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 Sep 10, 2018 7:21 pm

Thanks, Wheelz! There will be more coming from the Southeast Gassers!

My pick for Racer of the Week is Tim Ross, from Quad Cities, Illinois. Tim helped me find another Racer of the Week a couple of months ago. He was recommended to me by our friend and former Racer of the Week, Don Cabor. Thanks, Don!

When I contacted Tim to try to find the guy I was looking for that Don had recommended, I saw that Tim has had an amazing number of first-rate hot rods over the years. His current car is a 1980 Plymouth Arrow that is set up for drag racing, and it, like all the others, is a beautiful car.

His other cars were a 1980 Chevy Monza, a 1927 Model T Roadster, a 1972 Opel GT, a 1977 Chevy Vega, a 1976 Chevy Chevette, a 1969 Chevy Nova, a 1991 Chevy Camaro, and a 1996 Chevy Cavalier. They were all completely hot rodded and set up for drag racing with gorgeous paint jobs, slicks and wheels, spoliers, hood scoops, roll cages, wheelie bars, and he raced all of them.

Tim's dad was a great drag racer, and he inherited the passion for the sport from him. Tim owns and operates Ross' Barbecue Restaurant in Coffeyville, Kansas. I looked it up and it's a 5-star establishment. Tim and his wife Tosha have 4 children and she has supported his racing endeavors all the way. Tim includes her name next to his on all his cars.

Like I said, they're all beautiful, but there's something about the Plymouth Arrow that keeps my attention. It looks right. It has the proper angle and all of the parts and pieces that make it look like a very fast race car. The car has a 406 on an e85 power glide trans. It runs a 9.70 ET at136 mph. Tim runs it in the box class. He's been racing for 18 years. Tim said its all he knows...well, he has excellent taste for sure. I look forward to hearing about his racing when he takes that car down the strip.

Tim, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!
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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby WildcatOne » Mon Sep 17, 2018 6:47 pm

My pick for Racer of the Week is Kevin Self, from Caddo, Oklahoma. Danny White and I were discussing Kevin's many accomplishments a few weeks ago and we agreed he should be featured tonight. Thanks, Danny!

Kevin is a US Nationals champ, a Jeg's All-Star, and a Division Champ. He's as good as it gets, and he's one of the greatest Sportsman drag racers in America. He got his real start in the straight-6 Camaro that ran Super Stock in the 1980's. He has been the owner of Keith Self Racing Heads since then. His father is Glen, his uncle who is Mack and his cousin Brian Self, form Self Racing.

Kevin Self has continued his fathers impressive legacy, both on the mechanical side of things, as well as driving the family’s F/Econo Altered. Kevin said when heI was 13 years old, his dad bought him a flow bench for his birthday. Kevin's in his late 40s now, so that’s how much time he's spent doing what he does at Self Racing. Self Racing holds a patent for the Self Air Tool Muffler, which is specially designed to reduce the constant noise generated by several types of air-operated hand tools. We’d have to guess many long hours were spent hand-porting cylinder heads that helped launch that product.

Self Racing also spearheaded another patented item called the Port Intruder, which is marketed by Brodix. It’s specially designed to alleviate problems when cylinder heads are “ported to the max.” When trying to extract the maximum flow characteristics from today’s cylinder heads by aggressive porting, cracking can occur in some areas of the intake port and the cylinder head deck. The Port Intruder Kit not only helps prevent cracks from occurring, but also allows the active intake port walls to be moved, achieving an improved flow by moving the head bolt out of the way. Self Racing also holds a patent on the SE 100 intake manifold, which is manufactured by Brodix. Its unique design divides into two sections, allowing easy access for porting, as well as accessibility to the lifter valley on the block.

Kevin said CNC (computer numeric controlled) machined aftermarket heads are a great place to start because the port configurations are based on designs that have already been proven to deliver maximum air flow. Even so, there’s always some room for improvement. He said he can usually find an additional 25 to 30 cfm improvement in air flow in many CNC heads by tweaking the head on a flow bench.

