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Thunder in the pipes, #5
Success in
Seattle: 64 Funny Cars!!
By Jim Rockstad
When 1979 came around, I had
spent 2 full years at SIR in my attempt to understand the business
side of the place. When I had ar
rived there a few years prior,
there was several road racing groups that rented some of the
weekends for their events. Generally, they were only a flat rental
fee and they do there own thing..some sell spectator tickets,
some don't, some just sell entry fees for their racing group.
It always frustrated me that there would be this beautiful sunny
day in the driest part of the summer and we'd have a group of
30 or 40 race cars, motorcycles or go karts going around the
road course all day long. You need to understand that some of
the clubs have several hundred racers but a lot of the clubs
are just a group of enthusiasts having a getaway for the weekend.
I had one team of road racers
want to rent SIR and put on an SCCA Trans Am which had been miserable
failures over the years. I did rent them the track and had a
check in the vault of the balance of the rent. We controlled
the ticket selling at their event and when there was enough cash
in the tills, I cashed the check and put the bucks in the vault
for safe keeping. I didn't want to get caught up in the possibility
that the event would lose
a lot of money.I got our dough out and then it's up to them to
make it or break it.
The event was another flop which
was their problem, not ours. The racing business can be unforgiving
and the track operator either takes a beating or sometimes he
can make money. I always felt "our most important product"
was drag racing. The losses at the road race rental was so bad
that the two guys that produced the event lost their tire store
and were unable to pay off the debts that were located all over
the area. It was not a pretty site. (but it was not unexpected
by me). I had seen Doner lose tons of dough on an L and M open
wheel race back in the early 70's. He really promoted it hard
with a huge list of big time names including Penske, etc. I was
not going to "go there" so a rental is as far as I
wanted to be with road racing.
When summer came about it was
time for 64 funny cars..now we are talking!! Doner had sold a
sponsor to NAPA Regal Ride, a division of NAPA. Raymond Beadle
and theBlue Max would be there along side of Ed McCulloch, Gordie
Bonn, Pat Foster in the Super Shops sponsored funny car, along
with a long list of over 20 other nitro cars. The format Doner
had formulated included over 30 alcohol cars, some jet funny
cars and a couple of wheel standers. This event was solid "ground
pounding" for about 5 hours. (I just don't know what else
you would want out of life!!).
I bought the media, Doner did
his customary hyped ads. I bought media all over the Puget Sound
area, in Portland and a bunch of radio stations in Canada. All
the Western Washington NAPA stores had discount coupons (first
time we ever did that with this event). In 1979 there were little
of no advance tickets and so it was drive up, buy your tickets
and walk into the drag races. That is a really slow process and
so to offset that we would start selling tickets Friday night
at 6:00pm allowing the purchasers to camp in a parking lot until
morning. We'd have several groups of ticket sellers going from
Friday evening, all night long and until 8:00p Saturday night.
That's about 26 hours of selling tickets!!
The crowd was so massive we had
to fill the pit area with spectator cars and others were parked
all the way out to the highway on both sides of the entrance
road. Hundreds of cars were just parked along the highway and
the fans just walked in.this was a monster in the making!
The attendance that Saturday
night was in excess of 25,000..larger than any event ever at
SIR. The crowd was so large that the logistics of running the
event were so hard that it took some downtime to get the folks
away from certain areas so the funny cars could even get back
to their respective pit areas. Several times the massive crowd
pushed out into the racing areas requiring the event to be halted.
Security work hard this night, for sure.
Pat Foster, the chassis genius,
drove the Super Shops Arrow in a tight race final over Raymond
Beadle in the Blue Max funny car. Beadle had broken a motor and
changed it just prior to that final. It was many, many hours
getting everyone out of SIR on that Saturday, taking to the wee
hours of Sunday to clear the grounds. They had witnessed the
"largest one-day independent drag race of all times"so
everyone said, back then. It was one amazing evening, for sure.
Doner called me weeks later saying
that he had a plan for me to buy him out of the Northwest operation.
I was stunned, to say the least. In November of 1979, I started
my own corporation with the "deal of the century".
Doner would continue to support me with radio ads and announcing
for 5 years while I took over the entire operation with my new
corporation. All my years of hard work and loyalty to Doner had
paid off in a huge way.

