Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312742
10/18/12 12:54 AM
10/18/12 12:54 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,448 Phoenix, AZ
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We spent very little time on I-45 before they shuttled us off on the picturesque little two lane featured in the picture above that Boone shot of the cars following me. I was enjoying the drive when suddenly I went by a big sign that said "Welcome to Cedar Creek DragWay", we were 600 feet past it before it sunk in. "Dang it Boone, bet that was a cool little 1/8 mile track back on that road!" "Yeah, but we better keep moving..." Boone had a Seafood Restruant on his itenerary in Shreveport, and he wasn't about to let me screw it up traipsin' around some little hole in the wall dragstrip. The tempature guage had me concerned, and as we entered a larger town complete with stop lights it began to climb. That was when I realized I'd apparently turned the fans off at our last gas stop, and left them off, brilliant. The next stop light we were joined by the Orange Chevelle we had ignored on the side of the road the night before. We actually shared a supper stop with these guys on last years Drag Week, cool guys for Chevy racers. This year they had added a junior crew member, apparently 3 isn't a crowd!
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312743
10/18/12 03:05 AM
10/18/12 03:05 AM
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We made the first Checkpoint at 66 miles without a hint of trouble and everyone seemed to be in good spirits. The HotRod film crew was on hand to get shots of all the festivities, so we gave them the "All Mopars all the time version"!
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312744
10/18/12 03:28 AM
10/18/12 03:28 AM
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All this hustling to make the restruant in time put us in the heart of Tyler Texas, in rush hour traffic, during the hottest part of the day, that was workout for both man and machine! Checkpoint #2 came in WhiteHouse Texas, just outside Tyler, and we fueled there too. Since we had all filled up at the last stop together, this was our first chance to play another Drag Week Game...called WHO IS GETTING THE BEST MILEAGE! Darryl's Dart took on 9.0 gallons, while the Valiant topped off with 9.3, and the Belvedere, AKA the pack mule needed 10.2!
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312745
10/18/12 04:07 AM
10/18/12 04:07 AM
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,056 Mt.Vernon IL
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Quote:
It was a shame they weren't able to continue, the big Truck was an absolute work of art!
I think this was the same truck getting its cage certified same time as mine was back in august. The guy working on it said the owner was doing drag week as well and he spent all kinds of money on it, and during the winter he was gona take the cage out and redo it again.
I spent 2 years redoing my car and tried to make drag week this year for the n/a big block street class, but my transmission broke on me not once but twice. Its going good now. Hope to see you at drag week next year Billy.
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312748
10/21/12 04:22 PM
10/21/12 04:22 PM
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We worked our way through a few more little Texas towns and great scenery, and eventually popped out on I-20 just south of Longview (Mom's birthplace), and started the stretch run to Shreveport. 15 miles up the road, I noticed we were gaining ground on an Orange 70 RoadRunner being closely tailed by a Fuschia and Black 73 or 4 Dodge Colt...not your typical Interstate fodder to be sure. 72 year old George Browning was behind the wheel of the Colt, which up until he purchased it had been an ancient and eclectic race car. George is a Drag Week Veteren having brought a 26 T hardtop Ford with a 5.0, and also a Fox Body Mustang in years past.
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312749
10/21/12 04:28 PM
10/21/12 04:28 PM
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Since he was in a Mopar this year, and an old racecar at that, Scott and Kim Abbott (Scott58, Moparts) felt compelled to take him under thier wing and keep tabs on him. Scott's Orange 'Runner, like the restruant of the same color, revels in being "Delightfully tacky, and unrefined", but make no mistake, it carries a thundering stroker, and is deadly reliable...
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312750
10/21/12 04:39 PM
10/21/12 04:39 PM
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Click on the attachments of George's Colt and look closely at the hastily drawn up concessions to put it on the street! Channel Bumpers with LED's, single very small wiper, and in this pic taken on Sunday, you will see a very ancient set of Pro-Tracs that Scott had to talk him into exchanging for a new set of Drag Radials. Scott can correct me but the build date I think he told me was '89 on those tires! The massive Winters rear-end was freaking awesome with a bolt pattern of like 5 on 12.5!! Looked almost like an old dayton style wheel setup.
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312751
10/21/12 05:38 PM
10/21/12 05:38 PM
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As we eased up closer, I thought for sure we would pass them within a couple miles, but they began to pull away again, then come back 5 or 6 miles later, then pull away again. I asked Scott about it later, and he admitted, "It's hard to keep George up to speed on the big roads, he's more comfortable at 50 or so, and I'm afraid some Semi is going to run over him!"
