I went to Ozark last night and when I got there the place was loaded with motorhomes, big rigs and fancy trailers. I thought this is test and tune night? I found out it was a Pro Mod shoot out that had been rained out last month. At first they weren't going to let me run but the owner, Chance, said I could but would have to be worked in. This is now an 1/8th mile and for good reason because it is a short shutdown. Well I sat in the car for 20 to 30 minutes to get to run but I wanted to see what all my valve train work and front end mods would do. The first run was 95.54 mph with a 7.7669 et. The second run was 97.36 with a 7.6410 et. I was the only one there going less than 150mph and in the 4's. I was the only one with a Chevy S10 with a 16ft flat bed trailer but I had the biggest crowd. I had one guy come up and said I haven't one of these in 50 years, that made me feel good. My **** couldn't take another 30 minutes in the hard seat so we loaded up and went home. The car ran great and the raditator kept it at 180 even driving up the return road. Great beginning. Roy
Roy i have kept records on speed /ets at tulsa and found that most cars pick up 18 to 20 mph from the 1/8 to the 1/4 . That would give you 118 mph. It will be interesting to see if this holds true .l j
The pic of you car is great. Like the others, I'd sure like to see more. You must be making good horsepower to run 97mph in the 1/8th mile. How does it leave the line? Do you have to ease it out of the hole?
I came out of the hole just at idle about 1000 rpm. The track was well prepared and I didn't have any wheel spin. It did shudder quite a bit trying to break loose but didn't. My engine is like Ron Golden's with .125 overbore 302 GMC my own homemade intake and exhaust and Isky cam. I took the 32 Ford Axle and spring off and put a tube axle on over the winter and lightened up the valve train. The engine revs faster now and I went to 6200 on the last run. Not on purpose. This a picture I took at the house yesterday. Roy
Great going Roy. Ozark used to be a 1,000' track if it's the same place I'm thinking about. Is it in Rogersville? I used to live in Springfield and ran there many times. Again great goin'.
Yes it is Rogersville just outside of Springfield. A father and 2 sons bought it and are improving it but I think most of the improvements will come over next winter. They didn't take possesion of it in time to do much before racing season began. It is a track about like MO-KAN but there is a ravine at the end that makes the shutdown impossible to lenghten. I talked to the dad and one son and they were really into these type of cars. The dad stayed and talked for 30 minutes. Of course all the old guys like me knew all about what dragsters in the 50's looked like but the young people had a hard time knowing points and condensers. Why bias ply treaded tires and some of the other things but I hope it will spark some interest. I'll go again in the near future. Roy
Of historical note: This is the track that famed AA/Fuel racer Lou Cangaloose (spelling) died at in the early sixties. He went off the end into the aforementioned ravine.
Hi Roy, your car looks great. It has been there before, in 2005, we, the hornets went to Mokan to run the Rams from Ow***o. Mokan was a rainout so we took both cars to that track. They let us slow cars run the 1000 ft. I turned a 10.99 with the Hornet. Do they still have the haystack at the end? That red light on the right lane used to have a star shaped hole in the lense. Joe
Not exactly. Cangaloose went off the end of the original Ozark, which was actually in Ozark. It closed about 1974. But yes, there was a ravine at the end. I wrote a story about "Original Ozark" years ago, and talked to the owner about this accident. He thinks Cangaloose committed suicide because he owed the mob money. I was managing "new Ozark" in 1998 when we had a altered go off the end after his throttle stuck (his cl*** was running 1/8 mile) and the driver died. "new Ozark" also has a ravine at the end.
Wow, That's some interesting stuff. I was relating a story from a seemingly knowing racer who was running with the 7.90 ***ociation out of Texas. He allowed as he was there (at what is now Ozark Mountain Raceway) when the event occurred. Time could have dimmed his memory.
I remember Lou running at Minnesota Dragways in the mid-60's. Rod Stuckey, Al Williams, Bob Sullivan and Gary Decker were some of the other guys from your area that would come up north and put on a show for us jackpine savages.
Guys, If you want the facts you can talk to Don Cain (AA Gas Dragster and Puch & Cain Fuel Funny) from the Kansas City area. Rod Stuckey and Don ran with Lou and that bunch. Don's a good friend of mine, and I worked with Lou's grandson. Don 816-453-2761 Ron
Moparsled and Vector, I don't know how much it weighs but will weigh it maybe at Tulsa. I went out to the shop and took some pictures for you Mopar. Hope it shows you what you want. I don't have anything like those California guys with bikini clad babes. Roy
Roy, once you start pulling the front wheels off the ground, the bikini clad babes will come out. Robert
I have my time in at the track in Ozark, Mo. The strip is now the main drag for a housing development. What a shame to lose another track to urban sprall.
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