Flash Magazine Drag Racing On-line had a three page feature of NSS Racing at the 56th annual World Series of Drag Racing held at Cordova Dragway Park. It was actually a feature from last September — but I only stumbled onto it today. Click Here to go there.

I saw that there was no article on NSS Racing on WikiPedia, so I started one at: NSS Article at WikiPedia

Wikipedia (pronounced /ˌwiːkiˈpiːdi.ə/, WEE-kee-PEE-dee-ə or /ˌwɪkɨˈpiːdi.ə/, WI-ki-PEE-dee-ə) is a multilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopedia project based on an openly-editable model. Wikipedia is written collaboratively by an international group of volunteers. Anyone with internet access can write and make changes to Wikipedia articles.

Basically, anyone with good information is welcome to contribute their knowledge to the article to make it more informative. There is a format that contributors are asked to follow — to keep the article’s format consistent with the others. If you are interested in editing the article, WikiPedia asks you to read their How to Edit an article.

Click the Image to View the Calendar Pages

Save over $2!

These wall calendars sell for $20 each at http://www.cafepress.com/+nss+calendars — but you can click the above images instead and buy for only $17.99.

What has two fins, two doors, a tail gate, and 588 cubic inches of Hell? Its the Texas Whale, built by Mark Artis at Texas Thunder Performance, and powered by a Diamondback Engines aluminum block motor. The  60 Plymouth 2-door wagon will be the biggest, baddest and ugliest Nostalgia Super Stock car ever — and it is rounding third and heading for home.

As we speak, the custom headers have been sent out for coating, the paint is being color sanded and graphics applied, the fuel and brake systems are finished, the mocked up drivetrain disassembled for detailing, and the wiring being strung.

I hope to have this car back from Frisco, in and out of the interior shop, and shaken down at the track by the Bowling Green Race.

While this car is really set up to run AA/SA in the IHRA, it is a perfect A/NSS car also. Motor has 20 passes and slicks 5. The Stickers have been removed, paint and body spruced up, and its ready for your graphics.

All of the details and photos can be found in the Free Classifieds, or on Racing Junk.

As many of you know, the AHRA is making a comeback. This year they’re having their “Reunion Tour” races, while they sign up tracks and iron out the wrinkles. Next year they say they’ll be starting their Championship Series in earnest.

I thought AHRA would be a natural for NSS — as they are more into the roots of drag racing, rather than Street Car appearances; and Regional Series’ for NSS would sure be nice for some of us who have to drive an average of 1100 miles to an event.

I contacted Troy Moe, who is the CEO of AHRA, and we worked out a deal to see how much interest there would be to run a couple of the “Reunion Tour” races as an Elimination Class — and propose something. I sent out quite a few emails, made quite a few posts, and talked to quite a few racers.  While all agreed that NSS in the AHRA was a natural — everyone had their own reasons why they couldn’t run in the “Reunion Tour” races.

I felt like I was in the middle of a Mexican Standoff with each side wanting the other side first to prove something, and I’m going to back out as trying to be the liaison in this. Troy has offered to run the class as a “Trophy” event instead of “eliminations”, and if another NSS Racer wants to pick up the ball and try their luck at mediating a deal with the drivers and AHRA for that and Eliminations races in the future — I suggest they visit the AHRA web site, where they’ll find contact information.

I gave it my best shot, but I appear to not be the right person to get it done.

If you had tried to visit the site on Thursday or Friday, and were redirected to some Chinese site — then you know this. All has been fixed and hopefully we can stay ahead of the little peckers out there with nothing better to do.

Most of you know that the AHRA is making their comeback. For those who don’t know who the AHRA (American Hot Rod Association) is, they were a drag racing Sanctioning Body that started in 1958, but came into its own in the late 60s when the NHRA irritated a bunch of race teams with rule changes. This incarnation/revival of the AHRA is not a reuse of an old name – but actually has many of its officers as being the younger generations of the past ACRAs’ officers. They are quickly signing up new tracks and sponsors, and have announced a 2010 “Reunion Tour” of some of the tracks who have left the NHRA or IHRA for the AHRA. My understanding is that 2011 is when they’ll be going big and will have a complete series that competes with the other sanctioning bodies, while the 2010 "Reunion Tour" series is for fine-tuning their game plan.

About 5-6 weeks ago, I took the initiative to see if the AHRA would include Nostalgia Super Stock as one of their classes, utilizing the “Universal” rules recently adopted between many of the NSS groups/clubs. After many contacts and discussions, I was told (on a 48-minute phone call) today that they’d like for me to propose (on a minimal budget) how NSS can prove to the AHRA that it will bring the cars and fans – beginning with the first “Reunion Tour” race in April. Based on conversations, which I can’t really get into at the moment, I believe that they would like for us to race – but are skeptical that we can bring the number of quality cars (and fans) to justify it. I think they underestimate what this can develop into for both the ACHA and for NSS – but they will give us a short string to change their mind. I think that the AHRA is a great fit for NSS, as there are other Nostalgia classes (including Nostalgia Funny Cars, Nostalgia Pro-Stock, AA/FA Dragsters…) and that we’d all benefit with the NSS/FX class being part of their point series. The NHRA and IHRA have never given NSS/FX this opportunity – and I’d sure hate to see us blow this opportunity to prove to the AHRA that we’re not only worthy – but that we will be a very popular class in AHRA.

