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

[WildcatOne]

My pick for Racers of the Week are Jody Burgess and his wife Shelley, from Levin, New Zealand. Jody and Shelley were recommended to me by our friends and former Racers of the Week Arran Brattle and Pauline Lane. Thanks, Arran and Pauline!

Jody is one of the most popular and respected drag racers in the NZDRA. His Jester Racing operation includes 3 cars: His '48 Fiat Topolino fuel altered, Shelley's '65 Chevy Nova "JestHer", and their newest acquisition, a blown Chevy-powered front-engine dragster. Jody has his own businesses in Levin; aside from his main gig as a welder and fabricator, he has a business called "Tat-Extract", which is a tattoo removal service. It works. He's great. He has a tattoo on the underside of each forearm. The one on the right says "Inhale The Future" and the one on the left says "Exhale The Past". Jody has been awesome to chat with, as his sense of humor, his outlook and his colorful personality have made my work not just easy, but enjoyable.

He's been running that Fiat for a long time. It's a winner. It's also quite a handful to drive. I saw a few pictures of it sideways, and a few with the front end hiked up like it was on a hydraulic jack, heading for the wall. He reeled it in, but he said there was a certain smell in the cockpit and a warm feeling in his pants...Jody said it has a 95-inch wheelbase but after all the years of driving it, he still never knows what to expect when he punches the go pedal at the green.

He's going to run the new front-engine 187" wheelbase dragster that he brought in from Arizona this year, but he told me if it poops itself, he will return to the fuel altered. Shelley's '65 Nova with the chopped top came from Oregon and she has done an outstanding job driving it. Before the dragster makes its debut at the track, Jody took it to Arran Brattle's D-zine Signs shop and had a beautiful metalflake and candy-apple red paint job with cream-colored scallops. They told me it looks real hot rod. We're looking forward to seeing what this car does on the drag strip!

Jody and Shelley, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!

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!

Back to you, BP.

[WildcatOne]

My pick for Racer of the Week is Dmitry Samorukov, from Moscow, Russia. Dmitry pilots the Adam Flamholc-powered Dodge Viper Top Doorslammer and along with his partners Tigran Seferian and Andrey Veremeev he is running at the top of the Russian Drag Racing Championship. He recently won the series, and he is also running his car in the European Drag Racing Championship series.

Drag Racing is beyond its infancy in Russia. There are a lot of Drag Racers actively competing there. They don't have fuel dragsters or funny cars yet, as nitromethane is banned in Russia at this time, but they are organized with a series and they run what they brung, and it's as good as anything I've seen in other countries outside of the US. Dmitry's Viper runs on methanol.

These guys are as heavy and hardcore as drag racers get, and they're all about winning. Dmitry is one of the founders of SMP Racing, which is the premier motorsports organization in Russa. He is also the founder of Dragtimes, which is the website with all the information on Drag Racing in Russia. His passion for our sport is the driving force behind his mission of being competitive in European drag racing.

He holds the RDRC record with a 6.32 at 328 kmh, and he has raced at the few other tracks in Europe, including Hockenheim, Germany, Alastaro, Finland, and the legendary Tierp Arena in Sweden. The Pod will be coming up soon.

Dmitry's team has plenty of power and motivation, with Adam Flamholc and his boys providing him with a world-class engine. As I have learned from studying the RDRC as compared to the FIA Championship, the championship in Russia was determined at 4 tracks: Stage 1 was at Krasnoyarsk, the autodrome, Stage 2 was at the Moscow Region, Stage 3 was at the Nizhny Novgorod Ring, and Stage 4 of the series wrapped up at Grozny, the autodrome.

From looking at all the pictures, I might add that the RDRC has a large group of NFL cheerleader-styled girls who are a part of all their events and activities. The racers love them and they are an important part of the organization. But Dmitry is all about winning, and I look forward to seeing how he does when he runs in England soon.

Dmitry, Tigran and Andrey, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future, and thanks to you all for bringing Drag Racing to the good people of Russia. We'll be rooting for you!

[WildcatOne]

My pick for Racer of the Week is Ethan Hubbard from Princess Anne, Maryland. Ethan was recommended to me by his Dad, Rick.

