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April 2002 - Newsletter
2002 Results
News Letter -  New Records -  Points -  Event Pictures

 

ECTA Spring Meet

 

          Well, the second meet of the year has come and gone. We had another good turn out and the weather was pretty good both days. Even had a little tail wind, which always helps the speeds out. Bikes took top speeds of the meet again with a 211+ MPH pass by Todd Brooks. More on Todd in a minute. We also had 4 flathead powered racecars with us with 3 setting records. Clem Roberts brought his long awaited U/DTruck over from Nashville. We had a Corvette with a Soybean oil powered 6.2 GM engine. We had a couple of our members from Canada come down and set records, plus several of our own “regulars” running for both points and records. Combine all this with NO MAJOR MISHAPS and it made for a great weekend of racing.

           I think, just for the heck of it, I’ll start with the 4 wheelers first. While we had no car runs over 200 MPH, there were still a lot of records set or broken and the points race has a new leader as the Waddell Bros. take over first place from last years champions Brett & Regan Yates. It was costly though. Larry and Frank started the race with a good running V8 and ended it with a bad running V4. Even though Larry was driving when the engine went sour, most onlookers and old timers still think it was Frank’s fault! Anyway, Larry set 2 records with the best pass of 158 MPH. Not bad at all for the street legal Volvo. I’m sure they’ll get something back together for the May meet. While the Yates Racing team lost first place for the time being, they still managed to turn 165+ MPH before transmission problems sidelined them. Between Brett and Regan’s 27 T /MR and the Waddell Bros., Volvo, I don’t think there were enough parts to make one car much less two! We’ll see what happens next month.

Lewis “Doc” Grubb and his street legal Infiniti Q45 may benefit from all of this, as “Doc” is in third place and didn’t hurt anything even though he made at least 30 runs Saturday and Sunday. His best points run was a 125+ MPH pass.

Ransom Holbrook and his Holbrook’s SHO Racing Ford Taurus are also moving up in points. Ransom set a couple of records this meet with a best pass of 164+ MPH in the D/BGC class. This car started out as an every day driver before Ransom got the “bug.” It’s still street legal, but has all the safety equipment required to go fast.

“Booger” Smith had his “real” street Pinto wagon back with us this month. “Boogers” best pass was a 100+ MPH run, which was good for the record in E/FRS. I didn’t ask “Booger” about his nickname. I’ll try to get around to that later!

A new car this meet was the ‘67 Firebird of Glenn Majors. Glenn’s car is powered by a 427 Chevy engine and is pretty strong. In the new B/CGC class, Glenn set the record at 125+ MPH. This car will go faster but did not have all the safety equipment yet so was not able to run up to its potential. Glenn says it will be “safe” by the June meet.

            Keith Turk has been real busy making and selling piston paperweights for souvenirs, but still found time to drive the Dupree Racing E/GLakester to a new record of 152+ MPH. This is a good-looking car with a Mercury Marine 4 cycle engine. Keith’s also got his Aluminum “D” engine back together and has Joe Timney working on a 4 link in his ole Camaro. It should be ready to run in a couple of weeks, so put in your “piston trinkets” order early!

            Scott Cowle is one of our members from Canada. He comes down once a year to set records with his good-looking Plymouth Duster. This years trip went pretty well as Scott set 2 records with the fastest being a 179+ shot in the new A/CFALT class. As is the case with a lot of people running N.O.S., Scott wanted more and so he hit the button in second gear. Now he has a whole year to put the heads back on his 440!

Stephen Shepherd had his “new” 1990 VW Jetta running in the G/FSS class and left with the record at a little over 105 MPH. How fast will this thing go next time out? Time will tell.

Cindy and Randy Williams came over to help Clem Roberts and volunteered some time with the ECTA. Cindy got a little bored and decided to run her 2001 Aztek in our street legal class. She was able to set a record at a little over 103 MPH! Not bad……..for a girl!

