After experiencing PA’s hottest stretch of the summer a couple of weeks back, only to come home to similar conditions in my home state of TN, I thought how much hotter could it get? Well, I found out. My a/c at home decided to go on an untimely strike for a couple of days (it was repaired last minute or I would’ve been staying at home in Memphis’ kiddy pool with him; ed. note – see dog in pool pict.), so we decided to pack up and head further south into the heart of Dixie for a little outlaw racing. Saturday it was 90 degree’s at 8:30 in the morning…and it didn’t get any cooler throughout the day, staying above 100 for most of the afternoon. OK, OK, enough about the weather. It was just something else we’d have to deal with, and it was the same for everybody…but man it was hot!

DOG DAYZ...

Speaking of things to deal with, some serious race rust had accumulated since the last time I’d been in my outlaw car. It’d been over 2 months since we’d competed, and after running Army’s nitro funny car a couple of weeks back…I was pretty much a mess when it came to getting comfortable again in my own ride. The two cars are about as similar as apples and pineapples. Steven pointed out that it would be in my best interest if I got re-acquainted with the differences between brake lever placement in a funny car, and shift lever placement in a door car. Oh well, at least the gas pedal was in the same place…we qualified with the #7 position at the end of Saturday, which was just about smack dab in the middle of the pro-ladder and meant that we weren’t going to have any bye run’s or a smooth route through eliminations.

“Mid-day qualifying, ODRA 5.30…still fine tuning some camera angles”

Throughout the day I kept thinking about a book that I read on my way up to PA about the life of Billy Graham. At first I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about reading it, but since my Mom had given it to me and told me I’d better get after it…..I felt somewhat obligated to do so. Turns out that what I thought was a slight burden, ended up being a major blessing. The book is written from the death bed of Charles Templeton, who as a young man was Billy’s best friend and fellow evangelist. Templeton goes on to talk about how several trials in his life lead him to a crisis of faith in which he publicly renounced his faith and became an outspoken atheist. This would have a devastating impact on Billy and led to a major crossroads involving a decision that could have altered the salvation of many lives if the outcome had been different. Graham ultimately decided to walk by faith and not by site, and as we all know went on to do many great works for the kingdom of God.

I guess what I got out of it, is that often times the difference between a mess and a masterpiece is perspective. Only God could use the damage that Templeton had inflicted upon Graham as a platform for His glory. From what I can tell and by most standards, Billy was a fairly ordinary guy…but he had faith and he had God’s favor, which was all that he needed.

My faith isn’t where I would like for it to be at times…which makes me feel undeserving of the doors that seem to keep opening up for me these days. However, all I can do is keep thanking God for the good times and the bad, while I try my best to walk by faith and not by site. Although I’ve raced something for most of my life now, I don’t consider myself particularly talented and I don’t have much drag racing experience, so it’s very humbling for me when things go our way…..

Oh yeah, there was a drag race going on…and we won it!!

Team 5.30 Montgomery; J-Rod, EG, Steven, Cynthia

Winning one of these deals is never about one person, but losing it can be. Fortunately for me, my good friends Steven, Cynthia and Jerry were all on board all day long giving selflessly for the cause and helping get it done. The only crew member that was missing was my favorite, my girlfriend Amber. She’s overseas serving Uncle Sam for a couple more months and I’m counting the days till she’s headed home and the team will be complete.

Special thanks to all of our amazing sponsors; Corky Coker and David Leach of Coker Tire, Steven and Cynthia Farrow of Farrow Motorsports, Jack McInnis of Dart Machinery, Chris Douglas of Comp Cams & Zex Nitrous Systems, Stanley Poff of TCI Transmissions, Patrick Burris of Royal Purple Oil, Joe and Marlene of Holeshot Wheels, Michael Walton of Impact Racing.

I know it sounds trite, but it really couldn’t be done without anybody on this list. All of these people, companies, and products are top shelf and are a joy to be affiliated with.

