My pick for Racer of the Week is Jeff Lewis from Perth, Western Australia. Jeff's English-built 1995 Ford Falcon is a very impressive hot rod, running mid-6 second ET's at over 214 mph using a small block 326 cubic inch Ford engine. I have gone over to youtube and checked out some of Jeff's runs with this car; it runs smooth, straight and fast. It's also one of the best-looking doorslammers you'd ever want to see. Can't ask for much more than that! I have been talking with Jeff this week and he sent the following data about himself and his car:
Jeff Lewis started feeling the need for speed at a very young age, he started driving soap box cars then upgraded to go-carts and
then hounded his dad for more speed. That’s when dad finally caved in and brought Jeff his first drag car an XM Falcon still not happy with the speed Jeff approached dad again ”Dad I need more speed” So along came the EB Falcon with a 326 cubic engine pulling 6.614 seconds down the quarter mile with speeds of 214.04 MPH or 344-45 KPH breaking the national record.
The class the car runs in is BB/AP, which means bb is small block engine and ap is altered production.
Jeff then went on to break two track records in Sydney Western Australia, breaking the Et and the MPH national records.
With his crew which included is dad Greg Lewis (chief Mechanic) Fraser Nicol (mechanic) Robert Nicol (mechanic) Bill Donald
(parachutes) Gavin Craske (computer tech) Karen Nicol (media) Gary Lewis and don’t forget mum his biggest supporter. JEff Lewis Motorsport is on Facebook, too, folks, so drop in and like his page when you get a chance.
I wouldn't say Jeff's car is one-of-a-kind, but the performance speaks for itself. It is an extremely well-built, well-tuned and well-maintained hot rod. The engine has a psi blower, b&j 4 speed box, the car's best time is a 6.61 @ 214 mph It has a soft tune up just been having fun driving an going rounds. bb is small block engine and ap is altered production. It's for all intents and purposes a full-blown Pro Mod with a small-block engine. That, to me, is Racer of the Week material. Thanks, Jeff for accepting and working with me on your feature. You and your car look great up there, and Racin' and Rockin' sends best wishes, good luck and safe racing to you and your team. Jeff Lewis, Racer of the Week, June 9th, 2014.
A couple of Racers of the week did good this week. Andrew Bracuto, who is an upcoming racer of the week, won Super pro @ E-town yesterday & David Harvey won Pro on Saturday & Sunday @ Atco. Way to go, guys! This is sportsman racing at its best.
With the one-year anniversary of Racer of the Week coming up June 23rd, I put a combined album and graphic on my Facebook page today featuring the 48 Racers who have been selected, and the likes and comments have reached close to a thousand as of tonight. It totally blew up. So far, Randi Lyn Shipp, Shawn Cowie and Dave Hirata are leading the likes, but there are several who are nipping at their heels. That's an encouraging sign for future picks...I've been contacted by a few people and they recommended 5 racers for upcoming features. Life is good! Y'all who have heard me talk about this before know the standards that apply to being a Racer of the Week, and I'm very happy to say it's been met or exceeded every single time. Thanks to everybody for getting involved.
If y'all have a racer in mind that you'd like to recommend, message me on my Facebook page, Facebook.com/john.r.bockelman, email me at
pctalent@sbcglobal.net, or message me on my Drag Racers Reunion page. I follow up on every lead, and I guarantee results that will even satisfy Mick Jagger.
On a sad note, I visited my friend who suddenly fell ill recently at the hospital Saturday. I'm very sorry to say that there is not much left of him. He was a powerful and dynamic presence in my life for 40 years, and it's now at the point to where they're sending him home this week to deal with the inevitable conclusion. Buzz Nickell, you were so great I can't find words for you, except to say that you will live forever in my heart. Godspeed, my brother.
I'll be back on the road next weekend with the band and I'll have something to say about the music by the time we go on the air next week. I've taken a vacation from music for 3 weeks and it's been nice. Doing file management has worked out great for the show, and I'd like to see all these folks tune in and dig us on the air. Hope to see you all online soon.
Y'all be sure to tune in tomorrow night at 7 PM Eastern for Racin' Through History on RacersReunion Radio. It's a Goat Rodeo you don't want to miss! Thanks, I'll see y'all next week.