To this very day, I think about what he did for me which allowed
me to retire early in life. If you have a passion for somebody
else's business, are committed to it and you really care about
the guy that owns that company (and protecting his investment),
good things will happen to you over the long haul. I was lucky
to get through high school in North Portland and I finally got
the break of my lifetimehumbling, for sure.
And now, I just have to make
it all work for me and my new corporation. Even though I had
managed the company for over 3 years, it's a whole new ballgame
when it is your corporationas I found out over the years.
NUTS AND BOLTS: Featured
drag racer--
EARL FLOYD, Battleground, Washington
The Floyd family and drag racing
run hand in hand. Earl got his first taste of the sport in 1954
when he attempted to compete in his 1937 Ford 2 door sedan at
Scappoose at the old air strip. Over 50-plus years in the sport,
Earl has driven gassers, fuel dragsters and just about anything
with 4 wheels.and very successfully.
He gave up the driving in 1994 turning those chores over to his
twin boys, Mike and Roy along with daughter Terri. Older son,
Scott has been doing some driving also.You'
ll find them all,
along with Barbara, at a drag strip near you as they continue
their love for the sport with a flathead powered dragster or
an injected Desoto dragster still making laps. How about another
50-plus years from these fine folks?
The Editor's
Desk:
OPINION:
By Rich Bailey
Pro Comp: A Much Needed Alternative
So, there
I was standing in the pit of a prominent two-car Top Alcohol
team at the NHRA national event in Seattle. Their car had a large
message to NHRA wrote on the side with shoe polish. It said:
"For Sale". I asked Kim Parker, the popular driver
of the car what this was all about. And her response? "We
just can't afford this anymore. Some day we need to retire so
instead of racing in this class we're going nostalgia funny car
match racing" she said.
To a few regular readers this might sound familiar as I wanted
to do the same thing last winter but for different reasons as
we're probably no longer conducive to race with those racing
a carborated mid-seven second super comp car in the Top Dragster
class, yet we're light years away financially from being able
to join the Top Alcohol class, although there's no place in the
sport my crew and I would rather be. So now we're racing as many
match races that are available to us. It's more fun than racing
top dragster and better for us financially than the $300.00 (including
crew) to enter the four day marathons known as NHRA Divisional
events. Even if we run a match race for nothing more than free
entry we come out ahead compared to an NHRA Divisional event.
Another problem for us is that the Top Dragster class has lost
it's ragged edge. It's now more like super comp with few if any
blown cars. The pits at these division races look more like a
KOA campground with expensive motor homes and oh yeah, maybe
a race car sitting next to it. On the track, it's closer to an
all run as the field has been expanded to the point that anyone
with a pulse can qualify. And some of the super comp folks in
the Top Dragster class have little patience for the few cars
like mine that have to be towed back. And just like all of the
super classes, the electronics have made the class nearly impossible
for a blown alcohol car to have much of a chance of going many
rounds as the super cars run with perfection. Yes, I know what
I got myself into with no regrets. Having a blown car makes us
much more marketable than the carborated guys. An Alexa search
on popular web sites proves that. Plus, we're having more fun
than ever before.
So enough of
the hand ringing. What's the solution for the Parkers (to much
$$$) and the Baileys (not enough) dilemma? The solution is simple.
We need a new class just for blown alcohol cars. Call it PRO
COMP! And make it simple. Start out the first year running this
class at National Open events and divisional tracks that don't
want top alcohol (read Boise). Make it an eight car qualified
field. Let them run what ever blower they want, no weight limits,
open it up to rear engine and front engine BLOWN alcohol dragsters,
BLOWN alcohol funny cars and BLOWN alcohol roadsters. No carbs
please. Make it heads up, pro light, and cap it at a 6.50 ET
just like the Top Eliminator West series. If you go faster than
6.50 in qualifying that run is thrown out and doesn't count.
If you run faster than 6.50 in eliminations? See ya, Bye bye,
the other guy wins. Otherwise run as fast or as slow as you want
as long as you can get into the show. If you didn't qualify then
you can run in Top Dragster. My guess is this class would be
an instant hit with the racers and very popular with the fans
wanting more blown alcohol cars. If it works, and I know it will,
expanded it to all divisional races too.