Ethan Hubbard just turned 12 and he has been racing since he was 8 years old. He races a junior dragster and to date, he's has a great racing career. Ethan has won several races. So far he's won two Wallys and runner-upped in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Ethan has won two junior dragster challenge races. He has collected many local race wins. He had a perfect reaction time at Brisol. Currently, Ethan is in 3rd in track points at his home track, US 13 Dragway in Delmar, Delaware, and he qualified to attend the IHRA bracket finals this year. This weekend he won an IHRA Iron Man trophy for reaching the team finals, where only a select group is chosen to compete.

In the off season of racing, Ethan likes to play soccer....football......and anything outside.

Ethan thanks his Dad, Rick, and his awesome sponsors, Jeff Burroughs of SPORT CLIPS at Prince Fredrick, Marlyand, and Brian Brittingham of B2 RACING ENGINES in Delmar, Maryland for providing the great horsepower for his dragster.

Ethan Hubbard is an outstanding young man. He's having a good upbringing, and his success as a drag racer and as a young citizen is a tribute to his family caring about him and his activities. It gives me a good feeling about the future of his generation when I see kids like him applying himself and taking on challenges that build a solid foundation for him as he grows into a man. Rick, thank you for asking me to feautre Ethan. You're a great Dad and your love and dedication to your son is an example to us all.

Ethan Hubbard, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future. Something tells me we'll be hearing about you in the years to come.

[WildcatOne]

My pick for Racers of the Week are Lonnie Patrick and Lang Paciulli of LP Racing, from Gardena, California.

Lang and Lonnie met and have been partners for around 8 years now. They started out building hot rods and street cars; taking requests for every kind of modification imaginable, and eventually founding a company and naming it LP, since both of them have the initials LP. Worked out well on that!

Lang does the research and development into the complicated workings of their high-end specialized product, which is turbo technology for high-performance engines. Lonnie drives the '80 Malibu in the 10.5 Radial Tire class. The car has run a 6.49 ET at 231 mph with their twin-turbocharged 555 cubic inch motor at their home track of Fontana, and they have competed at and won NMCA events, no-time grudge races, and shootouts in their region for years.

Lonnie and Lang just kind of drifted into this together. There wasn't a real plan in place for it. One day they just decided to start building turbo engines. They learned as they went along, and although they both come from completely different backgrounds, they have a teamwork format that has been very successful.

Lonnie specializes in motor and transmission work, and Lang works at the general drive and capabilities of their system. They are one of the most respected and sought-after shops in Southern California.

Check out LP Racing's Facebook page. It has all their latest projects, with a ton of amazing photos showing the total precision and detail of their work which is one of their strongest features.

Lang told me they have an alcohol motor coming up for their next project, which will be a 2015 Corvette. If it's anything like the Malibu, it will be a top contender in their series for years to come. By the way, the Malibu is for sale now to make room for the new Vette.

Lang and Lonnie, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future.

[Wheelzman]

Wow, love that Malibu!!!!!!!!!!!!

[WildcatOne]

Yes, Wheelz...when I saw that car I knew I had to feature LP Racing!

My pick for Racer of the Week is Devin RK Almarza, from Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii. Devin was recommended to me by our friend, Michael Baba Balbarino. Thanks, Michael! Check out Michael's 808_Fuel page on Facebook for the best representation of drag racing in Hawaii. Devin's Mom Lori sent me this information on him:

Devin Rod Kealii Almarza won the Junior Dragster Challenge and his first Wally this past Labor Day weekend at Kauai Raceway Park on the island of Kauai, in Hawaii.

Devin was born February 3, 2004 and attended his first drag race at the age of 5. But, from the day he was born Devin enjoyed anything and everything with wheels. He loved watching and playing with anything with wheels, so we knew early on that he was destined to drive at an early age. He started out at age 5 helping JR. Dragster drivers in prepping of their cars and learning the ropes. By age 8, he was ready – of course his car had been waiting for him in the garage for at least 8 months.