…and never the bride.  At least that’s what it’s starting to feel like after last Friday night.  Upon taking a look at the ORSCA schedule and seeing that we had a fair amount of time off before the next point’s race, we made the last minute decision to pack up and head south for a non-sanctioned outlaw style race about 50 miles west of Birmingham, AL.  The goal was to gain more seat time in the 5.30 class, while perfecting our tune-ups for hot weather competition.  The sketchy part was actually getting there, we drove 4 ½ hours through some of the worst thunderstorms imaginable, (at one point I considered putting on my helmet and H.A.N.S. device inside the motor home), thinking that there’s absolutely no way that we would be racing that night.  Wrong.  We got about 10 minutes from the track, and the place was dry as a bone, where they had just completed time trials and the entire evening’s program was on schedule.  Super.  No testing tonight, just qualifying and racing.  Somehow we made it in the field, and 4 rounds later found ourselves in the semi-finals again, where I promptly turned on the red-light by 15 thousandths of a second and ended our evening.  Oh well, at least we were in the wedding…
Saturday morning the race promoter came by the trailer and offered us a deal that we just couldn’t refuse.  He was running an anything goes, quick 8 outlaw feature event that evening, and offered us a free entry fee + free crew admission if we’d just give it a shot to qualify.  This meant turning up the nitrous and going for broke…all the while hoping we didn’t break.  After the first quick 8 qualifying pass, it became apparent that we were going to have to lean on our equipment pretty hard to make the show…and after considering all the options, particularly those that might not have a good ending, we decided to focus on the 5.30 race that evening instead….and this time we didn’t even get a wedding invite as my nemesis Mr. Red-light himself showed up in the very first round of racing.
Oh well, I learned a lot.  You have to be focused to show up at somebody else’s home track and hope to win.  With non-sanctioned tracks everything is different; the Christmas tree, timing lights, starting line roll-out, shut down, etc.  However, seat time is always beneficial, especially when you’re running for a championship and I’m sure this experience is going to help us out somewhere further down the road.
Speaking of the road, tomorrow morning I’m leaving for Nashville to get my first taste of TV land.  Horsepower TV’s Power block on SPIKE TV has asked us to bring the car and to talk a little bit about its metamorphosis over the winter, as well as those companies and individuals who’ve made it possible.  TV aint really my deal…racing is, but opportunities like this don’t come along very often, so I owe it to our sponsors to make the most of it.  Look for a post on that one soon…
In the meantime, here are a couple of reality TV clips from last weekend deep in the heart of Dixie…

Keep the rubber side down,

EG

I-22 Outlaw 5.30 qualifying

I-22 Outlaw 5.30 eliminations

I-22 Ride-along

Here’s a little update on how things are going in outlaw land as of last night. I guess you could look at it as a photo essay of sorts…which is by design since I’m too tired to write much of anything coherent.

Only 16 days to go until qualifying at ORSCA Montgomery, AL…and I’ve been doing some research on rain dancing. However, if there’s one thing that you can’t count on to cooperate in the South, it’s the weather. With that being said, the great news is that we now have 80% of the parts we need and should have everything by next week. So, the thrash is on like donkey-kong.

Look for proper recognition to all those companies and individuals who’re making Project (Panic) 5.30 a reality in the next post…the shout-out list will rival a gangster rap video!

Proverbs Chapter 3 vs. 5-6

God bless,

EG

A couple weeks back I had the opportunity to road trip it back down the hillbilly highway (I-75 S) for a little bit of nitro racing with the Texas Jungle Team in South Florida. You really get to know your teammates after a 13 hour one-way car ride. Take for example, Nitro Nick from Cleveland, OH. Nick drives a truck during the day, plays lead guitar in a band at night, and works as a crew chief on a nitro funny car as time permits…talk about a diverse and interesting dude! We hit if off straight away, and were immediately swapping jokes & stories like a couple of reunited high school homies. When he told us the story about a dingy Cleveland pet store operated by a drunken Cajun transplant that specialized in biting Ferets…I was laughing so hard that I thought my sides were going to split open, and it was all I could do to hold the car on the road. Army Armstrong…what can I say? He’s a rock solid dood, man of his word, and fearless. With tens of thousands of fans present for the most attended IHRA race in history, and every eye in the house on the Jungle Jim car, Army was the epitome of quite strength. Racing really is (for me anyways) all about friends, fans and the journey…

Nick, Army, EG, Gator Alley, and Nitro

Friday – It became apparent, that every funny car team on the premises had it loaded for bear…high budget, low budget, it didn’t matter, just throw the nitro at it, crank up the timing, pack the chute, and hope for the best. It was wild. Cars were sideways at 230 mph, blowing up, burning down, you name it. Nick said it best, “what we’re asking these engines to do on nitro methane is sort of like skinning a cat…there’s a thousand ways to do it, and the cat doesn’t like any of them.” The Jungle Jim car had handling issues on both passes, but Army being the seasoned veteran that he is, kept ‘er out of trouble and we lived to fight another day. Crew chief Rudy and team member Martin patiently showed me the ropes and a system for between round maintenance was established. We worked late into the night, long after the satisfied fans had gone home, making sure that JJ2 would have the goods come Sat.