There are four 2010 “Reunion” races. The first is in Gilliam, Louisiana; the second is in San Antonio, TX; and the final two in Ohio. I’ve been convinced that the showing we make for the first race – will determine how they will move forward with the NSS/FX class. This is made more difficult by that being the same week of another popular NSS event that is only a couple hundred miles away. After speaking with Doug Duell and Mark Artis for their opinions on how to proceed, I plan to propose for NSS/FX to be a class in a points series of all four of their announced US Races. Points would be awarded for teching in (50), qualifying position (0-100), and the number of rounds you went (100 per round). Championship Totals would use the points from your best three races (throwing out your worse), plus 100 points for those making all four events. Purse for the first race should be the same as the other event running that weekend ($1000 1st, $500 Runner up, $200 Semi-Finalist, and $75 Quarter Finalist) assuming a 16-car entry – so that the purse shouldn’t be the issue. Rules will be unchanged from what we run in the NMCA or the Monster.

After taking an initial head count of the Texas drivers – I think we can come up with about eight. We’ll be making calls to other Southern drivers (OK, MO, TN, GA, KY) and try to convince them to help with this investment for NSS’s future in AHRA. I ask for all drivers to ask themselves if the inclusion of NSS in AHRA isn’t a major deal that would take NSS racing to the next level – and to get the class of racing some of the respect (purses, quality events, treated better…) we feel it deserves – and if so, not only commit to be at the Thunder Road Event (April 30-May 1, but to immediately and proactively encourage their NSS friends to also do so. THIS RACE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT NSS RACE TO DATE & OUR ONE SHOT AT PROVING WE ARE READY FOR THE BIG TIME.

I need to have an idea of a reasonable car count by this Thursday – so I can properly propose to the AHRA and answer their questions on car count – or to tell them we won’t have the count they need. Please make the decision to be part of the positive showing to NSS by committing to come to this event – and then email me back telling me who you are and that you Will Attend, Might Attend, or Won’t Attend. Then take this a step further and call our email your NSS buds to do the same. Optionally, members (and it is free to be a member — so why not) of NSS-Racing, can post their status at http://nssracing.ning.com/events/thunder-road.

The window of opportunity is now open – let’s climb in while we have this chance. This is not the time to stand on the sidelines and see what happens after others first make the investment in NSS' future. Be a leader, and part of why AHRA accepted the NSS/FX class. If we can get 30 cars at this race — we'll be well on the way to the Big Time.

I will post updates to the AHRA discussions at http://nssracing.ning.com/ (Click on the NEWS tab).

Thank you for your attention in this important matter,

Dave 'Old Hippie' Schultz

I knew of them in the late 60s and early 70s, but do they and the AHRA have any real connection besides the name and logo?

The AHRA was based out of a Kansas City suburb and died for all intents and purposes when the non-profit organization's founder Jim Tice, Sr. passed away in the 1980's. I knew a track in Washington State was claimed to own the name and held a once a year event.

The recent resurgence of the AHRA has caused me to want to investigate – if the new AHRA has any real connect with the old AHRA. I am happy to report that there is a connection. It is sort of a merger of the younger family members of both of the older AHRA's + a few.

The following comes from an old issue of Super Stock and Drag Illustrated magazine:

(The Original)

Tice's widow Ruth sold the AHRA in mid-1984 to Florida businessman Mike Grey who owned Terminal Van Lines (sponsor of top fuel motorcycles at the time).

The group of track owners who handled the AHRA's Grand American Series (the first year-long drag racing championship championship series) split off and became the ADRA (American Drag Racing Association) and continued that program for a few years more.

Mike Grey's organization held events at Indiana's US 30 facility and St. Louis International Raceway before hosting the 1984 AHRA World Finals at a converted horse-racing park renamed as Acadiana International Raceway Park in Eunice, Louisiana.

The morning after the Eunice event the track owner and his investors were no where to be found and Mike Gray ended up writing checks from his personal bank account to cover the worthless checks that were held by the racers and track employees.

Understandably disgruntled, Grey quickly sold the AHRA name and returned to the moving and storage business.

(The Next AHRA)

Orville Moe who managed the Spokane, Washington track and was an AHRA/ADRA event host conducted one event per year (which he called the AHRA World Finals) until 2005 before running afoul of the law.

Moe was ousted as the Spokane track manager after being indicted on federal charges of public corruption for bribing the mayor.

Spokane County purchased the track in 2008.

The county subsequently placed Jim Tice, Jr. (yes, the AHRA founder's son) in the position of interim general manager for the track.

The 'new' AHRA which was announced in April, 2009 has Troy Moe (who in 2003 sued his Uncle, the aforementioned Orville Moe, for 'withholding payments and financial information' and asked the Security and Exchange Commission to investigate him for fraud) as the CEO; Rod Saint (retiring Florida law enforcement official who announced in Nov 2008 that he had purchased the rights to the trademarks and logos of the AHRA) as President; and Jim Tice Jr. as senior Vice-President.

************************************************

The AHRA has taken over the management of six tracks — and this year will be holding "Reunion" races. Most of these tracks were former IHRA tracks — although I think San Antonio had recently gone from IHRA to NHRA.

And now you know the rest of the story. I personally wish them the best of luck.

The Great 2010 NMCA Rule Controversy

It all started on the evening of January 12th — when I'd noticed a post on the NMCA forum about rule changes. This had caught me by surprise as I'd thought the rules had been announced finalized once already — and so I clicked the link.

To my surprise, I noted four changes of note:

First – 59-64 Chevys now allowed to run the 396-427 Rat Motors. I felt that to be a pretty major deal that not only would change history of the ratio of older Chevys running now that they had the least expensive horse power in NSS — but that it opened up a can of worms like Thunderbolts running 460s pulled from Lincolns. Once there — what's next? Rat motors in Olds/Pontiac/Buicks because they all are GMs?

