Clyde, Patch, Iron Pegasus

[WildcatOne]

Sounds to me like you have a whole posse of bowtied, tenderfooted dudes there for the taking. Good luck out there, Billy! You're up to the task and so is The Iron Pegasus! Cheers, WC1

[Billy Mac]

Bowtied, Yes....Tenderfooted?...No. The two main objects of my focus are both seasoned veterans of the drag strip wars (read as Old Geezers who know their way down the track and are wiley enough to pounce on any opening or chink in the armor)....For right now...I like my chances

[Billy Mac]

Over the past few days, I think Mr. Goodson may have fell and bumped his head...He is now offering to let me stage with the back tires, because, in his words, "I plan to cut the tree out from under him so bad, I don't want him having any excuses..."

Hmmmm...Seeing as how the stakes for this pairing are only bragging rights, I may take him up on the offer, but give him the hit...remains to be seen...Awww...what the heck...I'll stage clean, if he tree's me fine.

Murphy, on the other hand, is another story. He wants to cut my hair so bad he can taste it...has threatened to put a 500 horse tuneup in his ride.
I have come up with a little bit more of an "insult to injury" stipulation...

"IF" He wins our one shot matchup, I will not only get a haircut on the starting line, but I will have to display a decal that says..."Murphy's Barber Services" on my back glass for a year...

"IF" I turn the win light on, HE will be the one in the chair getting a clip job on the starting line...Plus, he will have to display a "No Show Jones Fan Club" decal on his back glass for the next year. (That is the nick name that HE gave me )

Either way, I will have the decals ready for installation...they are both in my toolbox in my trailer...just waiting

[Billy Mac]

The waiting is over....The moment of truth is THIS Sunday. 'Maybe' I will have some good news to report afterwards...but 'maybe' I will be sporting a new doo I am confident in Peggy's capabilities, but as WC1 and George found out at the DLN's, anything can happen.

[Mike-Casella]

Good luck Billy!

[pro70z28]

sunday Sunday SUNDAY

Go Git-Em Billy.

[RH]

Billy, good luck! and try to get a couple of pics taken to put up.
(Hopefully YOU on the delivery end of a set of barber shears )

Ron

[WildcatOne]

It's this weekend? Go get 'em, Billy! WC1

[23t]

Good luck Billy!!!! Be safe and may you win by more than a hair.

[Billy Mac]

Long exhalation of breath here...and the good news, my wig is safe

To say the air was 'good' at Phenix City may be somewhat of an understatement...at one point the density altitude was less than 200 ft ( I peeked at a guy's meter who was there testing a blown Pro Mod...He called somebody to find out what to do with the tune-up, because he was not used to seeing conditions THAT good)

My first match up, with the 'Alabama Outlaw', David Goodson, didn't turn out so great for the Peggy camp....We both did our burnouts side by side out to about the 60 foot clocks. Side by side we backed back up and we both staged 'clean'. That's when my demise unfolded. As I went to go on the button for my tranny brake, I was also easing down on the loud pedal. Unfortunately, my gloved finger slipped off of my button and I had a massive red light...two stepped the loud pedal and basically did everything wrong. Oh well, life in the fast lane, huh?

When we got back to pits, I went over to David's trailer and apologized for my foul up and told him I definitely did NOT do that on purpose. He said, no problem, that we would do it again on our first round of qualifying. So, about 20 minutes later we were again heading to the staging lanes. Again, we did our burnouts side by side but this time we went a little further out. When I finally rolled to a brake assited stop, I was a little over a car length past half track. Thinking that I had maybe gone a bit far, I hurriedly got the tranny in rewind and did my best "Jungle Jim" impersonation by hot footing it back to the starting line area. It seems that Goodson had gone out nearly as far as I had, because we both got back behind the line at about the same time.

