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

Here's where we go to kick back after the races with our pals. Pour a tall one, punch a few buttons on the jukebox, and relax...
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WildcatOne
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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby WildcatOne » Mon May 04, 2015 9:08 pm

My pick for Racer of the Week is John Rodnite from Great River, New York. I found John from seeing his page listed as a friend of former Racer of the Week James Young. Thanks, James! You keep good company! When I got in touch with John, it turned out to be a most enjoyable meeting, and he’s very happy to be a Racer of the Week with Racin’ and Rockin’.

John is an on-site Steward in heavy construction and he doubles as a Teamsters rep. for Local 282. He was down at ground zero for over 10 years. 2 more years to go makes 30. Then John is going drag racing full-time.

John started going to New York National Speedway on Long Island back in 1977 with racing neighbors Sam Biondo, James Antonetti And the late Butch DeLorenzo at the age of 11. When he got his license, John’s dad gave him a 1971 Ford LTD that he entered in Street Eliminator. With that car, John went several rounds and won the final. He was hooked! John had a few cars since then that he had a lot of success with. His current ride is a 1991 Pontiac Formula Firebird GT/FA that has a 355 small block bracket motor in it right now. His best et with this car is a 10.43 @ 128 mph. John’s plans for next year is to drop in the 327 and run the Division I races and try to hit a couple of national events.
John will be racing the whole 2015 season at Numidia dragway . He plans to be going back to superstock in 2016 .

Adriane Dainese Casteluche is the backbone of John’s operation. She takes care of everything for John so he can just concentrate and drive .And she even tows the rig. She's a Teamster herself.

I wish John Rodnite and Adriane Dainese Casteluche good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future. Y’all have fun!

Congratulations to our former Racer of the Week, Jeanne Linke, who runner-upped last weekend at the Division I Open Series at Atco. Jeanne went 6 rounds and in the final, cut an .011 Reaction time and she ran an 11.65 on an 11.67 dial and broke out by 13 thousandths. Great driving, Jeanne! And how about another Racer of the Week, Bud McNasby! Bud won Stock/Super Stock in a borrowed car that he was testing and tuning for the Dutko Brothers. Great going, Bud!

Also, over the weekend one of our own favorite racers, former Racer of the Week and undoubtedly the most popular and dedicated drag racer in the Quad Cities area had a very close call. Erik Carlson made his first pass of the new season at Cordova, running a new set of zoomie headers and a new scoop on his “Plan A” ’53 Studebaker Top Sportsman hot rod.

It was a great pass, everything was cool, but when Erik crossed the finish line at 180 mph and popped the chutes, all hell broke loose. The car took off and went into a series of barrel rolls, hit the wall, and came to an upright stop downtrack in the shutdown area. The car was destroyed in the crash, and although Erik was badly shaken up, his safety equipment and chassis, which was built like a tank did its job and saved his life. He is sore but OK and thankful to be alive today.

Erik, we’re sorry to see such a fine hot rod that you and Bruce put so much work into get torn apart like that, but we thank the Lord that you are still with us and in one piece. Erik said they’ll be back soon and we’re looking forward to having you back. They’re sorting through the pieces to find parts that are salvageable but the most important part is the driver, and he’s going to be fine. I’m wearing my “Vulgar Display of Power” t-shirt that you sent me a couple of years ago for tonight’s show, Erik. God Bless.

With the passing last week of Ben E. King, a chapter was turned not only in the history of Rock n’ Roll, but in my life. Ben was more than just a singer I knew about, he was part of the background music of my life.

It’s not like Ben’s voice was an overpowering force like that of Elvis, Roy Orbison or Otis Redding. His voice was as plain as a guy talking to you. There were no superficial characteristics in his vocals that distinguished his voice from anybody else. But there was something inside it, something very deep and moving that awakened my soul to the love of just being alive.

He wrote his songs with the best musicians and songwriters in the world at that time, and the music going on around his voice added a special atmosphere to his message. His recordings with the Drifters when he was a member using his real name of Ben Nelson, yielded some beautiful songs: “There Goes My Baby”, “Save The Last Dance For Me”, and “This Magic Moment”, but in my opinion, it was the songs he recorded as a solo artist that changed my life. Particularly, “Stand By Me” and “Spanish Harlem”, two songs that he wrote with Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller with production and credit to Phil Spector, that stood out in those years that he had his biggest hits.

“Spanish Harlem” has been playing over and over in my head, and I’d like to find another song anywhere that can beat it in structure, melody, production and lyrical content. But it’s more than just a song…the thing about Ben E. King’s songs to me is that they weren’t just verse, chorus, verse, chorus, etc. They made a spiritual connection to me. They were like prayers. It wasn’t just his delivery or the notes he sang. Like witnessing a rainbow or viewing a Van Gogh painting in person, it’s not like I just heard it. I felt it. His voice was human; his was everybody’s voice, and his songs were connected to a free spirit that touched the essence of beauty in life.

