Man, what a weekend.
Rain, Hail, lightning, wind, rivers runnin' through our pit...kind of fun in a sadistic kind of way.
Thanks to Mark Stuckey and Stephen Knight for thinkin' they needed to put this loose nut behind the wheel for their maiden flight. even if it was at 8 P.M. Wed. before the race...
Also thanks to Dave Cooper and his very patient wife, Reader-the ladies man, Big Mark-the big guy, Roger- mr. TAFC! and his sidekick- foldup bike guy!, and the one and only Rex Hutchinson.(if you don't know about Rex, you don't know about Nor. Cal. nitro)
These guy's (and gal) did great.
For wanting to just go and do a couple of squirts (330, 660), with a new crew and a so- called driver, just to be a part of the March Meet, it was a sucessfull outing.
We only got to get one hit but our easy 330 and a lift, and then plugging it in to high and breathing on the pedal a little, ended up being #5. (Pulde said we were the straightest launch and run of the group)
I'm proud of how Wingman (Stephen) leads this group, has good attention to detail and asks my opinion as if I actually matter...LOL
These guy's will do good in the future, and licensing for Stuckey should go without a hitch.
Congratulations Black Sheep Squadron!
A little side note(s) on the run...
I do the burnout, stop, put it in reverse...the reverser lever breaks off. I start backing up slow (instead of my usual 40 mph) because it's cold outside (we sat for a while in line) and I need time to figure out how to put it in foreward behind the starting line...
Stuckey stops me and I start bumpin' back with the brake and kicking whats left of the lever on the reverser...it drops in and I pull foreward.
Now my visor fogs up(even with the fresh air, so I open my visor a little, no help, I close it and go up anyway thinking it will clear when I leave like the dragster days.)
Wingman puts me in, I stage, leave, can't see #### but I got to 330 under power and drove the rest of the way lookin' at the wall under the fog line on my visor.
After the high fives and all at the big end Stuckey says it seemed I had trouble putting it in foreward after the burnout...
I reach in the bellypan and hand him his reverser lever.LOL!
Thanks again guys! you did great!
I just got home from Boise, Idaho, home of the Night Fire Nationals held at Firebird Raceway. My second trip; the first was as a crew guy on the Hansen and Kuhns NTF car in 2000.This time I was driving Mark Stuckey’s Nitro Charger Funny Car. How did we do? DNQ. No reflection on the parties involved, they did great. Mark Stuckey, Pete Jensen, big Mark, Rex Hutchinson, Mickey and his son and my trusted sidekick Bill Sweeney made me proud. Bad luck and mechanical gremlins won out this time. Out of all the things that happened at the track, the throttle stop that I forgot was still on (I’m the driver so I should have caught it), the thrashing to miss a session. Being shut off on the line in the last session because of a fuel leak. The frustration.
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