Big Crowd at PBIR for the IHRA Nitro Jam

Saturday morning – Nick and I went on a mission to find a fresh air refill for the JJ2 on-board breathing apparatus. After airing up at a local scuba shop, we got back to the track, and established a plan of attack. Between rounds, Rudy and I would service the clutch, Martin would run the valves, and I’d do the tires, oil and fuel…it doesn’t sound like much, but cram all that into 45 minutes or so, and it gets stressful…even if everything goes according to plan…which it never does. At 6 p.m, the “IHRA Fanfest” started, and we got mobbed by all shapes, sizes and ages, clamoring for posters, stickers, etc. It was a very different scene than I’m used to. There must be something in nitro that alters peoples’ brains…there was a guy running a Tennessee waterfall haircut, wide open (I’m not exaggerating), wearing a muscle shirt, and tight-tuck rolled Levi’s that literally ran towards the header pipes, as if the antidote were in it, every time we started the car. While most casual fans were about 30-60 ft. back, covering their ears, eyes, nose, and hoping that it would stop soon, this lunatic was inhaling every bit of spent fuel that the BAE 526 had to offer. I apologize for not capturing this moment on film, but it was similar to watching a car crash plus I had my hands full.

Dunn & Gone Say Thanks

At the end of the evening, we had 4 full passes down the racetrack, and didn’t blow anything up too badly (with the exception of a few push rods). Most of the other teams weren’t nearly as fortunate, therefore I’d call it a success. After words, Team Owner Henry Gutierrez very generously offered to make me a crew member for the invitation only NHRA 50th Anniversary Winter Nationals to be held in Pomona, CA this weekend and to stay on with the team for the following weekend’s national event in Phoenix, AZ. Although honored, after much consideration/deliberation, we decided that it’d be best to stay on the farm and push forward with Project 5.30. I’ve got 5 weeks left, and the clock is ticking….loudly.

The Jungle Jim Funny Car with Army Armstrong behind the wheel.

After staring at the windshield for another 13 hours, Army and Nick dropped me off in sweet home Chatta-vegas, mid-night Sunday, where the locals had weathered about 6-8 inches of snow during a freak storm over the weekend. Before I knew it, I was at work 8 a.m. on Monday, and I felt about as woozy as a deep-sea diver that hadn’t properly decompressed before coming to the surface. Oh well, it was definitely worth it…and I can’t wait to do it again. Maybe next time I’ll get myself a muscle shirt, Levi’s and a 10/90 haircut/wig just for the occasion.

That’s it for now, look for plenty more on project 5.30 in the next week or two.

EG

“Honey, you’re never going to believe what I saw at the race track today…”

I met Bobby at the ORSCA event held in Montgomery, AL last November, and I immediately took a liking to his style. He’s pretty much been the man when it comes to making huge horsepower and mud racing. However, after conquering that world, he felt compelled to do what any true-bloodied outlaw innovator does…look for a new challenge. So, he decided to “give this drag racing thing a try.” I’m sure glad he did. Check out his site:

www.msmisery.com

At PRI Orlando, the topic of tires came up. I told him that 4wd drag trucks aren’t exactly our specialty, but if he’s up for it…so am I. Look for Ms. Misery to be wearing some Phoenix test sneakers sometime in 2010.

Click for video of Bobby testing his 4×4 Outlaw 10.5 Truck

EG

Ps- I just got back from the IHRA Nitro Jam in FL, look for the full 411 in the next few days.

the goose is getting fat…
OK, sit down, strap in and hold on for a top-fuel-type review of what’s been going on for the past couple of months.  The season finally came to a close on November 22nd in Steele, AL at ORSCA the same way that it started back in March, with a rainout.  Oh well, it was still a great rookie season for many reasons. By the grace of the Almighty, I was able to advance to the semi-finals or better in over 60% of the races I attended…which ain’t too bad considering I really didn’t know what I was doing for most of the time.  As I alluded to in a previous post, we’re planning on coming strong with it for 2010.  ORSCA is adding a 5.30 ET class, with no restrictions on weight, tire size, engine displacement, power adders, noise/mufflers (I hated that rule in 6.0)…so it looks like I’ve found a new home.  Look for picts and posts of project 5.30 as we progress through the winter.

As much as I enjoyed getting acquainted with the ORSCA outlaws, I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t acknowledge the tremendous success of some other competitors who’ve won in various race classes on Phoenix for 2009.  Jimmy DeFrank clinched the NHRA Super Stock title at Pomona last month.  This would mark the 3rd time that the DeFrank’s have won a national title on Phoenix drag tires!  Check out what Jimmy and his Dad, Jim, had to say about it in this upcoming add for NHRA’s National Dragster magazine.

Also storming through NHRA Super Stock was Coker Tire Performance Division, VP, Mike Crutchfield, who finished the year just outside the top ten in points.  Mike won 4 Lucas Oil series events along the way, and remains a threat in Super Stock anywhere he goes.  With regard to bracket racing, a couple of fellow Tennessean’s had late season stand-out performances also worth mentioning.  Former “Million Dollar Bracket Race Winner” and long time Phoenix race tire customer Johnny Labbous of Nashville cleaned house in the Florida Winter Series, taking home several wins in Super Pro, and Davey Boyd of Spencer capped a successful weekend of IHRA competition in Rockingham, NC by winning a world title in the “No Box,” bracket category on Phoenix tires.  Hat’s off gentlemen for these awesome accomplishments!!