After that first foul up, I found myself some athletic tape and put it on my tranny brake button so I would have some friction for my glove to adhere to; I certainly did NOT want a repeat foul start. He pre-staged and I bumped in a split second behind. I rolled in and staged and placed my right 'bird' finger on my button. A fraction of a moment later he staged, and I matted the go fast pedal. When I thought I saw a flash of yella, I pulled the trigger (so to speak) on my button and was off. With a reaction time of .4360 I was off the mark first, but it was a short lived advantage. He squirted past me at about the 60 foot clocks and I got to view the backside of his parachutes getting smaller for the entire length of the track. Yes, he had told me the fastest he had been was a .93, he just failed to mention that that was a 4.93! Oh well, I ran a respectable 5.7580 at 116.58 mph and had tripped the 60 foot clocks in 1.2509 seconds.

So, after nearly 7 years of running my mouth (and fingers on a keyboard) I finally got to run David Goodson. He won. Done deal. Now move on to trying to qualify for the 5.99 index. I was paired with Steve Fountain (head of the Classic Gassers) and his 52 Willys with a blown small block. I know dadgum good and well that the crowd could not hear Peggy over his zoomies, but we did side by side smokey's out to about the 60 foot cones. We both backed up and staged and were virtually tied together at the hit...my .4460 to his .4475. Knowing I needed to lose some e.t., I peddaled twice then went out the back door, trailing "Coyote" across the stripe. His too quick 5.79 was trailed by my also too quick but closer 5.9468. For the first round of eliminations, I was paired with a '73 Gremliin who had qualified right behind me with a 5.93, so I had lane choice. He pleaded with me back in the pits to allow him to be in the right lane because he could not see the tree over his massive scoop. (Yes, I 'could' have put him in the left lane, but I am all about fairness....sometimes its a shame I don't have that 'killer' instinct to cut somebody's throat) I tree'd him with a conservative .4650 to his 5.755 light but did not know it. We both streaked down there and began a pedal fest. I woofed the throttle twice, he did the same...then right near the end I woofed again (which was the wrong thing to do) and he squeaked by me to take the stripe. His 6.129 easily outdid my 6.2311 at only 101.98 mph.
Hmmm...slowing Peggy down ain't as easy as I would have thought.

My next opponent was the dreaded 'Hair Cut' match. But there was a monkey wrench thrown in that deal. The guy who I was 'supposed' to run against, Tony Murphy, the same guy who a few years back gave me my "No Show Jones" nickname for not showing up at a few different events, was unable to make this event, due to a work related siituation where he had to be down in south Florida. So, he sent a replacement driver with His car(Tony's car, a 65 Chevy 2) to run me. This guy said..."No WAY I am getting a haircut, PERIOD!!"...So Steve Fountain said that if I, No Show Jones, won, that HE would take that haircut in Murphy's place. In the meantime, I played spectator, watching the other races and grudge matches between the local 'Pro Tree/ No Time' crowd.
Tim Jones, in Murphy's Chevy 2, went on to win the five car field of B-Gass on the 5.99 index. All day long he was on the phone with Murphy, and Tony was telling him to tune it up (nitrous jetting etc) to what ever he thought was necessary to whoop me, but Tim was hesitant to risk another man's motor. He was in the high 5.90's and low 6.0's all day. Seeing as how I was capable of .70's I told him I would let him stage with the back tires. If all worked according to plan, we should have been door handle to door handle at the stripe, which would have been fine, because Peggy's front end is stretched <G> All that went by the wayside, however, when Tim red lit and handed me the win and Steve Fountain a shaved head on the starting line....for the record, I was a little vunerable on that final pass with a .4881 reaction and a 5.8050 (Peggy WAS moving around a bit on the top end) but I had a career best 60 foot of 1.2248.....Virtually Everybody else was complaning about the track not hooking but I was throwing .60's like that....my buddy/chassis building partner/ engine builder said..."those folks might need Me to set their chassis up"....Hmmmm...he might be on to something there.