Another Ben E. King isn’t going to show up, cover his action and go him one more. He was the only one we ever had. May you rest in peace, Ben. You were an inspiration and a model to me in my life. Your music will be an eternal source of joy and passion for me, and for all the world to have. We were fortunate to have you with us.

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

Postby Wheelzman » Wed May 06, 2015 9:55 am

John I was surfing and ran across this. Enjoy.

http://www.wimp.com/stand-by/

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

Postby WildcatOne » Thu May 07, 2015 2:32 pm

That was a beautiful tribute, Wheelz. Thanks.
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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby WildcatOne » Mon May 11, 2015 9:07 pm

With honor and respect to our host, Bill Pratt, I’d like to ask for a moment of silence in memory of BP’s great brother, Tim Pratt. Tim, we lost you way too soon. Your talents and skill, your kind spirit and loving personality will always be cherished. You were a fine gentleman and an outstanding brother to our friend Bill. You’re bringing a lot of talent to the barbershop quartet up in Heaven. I know y’all will be singing for us when we all see you next time.

My pick for Racer of the Week is James A. Thompson, Sr. from Davenport, Iowa. James’ son James, Jr. was featured as Racer of the Week back in March at James Sr.’s request, and while I was preparing his son’s graphic, James Sr.’s race car and street car caught my eye. I suggested we do a feature on him as well, and tonight’s his night. On Facebook, the graphic and the posts I made for James Sr. has reached the all-time Top 3 with right at 100 Likes, a dozen shares and upwards of 50 comments, all congratulating James for being featured tonight. He’s in rareified air with Bret Kepner and Don Speer and it ain’t over yet!

James drives a gorgeous hot green 1971 Dodge Demon. It runs 11.50s as of this update. His fastest pass has been an 11.44 at 114 mph. James has made it to the Division Nationals for the last 5 years. He had cancer in 2007 and had his prostate removed that year, then he had a massive heart attack the same day. When he woke up 2 days later he told his wife that he had to go back into drag racing. She said do what you want and I’ll support you. Even though James hasn’t won a race, he’s still there every week trying to. James is racing partners with Jim Peterson. He had to wear a defibrillator vest in 2008 so he couldn’t race. Jim blew 2 motors early that year in his car, so James gave his car to him to race. Jim won in it; he won the reaction challenge with it and ended up in 7th in points. James loves Drag Racing and all the family he’s gotten from being involved in it.

The motor is a standard-bore 360 with 12.5-1 pistons and a 620 lift cam, small valve heads with an 850 demon carburetor. It has a 904 transmission built by Jim Peterson and a 456 gear.

Justin and Mark Rosenbohm are called The Bomb Squad and there are 7 members of this team with James, Jr. that are called that including James, Sr. They are one of the best, most respected and esteemed teams in the Quad Cities area. They have shirts and hoodies with a bomb on the back of it because they blow away the competition and James 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 and they've been doing it ever since.

There are some tough s o b’s at Cordova. It is one big (James won’t say 100% happy) family up there…but even if you have to race them, in the next round they will come over to your pit and help you fix your car.

It is this family spirit of the Quad Cities Drag Racers that has been so good to learn about in the years that I’ve been featuring their racers, and James A. Thompson, Sr. is the perfect example of a man who has overcome life’s hardships and trials and come out as one of the most popular and respected gentlemen in this fine group of Drag Racers. James, we wish you good luck, good health, safe racing and the best of times in the future.

I was reminded today of something I did 23 years ago that I didn’t remember doing. My friend Colin Kennedy and I communicated by mail back then, as the internet hadn’t quite caught on all over the world yet. In one letter, Colin mentioned to me that he had met an old Blues Man who brought his boom box in to be repaired at Sony when Colin worked there in Burbank as a repair tech. He said the guy’s name was Willie Dixon. He told me that maybe I could shed some light on this guy. He thought he had done something.

I sent a letter back to Colin and I told him Dude, when you shook hands with Willie Dixon, you shook hands with The Doors, Little Feat, Led Zeppelin, Cream, the James Gang, the Rolling Stones, and dozens of other bands who got famous covering the songs he wrote. He is perhaps the greatest American songwriter who ever lived. For me to shed light on Willie Dixon would be like trying to light up the San Jacinto Monument with a flashlight. When you shook hands with Willie Dixon, you shook hands with THE BLUES.

Colin sent back a letter. He said “I don’t know what the Blues is, man. I know classical, rock n’ roll, pop music, some jazz, stuff that I wrote, you know, soundtracks and orchestral arrangements. Can you tell me about the Blues?”

Well, I went to my album collection and I recorded 13 90-minute cassettes of the best of my Blues material. The total running time was 19 hours and 55 minutes. It has 363 songs in it. I labeled each cassette with the running order and song titles, and I sent the whole package to Colin and titled it “13 Steps To The Blues”. It covered all the good stuff from the early 1930s up till that present time. I also sent the Willie Dixon Boxed Set to Colin, and when Willie came in to pick up his boombox which Colin had fixed for him, he autographed the boxed set. Willie Dixon died about a year later. Rest in peace.