Pic below is with the new M/T Drag Radials...
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312752
10/21/12 05:51 PM
10/21/12 05:51 PM
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Posts: 4,448 Phoenix, AZ
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We met Scott and Kim last year on Drag Week. Scott jumped out of his RR at our pit area and introduced himself, with "You fellows have some nice Mopars here!" Then 2 minutes later, after looking at plate systems under all 3 hoods came back with , "What's with all the nitrous guys! Geez, all motor, ALL MOTOR!" That's the way with Scott, He's going to tell you exactly what he thinks...with a delivery and demeanor that is in no way confrontational, just a great guy to be around and a true gearhead in every sense of the word.
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312753
10/21/12 06:19 PM
10/21/12 06:19 PM
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We ran with them all the way into Shreveport, and then split from them when the prescribed course left I-20, because our restruant stop and Motel was just 10 miles up the road, right off the Interstate. Except for the fact that I-20 is extremely rough in Louisiana it was a very easy, smooth, dramaless trip, we hit Boone's chosen feeding hole with an hour and a half to spare before closing time.
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312754
10/21/12 10:38 PM
10/21/12 10:38 PM
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Once inside the restruant, I was feelng the last 100 mile beating in my hips and lower back, so when the waiter asked how we were doing I told him! "We'll see if we can take of that", he said with a comforting tone. He had our drink order quickly, and then Rachael asked for a Long Island Iced Tea, "You have ID?" She headed out to get it and I explained to him that this was her 23rd birthday. Eddie was a tall black man, in his early 50's if I had to guess, and he was easily the most engaging, efficient waiter I've ever been around. He seemed to anticipate our needs without being intrusive, and made the meal an absolute delight. We all refused dessert as we loaded up our leftovers, but he brought out an excellent bread pudding, with 5 spoons and set it in front of Rachael, "Compliments of the house, for your Birthday". It was the perfect ending to a perfect meal, a perfect day actually. Rachael's B-day, being the second weekend of Sept. when the Monster Mopar Weekend was traditionally held...was spent sans Dad quite often in her childhood, I hoped in some small way, this day made up for that. We drove to the motel, and decided to put Dale and Darryl in the same room, figuring Mr. lets get there 30 minutes before the gates open, and Mr. lets get there 30 minutes before they cut off the back of the lanes, would be a perfect foil against each other! It felt good to actually get in bed before midnight for a change.
The Birthday girl trying to do the exact pose on the sheet at checkpoint #1
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: Scott58]
#1312757
10/21/12 11:58 PM
10/21/12 11:58 PM
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 52,972 Romeo MI
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So George wasnt running his T this year.... it was funny back in 2010... I think he made 68 passes that year... he would hot lap it till time to go... seeing that Winters rear end reminded me, I have one of those in the pole barn.... Scott.... you ever gonna paint that RR.... LOL
Last edited by MR_P_BODY; 10/22/12 12:04 AM.
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: ksj]
#1312759
10/22/12 12:28 AM
10/22/12 12:28 AM
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Quote:
It was 68. Made me tired.Think Scott has something "planned" for next year.
We asked if he was getting his entry fee's worth of passes.... he laughed and headed back out for more... that guy is great
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312760
10/22/12 12:55 AM
10/22/12 12:55 AM
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The next morning found me checking results on Rachael's laptop, and that was the first time I realized that Tony Sanchez's Javelin was out. We had arrived at the Motorplex so late that I just figured he had ran and already left. That meant I was now 2nd behind Ray and his Barracuda, "Boone, Ray has a pair of 10.0's, one at 135, one at 131! He's having a hard time keeping that thing out of the nines." "Yeah, he's got plenty left...how 'bout that mystery Camaro that moved into the class?" "Only went .64 at Texas, so I have just short of two tenths on him right now." We went down to a large meeting area, where they had breakfast put out, and filled up, while Rachael found us an alternate route to the track so we wouldn't have to backtrack 10 miles.
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312761
10/22/12 11:22 AM
10/22/12 11:22 AM
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George's Colt has a Magnum 318 with a carb on it I believe.
We got trapped behind them on one leg of the trip. I couldn't figure out why we were going so dang slow. They finally pulled over for gas and I realized who we were following.
Drag Week 2011 - 77th place - DD Drag Week 2012 - 2nd place SRBB N/A Drag Week 2014 - Kapooya RMRW 2018 RMRW 2020
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