Well, we were only able to attend on Saturday, but we saw history....... The first "West Coast HA/GR Match Races" were a big success!! Old6rodder and Toymaker have set the bar for us builders in California, and had a ball doing it in the process. These were the first runs ever for these cars and they gained lots of fans for the class and put on a great show of how to get the most bang for the buck. We here at Wild Hare Racing are really looking forward to joining the show. Here are a few pictures of the historic event. In the staging lanes, Team Twirl'n in front of Team Geezerspeed: On track: Best run of the day, (Old6rodder won this one): Team Geezerspeed on the return road:
that smile in the last pic says it all!!!!!!!!!!! I've been waiting on the edge of my seat this weekend to see this come down-- CONGRATS TO BOTH OF YOU!!!!!!!!! can't wait for those "first run pics" of mine.
Wasn't that cool?? Wish I could have stayed for today also..But will be waiting for their posts.. Let the (BS) Stories begin...hehehe
hopefully we can get some more interest out here in the west fun racing the way it should be side by side thanx everyone for your interest and support
OK, I'm gonna rattle on a bit .......... The now officially historic Mr. Lee (shameless reference to the song quite intentional) of Team Twirl'n had the pleasure of making the first HA/GR pass on the left coast in his and his dad Rocky's classic styled car. 'Twas a solo as it seems Team Geezerspeed was moving at their namesake and showed up a tad late to the party . Once there however, we put in our first shakedown run (a solo)and started sorting out the Barn Job. Our second pass we staged together as we wanted. Twirl'n's car was already better sorted out and Lee started right in working on his launch and run while I continued feeling out our car, missing second gear in the process . First race, Lee. Third run Lee did his burnout (he sure seems to smile a lot during that part ), then got a bit eager and drew a red while I pedalled off the line (I run the tires cold) and tried to work on the gears a bit better. Second race, Dick (by default). Our last run for Saturday was downright fun. Lee got the hole on me as he'd been doing all day but this time I put some clutch against the brake on my launch and did the opening act a bit more properly. I hit the gears OK and worked out the top end reasonably well, and finally looked like I actually might have known what I was doing. Third race, Dick. Team Twirl'n's running just the one carb at the moment (not enough time to get fancy and still make the meet) so our mid-ranges are very mismatched and it left us with an e.t. difference that their better gearing couldn't quite balance out. Sunday's festivities saw us called to the line only twice as there were several set-backs to the program and as exhibition class we were essentially "filler material", so were one of the first things "re-scheduled" each time. That's the way it goes, at least they didn't forget us, we made our second run fairly late in the day. Sunday was Russ's day to drive and we adjusted the seat accordingly. He made me promise to tell this one ........ (Bear in mind he's raced cars for many years from various road classes to cross country solar powered stuff but never driven on a strip before. It was going to be ugly .) The boy eased'er up to the pad and around the water, and calmly rolled right on through the stage, stopping just past the lights. The starter walked over and asked him what he was doing, he said "staging?". "It's back there." was the response, so he tucked'er in reverse and went "back there". After motioning him carefully into the beams and signalling him to wait there the starter then calmly walked over and asked if he was the same driver as yesterday. He responded "no sir" and now smiling, the starter flipped his visor down for him. After Lee burned, staged & left, Russ noticed the green, rolled'er off and motored on down the course. Eventually he remembed he needed to shift & missed second. He got'er into third well enough but only in time to shut'er off for the exit. Leaving'er running the whole time he motored back past the stands and back to the pits, where I gave him a bit of lip for overheating the engine. It later turned out that one of the roving photographers'd snapped him leaving the line, with the starter crew breaking up in the background . He instantly sprang the 20 bucks for the picture and will be proudly adding his first ever strip run to his albums. Swears it's the best picture he now has . First race, Lee. Russ's second run was only a little quicker, but signifigantly smoother . Lee was using the track time to practice his brake staging and blipped the throttle once at the wrong time, pulling another red, giving Russ his first (technical) drag racing win and a 50% win record ......... so far . Personally, I think it was a truly gentlemanly thing for him to do (sorry Lee, just couldn't resist that one ). Second race, Russ (by default). Still in all, Both teams Saturday afternoon, and Twirl'n on Sunday, put on great, fairly well matched runs that the crowd really got into. The showy bit of returning down the old fire-up road in front of the stands was a wizard idea and our runs always brought plenty of crowd response on the way back. More of the Bug style cars will definitely go a long way in getting this thing rolling out here (I think Barn Job's still a bit strange for some folks but hell, the early mid-engine attempts were strange then). Rocky has suggested we get together at the new 'Dale and see if we can drum up some interest with the eigth-mile boys. Sounds good to us. We need to make some changes on our car (that 3.23 rear we had on hand just ain't gettin' it for one thing ) and we'll be checking out that possibility in a month or two. What with the HAMBers I got to meet and the way these races were concieved and run I couldn't have had a better weekend anywhere else.