Lawson Bilhardt, Butch Chamblen and crew came back with their Blackbird S.C. T-bird. Lawson and Butch traded runs and records until Lawson came out on top with a 133+ MPH run in E/PS. They’re getting ready to run the 130 and 150 MPH classes at USFRA’s September meet in B-ville.

Nicholous Stewart had his LX/FS cart running good with a record pass of 97+ MPH. They’re getting closer to 100 MPH all the time with “lawn mower” power.

“Wasted” Willie Glass has been fooling around with “Monkey Motion” OHV heads on his trusted flat heads for a while now and doing pretty good with them. However, he showed up with a “real” flathead in his good looking XF/GR ’29 Ford. He left with the XF/GR at a fast 144+ MPH. Less than 10 MPH off the B-ville record. Does this mean anything? Who knows? Willie’s good friend Kenny Kloth flew out from Salt Lake City to help “Wasted” out. Willie also turned 68 while he was at the races! So, Happy Birthday Willie!

Speaking of flatheads and Willie, some of his friends and long time flathead racers at B-ville came out to visit the ECTA and set records.             Wayne and Mark Lichtenwalter had their “Class of ‘39” 1939 Ford 2 door chopped sedan running very well with a best speed of 122+ MPH in the XF/VBGALT class. They, along with friend Adam Ott, set five records in all and seemed like they had a great time. Dave Thomssen was with them and had his ’27 T “Hayseed Special.” Dave set 2 new records with a best speed of 140+ MPH in XF/BSTR. Both of these cars had blown flathead motors in them. They talked like they may make it back in the fall. Lets hope so.

Bill and Joshua Rynd, along with good friend Ken Davison, had Bill’s ster running well with passes in the low 130’s. Bill was trying a couple of new tricks and, while running well, did not break any records this time out. He’ll be back in May, though, so look out! Joshua also took time out from helping in the timing tower to run his AA/PP pickup truck. He came up just a little short of the record and will try again next month.

Don and Dick McMeekin had their McMeekin Bros. Racking ’78 Buick Skyhawk back down from Ohio again. They’re trying to get ready for a shot at the B-Ville 205+ record. Don ran a very stout 186 last month and was looking for 190+ this time out. Unfortunately, didn’t happen. Instead, he had a rocker arm, bent valve problem. Hope it’s not too bad and they get their 190 next month.

Philip Franz had his Koenig Bros. Racing ’87 Camaro out to play again and ran a strong 165+ MPH before engine problems sidelined the good-looking car. As long as they make new parts to replace “old” parts, Philip is going to keep plugging away.

            Chuck Panner was also back with his V-6 powered ’82 Camaro.  He had some runs in the 150 MPH range but also had a few small problems along the way. As usual though, he was all smiles and will be back soon with his “second childhood” Camaro.

 

Horace Whitten was back in his ’96 SS Impala. This is one car that probably needs a roll bar and a few other safety features to run up to its potential. Horace feathered the throttle to a 125+ pass and had a good time anyway.

Middle Tennessee State University had their unusual 1974 Corvette back down for the first time in a couple of years. This car runs on soybean oil and may be the fastest in the country to do so. I don’t know if this is the fuel of the future or not, but every time they went through shutdown the crew wanted popcorn! By the way, driver Jeremy Hughes was able to run 95+ MPH with the converted fuel 6.2 GM diesel.

As I mentioned earlier, the long awaited unlimited diesel truck of Clem Robert made its first outing. This is a beautiful piece of work and had everyone’s attention.            But, as new rides go, Clem and crew had driveline problems. Hopefully, they’ll have it ready again next month and things will go better. I know Clem’s son “Dammit” and crew chief “Mike”Poteete hope so too. That’s all for the cars this month. Now on to the scooters!