"One of the advantages of CNC heads is that they all have very consistent flow characteristics. But, because they’re all the same, you don’t necessarily gain any advantage over a competitor if he buys the exact same set of heads as you. If you can’t improve the head, you’ll have to find more horsepower someplace else, otherwise you’re not going to go any faster than the next guy." CNC machining is much faster than hand grinding, and produces ports that have uniform profiles, but someone still has to develop the initial profile by hand and then prove it works on a dyno and on the track.

As for port alignment, Kevin said the runners in the intake manifold should be slightly smaller than the port opening in the cylinder head to allow for any misalignment that occurs during engine assembly.

Kevin's cousin Brian has been called the best non-CNC porter next to Lee Shepherd. Self Racing is strongly recommended if you want a top-performing engine, and Kevin's on-track accomplishments with the Stormin' Six back up that claim. Self Racing is the proven leader in this field.

Kevin, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!
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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby Wheelzman » Mon Sep 17, 2018 8:49 pm

Oh wow an inline six. That hits close to my heart as I love the six cylinders from today to way back when the Wayne head GMC's were top dog. Thanks John. 8) 8) 8)

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

Postby WildcatOne » Mon Sep 24, 2018 7:10 pm

True, Wheelz. Those are absolutely great engines.

My pick for Racer of the Week is Lee Taylor, from London, England. Lee is a member of the great Taylor Racing Family, and in becoming friends with him, I discovered his awesome "Agent Orange" '48 Ford Pop/Anglia.

Agent Orange is an Oddrods Custom-built 3x2 box chassis, with a full cage, an independent front end with a 9” ford rear end, and a 31 spline moser shaft. The motor is a nitrous-assisted 383 cubic inch Chevy stroker, built by Fastco Auto in the USA (later rebuilt by Lee in 2015 after melting some pistons) and a tricked-out th350 transmission. The Best ET with the car so far is a 10.17 at 130 mph. Lee is hoping to hit the 9s next year.. not too bad for a fully trimmed street car that is driven everywhere especially on the school run to pick up his son Freddie...

Lee and HotRods / Drag Racing:
Lee said "I’ve been into the scene all my life, Born into it through my dad Mick Taylor of Banshee Racing fame! As a child I was bought up in and around the drag strip and car show scene, but it wasn’t till '94/'95 when I was 14 I fell in love with the Ford Pop/ Anglia. Our good friend Paul Hensher (who currently runs the gas attack outlaw Anglia and is a former Racer of the Week) bought the legendary 70s and 80s Ford Pop the Pinball Wizard, a car that at the time was one of the quickest street cars in the UK. It was around the time that the 1st ever Outlaw Anglia events were taking place. So the inevitable happened and Paul entered Outlaw Anglia with it. From that moment on I knew I had to have a quick street Ford Pop/Anglia. It wasn’t until around about 2008 after setting up family life that I was in a position to get the ball rolling and start the dream.. A friend of my dad's (Dave Walton) had started a Pop/Anglia that was never finished and I always had it in the back of my mind that one day it would be mine and I would finally finish it. That day came when I bumped into him and the deal was done! Over the next 3 years we cracked on and finally it was done. I've had my own fast street Pop. Ever since then we’ve been pounding the street and strip with it, with the help of crew chef Andy Chilton. The most memorable and famed moment was at the Nostalgia Nats in 2016 when I came in a little early with the nitrous, no wheelie bars at the time and managed to get all 4 wheels off the ground (it came down with a bump and bent the front end, we quickly repaired it, though) There’s some great pics of that incident. We managed a runner up place in a one-off Street Outlaw Anglia Challenge in 2017."