Adding Pro Comp to the National Opens will bring back the fans
looking for some racing entertainment and not a display of good
hobby racing such as SCCA sports car events. Pro Comp would get
people in the seats by having at least one class back on the
ragged edge where the sport once was. But more importantly, it
will give those racers in the Top Alcohol class an alternative
if they are forced to make the same kind of decision that the
Parkers are having to make. For the blown Top Dragster racers
like us, Craig Wilcox, Quintin Chambers (who's reportably calling
it quits), and Greg Carlisle, we would have a more level playing
field with a chance to win. This will also bring other blown
racers out of the woodwork that currently feel like they no longer
have a venue to race at. So here you go: A Better show at the
national open events, a show you can attract spectators, and
an economical alternative for both top Dragster and Top Alcohol
racers ready to hang it up or are looking for more events to
race at. Sounds like a win-win for everyone.
-Rich Bailey
Drill
Here Drill Now Pay Less
Tell
the Democrat controlled congress to stop playing games. It's
for your future and the country's future, not special interest
environmental groups. Sign
the national petition
From The Mail
Bag:
How Times
Have Changed
I just got off of your web site, WOW. I am impressed with all
that you have done. It is a long way from the shop on candlewood.
Sorry to say I really have lost contact with the sport that I
once Love so much. Time,kids and age have gotten in the way.
I am glad that you get to do what you enjoy, I see that very
much in your web site. Keep doing what you are doing, I can say
that Rich did lettering on my car a long time ago and look at
him now.
Your friend Jeff Eden
Let's
Get the Ball Rolling
I liked your editorial
on Pro Comp. Maybe there will be some momentum after Derick Snelson's
race was such a success. I think the fans really dig the blown
cars and som
ebody needs to wake up and see that. I am on board
if you or anyone wants to form an association that could be marketed
to various tracks in the name of this class.
I joined the Pro Nostalgia group
this year since Spokane was closed and they seem to draw quite
a crowd. I'm not big on dial ins though and think it should be
whoever gets there first also like you do.
Greg Howland
"Zeus" Blown Alcohol Roadster
Pro Comp
is a Good Idea
Just read your article
about needing a Pro Comp class. I agree whole heartily with you
on the subject and would very much like to see it become a reality.
I feel like it would really bring back the excitement into drag
racing and give the fans something to get enjoy.
It's sad to read about drag racers (like the Parkers) that have
to give up the class they have loved racing in for so long and
having to make the tuff decisions on their future. But it's reality
and you have to survive and you have to do what it takes if you
want to keep racing.
There is a strong movement in the Drag racing circle, where the
finances, economy and fuel cost are really starting to control
the future of a Drag Race team. A lot of teams are down grading
to a different class and a lot are just having to be more selective
in choosing where and how much they are willing to put out to
attend to a
racing event.
Thus comes an answer to perhaps enable the drivers a chance to
compete in a way that is both fun and economical and that would
be your Pro Comp class. Hopefully this idea will make the rounds
and the class will becomea reality. If all who reads and hears
about this new class idea jumps on the band wagon and spreads
the word maybe we just might see the birth of a new and exciting
class of racing.
Dennis Kardokus
A Good
time at the Night of Fire
Hey Rich,
Just wanted to tell you what a great event the Night of Fire
was. You and the crew did an awesome job. While Sam held down
the booth my daughter Katie and I jumped in and started helping
with registration and the dunk tank. We had a good time.
Thanks
Theresa & Sam
Sams Transmissions LLC
Chuck
Pinney Checks In
WELL AT LONG LAST RAYCO
MOTORSPORTS IS NO LONGER AND THE PARTNERS CHUCK PINNEY (ME) AND
RAY SALTER HAVE GONE THE WAY OF MOST PARTNERSHIPS. LOOKS LIKE
YOUR HAVING A STELLAR YEAR AND YOU DESERVE IT I HAVE NEVER SEEN
A GUY WORK HARDER FOR HIS SPONSORS
BEST WISHES AND I'LL BE BACK
CHUCK PINNEY
Cap Racing
Good for Dealership
Rich:
I'm very impressed with your efforts to promote your car, sponsors
and the sport itself. Obviously, you and your crew guys work
hard at doing displays and exposing your every move on your web
site. There is not a lot of racers that take the time to do what
you do in marketing and promotion. I certainly can see why Capitol
Auto Group has been with you so long. No doubt, they see the
efforts you take exposing their dealerships to a whole bunch
of people each time you display your car.
I know it is not easy doing that but, in the end, it all pays
off. Keep it up!!
(that's what caught my eye when I first looked into your website........somebody
really works this operation
very hard!)
Jim Rockstad............
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