Guys, it sounds like you all had a blast. Thanks for the feedback on the weekend. By the way, I sent a link to this page, to Rob Park (NHRA, Division 5 Director) and ask if he could explain why the HA/GR cars can run at Bakersfield but can't run here..... and elsewhere in the country. He said he would "look into it" and get back to me. I could see it happening at some back country NHRA track....but Bakersfield? Maybe this is the break we need. Keep your fingers crossed. Ron
I was told that its all about INSURANCE..If the promoter would spring for the proper insurance, They should be able to run at any track..But I bet they will still be sticky on the double hoop for the cages. I'm adding another one to mine, Just in case..
Thingy, As soon as I heard about the HA/GR cars being allowed to run at Bakersfield I contacted Rob Park and ask if special insurance could be purchased so we could run at other NHRA tracks. He said "NO"..... NHRA was going to mandate that all cars would have to meet the NHRA rules to the letter of the law. I ask about us running the 1/8 mile..."NO". I ask about us running as an exhibition entry..."NO". There will be a nostialgia event here at KCIR the 17&18 of this month. We (HA/GR cars) were invited to attend but couldn't run. Now how hard is it to guess what my response was to that invitation. I'm waiting for a response from Rob Park about the Bakersfield event. More news at 10. Ron
Yeah, Russ says that's one he won't be forgetting anytime soon .......... Ron, we showed up to four of Butch's ANRA meets last year for what turned out to be show & tells only as we knew they might. We'll do more of the same if we must, to "get it out there". Gentlemen, The paying public really likes the class, slow and all, exactly because our cars AREN'T nasa level builds. They can believe that if they really wanted to they could build and race one themselves, so it's hardly surprising their identification is so strong. And it's true, they could. This thing can be really big if we can keep it the way it is. There are literally thousands of folks who'd love to get back on the strip at what are essentially old N-Stock class speeds & et's but in dedicated cars they build themselves at home and at a reasonable cost. Personally, I think NHRA's missing the concept, a good bet and a nice little niche market as well. This a driver/ builder class and needs to be run as that rather than as just another TV show. The way they're running the ricers is much closer to what HA/GR should (and was meant to) be. It'd be good for the strips to be open more and good for the sport to have the stronger public connection. Let's face it, all they're selling to any more is the "vicarious thrill" crowd and even that's starting to wear thin for'em. They're fast losing the local level drag racers, who're turning to a variety of other things to do now. Street rodding, street show cars, other sanctioning bodies and a few into "outlaw" drags to mention some. I think the HA/GR thing really fills the vacuum and that's why we get the response we get even when it's only a show & tell. And that's why I believe it'll grow into something (whether they sign on or not) as long as we can keep it the way it needs to be. The only thing that can screw it up is if they succeed in forcing it into something it isn't, just another "lookie at what we're doing but you can't afford to & never will" TV show. If that happens it'll die on the vine, it just isn't that kind of thing. Hell, I've had visions of meets dedicated to 12 second plus cars only. Variety of styles but strictly home builts, no sponsors allowed, gas & carbs only, random green or flag starts. Really playing the "home style" card. Yeah, I know ....... stop smoking the seeds. OK, preach over (think I'm a fan yet? ). Got to go scrounge up some more usable gears for the Barn Job, we want to get a bit more out of our beloved six inch biases.
Love the Idea of random green or flag starts, all we need is someone who knows how to use a flag. Really just setting up the tree without the yellows would be fine, just staging lights a green and the red for those who try too hard, would be fine. Let the starter decide when to make it green, without the benefit of a set delay and go heads up! By the way Old6.......have you payed that parking ticket yet??
Old6, AMEN brother. I've been drag racing since the 50's and witnessed the evolution from home built, flag starts, etc, to cookie-cutter cars that are electronic controlled and dull. Hell, I can remember when drag racing was fun and exciting. Lets hope we can get that excitement back with 6" tires, points and flag starts. Ron
Screw the NHRA and their high dollar snooty attitude. There is more than one way to skin a cat..Do you think that a smaller track would turn away lets say ten HAMB cars at a race.. I don't think so...
The Jalopy Journal