The Pop was finished around the time Lee had his second son Freddie who like Lee has been dragged up around the strip and loves the cars as much as Lee did, well even more so. When Fred was 9 he asked if he could one day drive a junior dragster so with the help of Joe, Lee's brother, they set out to build Freddie a junior dragster. The car was built by Rob and Andy Chilton and it was finished in 2017. Fred is also mad on Anglias, so in homage to the class they love, they decided to call his dragster The Outlaw Angria, covered in stickers of all the famous Outlaw Anglias through the last 25 years, Freddie is doing great, he has 4 trophies so far to his name. He was runner-up in junior stock fun day in 2017, the best yearly reaction 2017, and runner up at Bug Jam in 2018. Freddie was the winner in junior modified fun day 2018.

Lee said "Send big thanks to my ever suffering wife Claire and 1st son Dylan, who’s just turned 17. Hopefully he’ll be driving the Pop next year."

It all sounds like a great time to us, Lee. We wish you, Freddie and Dylan good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!
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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby WildcatOne » Mon Oct 01, 2018 6:42 pm

My pick for Racer of the Week is James Generalao, Jr., from Las Vegas, Nevada. James was recommended to me by our friend and admin of the 808_FUEL page, Michael Baba Balbarino. Michael keeps the world updated on the latest in motorsports from Hawaii. Thanks, Michael!

James is the pilot of the Impatient Racing AA/Fuel Altered '23 Model T. It is without question one of the finest and most awesome appearing hot rods ever to set its slicks on a drag strip. He's a seasoned drag racing veteran, having come up through the ranks to where he's at now, and he sent some great information to me for tonight's feature.

The Generalao family ran a '33 Willys gasser some years back, Danny White sent me a great picture of it with James Jr. driving it. The family has been involved in drag racing ever since James forever.

James was born and raised in Hawaii. His family moved to Las Vegas in the year 2000. James was 14 when he made his first run down a drag strip, driving a small-block Chevy S-10. The first car he raced with was a VW Bug. Then he went to Super Comp Altered. Needing more speed, James put a blower on it to run in the 7’s.

In 2001, James made the leap to AA/FA.It’s powered by a 426 cubic inch JP1 with a Littlefield 8-71, a 2-speed Lenco, and a Ford 9" rear end. James runs it on 89% Nitro, with tuning help from Dale Pulde. He got the chassis from Richard Hartman. It rolls on M/T rubber all the way around.

James qualified for the Quick 4 at the 2006 Night Fire Nationals in Boise, Idaho. He won a Wally at the 2007 Chuy’s Fuel Altered Classic.

James wants to thank his dad-James, Sr., his mom-Dianne, his wife-Mindi, his sister-Jaclyn, his brother-in-law-Billy, his niece-Hailey, also Damon Evans, Derrick Moriera, Dale Pulde, Paul and Rich Howell, CHE, DJ safety, Good Vibrations motorsports, Vegas custom graphics, and Mickey Thompson.

He told me his greatest goal is to win the March Meet!

With a hot rod this good, I have no doubt you will achieve that goal, James! We wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!

James messaged me during the show with this:
I forgot to mention that at the 2016 March meet I qualified number 1 with a 6.09. Won first round and was hit from behind in the shutdown area. Which totalled my car. I got this chassis from Hartman in October and had the car back at the 2017 March meet and went to the finals. I lost in the final to Bryan Hall with the Tramp.

As it turned out, we couldn't contact our guest for the show, so BP and I ad-libbed the whole thing. JAck Redd did a 15-minute interview with BP, and for the first time ever, our Racer of the Week, James Generalao took our call and did an outstanding live interview with us! The whole show is here:
https://www.facebook.com/dragracinglist ... 841114696/
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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby WildcatOne » Mon Oct 08, 2018 6:23 pm

My pick for Racer of the Week is Butch Merson, from Mount Airy, Maryland. Butch was recommended to me by our friend and the admin of the Mid Atlantic Street Outlaws, Duane Morris. Thanks, Duane!

Butch's '67 Camaro is a beautiful hot rod that looks as good on the street as it runs on the strip. He left no stone unturned in building this masterpiece, and it delivers breathtaking performances every time he takes it racing.

