NMCA/NMRA Super Bowl in Joliet, Il.
Sponsor Report by: Dave Schultz
July 16, 2012
To refresh your memory, we'd blown the new motor in the Big Red Ram while at the NMCA race in Maryland, rushed to a friend's place in Evansville, IN. to pull the motor and run it to the builder, and raced the friend's (Doug Duell) Barracuda at the NHRA's Hot Rod Reunion. After the NHRA race — we took the Barracuda back home with us rather than bring it back to Bowling Green.
So…, we left Monday July 9th to drive to Evansville to return the Barracuda and finish the engine install in the Coronet. We arrived there Early Tuesday morning, and after a couple hours sleep, we finished up the engine install (most being done the weekend before by Doug and Matt). We then headed south to Bowling Green, KY to make a couple of test passes.
They don't prep the track on Tuesday night, so all we learned was that the motor was holding together — and so after three passes we loaded up and headed to the race at Route 66 in Joliet, IL. We arrived at the staging area Wednesday night and got in line. They let us into the pits a little after noon on Thursday — and we set up the pits and teched the cars in.
Friday we were given two Time Trials in the morning and two Qualifying passes in the evening. It was very hot, and few on the NSS cars could run their normal index — including us. I bumped my car (Texas Whale) from the C/FX (9.75) Index to A/NSS (10.00) Dallas had to move the Big Red Ram up from B/FX (9.50) to C/FX. Problem is that neither of us could legally put enough weight in the car to slow down to the slower index — so we were caught in "No Man's Land" by being too slow for one and too fast for the other index. It was made worse on my car because I had swapped out the 4.71 rear gear in favor of a 4.34. My car didn't like that gear at all — and my 60's were both horrible and inconsistent. Both of us qualified horribly.
So Dallas was put on the ladder opposite the Top Qualifier Joe Midile for a heads up 9.75 race. Dallas was slightly better on the tree — but was at the wrong end of a Double-Breakout 9.72 to 9.74.
I was opposite 00-Joe Ewing — nicknamed Double O Joe for his lights. I'd had great lights all weekend, winning two of the four pots with my .014 and .011 lights — but I pressed the tree too much this time and choked by turning the stupid light on. Insult to injury was Joe had a horrible light and broke out — but also won the next four rounds to win the event.
So now were back home, getting the cars and rig ready (including putting the 4.71 gears back into my car) for the Dave Duell Classic in a couple of weeks. While the both of us had a rare first round loss, we shouldn't be hurt too bad in the points as most others in the Top Ten for points were also 1st Round Runner Ups.