Today Colin acknowledged that this had all taken place by tagging me on Facebook with the story. Like I said, I don’t remember doing it, but one of my best friends now has a full comprehensive history of the Blues, and he just finished converting all of those cassettes to mp3s that he now has stored in his iPod.

It’s nice when somebody remembers something like that and gives you a thank you note for it. Colin is good people. I recorded a couple of albums’ worth of my material at his studio 30 years ago and he meticulously mixed, mastered and produced my sessions. He also took everything I did in the late 80s at David Weiss’ studio and mastered all of it to digital.

For the most part, I’m fully caught up on having my music digitally done. It’s time to start another project, and I have the stuff to do it with, just have to figure out how it all hooks up and so forth and I’ll be back on the recording deal again, hopefully soon. I have a couple more albums to do, and I just need to get focused on it, ya know. It’s easy to get distracted with so many opportunities and so many commitments, but I think if I could put aside a couple of hours every night, I’d get something done.

I’m getting a new keyboard Wednesday. I found a good deal on a Roland VR-09 v-combo organ. It’s a top-of-the-line, state-of-the-art modern professional keyboard, and it’s expensive. This goes back to some advice Colin gave me a long time ago when I was looking at buying some new equipment: if it’s expensive, it’s good. And he was right about that. What goes around, comes around, and it comes back in spades, folks. I suggest we all keep that in mind in our life’s activities.

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

Postby WildcatOne » Mon May 18, 2015 9:16 pm

My pick for Racer of the Week is Matt Driskell, from Wellsville, Kansas. I was looking through the 2014 Division 5 Champs and I found Matt as the Top Dragster guy. His dragster is absolutely immaculate from stem to stern and it is the front runner in his Division, plus I found from researching him and his career that he’s been doing this for a long time and he’s one of the very best in Sportsman Drag Racing.

Matt Driskell has been racing and building engines for over twenty years, and he’s achieved incredible success in both endeavors. As a multi-time NHRA Division 5 Champion, Matt reached the pinnacle of NHRA racing when he won the Super Comp World Championship in 1996. More recently, Matt was crowned the 2014 NHRA LODRS Division Five Top Dragster Champion. The countless number of runs down the racetrack helped Matt develop into one of the premier engine builders in all of motorsports. He now shares his 25+ years racing experience with all of his Driskell Enterprises customers. His dragster is a rolling billboard for his talents and skill as simply the best in the business. Here’s a guy who loves what he does, and he does what he loves. It just don’t get no better than that.

As a recognized expert engine builder, Matt designs, develops and delivers a complete package to maximize the performance, reliability and durability of the engine project. Driskell Enterprises has a sterling reputation as a custom engine builder. No cookie-cutter engines are there; every engine is designed and built to fit the customer’s exact application. From a basic small-block Chevy to an all-aluminum 632, Matt specializes in making maximum horsepower efficiently. I checked out Matt’s website, driskellent.com, and I can tell you this guy is the real deal and he delivers the goods, satisfaction guaranteed.

In addition to Matt’s complete in-house machine shop and dyno services, Driskell Enterprises sells most of the parts you’ll need at competitive prices.
His services include:
Custom Engine Building, Block boring and honing, Align hone mains & cam tunnel, Crankshaft Balancing, True Deck block, Installing cam bearings, Honing the pin end and the big end of rods, Competition valve jobs, Installing valve seats, Installing valve guides, Surfacing heads, Flycut pistons, Flow testing heads, Magnaflux rods and cranks, and Dyno testing.

Driskellent.com is a great site and offers many options to the customer’s race engine needs. It’s just about the Alice’s Restaurant of racing engine programs, so keep Matt Driskell and his great company in mind when you’re ready to kick it up a step, folks. Matt, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future.

I want to be sure to give a shout out to our former Racer of the Week Don Speer of Chassis Concepts in Moline, Illinois. They resurfaced the track at Cordova last week, and Don went out there Saturday with his Top Dragster and ran a 6.63 at 203.68! That’s a career best speed for the Don. Congratulations, and a high-five to the good people at Cordova Motorsport Park! From what everybody said, the new track is fantastic!

I’m not going to ask for a moment of silence to honor BB King. He wouldn’t want us to do that. What he’d want for us is to let the good times roll, and that’s exactly what I intend to do. As for the future, I could say it ain’t what it used to be, now that BB King is leading Heaven’s Band and he ain’t playing here now more. He’s been here all our lives, playing his amazing music, influencing our minds, travelling all over the world, you know, being BB King. Our lives have been enriched by his very presence.

The thing about BB King to me was that he transcended his chosen field of artistic endeavor. If the term “larger than life” could be applied to anyone, it was him. His sound, his image and his personality reached every corner of the planet. I read his autobiography a few years ago, and I can tell you from his own writings, that he did it all and then some. He was a licensed pilot; he flew his plane all over the world, he received 3 doctorates in music, He owned a library of music, he won 16 Grammys, he recorded over 50 albums, and he played 300 dates a year for close to 70years. He made his mark in history. And nobody anywhere who knew him or met him had one single negative word to say about him. He was the ambassador of not just the blues, but of the goodness of the pure human spirit.