So last week I loaded up the van with our race tire display and headed down the “inner state” going southbound for the annual PRI (Performance Racing Industry) trade show held in Orlando, FL.  PRI is a manufacturer’s who’s who (kinda like Cindy Lou Who, who was only two…when the Grinch made her go boo, hoo, hoo) and is a great way to showcase new products to prospective buyers from around the country/world.  It’s also a time to catch up with old friends (in my case 2 year old friends), and share some good old bench racing stories.  However, before I cruised into Orlando and PRI, I decided to make a stop along the way at Don “Big Daddy” Garlit’s museum of drag racing in Ocala, FL.

This is what the trophy case of the NHRA’s #1 racer of all time looks like.

Big Daddy’s Hardware!

Don Garlits started racing in 1950, and he’s got two warehouses full of memorabilia to prove it.  Big Daddy has the reputation of being an innovator, and it truly was a privilege to look at the progression of the sport through the eyes of the NHRA’s all time best.  If you’re ever passing through Ocala, do yourself a favor and check out.

The rat that started a revolution, “Swamp Rat I”

The front of “Swamp Rat 24”

Upon arriving in Orlando, I set up shop, and we were open for business Thursday through Saturday.  Aside from the ordinary task of meeting/greeting customers and talking race tires a few PRI highlights immediately come to mind.  1) The last lap crash of the celebrity go-cart race held in the trade show parking lot.  2) Mike “Heavy C” Clayton’s rental car burnout in the parking lot of the Red Roof Inn. 3) Seeing the look on Mike Crutchfield’s face after he discovered the free passes to the “Doll House” that I’d planted inside his note book.  4) Being reunited with my old buddy and IHRA Pro Stock legend Roy “the drill sergeant” Hill…who’s school I attended way, way back in the year of 2008. (see May 2008 Blog Post)

“Roy Hill and EG having a couple of har-har’s at PRI”

Have a safe and happy holiday season…and remember if you see someone that you think could pass for Santa Claus coming at you wide open & sideways in a rental car, do yourself a favor and get off the sidewalk!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
EG

October 3rd – Southern Outlaw Heads Up Last Friday morning my mood reflected the weather outside…rainy, cold and dark. I’m not going to get into everything, as this aint a self-help column, and I’m a drag racer….not the Unabomber. Anyways, it had been 4 weeks since I’d gotten to race, and it appeared as if this particular evening’s qualifying session was also in jeopardy due to rain. To be perfectly honest about it, I didn’t really care whether it got rained out or snowed out for that matter. Although the weather did come around, and qualifying did happen, I finally just decided to sit it out and see how I felt about things Saturday morning. (more…)

It’s not every day that you happen to come across two nitro funny cars while on your way to pick up toilet paper and potato chips…but that’s exactly what a few lucky gear heads ran into last Friday morning in the Wal-mart parking lot in Lookout Valley, TN. My buddies Army Armstrong and Heath Fike were trucking it through town in a 53 ft. rig hauling JJ2 to Oklahoma where they were to rendezvous with the rest of the Texas Jungle crew. Since Chatt-a-Vegas is on the way, they decided to swing through for an impromptu visit and to pick up JJ2’s older brother, JJ1, for a family reunion of sorts to be held in Bakersfield, CA (read:NHRA Hot Rod Reunion). (more…)

Hang ‘em high

Cooler temperatures, college football, and red-hot racing…it just doesn’t get much better than this. Frustrated by the inconsistent tune-up and lack of results for the end of July and August, we decided to do some extensive trouble shooting in an effort to get back on track. The fuel system and carburetor were taken apart, cleaned, and re-jetted, electronics were replaced, valve lash was set, and upon checking the timing….the culprit was found. My distributor had somehow loosened just enough to take approximately 10 degree’s of timing out of the engine. I was relieved and amazed to learn that I hadn’t been totally lost on all of my settings…the car had just “detuned” it-self by about 150 horsepower. Now I had the answer why I’d been hitting myself over the head with a hammer and flushing $100 bills down the toilet for the past 4 weeks with no results. It’s the little things that kill… (more…)

…well, I have a race result, and unfortunately it’s not a very good one.  On Friday, May 22nd my crew chief Steven Farrow, his trusty assistant Lee “Golden Gallon” Hitchcock and I made the journey to Baileyton, Alabama (home of the Tater Hauler) for an outlaw style 6.0 – Modified Class, “Heads Up” race.  The drive took as about 2 ½ hours across some of the most beautiful terrain that the Southeast has to offer. (more…)