Getting Started

Well the days are starting to get longer, and old man winter appears to be loosening his grip a little more each day. That means spring is right around the corner and with it the start of a new racing season. I’m tired of watching, reading, writing & talking about it…I’m just ready to start doing it.

Last season was both awesome and disappointing at the same time. It was awesome from the standpoint that my friend Steven and I put a car together just two weeks before the first race, and ran it all year without a single mechanical mishap. We also won a lot of rounds and had enough momentum to be a serious threat for a championship in ORSCA. Disappointing from the standpoint that the series folded a month before the end of the season and we never got a chance.

The approach to this year will be much different. Rather than chase after rainbows with outlaw series championship gold at the end of them, I’m going to stay a little closer to home, do some local races, and continue to build upon my dream of running a nitro funny car. The goal is to use my time and racing resources wisely, and providing that everything falls in place, run a full time nostalgia funny car program in 2012.

My first race of the year will be at my hometown track; the Brainerd Dragstrip in Ringgold, GA. Last year I missed out on the “Outlaw Reunion” race, and after much hype, I hear it was quite a show with racers coming in from each of our surrounding states and also as far away as TX, NY, FL, etc. However, this time it’s all systems go for us at “Battle of the States” in 5 weeks.

Stop by the Phoenix trailer for a bad joke and some free stickers!

A couple of weekends from now I’m going to pull out my tried and true battle-axe for a little spring time repair and restoration. Along with regular service/maintenance, a new steering rack will be installed in an attempt to shed a few pounds and hopefully fix the current grocery buggy handling/steering characteristics. I also hope to get in a day of testing between now and then….if not, the battle of Brainerd will just have to be fought on the fly.

Finally, I’m very, very, very proud to announce that all of our sponsors; Coker Tire, Dart, Comp, Royal Purple and Hole Shot wheels are back on board for 2011 and are stepping up to help with the funny car program in a major way. Much more on that in the months to follow…

EG