Butch's wife, Tonya sent me some great information. They have had the car for about 20 years. Butch built it himself from the ground up. It started out as a street rod and they wanted to just run it in the 12 Second zone, ET-wise. However, each year they wanted to go faster and faster.

Butch had an 8-71 blower on it before he decided to add the turbos. It ran 8.80 ETs with that setup. He switched to Twin 76 turbos about 4 years ago. The motor is a 540 cubic inch big block Chevy. It runs on e85 racing fuel. Butch works on it, tunes it and drives it himself! Our best performance this year in the 1/8th mile was a 4.81ET at 148 mph. The quarter mile best this year was a 7.57ET at 183 mph.

Tonya loves racing has much as Butch does. She helps him with whatever he does at the track. The Mersons race with Mid Atlantic Street Outlaws and the Warriors Outlaw Race team.

It was a real pleasure to feature this fine hot rod on our show tonight, and I look forward to more contributions from our friends who are involved in these special groups.

Butch and Tonya, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!
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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby WildcatOne » Mon Oct 15, 2018 6:53 pm

My pick for Racer of the Week is Dusty Rose, from Moore Oklahoma. Dusty is a multi-talented and extremely active musician, father, husband and drag racer. I found him from a conversation I had with our DragList statistician, Danny White when he mentioned Dusty to me. Thanks, Danny!

Dusty began his drag racing career in the Jr. drag racing league in 1999. He then advanced to quicker door cars and currently races his NE 3 front engine dragster in the Texas-based Southwest Heritage Racing Association.

The dragster is a 2012 Bob Boulton Chassis. Bob has built races cars since 1968 and Dusty said he's fortunate enough to have the last car he ever built. He called it quits after he built that chassis.

The dragster's motor is a 400 cubic inch Small block Chevrolet with Enderle Hat Injection. Dusty runs alcohol in it. His best E.T in the dragster is a 4.83 @142 mph in the 1/8th mile. His best E.T when driving the Nostalgia Funny Car was a 5.78 @251in the quarter mile.

Dusty is a 4-time Nostalgia Champion, winning the series in 2011,2012,2014 and 2015.

Dusty's band, The Dead Aces is a local Rock band from Oklahoma City. They’ve opened for National acts such as Winger, White Lion, the Bulletboys, LA GUNS, Faster Pussycat, Enuff Z Nuff, and played a show with Rudy Sarzo of Quiet Riot and Ozzy Osbourne. Dusty said "We just have fun! I’m very fortunate to be surrounded by some great musicians. Our guitar player Billy, is out of this world!" I checked them out from some of his videos, and they are a great band!

In 2016, Dusty survived a horrific on-track incident while driving the Bucket List Mustang Funny Car. I asked him if it was OK to mention it and he was fully honest about it and said he'd appreciate it if I did talk about the catastrophe.

He said "My hope is that people can learn from my accident. There’s no way I should be here today living after that. But with the correct and high quality safety equipment that was in the car I am still here today. Most people don’t know this, but I actually was able to get my belts off and climb out of the roof hatch and I rolled off the roof of the FC and it was still going about 70mph. That saved my life.

"I was burned 4th degree on my right hand which required two surgeries to repair. Both legs were burned 3rd degree. The right leg is the only one that required surgery, but I had no broken bones miraculously.

"The car was toast. That’s why I say if I wouldn’t have gotten out of it when I did, I’d be a dead man. Unfortunately the track was not prepared for something like that . So nobody could have got me out of it had I stayed in it.

"In my mind I was thinking to myself “Get the car stopped or let it hit the sand trap and climb out”, but when the fire burned the tube going to my helmet to supply my fresh air it was game over. I’ll never forget the helpless feeling of being on fire, not being able to see, and no air to breathe. I literally thought to myself “well this is it, I’m done” I then let go of the brake and steering wheel and starting searching for my release latch for my seat belts. I found it and yanked on it and felt my belts pop and I was free, I then pushed myself up and climbed out of the hatch and just rolled off the car. I didn’t know where I was, how fast I was going or anything. I didn’t really care at that point. It was literally a do or die situation . I knew I had to do, so I didn’t die."