A friend asked me if I thought he would be buried with Lucille, his guitar. My reply to him was that I'd expect that he would. However...if not the actual one, which has his DNA, is worth millions now, and should be enshrined in the Smithsonian with the Hope Diamond and the Spirit of St. Louis, then I'd approve if a duplicate were to be entombed with him. There were several Lucilles, so a Gibson Lucille clone would most likely be suitable to go with BB, in my opinion. But let's keep Lucille herself on display for everyone to admire for all time. It has a special aura about it, and I don't think BB'd mind. It would be a fitting tribute to him and his legacy.

Y’now, it’s incredible that we have been able to see first-hand the great artistry of so many of the modern masters, up close and personal. 300 years from now, I don’t know if their music will have the same impact on that generation that it did on ours. We witnessed the entire career of Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Roy Orbison, Ben E. King, BB, Albert and Freddie King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, the list goes on and on, and they were right here with us. Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Lizst, Schubert, DeBussey, their music was documented on paper before we had sound recording. When I heard it played by symphony orchestras when I was a kid, my attention would drift. It ain’t the same, ya know. It was music that required discipline and extended periods of concentration to fully appreciate, but Blues, Rock ‘n Roll and Pop Music pretty much followed the saying: set your ass free and your mind will follow. That part of it still holds up.

It’s the rebelliousness, naughtiness and pure physical energy that gets vented through these forms of expression that has made it so successful. The latest stuff I hear isn’t what I’d call new classics, but I will say it is unbelievable what they can do with computers nowadays. Roll over, Beethoven. Dig these Rhythym & Blues!

My new keyboard arrived today. I went over and picked it up at Guitar Center a couple of hours ago. I sold my Stratocaster to a local guitar store and took the money to buy the keyboard with. I loved my Strat, it was a 1980 American model. I used it for more than 30 years, playing almost all of my gigs with it. I was talking to our drummer the other day. He asked me if it was difficult to part with my trusty guitar. I said no, it wasn’t. This is what I’m doing now, playing keyboards, and I wanted to get a good keyboard for these gigs, man. I did hit the high spots with the Strat, but looking back on it, I had it mainly as an onstage prop that I would use to assist me in copping a series of heroic poses with. I played it, yes. But it just looked cool, that’s all. So now I have a serious, professional keyboard that for what I paid for it, I could buy 4 of the keyboards that I’ve been using, and I expect to hear the difference right off the bat. To my friend Colin who told me to buy expensive instruments and equipment because if it’s expensive, it’s good: Colin, I got a good one. You’d be proud of me, brother.

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 June 15th.
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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby Wheelzman » Tue May 19, 2015 3:06 am

I always loved BB's style and how he could make that thing talk to you but the one song I loved the best was from the 1985 film 'Into The Night.' Maybe not as soulful as most of his music but it really had the sound. So long my friend.

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

Postby WildcatOne » Mon Jun 08, 2015 9:36 pm

Well said, Wheelz. Thanks. I have a double album of BB King's music before he hit the big-time and it is fabulous. My father-in-law spent 3 days listening to it when he was here. BB King was the greatest of all time, and we were lucky we had him when we did...

My pick for Racer of the Week is Earl Folse, from Raceland, Louisiana. I found Earl online from looking at Divisional Top Sportsman Racers and I was impressed not only with his many wins and high standing, but with the excellence of his race car and efforts in competing in one of the toughest and most competitive classes in Drag Racing. Turned out to be a stroke of good fortune for everybody. Earl is without question right at the top of his class in the South Central United States. Thanks to Earl’s wife Nicole for providing me with an outstanding story, and I might add that Earl won the IHRA Pro Am Divisional Race last weekend at State Capitol Raceway in Baton Rouge.

Earl told me he really needs to add a special Thanks to Mr. Billy, Ms. Hazel and Johnny Pilcher at Pilcher's Automotive in Enterprise, Alabama. They have really gone way out of their way to help Earl sort out car issues in order to make this past weekend possible. And Earl really wants to thank Racin’ and Rockin’ because knowing that we picked him really inspired and motivated him to get with the program, and all this resulted in a big Divisional Win!

Earl was born to Lydia and Leroy Folse on October 13, 1961 in Raceland, Louisiana where he currently resides He is the fourth child in a family of eight children. His grandfather was a mechanic, his father was a mechanic as is Earl and his other 3 brothers.
Earl is married to Nicole Folse and together they have five children: Sarah, John, Hobie, Jenna and Joshua. He started working with his dad at an early age at a local dealership until he was old enough to get a job there himself and then went on to become ASE Master Certified. He opened his own auto repair shop in 1986. In 2000, he sold his auto repair and opened Earl’s Transmission Service which he still owns and operates.