While I favor Mopar, I do appreciate Ford and GM and I am not a hater. It's just that as I've spent more an more time in NSS, I've become more and more wanting to not reform any existing rules considered imperfect — but to also not make the changes that continue to lead up to yet more changes. This year to year evolution to make an allowance for a friend with clout, will sooner or later have NSS like NASCAR having a NSS Toyota Car of Tomorrow — looking nothing like NSS did when first envisioned!

Second – 61 Tempests added to the 62-67 Tempests/LeMans. Again, I'm not a hater — one of my favorite cars was my 63 Pontiac with a 326. However, my understanding was that NSS was going to stay with the engine family available to the car the year it was built. Frankly the 62 Tempest was a mistake — because it wasn't until 1963 that the tempest had a Pontiac V8 engine. In 1961 and 1962, most all of the Tempests/LeMans had a 195 ci (half of a 389) "Trophy 4" I-4. The only optional V8 offered in the 62 and 63 was the rarely installed (I think 56 total) 215ci, borrowed from Buick. Look it up. So in my opinion, one mistake (allowing a 62), opened the door for another mistake. I know this is not a big deal to most people — and since the 61-63s all look alike to me, I've not lost sleep over it. However, the bigger deal is the can of worms it opens by being the basis of justifications for yet more deviations from the original intentions.

Personally, I think the correct think to do is to call all of them (since they look the same and no one checks VINs) 63's, make the small trim change if there is one — and remove the reference to 61-62. It shouldn't be too had to disguise a 61 as a 63. I've never seen VIN checks or requirements to present a title.

As hard as it might be for most to believe, I spent most of my life as a business executive — and the wording of a contract or agreement either preserved the intention — or opened a big can of worms. It is always the best move to get it correct — instead of leaving it for multiple interpretations or conflicts of intentions. If we're to want to stay with the tradition and intention of correct engine families — then you can't feel like it is acceptable for a Tempest that should have a Buick small block to have a Pontiac 389/421 — but not acceptable for a 63 Ford to have a Lincoln 460. You just can't have it both ways and say you're for stopping the evolution from the original spirit of the class.

Third – AMX's allowed to run a single 4bbl. I wasn't losing sleep over this one — but I do happen to know that this is a thorn in the side of some of the people who been around longer than I. My understanding was that when someone wanted to have an AMC Pony car in NSS (the Hemi Darts and Barracudas were Compacts), a lot of people felt like this going to open the doors to Camaros and Mustangs. Technically, the AMX was a Sports Car — and there wasn't any of those in NSS either. Politics as usual prevailed — and it was agreed to allow the AMX (but not the Javelin), provided they used the Group 16 2X4 Drag Racing Intake and a pair of Carters.

For the last couple of years NMCA has allowed an AMX with a single 4bbl to run — and this has been a thorn in the side of many drivers, especially when that "Overlooked Car" won the Championship. I'll be honest with you, I knew nothing about this history until a few months ago — and didn't understand what the problem was when drivers were complaining about the car. However, it again appears that one bad move (as many of the old timers in NSS feel) led to not only another bad move — but a broken promise.

Lastly – Sticker Placement. NMCA wants the stickers on the side and rear windows, because they're trying to go for the clean "Street Car" look in the Fastest Street Car classes. That said — NSS has never had a clean look, and to the contrary track promoters initially complained about the lack of period correct graphics and stickers when the NSS class started. Virtually every other sanctioning body that had contingency stickers accepts them being on the sides of NSS cars. There was a big movement to "Standardize" the NSS rules, and the standard was to be the sides of cars to be acceptable. NMCA's rules never reflected that — and there was inconsistent opinions and rulings when it came time for those stickers to be approved or paid off. I'd submitted a request through the proper channels (as requested) of the rules committee, with the justifications (the fact that we're also not a "Heads Up" class — and need our side and back windows). I read the rules as being that the stickers had be on the rear quarter windows or back windows only — which frankly pissed me off. I felt this was one bone NMCA could have rolled to NSS.

This was after midnight, and although I hadn't been drinking — it was most likely the wrong time for me to respond. My response was:

OooooWeeee. NSS rules now allow Rat motors in 59-64 Chevys, single 4bbl carbs on AMXs, and the only rules to force NSS cars to run their stickers on the windows. I wonder who y'all consulted in NSS for this? This ought to be the final nail in the coffin for quite a few of the NSS guys that were sitting on the fence.

Looks like it will be less competition for me this year — and against Chevys with the wrong motors. It also would appear that the Universal NSS rule thing is no longer going to be a reality — as I can't imagine any of the guys on the rule committee agreeing to that crap.

Hell let's go to tunnel rams, Dominators, Pro-stock hood scoops, transbrakes, NOS, and electronics too. How about mufflers — you guys forgot that one.

Maybe we can call the class SNSS for Semi-Nostalgia Super Stock.

OK — while maybe the most intelligent response — NMCA's policy has always been "Book Closed on Rules for this year".