Devin was coached at Kauai Raceway Park by fellow racer and former Racer of the Week, his Uncle Kevin Rapozo. He was so excited that first day!
Devin captured the #2 points race for Garden Isle Racing Association for year 2015, taking place positions in 8 out of 12 races that year. This past Labor Day, Devin received his first win of the season and his first Wally of his career!

Devin practices on the “tree” as often as he can and would like to thank all that have supported him to this point. Devin and his Dad do most or all of the work on his car and Devin is learning a lot about engines by being a racer.

This win of a Wally is just one dream to come true – and with God’s blessings, many more will come in the years ahead. Devin’s win came on the two best days of his family's year - September 3 is his Mom’s birthday and September 4th is his Dads. A great gift for both of them with a Wally win for him!

I see kids like Devin, T'Ryane Sakamoto, Ethan Hubbard, Ryancie Sakamoto, and Gage Burch, and it gives me hope for the future not only of our sport, but for the millenial generation. They're having a great upbringing. It's a credit to their parents, who care about them and sacrifice their time and resources to provide them with these outstanding dragsters. I'm proud to feature these young champions and I'm proud to know these good folks!

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 Tony Plumb, from Moline, Illinois. I met Tony on the Quad Cities Drag Racers page while we were involved in a discussion about the World Series of Drag Racing's current and future situation.

Tony is a popular and well-known drag racer in the Quad Cities area; he races "The Mean Mistress" '66 Chevy Nova in the Super Pro Class, Top Eliminator and Super Street classes, and his beautiful car was a Top 30 winner in the Hampton Days Celebration Car & Motorcycle Show for 2016. The car has been in Tony's family for 26 years. He told me when he, his Dad and his brother first got the car, Tony's Mom said "You guys spent all that money for THIS?" But see, that's how it works. When a drag racer finally finds his perfect race car, he doesn't see what's there. He sees what it will be. And after a couple of years of hard work, the basket case they brought home started to become the showpiece it is today. It's been through several transformations over the years, but what Tony has now is definitely something he can be proud of.

Being a drag racing family, Tony's brother Steve and his Dad Leon are upcoming as Racers of the Week in 2017. Tony told me that he and Steve swap parts all the time for whatever is needed, and his Dad Leon has helped and influenced the brothers throughout their racing careers.

The car has a 383" small-block Chevy engine with a 400 turbo transmission running into a 9" ford rear end. The custom-chassied machine weighs 2350 lbs with Tony in it.

Tony races for fun mostly; he's usually a semifinalist, but I've said this many times before...there's more to being a champion than winning the most races. Tony said to be sure to thank his wife Rochelle and his son Tony, Jr. for their outstanding support of his racing.

The Quad Cities Drag Racers are some of the finest people you'd ever want to meet in our sport. It's a family and everybody supports and helps everybody else, no questions asked, no matter what the situation is, they all help each other when the chips are down. It was great meeting Tony Plumb and hearing his story. Tony, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!

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 Ross Windley, from Manakau, Levin, New Zealand. Ross and his partner Barbara Taylor were recommended to me by our friends and former Racers of the Week Arran Brattle and Pauline Lane. Thanks, Arran and Pauline! Ross and Barbara run the awesome front-engine Ford-powered Bojangles Racing dragster in the A/Modified Dragster class in the NZDRA.

Bojangles started its life as a junior fueler in America. The chassis was built by Woody Gilmore for Wes Cerney. It was bought and shipped to Australia by John Fleming. After racing in Australia for several years it was sold to Ken Hopper who brought it into New Zealand. Ross bought the rail from Ken in 1987 and raced it as "Bojangles" with a Small-Block Ford 351ci motor.

Ross was only running it as a fun car, doing high 9"s until 4 years ago when Barbara and he decided to race seriously and they upgraded to a Small-Block Ford 427ci motor, and the car is now running in the low to mid 8's.

The engine Info is it has JE Dome pistons, Eagle H-Beam rods and an Eagle Crank, a Comp Cams roller camshaft and roller rockers, AFR Aluminium heads, Enderle fuel injection, with a Bird Catcher injection hat, MSD Ignition, and a custom-made tunnel ram. The engine Dyno"d at 650hp and 600 ft pounds of torque at 6000rpm.