Earl’s Race Car is a 1968 Tommy Mauney (car originally built for Tommy’s own use in Pro Mod) Chevy Camaro.
ENGINE- 778ci Hemi motor with 3 Speedtech Nitrous systems. 2500hp.
TRANSMISSION- 4 speed Lenco transmission. 3 disc RAM clutch.
DIFFERENTIAL-4.0 Mark Williams floater differential
SPONSORS- Special thanks to Tammy & Dwayne McClanahan at Tamco Professional Coatings for their help. We are so grateful to have your help and to Randall Andras who now runs Top Fuel Harley for his long time support, although he is not our sponsor at this time, if not for his help through the years I wouldn’t have been able to race many events.

Earl told his own story to Nicole, who passed it along to me:
My racing started somewhere around 1980-1981 when I traded my pickup which was a 1975 GMC that my dad and I built from a wreck. This truck was my first vehicle and it got me through high school and to and from work in the dealership, where I worked with my dad. I worked there with my dad from a very young age during summers and when I wasn’t in school. Starting from about the 4th grade on, he couldn’t get rid of me. I was always fascinated by cars. When the opportunity came along, I traded that 1975 GMC for a 1978 Firebird Formula with a damaged engine. It had a clutch and a 4-speed transmission, something else that had also fascinated me. I always enjoyed the excitement of the clutch and the shifter as opposed to just nailing the throttle. I did a lot of street racing back then and soon I joined a car club. The club was named the Disciple Street Rods. That car club was the start of me racing at tracks. On our first trip to State Capital Raceway, which is in Baton Rouge, Louisiana about 2 hours away, I made it to the finals. I red lit but that was more than enough to get me hooked for good. I would drive my car daily, do some street racing and then go to State Capital Raceway on the weekends. I sold that car in the mid 80’s and ended up once again with an old truck worth about $300, a move I had to make to get my life started. I put that old truck in shape with just hard work, no money and then traded it for a 1968 Camaro with a 396 big block.

From then until now I continue to buy cars that people would try to race and lose interest in or are having issues with that they either can’t afford to fix or can’t figure out how to fix and turn around and fix them, bring them to the track and race them to prove that the car could win and then sell it. I have probably don’t this with more than 30 cars, each time I was moving up in the class I would run and the speeds at which I would run. I started out running 14.50 at @90mph and every second along the way, taking it slowly up until now running 6.20 @227mph and still with a clutch. I take pride in having gotten to this point with my abilities with both my racing and my work. All of my racing has paid for itself including the rigs and stacker trailers. I also learned how to buy and sell them too.

On the NHRA level, I had some success in the mid 80’s to early 90’s in Super Gas, traveling a little, but mainly 6-10 hour trips and high dollar bracket races. In the early 90’s, I had won enough to build a 1990 Camaro to run in Super Comp with. Had plenty of success from the very first weekend running that car. The very first weekend out with it I went to the finals at a Friday night race and semifinals the Saturday night at a different track. I finished #5 in 1993 in Super Comp. I won Bowling Green by qualifying #1 and being 1 of only 6 door cars at that event with over 100 dragsters. That was my first Wally. My 5th place finish was behind some pretty heavy hitters such as Tommy Phillips, Donna Hughes, and Edmund and Scotty Richardson. Points are figured by your finish in 5 of 8 races. I accomplished this finish with only 5 races because I couldn’t afford to go to the other 3. I still believe that not being able to attend those other 3 races cost me the Championship but I was Okay with that because along the way I beat Donna 3 times and Tommy once. That was enough for me.

Over time I sold that car and stepped up to and old Pro Stock car. It was once Don Beverly’s car. It was a 1986 Cutlass that was a Don Ness built car. I ran that car in Outlaw Pro Mods doing some heads up racing in Texas Quick 8. I finished #4 in 1998 and that was behind some of the fastest people in door cars today like Frankie Taylor and Gaylen Smith, both with blower cars and Grant Hensley with a nitrous car.

About that time (‘99-2000), I became interested in Top Sportsman. You had to be fast enough to qualify and also be able to bracket race. Play the finish line at 200+ mph. This really peaked my interest. Mainly because of the cost to heads-up race without a major sponsor. That’s when I had plenty success in what I wanted to accomplish. I was the 1st IHRA Division 4 Top Sportsman Champion and also finished #8 in the world that year.

In 2001 I was trying to repeat my accomplishments when things went bad. I was testing a dragster that I had put together for my wife and things went wrong in the launch resulting in me getting badly burned. My face and hands got the brunt of it. I was out of work for 3 months. Being self employed and having a wife and 5 children at home, that was a rough time. But it was also a very humbling time. The people you meet when you drag race or amazing people, they become family, and my drag racing family is surely one of the reasons my family and I made it through that time. People from across the country sent money and well wishes. The very next weekend there was a race that I had scheduled to attend but because this had happened, I wasn’t able to attend, my fellow racers stood behind a banner that they had made for me saying, “We Love You” with so many signatures of racers and their well wishes. It was amazing. The banner was later sent to me with a card telling me to hurry back (unreal emotions to say the least). I came back and was able to finish 2nd that year even though I had missed a lot of races.

I was the first to run over 200mph in Division 4 Top Sportsman in NHRA, IHRA and also Super Chevy. I also became the First Top Sportsman Winner at Super Chevy (2005) in the process.

