s given freelyover the years. Ricky said without him, he’d know nothing. And all others for their help and sacrifice... Keysha, Ian, Jr, Smitty, Kawika, and James!

That’s Ricky Fujitake, Racer of the Week. Ricky, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future.

The band is doing great. I’m using the time we have off to do a re-fi on our house, consolidate some bills and live better in the long run. I did make the mistake of going online and clicking on a life insurance rates thingy. Then the phone wouldn’t stop ringing for 2 hours. The first guy that called told me everything I needed to know. The next 8 guys that called were just repeating the exercize. But it’s on me for asking!

Anyway, the band is getting ready to make another CD. This will make 3 CDs I’ll have recorded with them. The hits just keep on comin’! We have musicians in the band now who are above and beyond anything I’ve seen in the last 10 years that I’ve been with Pee Wee Bowen. This one will be special.

We’re rock-solid. Our drummer uses a portable electronic kit that sounds fuller and better than any miked-up drum kit I ever heard. I don’t know if he’ll use this system for the CD, but if he does, I guarantee that booties will shake when they hear it. I also have a new Roland keyboard, but the studio requires us to use their stuff, so I’ll be playing organ parts on a Hammond B-3 and piano parts on a Steinway Concert Grand. Our guitar player built his own instrument and he is without question the best lead guitar player I ever played with. Our bass player is getting a new system as I speak, and he uses a top-of-the-line 5-string Fender Jazz bass. The sax man is world-class, and he plays uptown gigs with the area’s top musicians every night. Pee Wee hasn’t lost any of his range or power, and for being 72 years old, he sounds like a guy in his 20s.

We don’t have a title for the album yet but it will be easy to come up with. We’re a live act, and having a CD is always good to show. We sell a lot of ‘em at gigs. The last one had more horns and although I rate it well, I didn’t feel like it was a true reflection of what we really can do.

It’s strange that today I had a song stuck in my head that wouldn’t go away. It was an obscure chart record from 1967 called “My World Fell Down” by the band Sagittarius. It wasn’t really a band; it was made with studio musicians and the producers Gary Usher and Terry Melcher, who were both associates of and heavily influenced by Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. To my amazement, when I looked it up on Wikipedia and listened to it on YouTube, I found that it was Glenn Campbell singing the lead vocal on that song. It is probably the most atmospheric and ambient 60s Flower Power record I ever heard. What I also forgot about it is that it has a section in the middle of the song that is pure musique concrete. It makes “Revolution #9” sound like easy listening music. The band made 2 albums but didn’t tour to support their records, because technically there wasn’t actually a band.

For some reason the song popped into my head while I was at the Social Security office this morning. Speaking of which, there were hundreds of people there. I don’t know how this happened, but I walked in, got a ticket, got called up, talked to the representative, got my stuff and split inside of 15 minutes. Most of the folks there looked to me like they were camping out in the waiting room, but I had my stuff together and they took care of me within minutes. I’ve never spent more than a few minutes either on the phone or in person with Social Security. Life is good.

I recommend CopyMax for printing. I’ve tried ‘em all and I gotta say, they have not only the best prices, but you get waited on right away and the quality is absolutely superb. I’ve stormed out of some of the other copying and printing franchises after having bad experiences with the equipment and staff, but at CopyMax, you get the red carpet treatment, they take pride in everything they do, and they strive to be the best at what they do. They’re probably the least well-known of any of the printing companies…they’re a little side shop to OfficeMax, but in my book they’re the best on the planet.

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 Gary Riley, from Hitchcock, Texas. I met Gary at a Car Show in early 2014, and he had his nostalgia fuel altered on display there. He did a cackle with it for me and I decided to make Gary a Racer of the Week a year ago with that car. He told me at that time that his plans were to switch over to a dragster, and sure enough, he did just that.

So with another race car and a whole new set of information, I’m featuring the return of Gary Riley to our show. Gary sent me an excellent message about the car, and I’ll read it to you word-for-word from his text:

Gary said: I had given a lot of thought into building a dragster but found this ex junior fuel car in very good condition with a fresh engine and transmission in California. The previous owner had been somewhat victimized by the newer LS type engines and only raced in Super Pro, which is difficult to be competitive without the electronics. So I took a flight just after Christmas to view and negotiate price and now the Jr. Fuel Dragster is in my shop. Here is some technical information:

It’s a 1996 S&W 180” Front Engine Dragster

It has a 406 cubic inch, Little M iron block Chevy with iron Pro Action heads and 2.08 titanium valves.

It has been Dyno’d 697 hp at 618 ft lbs/torque

Internally, it has a Mechanical roller camshaft with .707 /.651 lift

Valve springs by Comp Cams

T&D roller rocker arms

A Forged Cola Crankshaft

A set of 6” Comstar (Callies) connecting rods

Spark comes from a Vertex magneto with an external coil

The engine runs Hilborn fuel injection that was installed and tuned by Gene Adams who is legendary in his drag racing accomplishments. Should note here that Gene Adams detailed his expectations of this car’s performance and we haven’t got near those numbers yet but we are going in the right direction!

