Danny's Year End Review,
1998
by Danny White (11/27/98)
The racing season is over with here in Texas and I wanted to take this
article to review my last month of racing. The month of October was a very busy for me
personally and for covering the racing for The Drag Racing List. The first weekend was a
Friday night Texas Quick 8 race at Kennedale from which I got in at four A.M. Saturday
morning. I would like to thank Grant and Linda Hensley (best of luck with the new site www.g-force-racing.com), Gaylen Smith, who proud
that the Pro Mod file is big enough to clog up my server, Charles Wooten who puts up with
me whenever I see him, and George Gulutti for putting on the races for the TQ8A.
The next week was the IHRA World Finals in Gilliam, Louisiana, where
rain cancelled the race Sunday. The night I spent in "scenic" Vivian, Louisiana,
was restless but could have been worse. Worse was the time I spent there before -- when
KCS mainline across the street had trains coming every hour! I would like to thank the
whole staff of IHRA and the Red River Raceway staff for getting on the race under adverse
conditions. The people at NHRA could take a course in hospitality form the new IHRA and I
hope for the continued growth of IHRA. (I wish that the track I race at, Paris Drag Strip,
would switch to IHRA because the only thing the NHRA does for bracket racers it seems is
the bracket finals. I never raced at the finals, even when I ran Pro ET, because of the
B.S. you have to put up with to race there.)
Anyway, back to Shreveport. I actually got to talk with Bill Bader,
Aaron Polburn, and Ron Colson. They all seemed to be class people. I went out to eat with
Ed O'Reilly, Bret Kepner, and Brian Olson, although I got lost and ran out of gas in
Shreveport that night. Bret took me to the other end of the track and scared the @#$% out
of me. Note: rental companies should run the other way when they see Kepner coming to get
a car! I came back to Shreveport the next Saturday with my brother and was treated to one
heck of day of racing. I got to talk to many people at Shreveport -- too many to list here
in this story -- and had a great time. Thanks to all for giving any information asked for.
On Sunday I traveled to Ennis to see the Revell Nationals and got too see another great
race put on at the Motorplex.
The final weekend of my racing season was at Paris the following week.
They were supposed to host a two-day race that had been rescheduled after a rainout, but
rain again killed the second day. I got lucky and won the Trophy Street class over my
friend Joey Daniels. I guess it wasn't too bad after having to buy back in after losing a
burndown to a seven second street (eighth mile) Camaro. Tracy Weaver, wife of another good
friend Greg Weaver, jokingly threatened to cut my break lines if hit my @#$% brakes again
while sandbagging!
I had a great year. My thanks go out to Paris Drag Strip for giving a
local place to race, to Red River Raceway on their first-class track, to the Texas Quick 8
Association for having such a good year, to Bill Pratt for giving me place to blow off
steam, and to my friends Jeff Duncan and Angel Shook who put up with me at the TQ8A races
at Kennedale and during their stock racing excursion this year. If I didn't name you here
I'm sorry and my secret thanks go out to you.
Until next year…
Danny White
ddgw@valornet.com