          Todd Brooks came back down with his Double Bussa racing Suzuki. Todd keeps going faster and faster and had top speed of the meet with a great 211+ MPH run in MPS/G-2000. Todd then took the bodywork off his motorcycle and entered a M.B.F. class. Even though he had his gas tank sealed with a load of VP racing gas. Then he went out and set the fastest non-fairing motorcycle record to date at 203+MPH. After a tip from Scott Guthrie that this might be the fastest unfaired pass in land speed racing period, I checked the B-ville record book and believe this is true.  After the Forstall and Knecum run last meet of 234+, it’s pretty obvious that the Maxton Concrete Mile lends itself well to fast motorcycles! Congrats, Todd on a job well done.

            Todd’s good friend Todd Dross (die hard Harley rider) also got a ride on the Double Bussa Suzuki and set a record at 186+ after only a couple of runs. Does this mean he’s going to sell his trusted Harley and get a rice grinder? Don’t think so! He also set a record aboard his Cast Iron Sportster at a fast 120+ MPH. Still, it was kind of hard to wipe that 186+ grin off his face.

“Mr. Motorcycle” Scott Guthrie came into this meet with a lead in the points race. He brought 3 bikes with him and set 18 records before the weekend was over! Even after all this he saw his points lead shrink. He’s still in top place, but there are 2 or 3 teams looking to move up. Scott’s fastest run of the meet was a flat 197 aboard one of his Suzuki’s before he hurt it a little.

Speaking of fast Suzuki’s’, John Bullock became the ECTA newest 200 MPH club member with a great run of 210+ MPH in MPS/BF-1350 class. Suzuki should be a major sponsor of the 200 MPH club! Great job John!

Rick Denham had his good looking and running Gregory Town Racing Harley back out again. He worked on the MPS/PF-1350 record all weekend and finally left with a new record of 15+ MPH putting nearly 18 MPH on the old mark!

            The Sportster list race team had “Roadkill” back in action and set the A/PF-3000 record at a fast 164+ MPH. This is one fast Harley and looks to be a factor in this years points race. George Crim was the rider this meet.

            Females on Harley’s? Yep! Karen Batts was riding the Batts Racing Harley and set the A/PF-3000 record up to a solid 142+ MPH. “Old Man” Paul Batts then got a chance to ride and set the APS/PG-1350 record at an even faster 153+ MPH. Wonder who gets to ride it on off weekends? Karen wasn’t our only lady rider as Susan Agin also set a new record on the team. Cooked Goose P/PP-2000 Moto Guzzi with a speed of 142.671 MPH. Good job!  

Sidney Conn also got on his bike and set the MPS/PG-2000 record at 150+ MPH. I noticed several Moto Guzzi’s running around in the pits, so I guess there is more than one after all.

Ed Tilley showed up with a 50cc Aprila motorcycle and set 2 records with a best speed of 65+ MPH out of the unusual 2-stroke motorcycle. You don’t have to go 200 to have fun, just ask Ed.

Jay Barker is getting his 750 Suzuki faster and faster. He took the Flying V Racing Suzuki to a new record in MPS/F-750 at a quick 167+ MPH. Mack Wolniak is another Harley rider riding a Suzuki. He set the P/PS 1000 record up to 175+ MPH. Don’t know if he’s brining back his Harley any time soon or not.

Lee Shierts of Lee’s Performance Center had his 1000cc Suzuki running very well in MPS/G-1000 class. He must have made 20 passes with a best of 195+ MPH for the new record.

Terry Cruse, another one of our members from Canada, had his Hykz Racn Can Racing Harley down to run with us for the first time. After a couple of license runs he set the MPS/PG-2000 record at a fast 139+ MPH out of his custom H.D. Hope he’s able to get back down soon!

            Garry Michael was up from Georgia with his Over The Hill Racing 84” V Twin Harley. He had a few problems out of the bike and was only able to run 117+ MPH this trip. He’s been a lot faster and I’m sure he’ll be back strong before long.

George Leiby, riding the Leiby Racing 750 CB Honda, was unable to improve on last months record. He’s getting faster every meet and looks to improve his top speed soon.