The car runs on a Powerglide transmission in a Dedenbear case with trans brake.

It has a Coan 5500 stall torque converter

The rear end is a Strange Engineering 9” Ford style aluminum center section.

Methanol is the fuel.

To define my role as owner/driver is as follows: John, I’m 71 years old and realize that I won’t be competitive driving this dragster in a junior fuel or super pro class or any other class to be honest. However, I enjoy launching with the front wheels in the air in a low 8 second, 160+ mph pass and expect to be in the high 7’s the next time out.

Thanks for the air time.

That’s Gary Riley, out there having fun in a nostalgia junior fuel dragster, returning as Racer of the Week with this great new ride. We wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future, Gary.

Now, I don’t know if he works on that kind of setup, but do y’all think Gene Adams is going to get involved with the transition in Pro Stock to electronic fuel injection? Or does Gene just build old-school injected engines? If he does go the electronic route, I would expect that he’d make a whole new fortune.

I didn’t know a lot about Cilla Black, except that she was Cilla White, a friend of the Beatles, who renamed her when they championed her to Brian Epstein after their days as the house band at the Cavern Club in Liverpool and went on to conquer the world, and she had a great recording career in England with several hits and best-selling albums before she went into television. I didn’t know she was a British media icon and an OBE; heck, I didn’t even know how the song went that the Beatles gave her to make her first record with…it’s called “It’s For You”. I listened to it today and I have to admit, I didn’t find any of the Lennon and McCartney hooks that were so prominent in their band material. It’s a minor-key song and it has a jazzy sound that would remind me of a Phil Spector-produced wall of sound kind of extravaganza.

I think all this shows me not to be as well-informed about the British Invasion as I thought I was, but I did know all about Sandi Shaw, Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark, who was my favorite of all of them, as well as Lulu, Marianne Faithfull, Honey Lantree and a few others from that time. But Cilla Black completely escaped my eye for all these years until I learned that she passed away last week. Then I found out that she was a national treasure and an object of adoration and love in Great Britain. Cilla, Mea Culpa for not ever knowing anything about you. You were famous, you were great, you were loved, and now may you rest in peace.

I am in the process of putting together an album of all the Racin’ and Rockin’ graphics I’ve done since I joined the show full-time back in 2010. The Racer of the Week graphics are in a separate file and won’t be included in that album. These are the main guest graphics, and although I keep thinking I’m missing something, the first one I could find was the Gordon Collett/ Mike Kloeber show. We did a 2-hour show back then. I also found the Roy Hill graphic, and the Hall Brothers. I just thought it would be cool to make an album out of all of them. The show had been going on for close to a couple of years before we switched over to Monday nights from Friday nights, and 9 times out of 10 I was not able to be here because I was out playing gigs with the band on those nights. But now I have hundreds of graphics saved that have evolved over time into formats that fit in an online window.

Today I sent out a graphic to a lady who I have picked for Racer of the Week for February 22nd, 2016. The Racin’ and Rockin’ show graphics are all done within a day or so of the schedule coming out, so none of it has been a problem. It’s the most fun thing I do in my life and I enjoy every minute of it. What I’m proud of the most with the graphics is what people don’t see in them. A lot of them are made from photos that don’t have either the whole car in it or the whole person, and I Photoshopped them to make them complete. It’s been good practice and I learned the program and how to maximize its potential from doing Racin’ and Rockin’ and Pee Wee Bowen Band graphics. I’d like to think I would be of some use with this skill to a graphics company, but graphics companies require fluidity with publishing and animated programs, which I have never learned and honestly am not interested in.

Like with the music industry nowadays, there are million-selling songs that have no musicians playing on them, not even an actual singer that’s hitting the notes. In the visual media that’s done in print and online, almost all of the graphics are done by people who can’t draw and are using pre-fabricated props and special effects to produce ads, posters and flyers. I have seen some that blew my mind; there are some specialized agencies that feature outstanding artwork, but they’re way off the grid and about as accessible as the Dead Sea Scrolls. So…that’s where I fit in. I’ve just never been able to compromise creativity with commercialism. I’d rather be doing something I enjoy than to be forced to do something that I don’t want to do. I wouldn’t trade this gig for anything.

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 Don Cabor from Davenport, Iowa. Don was referred to me by Ingrid Love. Thanks, Ingrid! Don is a very diversified and talented guy. In addition to driving Drag Race cars, he is also a licensed pilot and he told me he flies as a hobby. Don sent me some great info about himself and his cars, and I’m going to read it to you word-for-word.