It has a 2 speed powerglide gearbox, and an Oldsmobile Differential with 4.11 gears. Ross has the engine running on methanol.

Ross told me that the 2015/2016 season was their best season ever. They won the National Series for Modified (which is the class they run in) plus they got the most points in the series over all classes in the NZDRA.

Ross won back to back at the Nostalgias where he get to compete against the Australian cars. He took out 1 round of the FED Challenge.
Ross was named Drag Racer of the Year for the 2nd year running from his and Barbara's local Hot-Rod club.

Bojangles is 50 years old this season and Ross has owned it for 30 of those years, so that in itself is an achievement in its own right.
Ross and Barb have an enormous amount of fun racing Bojangles and they look forward to the beginning of the season every year.

They would like to thank "Cartridge World" in Wellington/Horowhenua for their contribution and support to Bojangles Racing.
Ross and Barbara, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!

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 Skot Ingram, from Austin, Texas. I found an article on Skot recently and I decided to contact him about being featured tonight, and he said it is an honor to be here.

"Skot's Flathead Fever" is a nostalgia Top Fuel Dragster, with several interesting and noteworthy features. First, it is entirely hand-built from stem-to-stern, done by Skot in his shop. Probably even more importantly, it has an extensively modified and re-engineered cast-iron Flathead engine that Skot built and has continued to develop and improve over the last several years. He didn't use computer-programmed machines to create parts with, he uses manually-operated die grinders and a suction cup valve lapper spun between his hands. The original 70-plus year-old 239 cubic inch engine has been bored out to 309 inches, but that is only a small part of this story. If I took the 90-plus emails Skot sent to me, copied the text out of them and saved all the pictures, I'd have a pretty good sized book to read, but as we know, I have so much time to say so much, and I might add that this dragster and this engine are one just facet of several projects and talents that Skot is involved with, but I'll get to that in a minute...

Now you get into this engine and find that since the intake and exhaust ports are located inside the block of a flathead rather than up in the cylinder heads,and are much to small for serious racing, increasing the size of the ports can lead to cutting through into the water jacket, so the first step was to fill the engine's coolant passages with concrete to strengthen it, prevent leaks and provide more freedom for port modification. That involved not just enlarging them for more volume, but reshaping the port paths and rerouting their passages to eliminate sharp turns and improve air flow. The intake ports that Skot built are D-shaped cross-sections and the exhaust ports are realigned internally with their external openings moved to new locations.

Once this was done, it allowed the addition of a GMC 4-71 supercharger with a Hilborn 4-port injector hat that sits on a special intake manifold that was designed for EFI, but was reengineered by Skot to accept the blower. As Skot said, "With a blower, the engine doesn't know it's a flathead anymore."

The bottom end of the engine had to be remanufactured to run a stronger crankshaft, and to keep it up off the track, a new large center main web and extensive modifications to the oil pan had to be done. So far Skot has run mid-9's at mid-140s but he's aiming for more.

Skot's friend Charlie Overfelt has helped him immensely with his knowledge, and the two have raced to a tie for the Texas State Championship. They ran two rounds instead of just one; the first run was upset by a starting-line misunderstanding with Skot, and Charlie wouldn't accept the win simply because of the politics of the race. So they ran again, and this time Charlie blew his engine up at mid-track. Skot and Charlie petitioned the organization to declare the race a tie, and the unprecedented request was granted.

Skot flies early and World-War II-vintage airplanes and he runs his own business that cuts, welds and machines parts to create mobile flare stacks used at oil and gas production sites. The carry-over to his flathead dragster from this business is very clear, and his work in all of his endeavors is truly something to step back and admire. I had a long, informative chat with Skot last week about all this. He said he's grateful to be featured tonight, and I am grateful for the incredible data he sent. I wish I had a few hours to talk about everything he did.

Skot, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!

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.

[Wheelzman]

Thanks for the write up John. I found a few photos of this beautiful flathead dragster at this site.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/thre ... 14.922440/

Also, you might want to check out the Texas Nostalgia Nationals at the Yellow Belly Race Way. I love this old school stuff as it brings back memories of the past. Thanks again John and Skot.