I then created a thread about the changes, and emailed a link to the rules to the few NSS email addresses I have. By 6AM, I had a PM from a Tech Representative from the NMCA justifying the 396-427 engine, telling to stop my complaining, and making some crack about the the legality of the Hemi in a AA/SA car I'd just bought. By 10AM, the NMCA posted that the 396-427 was a "typographical error". An hour or two later, they'd removed a post of mine from the thread — leaving the posts afterward, causing some confusion. A post from another NMCA official told me that I shouldn't post my complaints in public — but instead should use the phone. I never answered, as I think I'm done will visiting that board, but I've had face to face conversations with many NMCA people, have talked on the phone with many, and have emailed through channels — and yet never had anything resolved. I have been told that NSS is considered to have too many grumpy old men, and that Charlie Harmon doesn't care at all about NSS. In Charlie's defense, he's always been nice to me, and bent over backward to accommodate me — so I don't know if that is the opinion of one NMCA person, or if if Charlie has indeed said indicated he could careless about NSS.

Next, was a post from the 6-Member Rule Committee of the NSNSSA stating that they were consulted and agreed to the AMX and Tempest changes, was not consulted about the stickers, and was informed that the Rat Motor change was a "Typo".

UPDATE: I have now clicked on the rules, and while there is no change for the AMX or Pontiacs — the 396-427 "Typographical Error" disappeared, and in its place is the Z-11 427. For those who don't know — the Z-11 Chevrolet was built in 1963 only — and had a 409 W Motor that displaced 427CI. I'm a little confused as to why it was mentioned. Unless I'm missing something, that motor was already covered because it was a 409 and cubic inch displacement isn't a tech item. It is sort of like giving special mention to the Max-Wedge engines — when they're covered as a Wedge engine already. Not being a Chevy expert — so if the engine is actually so radically different from the 409 to require special mention — shouldn't it be a 63 only motor, as the Hemi Darts and Hemi Barracudas are 68/69? I don't know — I just ask as I'm confused over the point needing to be made.

The updated rules also now allows for the contingency stickers to be placed on the lower rear quarters of the sides of the cars.

For the Future: I'm really not so sure how much I'll be updating on NMCA events, as I appear to have worn out my welcome with them. Dallas has actually taken this more personal than I — and says he doesn't want to run the series, so may take one or more years off — depending on other options.

Speaking of other options: The NSS Racing Event site, currently list 18 NSS events for 2010. I know of two others that will happen in Texas that are not yet announced — and I was led to believe that there was going to be a mid-west series that included Kansas City, maybe Bowling Green, and possibly include the Monster in the points. If you have knowledge of these events and dates — please list them at http://nssracing.ning.com/events. If properly used — this can be the one-stop place to go to for planning your 2010 racing calendar.

Finally: I've been doing some heavy lobbying with the newly reformed AHRA to include NSS. I've been conversing with the President of the AHRA via email — and posting to their forums — and on the 12^th the AHRA posted on their forum "OldHippie, You are quite the lobbyist. Your class is in the works. " I'll share what I know, when I know it.

The Great 2010 NMCA Rule Controversy

It all started on the evening of January 12th — when I'd noticed a post on the NMCA forum about rule changes. This had caught me by surprise as I'd thought the rules had been announced finalized once already — and so I clicked the link.

To my surprise, I noted four changes of note:

First – 59-64 Chevys now allowed to run the 396-427 Rat Motors. I felt that to be a pretty major deal that not only would change history of the ratio of older Chevys running now that they had the least expensive horse power in NSS — but that it opened up a can of worms like Thunderbolts running 460s pulled from Lincolns. Once there — what's next? Rat motors in Olds/Pontiac/Buicks because they all are GMs?

While I favor Mopar, I do appreciate Ford and GM and I am not a hater. It's just that as I've spent more and more time in NSS, I've become more and more wanting to not reform any existing rules considered imperfect — but to also not make the changes that continue to lead up to yet more changes. This year to year evolution to make an allowance for a friend with clout, will sooner or later have NSS like NASCAR having a NSS Toyota Car of Tomorrow — looking nothing like NSS did when first envisioned!

Second – 61 Tempests added to the 62-67 Tempests/LeMans. Again, I'm not a hater — one of my favorite cars was my 63 Pontiac with a 326. However, my understanding was that NSS was going to stay with the engine family available to the car the year it was built. Frankly the 62 Tempest was a mistake — because it wasn't until 1963 that the tempest had a Pontiac V8 engine. In 1961 and 1962, most all of the Tempests/LeMans had a 195 ci (half of a 389) "Trophy 4" I-4. The only optional V8 offered in the 61 and 62 was the rarely installed (I think 56 total) 215ci, borrowed from Buick. Look it up. So in my opinion, one mistake (allowing a 62), opened the door for another mistake. I know this is not a big deal to most people — and since the 61-63s all look alike to me, I've not lost sleep over it. However, the bigger deal is the can of worms it opens by being the basis of justifications for yet more deviations from the original intentions.

Personally, I think the correct thing to do is to call all of them (since they look the same and no one checks VINs) 63's, make the small trim change if there is one — and remove the reference to 61-62. It shouldn't be too had to disguise a 61 as a 63. I've never seen VIN checks or requirements to present a title.

As hard as it might be for most to believe, I spent most of my life as a business executive — and the wording of a contract or agreement either preserved the intention — or opened a big can of worms. It is always the best move to get it correct — instead of leaving it for multiple interpretations or conflicts of intentions. If we're to want to stay with the tradition and intention of correct engine families — then you can't feel like it is acceptable for a Tempest that should have a Buick small block to have a Pontiac 389/421 — but not acceptable for a 63 Ford to have a Lincoln 460. You just can't have it both ways and say you're for stopping the evolution from the original spirit of the class.