Don said “I'm not much with words especially about myself... But I was raised in a small town in Illinois called Rapids City.. It's just south of Cordova, Illinois where one of the best drag strips in the country sits... I am a first generation Drag Racer.. Still to this day no one else in my family races... But the little town I grew up in had plenty of racers with badass cars… I was 10 years old in 1977, which was the first time I went to a drag race. It was passenger day and I went with my friend and his dad. He had a cherry 1969 z28 Camaro. I'll never forget my first ride. I've been hooked ever since. Even though I haven't been able to consistently race all my life I have always done what I can to be involved in racing. When I couldn't afford to race or didn't have a car to race I would do what I could to work or volunteer at my local track.

My current car is a 1965 Chevelle and runs in top eliminator. It is an art Morrison tube chassis car which was built on the East Coast. It has a 540cubic-inch Merlin block. 13:1 Mahle pistons, scat crank and rods, Dart Pro1 335 heads that have been ported and polished with a Dart intake and a custom Pro Systems 1200 cfm carb.. Before the heads were done the engine dynoed at 826 hp and 767 ft/lbs of torque so it should be just a little more than that now. It has a Powerglide transmission and a custom Neal Chance converter. Mark Brand of Brand Race Cars fabricated a 9-inch rear end for me. It has Strange 4.57 pro gears.. The car weighs 2875 pounds with me in it and runs 8.91 at 150mph. It is Deadly consistent.

Currently I have teamed up with Chris Murphy and Pure Madness racing. He owns Don Gerardot’s 1978 Corvette Nostalgia Funny Car and I am the driver of that car. The Corvette has a 500 cubic-inch alcohol injected Chevy big block and a turbo 400 trans. We should be testing in the next couple of weeks and ready to run the Midwest Nostalgia Funny Car Circuit next season. We are sponsored by Howard's Cams and Competition Products.

I would love to give some shout outs to a few people: Mark Brand with Brand Race Cars in Colona Illinois, Anthony Layne with Layne Automotive in Fulton Illinois, Willy Devore at American Speed in Moline Illinois , Neal Chance Converters and Pro Systems Carbs, and Joel Papineau of Guru's Rods and Restos. Those guys all had a hand in setting me up with such a badass race car.”

I look forward to seeing the results of the Funny Car when y’all get it on the track, Don. It is without question one of the finest I’ve ever seen, and I have no doubt you guys will rock with it. That’s Don Cabor, Racer of the Week. We wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future, Don.

I have a couple of open slots for Racer of the Week in January and February of 2016, and I have one scheduled for March, but it’s booked solid up until then. It’s been amazing to meet and get to know these great Drag Racers all over the world. If you have somebody you’d like to recommend, let me know. Either message me on Facebook or here on my Drag Racers Reunion page. My email is on every graphic I make for Racin’ and Rockin’, so y’all don’t need to be reminded of that.

There are some racers in Sweden I’m going to talk to, but I’ll have to use Google Translate. Sometimes the language barrier is bigger than my intentions, but those guys are serious drag racers. There are a couple of countries in the Far East that I’ve done some research on other than the ones I’ve featured like Australia and New Zealand, who have some of the most passionate and dedicated drag racers anywhere, but I have to say that drag racing in these other countries is still in its primitive stages.

Not to say they don’t have race cars, but I’ve watched videos of their events and they don’t have drag strips. Drag Racing meets are conducted on the straightaways of big oval tracks. They don’t have what I consider to be adequate safety equipment or trained personnel to deal with the flow of the race, and they are not using state-of-the-art timing equipment. I haven’t attempted to reach out to the drag racing communities in those countries. It’s not prejudice on my part. It is an adherence to the principles upon which the sport was built, as well as the criteria that I established for Racer of the Week, and when I see that they build a drag strip and run cars that are drag racing purpose-built machines other than the ones that are built over here and shipped over there or the ones they drive on the street, I’ll be happy to reach out to them. But for now at least, I’m dancing with who brung me, and it’s been great. Thanks to all our Racers.

I’ve recently been putting a band history album together, with pictures of the different bands I played in over the years. Something like 30 bands, and I played a lot of instruments in those groups. A lot of memories came out of that album. What it mainly did was it made me realize how much I miss playing bass. For a good 10 of the 45 years I have been doing this, I think I had the most fun playing bass. A plus for me that kept the phone ringing for gigs is that I’m a singing bass player. I have seen over the years the value of being able to sing and play bass at the same time. It came natural to me, but I know a lot of musicians who have told me it’s impossible for them to do, and they asked me how I did it.

I really can’t say, but from my influences I learned a lot. Of course, Paul McCartney, Jack Bruce, Brian Wilson, Sting and Peter Cetera were right up front as successful singing bass players. Once you get past them, you find guys like Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy, Geddy Lee with Rush, Don Was, Rick James, Bootsy Collins and Larry Graham. Lemmy with Motorhead is a unique talent. Great bass player and a howling vocalist to boot. Dusty Hill with ZZ Top is a very respected vocalist as well as arguably the best Blues and Boogie bass player on the planet.

