Clyde, Patch, Iron Pegasus

[Rapid Randy Baker]

[Billy Mac]

ok....go ahead and fix yourself a beverage of your choice and make sure to get comfortable, cause this may take awhile.....the following is a Billy Mac version of What I did Last Weekend. (with apologies to Rapid for infringing on his tag line...)

Thursday afternoon, around 5 pm or so, I called Tim to find out if he felt like foolin with changing the tires on my trailer.....he replied, "yeah, I guess so, come on over"......Soooo...I headed to his place.

I get there and he is kicked back in his recliner watching a movie, so I watched the end of it with him (and his missus)....when it got over with, he starts channel surfin trying to find something else to watch. I asked about whether the compressor needed to be turned on or not at the shop....he kinda stared at me for a second and then a light bulb went off in his head (maybe it was on, not off...but you get the idea) as he said..."Oh..you meant tonight??"....I said, "well that's why I'm here...." so he headed to the shop and I headed out behind his house to hook to my trailer.

After getting the tires off of the curbside of the trailer, Tim asked me if I had checked the bearings....I replied No, but that I would and proceeded to do so......hmmm...they didn't look too sporty, so we took off for the parts store to get some new bearings for both axles. upon getting back to the shop, the new bearings, fresh grease and new tires went on pretty easily. Then......I started on the task of trying to get my trailer lights working.......Ugggggghhhh...talk about a cluster flop, but at somewhere around 12:15 we finally got the passenger side taillight to at least come on...so I could limp the raggedy rascal back to Cairo.

Friday morning, I woke up at about 7:45, kissed my wifey-poo "Happy Anniversary" (our 17th), and headed to Wally World to get some new trailer light fixtures, while the missus continued to snooze. I searched and searched for what I "wanted" but had to settle for a run of the mill stop, turn and brake light kit (and ended up using the existing lenses and such, but with new guts in them.) I messed around absolutely all day long trying to get that silly thing functioning properly. It woulda helped immensely if'n I coulda been able to tell the difference between the colors on those stupid wires...but I eventually got it sorted out so that the left light blinks when I wanna go in that direction and ditto for the right side. Then I took off towards the car wash place to spiff up both the trailer and Peggy, cause I didn't want to look like a total nimrod pulling into the track. I had bought a big bottle of Purple Stuff to clean the trailer, because it was extremely nasty.....ummmm......hmmph.....so much for THAT idea.....my trailer is now very splotchy wherever there is still actually some paint on it. Oooops! But it IS "clean". Then I rinsed off the dust from Peggy and dried up all the loose wet stuff, loaded the ol' girl back in the box ready to head to the track the next morning.

According to Big Mark's son, Dylan, they were going to be pulling out from the shop (here in Pelham) around 11 am because the gates weren't to open at South Georgia Motorsports Park until 1 and it takes a little better than an hour to make it and they wanted to just leisurely get over there. I pull up in front of the shop at about 10:30 and there ain't a soul anywhere to be seen....so i just kinda kicked back in the seat of the van and tried to close my eyes. Well, there was another good idea shot all to hell; it was becoming hotter and hotter as the sun rose in the sky. I had to step out and answer a special call from mother nature, you know, the kinda call that is rather difficult to ignore, yeah...I needed to water the bushes and did so. While I was doing that, I noticed that the front door of the office was not fully closed, so I went and tugged on it.....it came open! Hmmm....very strange. I tried to call Big Mark's cell phone, I tried to call Dylan's cell phone. I even called their houses, but didn't get any answer anywhere. I was beginning to get a little nervous, concerned and kinda worried that something may have happened. I stretched out on the sofa here in the office and managed to nod off for about an hour and a half and they finally came into the parking lot at about 2 pm.
Their reasoning for being so tardy was the fact that time trials didn't start until 4 pm so no sense in sitting there on that hot asphalt any longer than we had to in those pits.

We get in the pits and get unloaded and Ethan (a friend of Big Marks, Jamie Williams' step son) had to head on to the staging lanes because they were calling for the 7.0 index class that he was competing in with a '69 Nova. Jamie and Dylan were running both Open Comp and the 6.0 class and I was just going to run Open Comp. (actually...all I "really" wanted to do was get a couple of hits and call it a day, which in the grand scheme of things is exactly what I did....but read on)

At 4.39 p.m. I made my first time run in Open Comp, ( a .500 pro tree, handicap start deal, with a .005 "cushion".....they would take your fastest run and drop 5 numbers from it......i.e. Dylan's best was a 6.24 and they dialed him a 6.19 for first round.) I was a "little" quick on the .500 tree and bulbed with a -.027 reaction time. Made it the first 60' in 1.296 and covered the first 330' in 3.838 seconds. even in the 95+* heat, my 1/8th mile e.t. was a 5.946 at 116.65. I was far from complaining about THAT run, but had to stretch out on the trailer floor, in the shade, because I came very near passing out once I got back to the pit.....After lying down for a few, I was ok once again....especially since some rain clouds moved in and cooled things down a bit: to mid 80's but with a ton of hummuggity.