Dusty told me "I’m doing the best I can. I’m jut thankful that I’m still here and can be a father and a husband. My wife Tara, was 8 months pregnant when the fire happened."

Dusty thanks his parents Milt Rose and Connie Bratt, and of course his lovely wife Tara Rose. And all his friends and fans that support him, in both music and racing.

Dusty, your story is truly special and I appreciate you telling it to me, first-hand. Your dragster is a work of art, as is your music, and we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!
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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby Wheelzman » Tue Oct 16, 2018 10:00 am

We are losing so many talented chassis builders, racers and mechanics to age but that is just
a fact of life we all face. I'm glad to see that Dusty survived a possible fatal situation so that
he has the opportunity to enjoy life and his family. I believe someone else was riding with him
that day to bring him through that bad accident. FED are so cool.

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

Postby WildcatOne » Mon Oct 22, 2018 7:08 pm

Well said, Wheelz. Very well said. Thank you.

My pick for Racer of the Week is Ernie Smith, from Spartanburg, South Carolina. I met Ernie on Facebook back in August when I was checking out the Southeast Gassers Association, and I'm happy to say that Ernie and his '48 Henry J A/Gasser are perfect candidates to be named Racer of the Week.

The car is a marvelous period-correct Gasser that has served Ernie well, having been a major contender in the A/Gas category this year. I watched several videos of Ernie's "Bounty Hunter", and it is jam-packed with on-track thrills. The Southeast Gassers are some of the most dedicated, passionate drag racers on earth, and I believe they deserve worldwide exposure. If you ask me, Ernie's got the right idea about what drag racing is really all about!

Ernie Smith is 54 years old; he has literally been around drag racing his whole life. His Dad and Mom were both Super stock racers in the Carolinas when he was growing up. Ernie said his Dad was a pretty big deal on the streets til one night in 1960 when he showed up and wore him out. The BUG (meaning Back-Up Girl) shown in Ernie's graphic staging him is a great friend of him and his wife. Her name is Christy Burchett. Ernie's wife Paula does all of Ernie Smith Racing's T-shirt sales and handles their charity work. Every year they sell tickets to win Ernie's helmet at the end of the year. This year all the money is going to St. Jude's Children's hospital. All of the work is performed by Ernie and his youngest son, and 16 year-old crew chief Elijah Smith, who does most of the tuning on it. Ernie's 2 older sons Michael and Austin help when they can, along with a friend, Dean Hall.

Ernie has been involved in the sport as a driver since the early 80s. He has driven everything from footbrake bracket cars to Super Gas cars. He spent 10 years crewing pro-mods for several different drivers. The Bounty Hunter Henry J is powered by a 406 cubic inch small block, backed by a Hightower 4 speed transmission which is run through a Ram clutch leading back to a 9-inch Ford rear end with 5.14 gears. The car was primarily assembled by former Racer of the Week Donovan Stott at Stott's speed shop. It weighs 2515 pounds and runs deep into the 5 second range in the Southeast Gassers A/Gas category. Ernie uses Sunoco 114 racing fuel and straight 40-weight oil from Amsoil.

Ernie also drove the '56 Chevy for the Clayton family who owned the now defunct Spartanburg Drag way. That's how he got "The Hired Gun" name given to him by another driver.

This is Ernie's 3rd season with the Southeast Gassers. He ran B/Gas for 2 years before moving up to A/Gas this year. He finished both seasons in the top 5 in points, with 1 event win. I highly recommend checking out Ernie Smith Racing on Facebook and while you're at it, have a look at the Southeast Gassers Association page. It's well worth the time.

Ernie does this on his own dollar, and he does it for love of the sport. This is a stand-up guy who cares about his family, gives his helmet to a charitable cause every year, and keeps working hard to keep the whole thing going. Our hat's off to you, Ernie, and we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!
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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby Wheelzman » Mon Oct 22, 2018 7:16 pm

Suede "J" is cool. :lol: :lol: :lol:


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