At this point we went back to running more NHRA events. Finishing #2 in 2005 and winning Championships in 2006 (Div 4, Top Sportsman). My biggest win was in 2006 at an Atlanta National Event. It was an invitation only event. You had to be in the top 10 in your Division the previous year to be eligible for an invitation. It was 28 car field and I qualified #1 and won the race. I won right behind John Force. My check and trophy was presented to me by Ricky Smith, which meant a lot.

From then until now, I just did more local racing and a few national events. I got runner up in Baytown with ESPN coverage, did some Outlaw Pro-Mod racing with some success. Finished #4 in ADRL in 2012.

I have had my fair share of crashes, some worse than others, although the damage no matter how small was still devastating to me because as I mentioned earlier my entire racing operation is self funded. So any damages have to be paid by me and it always makes for a set back which is not very welcomed, but that’s drag racing.

As far as my crew… for a long while it was mainly my wife and I. When I got burned that kind of killed the racing idea for her. Not to mention we had 5 children at home that always had something going on. They’re all grown now, So now she would rather stay home and spend that time while I’m at the races with my daughter shopping and doing “girl” things. She also will take care of our business which makes leaving to go to a race easier knowing the doors are still open. I have had many people come help for a race or two and then they fade off, probably because I am kind of picky about the way my things are handled as anyone who might be paying for everything themselves might be. I have had a couple of guys that stuck with me for a few years at a time, but everyone has their own obligations and no one can totally devote themselves full time. It’s kind of hard to expect someone to leave their family and work behind every other weekend to help pursue a championship for someone else. For the past couple of years, my youngest son, Joshua has been my crew chief. He’s 19 years old and he is a hell of a crew chief. He was literally raised at the tracks so He has always had a very good understanding of racing and what it takes to get the job done. He could pull my clutch apart when he was 12 or 13 years old. Of course, I would check behind him but he could do it mainly on his own and he is also really good at helping dial the car in. Even though he was younger than most crew chiefs, the officials usually were impressed by how he could handle being on the line with me so there really wasn’t much issue given because of his age. People would constantly coming find us to tell us how impressed they were with Joshua and how he could line me up on the starting line and how they couldn’t believe that for being so young how well he handled everything. He’s a great crew chief but he can’t just pick up and go anytime he wants because he like everyone else has work and personal obligations. He also has a Thunderbird that he races from time to time. He’s very competitive with it when time allows.

In conclusion, I would like to thank my wife and children for always showing me so much support. I would also like to thank everyone that has always supported me in one way or another. I have a facebook page with nearly 1000 fans and they are always very supportive. It means a lot to read the well wishes from fans when I get back from the races showing so much love and support. No matter how I end up doing at a race they always have the kindest things to say. I had no idea for a long time that I had such a large following. I also have met and became close friends with some pretty awesome people through racing and for that I am very grateful. People that I consider family. And thank you for picking me to be your Racer of the Week. I appreciate this experience.

Also if there is anyone interested in helping with our team, we can be contacted via facebook at Earl Folse Racing. Any help is greatly appreciated.

That’s Earl Folse, Mayor of Raceland, Louisiana and Champion Top Sportsman Drag Racer. Congratulations on the big win at Baton Rouge last weekend, and we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times ahead, Earl.

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

Postby WildcatOne » Mon Jun 15, 2015 10:09 pm

My pick for Racer of the Week is Tony Boy Andrade, from Pahala, Hawaii. Tony Boy was recommended to me by our friend Michael Baba Balbarino of Hilo. Tony Boy’s accomplishments are outlined on the 808_Fuel! Page on Facebook, and Michael told me some very important things about Tony Boy.

It took Tony Boy 10 years to build his ’68 Chevy Nova, which is the quickest and fastest true stock Nova in Hawaii. His quickest time with the Nova is an 11.10 in the quarter mile. Since it took so long to build, Tony Boy named his ride “It’s About Time!”, which also translates into drag racing ETs and bracket racing.

Tony Boy recently won the first ever 1/8th mile gamblers bracket, at the same race he took home closest to dial in award, and best reaction time of the day with a .002. He did all of this with no trans brake, and a stock suspension car, foot braking it on every pass. Tony is a proud supporter of the 808_Fuel page, which is Michael’s creation. I drop in and check out this page on Facebook regularly, as it features the finest racers in Hawaii and Michael is the head of that family. In the graphic I made for Tony Boy’s feature, the gents at the lower right are from left to right, Tony Boy, Jerod Andrade, and Keith Aguiar, who is president of the Hawaiian Drag Racing League.

Tony Boy’s father was a hot rodder and drag racer and he used to take him to the track from a young age. Tony Boy loved the sounds, the feel and the excitement of the sport. The first place he drag raced was at the Hilo Drag Strip. In 2012, his first pass was a 13.1 at 101. Tony Boy said The block is the only Chevy part on there everything else is aftermarket: 4.030 bore, 3.75 stroke.