Third – AMX's allowed to run a single 4bbl. I wasn't losing sleep over this one — but I do happen to know that this is a thorn in the side of some of the people who been around longer than I. My understanding was that when someone wanted to have an AMC Pony car in NSS (the Hemi Darts and Barracudas were Compacts), a lot of people felt like this going to open the doors to Camaros and Mustangs. Technically, the AMX was a Sports Car — and there wasn't any of those in NSS either. Politics as usual prevailed — and it was agreed to allow the AMX (but not the Javelin), provided they used the Group 16 2X4 Drag Racing Intake and a pair of Carters.

For the last couple of years NMCA has allowed an AMX with a single 4bbl to run — and this has been a thorn in the side of many drivers, especially when that "Overlooked Car" won the Championship. I'll be honest with you, I knew nothing about this history until a few months ago — and didn't understand what the problem was when drivers were complaining about the car. However, it again appears that one bad move (as many of the old timers in NSS feel) led to not only another bad move — but a broken promise.

Lastly – Sticker Placement. NMCA wants the stickers on the side and rear windows, because they're trying to go for the clean "Street Car" look in the Fastest Street Car classes. That said — NSS has never had a clean look, and to the contrary track promoters initially complained about the lack of period correct graphics and stickers when the NSS class started. Virtually every other sanctioning body that had contingency stickers accepts them being on the sides of NSS cars. There was a big movement to "Standardize" the NSS rules, and the standard was to be the sides of cars to be acceptable. NMCA's rules never reflected that — and there was inconsistent opinions and rulings when it came time for those stickers to be approved or paid off. I'd submitted a request through the proper channels (as requested) of the rules committee, with the justifications (the fact that we're also not a "Heads Up" class — and need our side and back windows). I read the rules as being that the stickers had be on the rear quarter windows or back windows only — which frankly pissed me off. I felt this was one bone NMCA could have rolled to NSS.

This was after midnight, and although I hadn't been drinking — it was most likely the wrong time for me to respond. My response was:

OooooWeeee. NSS rules now allow Rat motors in 59-64 Chevys, single 4bbl carbs on AMXs, and the only rules to force NSS cars to run their stickers on the windows. I wonder who y'all consulted in NSS for this? This ought to be the final nail in the coffin for quite a few of the NSS guys that were sitting on the fence.

Looks like it will be less competition for me this year — and against Chevys with the wrong motors. It also would appear that the Universal NSS rule thing is no longer going to be a reality — as I can't imagine any of the guys on the rule committee agreeing to that crap.

Hell let's go to tunnel rams, Dominators, Pro-stock hood scoops, transbrakes, NOS, and electronics too. How about mufflers — you guys forgot that one.

Maybe we can call the class SNSS for Semi-Nostalgia Super Stock.

OK — while maybe not the most intelligent response — NMCA's policy has always been "Book Closed on Rules for this year".

I then created a thread about the changes, and emailed a link to the rules to the few NSS email addresses I have. By 6AM, I had a PM from a Tech Representative from the NMCA justifying the 396-427 engine, telling to stop my complaining, and making some crack about the the legality of the Hemi in a AA/SA car I'd just bought. By 10AM, the NMCA posted that the 396-427 was a "typographical error". An hour or two later, they'd removed a post of mine from the thread — leaving the posts afterward, causing some confusion. A post from another NMCA official told me that I shouldn't post my complaints in public — but instead should use the phone. I never answered, as I think I'm done will visiting that board, but I've had face to face conversations with many NMCA people, have talked on the phone with many, and have emailed through channels — and yet never had anything resolved. I have been told that NSS is considered to have too many grumpy old men, and that Charlie Harmon doesn't care at all about NSS. In Charlie's defense, he's always been nice to me, and bent over backward to accommodate me — so I don't know if that is the opinion of one NMCA person, or if if Charlie has indeed said indicated he could careless about NSS.

Next, was a post from the 6-Member Rule Committee of the NSNSSA stating that they were consulted and agreed to the AMX and Tempest changes, was not consulted about the stickers, and was informed that the Rat Motor change was a "Typo".

UPDATE: I have now clicked on the rules, and while there is no change for the AMX or Pontiacs — the 396-427 "Typographical Error" disappeared, and in its place is the Z-11 427. For those who don't know — the Z-11 Chevrolet was built in 1963 only — and had a 409 W Motor that displaced 427CI. I'm a little confused as to why it was mentioned. Unless I'm missing something, that motor was already covered because it was a 409 and cubic inch displacement isn't a tech item. It is sort of like giving special mention to the Max-Wedge engines — when they're covered as a Wedge engine already. I'm not a Chevy expert — so if the engine is actually so radically different from the 409 to require special mention — shouldn't it be a 63 only motor, as the Hemi Darts and Hemi Barracudas are 68/69? I don't know — I just ask as I'm confused over the point needing to be made.

The "revised" updated rules also now allows for the contingency stickers to be placed on the lower rear quarters of the sides of the cars.

For the Future: I'm really not so sure how much I'll be updating on NMCA events, as I appear to have worn out my welcome with them. Dallas has actually taken this more personal than I — and says he doesn't want to run the series, so we may take one or more years off — depending on other options.

Speaking of other options: The NSS Racing Event site, currently list 18 NSS events for 2010. I know of two others that will happen in Texas that are not yet announced — and I was led to believe that there was going to be a mid-west series that included Kansas City, maybe Bowling Green, and possibly include the Monster in the points. If you have knowledge of these events and dates — please list them at http://nssracing.ning.com/events. If properly used — this can be the one-stop place to go to for planning your 2010 racing calendar.

Finally: I've been doing some heavy lobbying with the newly reformed AHRA to include NSS. I've been conversing with the President of the AHRA via email — and posting to their forums — and on the 12^th the AHRA posted on their forum "OldHippie, You are quite the lobbyist. Your class is in the works. " I'll share what I know, when I know it.