As pure musicians without the voices, my main influences on bass are Tommy Shannon from Double Trouble and Johnny Winter’s band before that, and Keith Ferguson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds (rest in peace). Roger Glover from Deep Purple has always been one of my favorite bass players, as well as being one of my favorite people in the music business. He’s a special kind of man, and I look up to him in many ways. I have to acknowledge Roger Waters, but I can’t say I was ever much of a fan of either his vocals or his playing. It’s OK, though. He conquered the world with Pink Floyd and I don’t take anything away from the guy. He wrote The Wall.

Dan Hartman with Edgar Winter was a great singer and bass player (may he also rest in peace). Benjamin Orr with the Cars was an awesome bass player and singer, and he’s no longer with us, either. Kasim Sultan with Todd Rundgren’s Utopia is not only a gifted musician but also an outstanding singer. You had to be good to be in Todd’s band, that’s for sure. Greg Lake and John Wetton both played and sang in King Crimson, and they both have mastered playing and singing. George Young from Australia’s Easybeats was the vocalist for Flash and the Pan in the 80s. He talked. He didn’t really sing. It was fascinating.

Anyway, I got to where I could sing lead vocals and play bass for the song at the same time, and it kept me out there for 10 years. If the Citykings hadn’t found Randolph Arrington in 1995, I would have kept playing bass for the band, but once Randolph joined, and shortly thereafter, Bill Gibson, I was content to play guitar again. It’s just that guitar players outnumber bass players by around a thousand-to-one, and if you’re any good at all on bass, you’ll work. I hope one day that I will be able to play some bass gigs. There’s nothing I like better than to lay down a solid bottom-end to a good rock n’ roll or blues song. And if I get to sing it, too, that’s an extra added bonus.

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]

My pick for Racer of the Week is Rex and Monique Duckett of PitRat Racing, from Otaki, New Zealand. Monique is a director on the board of the New Zealand Drag Racing Association. She and Rex and their crew, which consists of Rex, Monique, Antony Duckett, Max Bevan and Toni Sims, have a runner-up finish in the 2015 NZDRA points and a runner-up finish at the New Zealand Nationals, as well as being awarded best crew for 2015.

Monique said she and Rex own the car; he is the driver but she is the boss…

She is very busy at the moment with their season finishing and licences due to be renewed. They are also coming over to the states to the US Nationals in a few weeks which they are really looking forward to. Heck, that’s more than I can say and I live here! Damn! Have fun!
The car is an ’88 Top Street Corvette - She is powered by a 632 ci Steve Schmidt engine - naturally aspirated, with two 1250 Quickfuel Carbs. The trans is a powerglide, the differential is a ford 9".

Rex and Monique have been racing for 16 years and have enjoyed much success over the years coming through from the Super Sedan class. Monique is the first woman to be named as a director of the NZDRA which she is very proud of. Rex is a Risk Adviser in his non-racing life. They enjoy making racing a family affair with their children having helped crew on the team with their son Antony stepping up to take on the role of Crew Chief.

The season ended very well for PitRat Racing. They have only had the new combo for two seasons and feel they have a pretty good set up now. The new front was made for them by a friend at the beginning of this season. I thought it was one of the coolest aero configurations I’ve ever seen on a hot rod hood.

Monique said she wishes they lived closer to the U.S,. then the cost of freight would be so much cheaper. They usually buy their tyres and stuff from Jegs or Summit and the shipping costs about the same as the tyre to get it to New Zealand, but they always do get it within 5 days. However there is only one distributor in New Zealand for Goodyear so it's easier and cheaper for them to get them direct as he doesn't carry stock and just orders them.

It’s not a cheap sport where ever you live, but it’s their passion. Monique said it’s great to be with NZDRA as she gets to give back to the sport, and she does her best to do just that.

The NZDRA has two permanent facilities. Three that are the back straight of a circuit track and three that are on an aerodrome strips. They have two nitro dragsters: Marsh motorsports did the 300mph run and they have also have Fish Family Racing. They generate a lot of excitement every time they race. Monique said that she and Rex have been over to the U.S. to watch some NHRA races and they watch them on TV every weekend.

So, the season has come to a close. The team of PitRat Racing are very happy with their season of racing. They ran their Personal Best this year of a 7.96 ET @ 174.66 mph.

PitRat Racing would like to congratulate ther friends, Gavin and Jenelle Green and their team on an awesome season and for taking No.1 and becoming the New Zealand National Champion in Top Street. Well Done guys.
She sends a great big thank you to their sponsors Total Oil and HMC Kapiti for their support. A big thanks also goes to their competitors and also to you guys for supporting us here on Racin’ and Rockin’ on their page and at the track.
Last but not least a big thank you to the PitRat crew. Monique said without you we couldn't do what we do. We appreciate you!

Now it’s time to back off the springs and take out the rod and rockers in the engine and work on the list of "things to do before next season"
That’s PitRat Racing, from Otaki, New Zealand. We wish y’all good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future, Rex and Monique. I don’t have to say enjoy the US Nationals…I’m sure it will be unforgettable.