In the meantime, I was "kinda" paying attention to the number of entrants into the Quick 8 race they were having, which was, as far as I could tell, right on the minimum (Quick 8, No Entry Fee, $1500 to win, $500 first round losers)......so I made the "possibly" dumb decision to enter in amongst some really bad boys...(number 1 qualifier ended up being a 4.29 after 1st round of qualifying)........I figured, "IF" I could squeak in on the bubble, then at the very least, I'd have 5 large in my pocket....a good game plan if you really think about it. Besides, those bad boys are subject to rattle the tires, get loose, cross the center line, or backfire the nitrous or some other run aborting calamity and "maybe" I could actually go a round or two. (I know....wishful thinking, but I was having fun anywho)

I had gone out to talk to the track photographer and gotten it set up for him to snap a pic or three of me with the laundry out on the top end of the track, and we had agreed that it would take place during second round of Open Comp time runs......Dylan (in his 86 Mustang, that I drove a time or two trying to run the 5.30 class) was in the other lane. I had already informed him of my intent to dump the laundry out and he just kinda laughed at me. We did our burnouts, and I rolled in and prestaged first. Dylan was right behind me with his top bulb then we kinda sat there for a second or so. I bumped on in and set my tranny brake waiting for him to stage which he did in another second or so. What I didn't notice, was his bottom bulb flickering......I saw it come on the first time and matted mine to the wood; 5500 rpms, on the converter. He realized I was WAY ready and bumped on in a little deeper, but by that time I figgered I had waited long enough and let go of the button. DAD-GUMMIT!! No time slip for me.
I took off like a bat outta hades and glanced up to make sure I knew where the chute handle was located....I already "knew' where it was, but I wanted to verify that it hadn't fallen off or some other "Murphy" inspired incident. As I streaked down the track, I was being particularly vigilant on where I was, because as the front of my car reached the mph cone, I wanted to release the chute. And thats what I did.....Just as I roared passed the finish line I got the sensation of my life....for the first time in my racing career, I got thrown into my harnesses...WHAM!!! I said something to the effect of HOLY $#%&^&! and then things seemed to settle in and calm down. So much so, that I "thought" the crazy chute had come loose from the rear of the car. I looked back over my shoulder, (which wasn't real easy, considering how tight my belts were) to make sure the chute was still where it was supposed to be. It was. Sittin' there, just flappin in the wake of what was probably another 116 (or so) mph blast.
Dylan came by me in the left lane, and I fell in behind him to follow him to the first turn off. I rolled to a stop safely out of the way of other cars that were coming down the track so that I could get my chute off the ground. There for a brief exciting time I felt like a Pro Stocker; rolling up my limp, deployed linens and putting it in the passenger side floorboard.<g> Once I finished getting my passenger side door secured, I got back in my office and went to re-start for the trip back into the pit area, but all I heard was the starter solenoid clicking.....hmmm...low battery power, well damn. So I sat there for a second or ten, then got out and leaned against the quarter panel and waited for "somebody" to realize I was missing in action. When off in the distance I see Tim heading my way with his 4 wheeler. Ahhhh, rescued at last. Well...almost.... Tim's brother-in-law, Eddie(a Limited Street Racer himself, with a twice turbo'd small block 94'Camaro) was riding on the front of Tim's 4 wheeler and they asked me if I had a tow rope. Ummm...No, I don't. So Tim said to stay put and they'd go find one. At this point, I thought to myself, "Just where in the hell do you Think I'd be going right now???" (LOL)...then Tim made yet another u-turn and pulled up behind Peggy, telling Eddie to put his feet on my bumper. Eddie inquired as to whether it was fibberglass or steel, and I could hear tim respond it was a heavy-assed stock bumper. I could feel the car start to roll foward and then Tim go to hollerin to slow down....Peggy had started to accelerate away from them when she got to rolling...(I think I told y'all before...this thing rolls EASILY!! LMSAO)