I was recently contacted by the President of the AHRA to discuss the possibility of NSS/FX being run in the AHRA, using the Universal Rules recently established. He’s like to hear from NSS drivers about the questions and concerns — and maybe get some of his answered.

Click here to see the thread that has been established to get this ball rolling. I’ve gotten the ball rolling, but will be out of the country until mid January. It is up to the drivers to keep the ball rolling on the thread — but making their comments of support — and by contacting other NSS drivers to ask them to also do so.

The Old American Hot Rod Association is back — and currently operates five tracks. Two in Ohio, San Antonio Texas, one in Louisiana, and one in Canada. I've recently been in contact with them, to discuss the possibility of the AHRA wanting to incorporate NSS, with the Standardized rules.

Stay Tuned for more details — as they come.

Dago Red is in the process of putting together a six-race series that would run the I-35 Corridor through Oklahoma and Texas. Dates will be announced soon.

Opel Engineering has put up $1500 for the Saturday FX Class Racing Eliminations at the 2010 Dave Duell Classic — held during the Monster Mopar Weekend. The purse will be divided as follows:

• $1000 – First Place
• $300 – Runner Up
• $100 – Each of the Non-Advancing Semi-Finalists

NMCA Championship Ring Awards

I took this with a cheap camera that does videos. It isn't a great video — but in it you will see the 2009 Champions of each class called up and awarded their Super Bowl sized ring that uses diamonds, rubies, and emeralds to make a stage tree.

Pretty funny video of the 2009 season recap at NMCA

* The Houston race is a non-points race that has yet to have the classes announced — but I would think that NSS should be a given. This is a race combined with NMRA. A few weeks ago NMRA ran a non-points race in Houston to test the waters, and it was a success. In as much as the closest NMCA race to Houston is 800+ miles away — I’m hoping that we can prove that Texans will attend (contrary to NMCA’s current belief) these races and NMCA will replace one of the loser tracks with blowing sand or Nazi staff and mentally handicapped track preparers with a quality track like HRP.

I jut returned from PRI and the NMCA Awards banquet. I’ve asked for a couple of photos and videos related to NSS and NMC — and will report on the event as soon as (if) I receive those photos and videos.

You sill have time to order and receive NSS calendars and other memorabilia in time to give as Christmas gifts. Click Here to view.

Cafe Press sells these exact same calendars on their site for $20 — but you can still get them from my shop for $17.99. Check them out if you haven’t already — they’re top shelf.

While the ballot says that voting has ended, there's a run off between Dallas and two other Rookies in NMCA. If you are a NMCA Member (or if you know one — please forward this along) please email award@promediapub.com to tell them you vote for Dallas Schultz, your reason why he should be Rookie of the Year, and your name/NMCA number/Phone Number.

He place in third for the year out of 70 tough competitors — and missed the first race. You may remember that he started racing again after the loser I had as a Crew Chief and I parted company — and Dallas agreed to help crew my car. He had one of the faster cars in NMCA and ran against some pretty tough people. He won Zmax — which was a very tough track to get traction on.

]]> http://www.nssracing.com/2009/11/dallas-schultz-in-running-for-rookie-of-the-year/feed/ 0 http://www.nssracing.com/2009/11/moparstyle-racing-update/ http://www.nssracing.com/2009/11/moparstyle-racing-update/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:18:12 +0000 admin http://www.nssracing.com/?p=184 MoparStyle Racing Update

First off, we have a couple of NMC cars for sale and on eBay.

The first is the 10-second Demon my son Dallas has raced since he was 16 years old. He won the NMC class at Zmax earlier this year. I'll let the eBay ad give the details, or you can find them at www.MoparStyleracing.com

The other NMC car is a 12.0 car that I built for my daughter — but she never found the time to dedicate toward the sport. Again, go to the eBay ad or www.moparstyleracing.com for the details.

Next — is the 60 Plymouth wagon. I visited Texas Thunder on Friday, and Mark has assured me that the car will be ready for the first NMCA race in March — if we choose to race that series in 2010. It will receive the 580 motor just pulled from Big Red Ram (after it is rebuilt) and an automatic transmission. While the car has yet to be named — we know it will be "Texas Thunder" red with checkerboards and applicable graphics.

With the Memphis track being our closest haul, and now it closing — I'm thinking that I'll need to consider my options. Word is that there will be a 4-5 race NSS series running in the Heartland in 2010 — but it is a bracket race (write an number on the window), which I'm not a big fan of. I like running the NSS rules with the different classes. I'll wait for the details of that race series, and what track replaces the Memphis track.

Speaking of details, as soon as anyone knows the racing dates for NSS and/or NMC ins 2010 — please post the events at http://nssracing.ning.com/

I pulled the motor out of the Big Red Ram, and it will receive a set of steel rods, milled zero decked, new cam and springs, rings and bearings — and go into the Wagon. In the meantime, Diamondback Engines is putting together an aluminum 588CI that should be a good deal more powerful than the one that has been in the car for the last two years. I intend to run that Big Red Ram in non-points races where I can let it all hang out and not worry about points. Right now, the paint is being stripped from under the hood (Big Daddy's sig stays), a coat of primer, 4 coats of color, and 2 coats of clear so it will be nice and pretty when I open the hood next year.

While it isn't really NSS or NMC related — we're getting ready to squirt "Texas Thunder" Red on it, and reassemble as a 9-second, all motor, tube chassis true street with a small block.