Some of my musician friends have called me lately and what they are saying is not good. Gigs are drying up all over town. Crowds are down, clubs are cutting back on booking bands, and new prospects are all but non-existent. I don’t have much to offer them other than the kind words I can think of, which is to let them know it’s not because they aren’t any good, it’s because the entertainment dollar is shrinking and club owners and managers feel the heat the most. I hate to see it. Some of the finest people and musicians I know aren’t able to work right now. Not so with the band I’m in. We’re playing 2 and 3 nights a week for top-dollar to standing-room-only crowds that scream for more. It’s a blessing, but it’s also fleeting.

There’s no telling what will happen down the line, but for now, we’re booked solid all the way through next year and we’re having to turn down gigs that get offered to us because we’re already booked by the time they call. It feels good to be in this position, it’s something I never imagined I’d be doing 20 years ago. Most of what I know, I wrote, and here I am kicking out Mustang Sally and getting praised for it. But it’s all about what people want, isn’t it? We make money for the clubs we play at, and that’s why we get called back. The band has a reputation as being one of the best in this region, and we never fail to get over when we play. That’s because Pee Wee is all about connecting with the audience on top of his incredible talent as a vocalist. Stage presence matters. It matters Big-Time. I intend to keep a positive image on stage and go out and meet folks in the crowd when we’re on break. So far it’s added to the band’s popularity, and I will keep doing my part.

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]

My pick for Racer of the Week is Lee Cohen from Frinton-On-Sea, Tendring, Essex, England. Lee’s ’55 Ford Zephyr Mark I Pro ET Racer is one of the most beautiful and rare hot rods I’ve ever seen, and it has been a pleasure to get to know Lee and to learn his story and the story of this car. I consider it to be one of the best examples of UK hot rodding. There are classic body styles for drag racing: Fiats, Anglias, Bantams, Henry J’s, even Volkswagens, but a Zephyr is not only one-of-a-kind, it’s the kind of car you just can’t take your eyes off of. This is a truly great car, and here’s Lee “Wiffy” Cohen’s story as he told it to me.

Lee Cohen became interested in drag racing through his father John who drove custom Anglias. Lee’s first car, at the age of fifteen, was a 105E Anglia. At the age of eighteen he bought a sit-up-and-beg 103E Ford Pop in bits, built up and drove it on the street. Always having a soft spot for Anglias, Lee went back to another Anglia with a two-litre overhead cam motor which rendered it very rapid. After a while, being sensible with normal cars, he decided to visit Chris Isaacs Race Cars to put together a spec for a Pro Street 103 E Pop, which was his dream car. Chris was commissioned to build the car which Lee drove on the street for three years. He then joined the Outlaw Anglias at the 2006 Halloween Bonfire Burn-up at Shakespeare County raceway and the Pop never went back on the road.

In 2007 Lee contested three meetings at Santa Pod Raceway and then imported a 1350 hp blown-alcohol 383 small block, purchased a Powerglide transmission and packed them off to Chris Isaacs together with the Pop to have the upgrades applied. Lee’s first test with the upgraded car was the 2008 Easter Thunderball (aka Snowball) at Santa Pod, after which he got out of the car with a big smile on his face, never having experienced anything like it in his life. After a crash at Santa Pod in 2009, Lee rebuilt the Pop and then sold it. Shortly afterwards, Ray White’s Zephyr Pro Mod came up for sale and after long discussions with Ray, Lee acquired the car. It is now a Super Pro ET hot rod.

Lee’s nickname “Wiffy” stems from a friend’s party on the Queen’s Jubilee Weekend. Lee said the guy across the road is a bit of a pisshead. He got quite drunk over that weekend and he started to call me Wiffy and it stuck. So it’s all down to a drunk!

In March 2014, about a month before the car’s first planned outing, Eurodragster.com caught up with Lee and Dad John at Ray White and Danny Cockerill’s new business, the Hot Rod House. The resulting article is an excellent in-depth technical analysis of the car as it is now. Go to eurodragster.com.news/features/lee_cohen for the whole story.

The Zephyr was at the Hot Rod House for a check over. Specific tasks were the sleeving of bolts passing through rails through which oil flows, and the completion of wiring by Ray.

The Zephyr now sports 547 cubic inches of Big Block Chevy topped by a 14-71 Hi-Helix Mooneyham blower with the injector hat from Mick Kagered’s first Top Fuel Dragster. The Dart M Big Block houses new Diamond custom pistons with new Venolia aluminum connecting rods, Crower crank and new custom-ground Comp Cam. The intake manifold is by Indy and heads are BB2 Big Valve by Brodix, fed by a brand new fuel system and given a spark by a Super Mag 4 upgraded to 6.8 amps. At the bottom end are a custom billet CVR oil pump and Milodon full-length oil pan. The zoomie headers were fabricated y Lee. The transmission remains from the car’s days as a Pro Mod. An eleven-inch double-plate AFT clutch is enveloped by a Browell 8 5/8 clutch can and backed by a three-speed Lenco with air shifters.