Rich Yancy has got one fast Suzuki motorcycle. It’s been timed at 209+ MPH with different riders. It’s not that Rich is a bad rider, it’s that he is a TALL rider and it is hard to wrap up as tight as he needs to in order to go over 200 MPH! He’s trying and I hope he gets it done before long. Oh yeah, he was able to go 195+ MPH!

Wayne Pollock is fairly new to land speed racing and keeps getting faster aboard his Suzuki 1300. Wayne’s best pass was a fast 184+ MPH. Wayne’s working on a 202 record and I think he will get it before the year is out.

Larry Young brought out his #883 Harley Sportster and ran for time only while he is getting his feet wet. He still had a great time and ran a best speed of 113+ MPH, which is not bad for the new comer!

Mike Shedd, of Lone Eagle Racing, had his new Burell 500cc single cylinder Harley back after blowing the head gasket last month. He is still working the bugs out of it and should have it setting records before long. I’ve took a couple of jabs at Keith Turk and his ability to hurt pistons and other things with N.O.S. Well, to help prove a point, I saw him over in “Dad” Land’s pit area and after a little help, “Dad” was able to burn the complete front cylinder off his trusted cast iron H.D. While I’m sure that “Dad” was fully capable of doing this on his own, it was strange to see Keith over there anyway. Really, I think that it was a little trash in the gasoline and “Dad” should have it fixed in time for the next meet.

Well, that’s all of the bikes and cars for this meet. I think we had 45 entries and 340 runs. There is all kind of races on any given weekend in the USA. There was a NASCAR race Sunday in California with Jimmy Johnson winning. They also had 42 losers!  We didn’t!!

 

See ya next month,

                      

Lionel

 

Lionel’s Corner

          Help!

Again I want to thank all of the volunteers. It takes everyone we can get, to put on a race. We had lots of help this meet and we all really thank you all. A special thanks to Susan Shedd, Mike Shedd, Dad Land, Brad Johnson, Clem Roberts, Mike Poteet, Anita Dismore, Randy Williams, Cindy “Souvenir Babe” Williams, Bridgetti Krompass, Shirley Yates, John Yates, Joshua Rynd, Joe Roberts, Scott Guthrie, Air-tite Barns, Chuck Rothfuss, Louis Grubb, Alex Locklear, Steven Locklear, David Locklear, Rich Kenski, Tonya Hanley, Lawson Bilhardt, John Coll, Butch Chamberlain, Wink Klockenthorer, Debbie Heneman, Nikki Minarik, Amanda Delgado, Susan Miller and Darlene Young. If you would like to help sweep the track, work at the start line, finish line, timing tower, impound, tech or other jobs, let us know. We racers get so busy with our own race machines sometimes that we don’t think of the volunteers that work all day and don’t get much of a chance to see the cars and bikes or to just shoot the B.S. with other racers. Most volunteers have or will race with us. And while this is an amateur sport, we all like to be professional about it. So, while racers and volunteers are trying their best, we can and will make mistakes. Lets try and not get too upset about it. Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to look the other way.

           If any participants would like to save $20.00 a race, pre-enter your vehicle. ($100 pre-entry, $120 at the race) No, you can’t fax a copy of your hundred-dollar bill!!! Sorry!

           Remember everyone needs to wear his or her armbands all weekend. Susan Miller (aka “Sue Mack”) says you can wear one for weeks without taking a bath and it will be just fine! So, don’t lose your armband!

           Also, B’ville is only 3 months away! I hope we have a strong ECTA showing again this year. Let John Beckett or myself know if you plan on going and we will try to get pit space together if possible.
Again, thanks to all the volunteers and racers. We have to have both! Thanks everyone!

Lionel

          PS: Mack Sarvis has a video of some of our racers that he put together. He showed a copy at the awards banquet. A lot of people liked it and asked about a copy. Mack has put together a few for $15.00 a copy with proceeds going to the ECTA for track repair, etc. If you would like a copy let John Beckett, Susan Miller, or Lionel know.

          Also racers, keep in mind that we start tech on Fridays at 3:00 PM. If you get your vehicle teched Friday, you can start racing earlier on Saturday!