Finally, on eBay I have a Charger 500 that was cloned (with real parts) into a Daytona back in the 70s. Check it out — and pass along to your friends if they might be interested. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290364469352&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

I've always known that the NMCA was Eastern half of the US and I was on the outside border of it — but it appears that they're going to cater to the North-central region now. If you live in IN/IL/MI/TN/KY/OH you have five to six of the tracks within 500 miles. If you're a NSS racer — that is great because the Classics is also in that area — as will be a new series.

The closest track to me was Memphis — and it is 650 miles. The second closest (Bowling Green) is almost 1000 miles. Now that I've lost my closest track I hear all of the people in the 6-state region (most them not making more than two races in 2010) justifying why they should put another track in their stomping grounds (another race in Bowling Green or St. Louis) instead of accommodating others (without a single track within 900 miles) who would start to attend NMCA events if they got to know it. I'm getting the impression that NMCA is listening to the North-Central racers because of a statement they've got a call in to St. Louis.

Well Gateway is nice — but two weeks prior to the NMCA Nationals is the Monster — at Gateway. The week before that is the Bush race. Based on how busy they already are in late September and early October, and the reputation that they've gotten with regards to out of control of track rentals — I would guess that might be a hard track to get for the Nats — or at least the most expensive track.

I'd asked why they didn't make it easier for the Texas racers here — especially knowing of all of the NSS and NMC racers. I was told last year that they tried Houston once — and it didn't get a draw. Well if they're going to compare an one-time half-hearted attempt many years ago against tracks that may have had 15 races in the last 25 years — then no argument will work. I believe that's where we're at.

While in Memphis — the worst kept secret was the 4 or 5 race series that features NSS starting next year in the Heartland. While there were 32 pissed off NSS racers waiting for two hours in the staging lanes for a track cleanup after an accident, that after 7 hours since the first round because of bracket races, and add to that dew falling all over the cars making it impossible to see out of the windshields (yet NMCA was obviously going to run us anyway) the number of people claiming they'd run that new series instead of NMCA next year appeared to grow.

Why I've felt welcomed by the NMCA — those NSS racers who have been racing with the series a lot longer than I say that treatment of they NSS drivers gets worse every year. At one time it was one of the big classes of NMCA — but now while it is only one of the largest classes of participants, it is not really appreciated for it. Many feel that NMCA could take us or leave us — and if the class were to go away — no sweat off their ass. I'm personally wondering if those guys might be right with that opinion.

I was asked by a couple different people if Dallas and I would commit to run this new series — with promises of bigger purses. I said that we were going to commit to run the entire NMCA series — as I really have a strong goal for a Championship ring. I did say that we'd run whatever races that weren't a conflict with NMCA.

Now I'm starting to wonder about that decision — and if I should do it the other way — where I run the new series and any NMCA race that isn't too far and doesn't conflict. I guess if there isn't a National (or even just an Eastern US) series — I might as well run a Central-Central series over a North-Central Series.

But it makes me wonder if maybe a few of us ought to get together and plan a true Eastern or maybe a true Southern (Texas to Florida) series for just NSS and NMC — and contact tracks to piggyback with other events. A couple of smart guys could put together a package to go to PRI this year and present to the big vendors for contingencies — convincing them that the contingencies would be heavily policed. It would only be for two classes per event — and we might be able to convince enough of them, if they had proper assurances. With the tracks — if we could find events needing a little help on the draw at the quarter mile tracks — we might be able to convince them to have the entire NSS and NMC entry fees to go 100% into the purses.

I know that there are quite a few of us wanting to run a series, but don't have one we feel appreciated at — or that we can afford to run because of the distances.

Your thoughts?

Memphis Recap and Getting Ready For a New Season

Well the NSS & NMC racing year for my family is now over. It is time to start planning on getting ready for 2010.

Memphis is the closest of our NMCA races, so we loaded up the cars on Wednesday morning and left at about noon. The trip was uneventful, and we arrived in the big rig staging area at about midnight. It rained hard all night — making the already soggy track even more soggy. At 11AM they started parking us. By about 2PM we established driver credentials and teched the cars in. I had a killer headache, so we stowed the cars back in the trailer and I took it easy for the rest of the night.

Friday morning was rainy, and I made a single TT pass and the car was pretty much on. I don't believe I had a chance to make another pass on Friday. Dallas in NMC had problems with the car breaking up on his single pass — but thought maybe missed a shift. Cold rain kept us from doing much of anything.

Saturday, had my first qualifying pass as a 9.489 on a 9.50 index — breaking out. Dallas' car was definitely breaking up — and he felt it was ignition. He also smelt electrical burning. We unbundled his wires and found where there was a foot of 12 gauge wire between 6 gauge wire coming from the ignition switch — and the butt connectors were burnt. So we fixed that with replacing it with 6 gauge. I bought a new MSD 6AL box and Blaster II coil, and we replaced them. We rev'd the car up to 6500 with the timing light on — and all appeared well. Our second and last Qualifying came at night. I spun at the line on a very cold track — for a 9.61. I ran to the fence just as Dallas made his pass — and I saw that he was breaking up badly at higher RPMs — but there was no flames coming from under the car (it was night). Returning to the pits, I saw a lot of water under my car. Investigating, it looked like my motor moved up to where the nose of the Vacuum pump bore two holes in my radiator. We pulled the radiator and I borrowed a torch and solder from Don Bowles — and after finding that aluminum doesn't like solder — I melted a big glob over the hole and pushed the glob into the radiator — having the fins hold the glob against the leaks. I figured I'd get a radiator from one of the vendors in the AM — as I didn't feel like that fix would hold for long. I took the lock washer off the end bolt of the vacuum pump — and gained about 1/32" between it and the radiator. On Dallas' car, we were at a loss after checking to make sure the valves, springs and pushrods all looked well. I called Damon Kuhn at about 11PM and he suggested jetting up 2 sizes on all four corners of the 850 carb. We worked until 2AM changing jets, plugs, and running the valves — then putting the cars away.