Lee said the car’s stunning paint design is by Darren West of Power Race Graphics. Custom Car Magazine held a contest with the prize of a 6,000 pound paintjob for the best design. Darren provided me with a rendering which I entered into the contest, and his rendering won it for me.”
Lee is seeking sponsorship at this time, and my opinion is that a car this cool would be a great investment for potential backers looking to get some exposure for their product. I could easily see a pair of Mooneyes on the side of that car, or Mr. Horsepower, the cigar-chomping Woodpecker of Clay Smith Cams lore for whoever has the rights to that graphic. A Pennzoil logo would look terrific on the doors. So would a Hoozier Tires logo. A lot of sponsorships happen by the racer being in the right place at the right time with the right package, but with this car being as unique as it is, I think I would look for a vintage market with the emphasis on high performance. It’s a custom-built drag racing hot rod. There are many, but this one stands out, and I told Lee it would steal the show if he could get it over here to run at Bakersfield or Bowling Green, but those trips cost a lot of money even for a guy who lives here in the States, and in order for the Lethal Zephyr to make an appearance, he’s gonna need a logo on those doors. So I’d say to anyone who’s looking to sponsor an awesome custom vintage hot rod, here’s your guy.

That’s Lee Cohen and the Lethal Zephyr, Racer of the Week. We wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future, Lee.

I’d like to give a special shout out to our former Racer of the Week Randi Lyn Shipp from Floyds Knobs, Indiana. Randi won Stock Eliminator yesterday at Brainerd! That’s her third Wally in Stock! Great going, Randi!

I was on break at a gig Saturday night when a lady showed me a picture on the screen of her iPhone. It said “Willie Nelson 1933-2015”. For about 10 minutes, the whole place was abuzz with the news that Willie had died. It was an air of sadness and folks were talking about all the great things Willie had done. It is amazing at how much he has accomplished, both good and not specifically too good. He’s a musician, songwriter, singer, producer, actor, activist, media icon and sometimes, Outlaw. All of those features were brought up. Anyway, it turned out to be a hoax, thank God. Now, I don’t know how it is everywhere else, but Willie Nelson is the King of Texas, and he’s a venerable institution in the music business here. Not just for his music, but for his personality, his charisma and the things that he stands for.

We do a couple of his songs: “Funny How Time Slips Away” and once in a Blue Moon, “Blue Eyes Cryin’ In The Rain”, when it’s requested. He isn’t just a Country music songwriter, either. His compositions cover the entire spectrum of modern music, but the Outlaw Country image is probably the one that stuck with him more than anything else has. He’s 82 years old now, and he hasn’t slowed down one bit. He’s one of the finest musicians you’d ever want to see. A guy made a post about the show he played Saturday night and he said Willie was absolutely in top form with his performance, so we were all very relieved to know that. It would have sucked to have to play the rest of that gig with the whole place grieving over Willie, not to mention our own thoughts as we played on.

I was reminded of the “Paul Is Dead” farce from the 60s. The Abbey Road cover, symbolizing the preacher, the undertaker, the grave digger and the corpse, the subtle visuals that showed up on the Sgt. Pepper album cover such as Paul wearing the British equivalent of a Purple Heart medal, in “I Am The Walrus”, the gibberish at the end taken from the script of the Shakespeare tragedy “King Lear”, the “I buried Paul” misquote, and so on. The Beatles had fun with it. That was before the internet and instant worldwide information overload, so those references got around by way of print and radio stuff back then. It was almost believable, except that everybody knew it wasn’t real. But this deal with Willie was right up front, saying he died. I’m grateful that Willie is fine, and I wish him many continued years of his legendary life. Let the good times roll.

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]

My pick for Racer of the Week is Michael Freeman, from Clinton, Iowa. Michael was recommended to me by his lovely wife Janet Marie. Thanks, Janet! His race car is a gorgeous ’68 Barracuda and here’s his story:

Michael is first and foremost, a 36 year old married father. He’s been around drag racing since 1982. Mike’s father was a regular at Cordova , as well as his uncle Jeff Freeman, Sr. was and still is. Growing up around racing for many years has put the passion in him to get behind the wheel of a fast car and go down the track. When Michael was a kid he helped start a bicycle racing class that raced to the 330 ft mark at Cordova. It was a success for 2 years. As the years went by he dabbled a little in racing his street car in high school. As he grew older and started a family, Michael strayed away from the racing scene for a while. He returned to the track with his brother in law in 2008, racing his Suzuki Katana 750 motorcycle for one season. The bike was a rush on 2 wheels. He then moved out of state to Indiana for a few years. When Michael returned in 2012, He bothered his father who owned his Barracuda to race it or sell it to him. After a few months and dedication to finding a car to build, Mike’s father decided to sell the car to him. He started racing it immediately to join his family on the racetrack. He competed in 2012 at Cordova Dragway. In 2013 and 2014 Mike ran the points class at Tristate Raceway in Earlville, Iowa and finished 2nd place in points both years. Not bad for his first and second full years of racing.