Anyway, I rolled to a stop and they pulled back up behind me and we tried it again.....me steerin Peggy... Eddie stiff legged pushin' and Tim probably shaking his head at this whole ordeal, thinking "Leave it to Billy Mac". We get to the ticket booth and I get informed that I received no time for that run.....well Durn. Tim told me to stay put and they were going to go in search of a tow rope. So I stood around and chatted with the time slip lady until Tim and Eddie came back a few minutes later. Once we got back to my pit, which was at the absolute opposite end of the facility, I put the battery charger on Peggy and went up to the tower to find out about the Quick 8 stuff. I knew I was carrying a sling shot to a bazooka fight, but figgered you never know unless you give it a shot, and I entered into the field. After about an hour or so rain delay, they called Quick 8's to the lanes for their first qualifying shot. So I poured a few drops of liquid giddyup in my fuel cell and pulled my pretty pony into the staging lanes. We sat there for a bit while they were running the first round of the 7.0 eliminations, then it was our turn at the track. I ended up being paired with a Top Sportsman Corvette and was directed by track personnel to go to the right lane. I followed those hand signals and eased Peggy to just the starting line side of the water puddle, and waited for the go ahead to begin my version of the tire smoking ritual that we all so dearly love; the burnout.
I pulled the shift lever back into low and stepped on the loud pedal until I could feel the backend start to rise a bit and then backed off the throttle a wee bit to keep from the rpms from banging the shift point, pushed it into high gear and let go of the whoa pedal and powered forward, out past the stsarting line to about even with the tree. My opponent had gone out past the 60 foot clocks. I stuck her in re-wind and mashed the tranny brake button and started easing back towards the starting line. A car length or two behind the line, I stopped, eased the shifter into neutral and gave the loud peddle a whack, just to make sure all was well. It seemed to be. I gave all the gauges a quick glance and took a deep breath before pulling the shifter back into low and easing ever so slowly and carefully towards the starting line. I rolled forward until the top bulb came on in my lane and stopped, so I could wait for my opponent to light his top bulb, which he finally did after what seemed like an eternity. I never turned my head his direction, rather I stayed looking at the tree, not staring at it but looking towards it. I ain't got a clue what was going on in his lane, but he sure took forever to get in there. I let him stage first then I bumped in right behind him and matted the loud pedal and when the tree flashed, I was off. I tree'd him (a wee bit, .091 to .121) but he had covered me by the sixty foot clocks.....his 1.116 to my 1.269. It didn't seem like he gained distance from me all THAT badly but he crossed the finish stripe with a 5.424 to my, new personal best of a 5.82 at 116.55.

On a sad note, coming back into the pits, my water pump decided that now was as good a time as any to take a vacation and quit on me; kicking the upper radiator hose off and spraying my windshield with water....I goosed the gas then shut off and coasted back to my pit, where my temp gauge was now reading 245*.(ouch) Tim came up and asked me what happened and i told him, so we did a quick diagnostics check and, sure enough, the water pump had eaten itself up....I was now DONE for the evening regardless of what happened with qualifying. I ended up being the number 9 qualifier after the first round with my 5.82 but low and behold, it started to rain again..and the race rescheduled for next month. So I am "technically" still in the deal and TIm and I are talking about the possibility of putting about a 200 shot on Peggy for the re-run.....guess we'll see what happens. Hey, I have no misconceptions of Winning that deal, but it would be nice to at least make the show and, who knows....with the propensity of those fast-ass cars to go up in smoke, rattle the tires and swap lanes etc, I "might" go a round or two...keep your fingers crossed, I know I WILL!!!!

Hope you enjoyed my report....

[jim sanders]

great report Billy... looking foward to the photos

[Billy Mac]

Big Mark captured a few in the pits and even in the staging lanes with his digital camera.....hopefully, they'll be loaded soon.

The Chute pics, while very good, were virtually head on shots.....so I am hoping to get a good action/burnout shot at the re-run and have the Chute pic (with Dylan also in the shot) as a secondary pic....but sadly, I'll have to wait until next month to get em.

[Rapid Randy Baker]

Great story Billy Mac Thanks for sharing it

[Billy Mac]

In the interest of consistency, I am totally bamboozled with Peggy.....Last September, when I ran that 5.85.....it came on the heels of a 6.06 pass.....This past Saturday, that 5.82 came after the earlier 5.94......do yoose guys see where I'm going with this?? WTH do you guys think is up with this propensity to pick up in excess of a tenth in my next run???.......I mean, I know the air was some better, and the temp was down (some)....but sheesh, consistency is out the window with this thing BangHead......How am i supposed to tell if one thing is helping (or hurting performance) when the dad-gum thing picks up so darn much?Huh then the next time out it starts back off a tenth or 2 slower?Huh dontknow dontknow dontknow

[Billy Mac]

We're off towards the middle of Georgia, to have a visit with the Div2 Chassis Cert fella, Mike Wells..........Finally getting Peggy all legalized today

Wish I was going to the track afterwards, and, in fact I AM...just not taking Peggy....the waterpump has not yet been returned....and I ain't riskin' it.

[Rapid Randy Baker]

Good Luck

[Billy Mac]

update.....

Peggy's Legal!!

Now I just have to get "me" that way (again )

[Mr. Jean]

Good news. Now getting you legal We'll see.