Now, you folks should know that Darrell Webb, AKA the "Burn Out
King" and I have a good-natured rivalry going on. We are almost
neighbors, and great friends, but if the opportunity exists to GET the
other guy, it will be done.
At the spring car show in Edmonton this year, Darrell unveiled to the
world his new speed secret, his "BYE JAY" license plate on the
back of his Corvette Funny Car. I must have run against Darrell 20 times
this year, and did my best to make him eat that plate, but it wasn't
enough.
Well, the "Smoky One" turned 40 this summer. My crew and I
planned a special birthday surprise for him. It took us about three weeks
of clandestine planning to pull it off. We know how much Darrell likes to
race, and considering his entry into the world of geezerism, we thought it
would be appropriate to build him a new racer for his advanced age.
The annual funny car race in Saskatoon was a week before his birthday,
so with the help of the IBAA gang in attendance, we got him BIG TIME!
I work in the medical equipment field, and we "acquired" an
old beater wheelchair. This was Darrell's 40th birthday gift. We, being
racers, felt that the chair need some upgrading, so we built a nice set of
zoomie headers, a huge shifter, Goodyear slicks, SFI approved upholstery,
wheelie bars, a line lock (for Darrell's big burn outs), SFI belts, and
most importantly, an SFI approved ballistic diaper (Attends
undergarments!)
At the Saskatoon race, the promoter invited all the funny car drivers
to the start line for introductions to the fans, and to sing the anthems.
Unknown to Darrell was the fact that the entire staff of the racetrack was
in on this "GET." After the anthem was sung, the announcer
informed all 5,000 fans that Mr. Webb was turning 40, and that we had a
special gift for him. My crew ran out from under the tower with his new
funny-chair. Darrell turned pale. The fans roared.
Darrell graciously rode his new machine back to the staging lanes, only
to discover that we had swapped his evil "Bye Jay" license plate
with one that more aptly proclaimed..."The BURNED OUT KING..."
He ran the plate at that event, but it was missing at the next event. I
don't know why!
Racing isn't just about performance; it's about fun too. And boy, do
we have fun!
My only concern now is, what is he going to do to get us back?
Later, Jay
Follow the adventures of The Prospector, Canada's only '57 Chev funny
car, at Mageau Family Racing's web page...