Michael is on his 4th year on the track full time and 3rd full year. It has been a rocky year with problems with the car, having to rebuild the motor and having tranny repairs done 2 years in a row. But the bugs are fixed and the car is running consistent in the mid 12.20s and Mike is happy with the car and the setup. He says now it’s time to work on the driver!

The Car Specs are as follows: It’s a 1968 Plymouth Barracuda. It has a 340 Small block with Edelbrock aluminum heads, a Holley doublepump carb, MSD ignition, Comp Cams, Eagle H rods, an Eagle crankshaft, a Holley high-rise intake, Richmond 456 gears, a 727 transmission with transbrake reverse pattern, Racing bucket front seats, a full interior, an Autometer custom gauge cluster, a Hurst slap shifter, and it’s street legal.

The best pass ever on the car is 12.18 at 112 mph in 2014.

Michael finished 2nd place in sportsman class points at Trisate Raceway in 2013 and 2014. He won best car in the show award at a car show as well, recently.

Michael’s goals are to continue on the race track and he hopes to one day finish 1st place in points and be a track champion. This year was a possibility, but he moved up a class to pro ET and he’s still adjusting to the changes he made to the car.

Special thanks goes out to Michael’s dad, Dale Freeman for giving him the opportunity to own the car. He spent years and alot of money restoring and building it. Mike gives thanks to family in supporting his racing hobby. To his Wonderful wife Janet Freeman for putting up with him each race season. Special thanks to his kids for being his go-getters and lucky charms on race day. Also to Freeman Contracting, LLC and Gateway Towing LLC of Clinton, Iowa for sponsoring the car. An added special thanks to the Car Shop Inc. of Moline, Illinois, Mopar City of Oregon, IL, Mike’s aunt Nikki Freeman for sponsoring him with new slicks last year, his cousin Jeffrey Freeman and Uncle Jeff Freeman Sr., both former Racers of the Week, for always having an answer when he has a question and being there for the support on race days. Thanks to Jim Petersen of Petersen Transmission for building the transmission this year, to all the manufacturers for all the parts that are in the car, to all the crew and fellow racers at both Tristate Raceway and Cordova International Raceway for having great tracks to race on and giving the racers a friendly atmosphere, Layne Automotive in Fulton IL for machine work to the motor this year as well. And to Jason Seely for supplying him with the transbrake for the Barracuda. And lastly, Josh Moore for coming to the rescue last year when Mike had tow vehicle problems, loaning his truck to get his racing outfit home.

That’s Michael Freeman, Racer of the Week. Mike, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future.

Right now I have Racer of the Week booked through April, but I’m going to have to shuffle the lineup for a special feature on September 14th. Everything’s gonna get moved back one week because I’m sorry to say I found out that the Racer I’m putting in to feature doesn’t have long to live. It’s gonna be a special one. From learning about him and his situation, I can tell you this: the drag racers of the world are the biggest, most caring family I’ve ever been fortunate to be a part of. When times get tough, they’re always there for you and they’ll give you the shirt off their back.

This past weekend, I saw two very difficult situations that were fixed by the kindness and compassion of fellow racers with no strings attached, period. We look out for each other unconditionally. It’s a very deep connection that we all have, and it is pretty much singular in its overall focus. I haven’t seen people like that in any other sport. The guy just beat you and you’re putting your parts on his engine so he can keep going rounds and hopefully win the event. Then you give him your extra trailer hitch so he can tow home after the event since his got broken. It’s true, the motorsports community as a whole is closely-knit, but drag racers, although apparently somewhat lower in status if nowhere else but in the mainstream media, are all joined at the hip and connected by the heart. I couldn’t be happier to be a drag racer.

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! Everybody have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend, and enjoy the US Nationals. Thanks, I’ll see y’all in a couple of weeks.

[WildcatOne]

My pick for Racer of the Week is Joshua Lofquist from Davenport, Iowa. Josh’s ’91 Mustang Super Street car is a group project that is spearheaded by James Hughes and Nick Ziegler with invaluable help from Josh and Nick’s friends. Josh ran at the 62nd Annual World Series of Drag Racing at Cordova International Raceway on August 30th and 31st, and in doing so he fulfilled a lifelong dream of getting to race at the longest-running tradition in the history of our sport. The crew had the car ready to run and Josh got in 3 passes at the event. He ran straight and true.

Josh Lofquist is dealing with a rare form of cancer. There are only 16 known cases in the world, and Josh is number 16. He was diagnosed last October. The doctors couldn't give a time frame. This is his last wish.

Josh had reached out to some people to help him rebuild a car that he had been working on for a period of time. He had an old Mustang he wanted to restore and race, but the car needed a lot of work. Instead, James Hughes bought a ’91 Mustang that was in better shape. With the help of some of Josh's other friends they set up a gofundme site. They raised some money, not to mention people from the community and across the country that have donated parts to this project. If anybody wishes to donate, here is the URL: gofundme.com/af3kdkj4.