The Racer he looks up to is Santos Renovales from Santos Turbo. His motto is the same as Tony Boy’s: “Don't let off.” If Tony Boy could acquire another car with money being no object, he said he’d like to have Charles Carpenter’s original 55 Chevy Bel Air. Nice call on that, Ko’u Hoaloha!

Tony Boy has no pre-race rituals that he could tell us about. He said he’s a happy-go-lucky guy who lives in the here and now, and he loves every day of his life, especially when he’s at the drag strip.

That’s Tony Boy Andrade, Racer of the Week from Hawaii. We wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future, Tony Boy.

There were 15 Pro Stockers entered at Epping. I don’t know if anybody noticed this, but at E-Town there were 17 Pro Stockers entered and 29 Pro Mods. Food for thought.

On the way home from gigs, I don’t take the main freeways, or the toll roads. I have a route that I take that goes across Hell’s Half-Acre. Takes a little longer, but there’s a Wal-Mart on the way in Missouri City that I usually stop off at and pick up a few things. The best time to shop at Wal-Mart is between 2:30 and 5 o’clock in the morning. I have the whole place pretty much to myself, and I can get anything I want because it’s all freshly-stocked. It takes my body a minute or so to adjust to standing up and walking after playing a high-energy gig and then sitting in the car while driving it, but I go through that when I get home, too. The older I get, the harder it is to bounce right up after 6 hours of physical exertion. But while I’m driving, I have time to think. That’s a good thing, sometimes. I’ve come up with some good ideas while cruising up the mostly-unlit highway that runs from Galveston to Sugar Land.

I listen to the radio. There’s a station here in Houston that plays the very latest pop music that comes out and gets on the charts. It’s taken me a while to understand the mechanics of these recordings, but I can say without question that every single track that is put into these songs, including the vocals as well as all the instruments is computer-generated. Everything. What you get is digital perfection the likes of which I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams, but even though the vocals are 100% right on pitch, in sync with the beat, background harmonies are perfect, everything is cooking at 120 beats per minute and it goes on like this the whole 2 ½ hours that it usually takes me to get back home.

But here comes my old-school background. It’s simply not human. I can’t find anything anywhere in this music that resembles art. It’s all science and nothing else. A 6-minute vocal workout that hits impossibly complex scales, arpeggios and notes that sound incredible but in reality, there’s a guy sitting at a computer running a program with the vocal track’s waves on the screen and he’s synching it to the beat and stretching the tone to hit the notes that are on the track sheet he was given. Not all the time, but every so often you can hear what is really going on, and I have to be honest here and say that I find this to be just a little disturbing.

It’s not real. NONE of it is! The instruments are synthetically processed through a program after being sampled from notes that musicians actually played 45 years ago and those notes are fed into a computer that applies the notes to a track that is programmed to shape the notes to hit the pitch and scales that are already in place with the programmed track. I still haven’t lost any respect for Lady Gaga, as she actually writes and performs her own material on guitar, piano and bass as well as sings them, but even she has allowed studio production technology to enter into her music, albeit to a certain extent. I don’t mind that because of 2 things. One, it’s her own thing and she calls the shots, and Two, I happen to have a crush on her. So she gets a free pass from JB.

The music that comes out of the speakers in my car is totally antiseptic. There are absolutely no flubbed notes, no missed vocal notes, no beat that isn’t dead-letter perfect (that’s because there is no drummer. It’s a drum program), and this stuff sells like hotcakes. Somewhere. In another world.

I have immense respect for studio technology, but I’d never use it. The album I’m writing at this time will be entirely manually performed by me and it will be produced as-is with no post-production programs applied to it. And I don’t expect it to go anywhere commercially. But what I can guarantee you is that it will be real from start to finish.

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

Postby WildcatOne » Mon Jun 22, 2015 9:14 pm

My pick for Racer of the Week is Karen Stevens, from Chippenham, Wiltshire, England. Karen was referred to me by our friend Carla Pittau. Thanks, Carla! Karen is the Super Street National Champion in the UK. She told me her story and it is a wonderful Drag Racing tale of determination and amazement.

Karen met her partner, Mike Lacey, 6 years ago at a motorbike rally. Until then she knew nothing about drag racing apart from what you see in the movies! So a few months down the line, Mike took her to a Drag Race event. This is where Karen met Rick McCann and Carla Pittau. Mike was having a year off from racing himself (as he was in the middle of an engine rebuild) and was helping crew for them. Well Karen loved it, the people were so friendly and the cars were awesome, She was hooked.

So after a few years of crewing for Mike and learning so much about the sport, Karen was eager to experience what he did behind the wheel. So at the beginning of 2013, an opportunity to have a passenger ride in Mike’s car came about. It was amazing, She couldn't believe the power of acceleration and the adrenalin rush was indescribable! Karen had to do this for herself; so she bought a car!

Karen and Mike bought her car from a fellow racer named Conrad Stanley. It’s a 1972 Chevy Vega with a 454 big block. She named it 'LASS VEGA', as in the UK, 'LASS' means Girl, and she was driving a Vega, so she just used the LAS VEGAS idea and moved the last 'S' to the front! Not many people notice it but when they do they think it’s a really clever play on words! It was then in June 2013 that Karen tested the car and got her MSA race license ticked off. They had lots of problems to start with, overheating and carburettor fires. So over the winter they put in a larger radiator and 2 fans and adjusted the jets hoping to fix the problems.

Karen and Mike also spent the month of October in California touring, and stopping in Vegas for the National Finals.

They started at Easter, the UK’s 'Festival of Speed'. Karen got the feel for it again, and the confidence back, as they had no Fires in the 'Burnout box'! On one of the runs one of the dzus fittings at the front of the hood came loose, it flew off into the sky at about 120 mph, 3 quarters way down the track, She was laughing all the way back to the pits! On another occasion that year, the steering wheel came off in her hands at the launch, that was a bit of a bum wobble moment!

Karen runs in Super Street in the UK. It’s a 10.90 index class. She runs a throttle stop and transbrake system. They have 7 Championship events during the summer months: 5 at Santa Pod and 2 at Shakespeare County Raceway. Karen managed to achieve several number one qualifiers during the season, also coming in as runner up at the European Finals and she was the Winner at the National Finals. The Decider on who would win the Championship was all down to that last race at the last meeting of the year. The two competitors who were in the running against Karen, came up head to head in the semi final. So the winner of that race, she would face in the Final........ which she won, and was declared National Champion and Santa Pod Champion.

Karen really couldn't believe it was happening, especially in her first year of racing. She was over the moon. The icing on the cake was this year at the trophy presentation; as Karen was collecting her trophy the commentator 'Colin' asked Mike if he'd like to say a few words, Karen was speechless and shocked as he dropped to one knee and proposed, in front of everyone! It was such a special evening and even more so to share with all their friends.

Karen would like to give a special thank you to her Partner (Fiancé) Mike, for teaching her (almost) everything she knows!! The most amazing Crew, Adam Shuttleworth and Mike Braney. Also to all her fellow drag racing buddies for all their support, advice and most of all, their friendship.

As a memo to what Karen has written for me, It was the whole hood that flew off not just the dzus fitting! Karen did run a couple of meetings (they call them meetings in England) with no hood whilst it was being repaired. The fires in the carb were due to a fueling issue, which was rectified by jetting it up considerably.

That’s Karen Stevens, Racer of the Week. We wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future, and congratulations to you and Mike for many happy years together, Karen.

I’m at this time in the process of finalizing the artwork for the CD that me and Colin Kennedy have been putting together over the last few years as a tribute to the greatest of the great musicians that I have ever known, the one and only Andy Quinn. We put 14 tracks together on the CD and Colin processed these tracks in his Pro Audio Sound studio, making them crystal-clear. I’m going to start a media blitz around the end of the month giving information on how to buy a CD. It will be mail-order only, and all the profits will go to the Lupus Foundation in Andy’s memory.

I met Andy in early 1969 when we were classmates at Texas Academy of Art. We went through art school together, graduated in 1970 and ended up getting hired together for our first few jobs…it was after we graduated that we found we had a mutual interest in music and songwriting. Andy brought out the best in me. I knew how to play, but I didn’t have my act together and he refined my approach and style. As I was astounded to discover about this quiet, unassuming and almost enigmatic guy, Andy was absolutely fantastic on guitar. He could play as good or better than any of the great players we heard on record and on the radio in the early 1970s, bar none. He was truly gifted. We became best friends. We swapped apartments, cars, women, food and stuff. We helped each other get through the toughest of times.

Andy met my sister Sylvia and they began a romance that turned into a marriage that lasted until he passed away after a long battle with Lupus in 1992. Sylvia gave me Andy’s Les Paul guitar in Kansas City moments after his funeral. It was one of two times in my life that I can remember instantly crying. It’s my main axe, and I never have to worry about making mistakes when I play it. The guitar plays itself. I just hang on for the ride, I don’t even look at my hands. It has Andy’s thumbprint embedded in the neck and I can feel his soul every time I pick that guitar up. I become the embodiment of his will.

But I’m on a tangent and this is about the CD.

We titled it “Too Cool” after one of the tunes on it. I have to say here that this album is not for the faint-of-heart, or for the narrow-minded. When Andy returned from Berklee College of Music in the mid-70s, he had completely re-written his musical vocabulary and what he was playing was nothing like what he had done before he and Sylv went to Boston. I have difficulty describing the music he made. You’ll have to hear it. With titles like “The Men In The Wooden Hats”, “K-Mart Odyssey” and “Pia Zadora’s Clam”, the mental imagery is limitless, but like I say, if you get one of these CDs, put on your headphones, turn out the lights and hang on for the ride, because it’s not like anything else, anywhere.

It’s music from the other side, created by the mind of a musical genius who at times stepped over the line into madness, but we love every second of it. We’re going to press 500 copies. More info will be coming soon.

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

Postby Wheelzman » Tue Jun 23, 2015 9:16 am

John do you ever sleep???????? Talk about too many irons in the fire buddy you are on fire!!!!!!!!!!


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