Dennis Begyn started a drag racing group called the 8.87 Outlaws, in honor of his Dad, Dennis senior, who ran an 8.87 ET at Cordova a split second before he crashed and lost his life at the age of 48 on May 24th, 2002 . Josh is the president of the club and their emblems are proudly displayed on Josh’s t-shirt and the Mustang. The club has grown to include a legion of Junior Dragsters as well as the cars that race under their banner.

Josh called Dennis the day he got his license plates. He was telling him how he is really tired and wore out. But then his plates come back with the 8.87 and he told him he knew that he had a copilot to help him make it down track. He had renewed power and energy to keep pushing thru. Dennis Sr was not going to let him quit now after all that he already has been through. Not only do the plates say 887, they said DNZ as well. If that’s not Dennis 887, we don’t know what is. It’s a great club, and everyone is proud to be a member. It’s been Josh’s flag ever since.

During the build of the car, the following folks have stepped up and contributed:
James Hughes donated the car and started the project.
Chris Berhenke was lead tech and hasn't stopped helping since.
Jeff Ziegler is the Paint and body man. He did all the touch ups and paint work.
Kristen Ziegler and Josh’s wife Hollie Lofquist did the interior detail.
Josh Wiley along with Jeff Ziegler did the outside detail work.
Those are the main people who worked on getting the Mustang ready to run.
In a little over a month, it was done bumper-to-bumper from being a rolling project.
Thanks to Thad Shumaker for pointing me in these people's directions when I was preparing this feature.
Thad also helped with the build.

Nick told me: “We have had major donations from Trickflow, nitrous express, Anderson Ford, Bauer bilt, Green Chevrolet, FTI converters, Hughes performance, team Z motorsports, Amsoil, Auto Meter, and a lot of parts and support from the members at corral.net.
Moser sent the axles.
SCT sent the chip to tune with.
Sadler PowerTrain is rebuilding the rear end using these parts.”

They took the car to the World Series, where Josh fulfilled his dream and made his passes in a true Super Street Hot Rod after not having drag raced in 15 years. The standing ovation he received when he made his passes were known as the high point of the entire event.

These people are the true Kings of our Sport. This is a project that goes beyond anything I’ve ever seen in drag racing. It’s not just the car; it’s the people. It’s the idea behind it. It’s the true meaning of our lives. I saw this and I knew it had to be here. It goes without saying but I’m saying it anyway, this is a testament to the greatness of Josh Lofquist and the influence and impression that he has made on all who know him and like me, all who don’t know him personally but have heard about this event. You all gave freely of yourselves, your time and your possessions so that Josh could make those passes. Thank you all and may God Bless you all.

That’s Josh Lofquist, Racer of the Week. Josh, we at Racin’ and Rockin’ wish you good luck, safe racing and God’s love and blessings in the future.

I’m sure y’all have heard the saying “What goes around, comes around”. I had that happen to me last week and I thought I’d talk a little about it tonight.

About 7 weeks ago, my son Nick found a dog on the side of the road with a broken leg. It’s an 8-month-old neutered female Shepherd mix with a microchip, her name is Rachel. Nick brought the dog home and I put the vet visit on my Care Credit account. It came to $440 for the examination, x-ray and the bandage. The surgery that the vet recommended would be $1500-$2000 and that was out of the question, but within a few weeks, the dog was fine. Running, jumping, playing, etc. Repeated calls to the owner were never returned.

It turned out that this is absolutely the worst dog I have ever seen. It has no training whatsoever and its sole purpose in life is to chew everything it can get its teeth into except metal and concrete. It ruined the patio before I took everything I could stack up on top of the big tool box I built out there and fenced it off so the dog couldn’t reach it. That’s making a very long and excruciating story as short as I can.

I’ve had dogs and they were fine, but this one, with its 3-second attention span and its bad habits and lack of intelligence or discipline, drove me up the wall. Nick started a GoFundMe page to raise money to have the surgery done, and he raised $600. Around this time, Debby’s sister Candy said she’d take the dog. She lives in Arkansas, and they’re going to meet Nick in Shreveport and pick the dog up there in a couple of weeks.

I told Nick that I wanted $440 of that GoFundMe money to cover what I spent on the dog’s vet visit and he said OK. Then I thought about it and I changed my mind. The other day, when we were all out on the patio, I told Nick, when you cash in that GoFundMe account, I want you to give all of that money to Candy. They all looked at me. I said I made that contribution and I’m not taking it back. Candy is taking the dog so she should have all the money. Nick said OK, he’d do that.

So anyway, I played a high-dollar gig Saturday night downtown. At the end of the night, Pee Wee pulled me aside. He paid me for the gig, which was triple-scale. That’s the money I’m taking to the DragList Nationals next weekend. Then he said look. I decided not to make a CD this year. We’re using subs every other gig and it’s been impossible to get us all together to practice for it. I’ve been putting money aside from every gig into a kitty to cover the studio time, so I divided it up and giving it to each of us. Here’s your share. $440.

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