Sunday morning I tried to find a radiator, stop leak, and/or a low pressure radiator cap — without luck. I pour a can of black pepper in the radiator just as they called us for the first round of eliminations. I had a broke bye, so I did my burn out at 135 degrees and launched at 150 degrees — after releasing pressure by opening the cap in the staging lane. When I got back to the pits I didn't had any leaks — but I had lost the 1/32" between the blob of solder and the nose of the vacuum pump. After checking the motor plate and trans mount — I realized that the balancer was coming off. I didn't know what to do — because it was about 2PM and I expected them to call us up for the 2nd round any second.

In the meantime — Dallas car was cured and he won his first round.

I decided to take a chance and go for fixing the car at the risk of missing a call, and with the help of my son, Doug Duell, and Clay Kasooth — we had the radiator out, vacuum pump off and crank trigger off, found a 12point ARP balancer bolt hanging on by a thread — tightened the balancer back on with a liberal application of Lok-tite red on the bolt; put the crank trigger and vacuum pump back on, and the radiator back in and filled — all in 30 minutes.

We need not have rushed — because we weren't called to the staging lanes for our second round until 7PM. Once there — a bunch of very pissed off NSS racers talked about how this would be their last NMCA race, how NMCA use to treat the NSS class better, tales of the good old days, and where they'd be racing next year. To make things worst — the bracket racers who had monopolized the track for the last five hours, had some girl in a Vega that liked to pull monster wheel-stands, lose control of her car and drive over a 17-year-old kid in a dragster. It looked bad. Both were hospitalized and it took near two hours to clean the track. In the meantime — dew was collecting on the cars — and everyone who could get a towel had one draped over their windshield. Most felt that it was unsafe to race and that they would suspend racing until Monday — but would first empty the lanes of the NSS and NMC cars. A few drivers asked me to approach Charlie about calling it a night before running us because of the dew. Charlie had me walk the track with him — and while there wasn't any dew on the track — the crews from Pro and Extreme were reporting 52 degree track temps and lobbying to suspend racing. Charlie said that he felt like it was still safe to race, and the NSS and NMC classes were called to race. It was pretty bad with the dew collecting on the windshields in seconds and fog on the inside. I was running Skip Koester, and we both grabbed strangers to wipe down our windshields as we went into the burnout box — but the dew and fog came back so fast we couldn't see the track or tree. Skip red lit -.037 and I slept for .157 RT, and as soon as I saw I'd won — I slowed down for a 11.4 as I couldn't see the track well. Even shifting like a truck, I did a wiggle on a 3-4th shift, and coming down the return row lined with motor homes and trailers that couldn't find parking was plain stupid. Dallas has about the easiest 10.5-second car there is — and he too  did a big wiggle on his win. We were happy to hear that the race was suspended — after we cleared out the lanes.

Monday, at 10AM I took advantage of a TT offered and ran a 9.494. Dallas opted not to take one as we had 2 gallons of gas between us left. I had Greg Radar, who is as tough as they come. All weekend I was cutting great lights — with the exception of one pass — and against Radar I cut a .013 against his .017. I swear I crossed the line an inch before him — but the ticket says I didn't. Dallas also lost his Quarter-Round.

As we packed up to come home, Radar Beat Wilson (coming off his Monster Mopar Win), and 00 Joe Ewing beat  Barry Camp in the Semis. Radar then went on to beat 00 Joe in the finals.

Doug Duell is the Champion this year — and is deserving as he had a great year. The Princess (Stephanie) has second. According to my calculations — Skip, Joe and I are 3 through 5 — but with about 30 points being the spread between 3 through 5. It comes down to qualifying points from Memphis — and so we'll have to wait until Monday NMCA tells us who is 3rd, 4th, and 5th.

In NMC, Andy Warren is the Champ — and I think Dallas Schultz is second — despite missing the first race of the year. He and Andy matched up many times during the year — and Andy won them all — but they were all very close.

I really hope to be able to have my 60 Wagon painted in the next 5 weeks, the engine and transmission installed, custom headers made and coated, wired, plumbed, and interior by early February — so it can be shaken down and ready for the first NMCA race of 2010. I'm going to give it one more shot at earning a NMCA ring in NSS — but feel like I need to give up my preference for a 4-speed in favor of an automatic, as I seldom find the track prepped good enough for a 9-second 4-speed on skinny slicks in the late rounds. I'll keep a 4-speed in the Coronet and run it in the non-NMCA races. The engine comes out of it next week to have the Aluminum rods replaced — and the wick turned up a little for 2010. I'll run it in the non-NMCA races.

Dallas will be moving from NMC to NSS, driving my old black Coronet in C/FX or B/FX. It is a nice 4-link car with an automatic and the engine I use to run in the red car — punched out to 580CI. It might be faster than my red car.

This means that Dallas' Dodge Demon is for sale. This car has spent its entire life as a race car — and still wears its original Texas inspection sticker from 38 years ago. The car is a quality build with a five year old CM full cage, inboard springs and CalTracs, 8 3/4" rear with Moser axles and gears, 4-wheel disc brakes  — and is clean enough that you can eat off the painted bottom. The motor is a one year old 408 built by Damon Kuhn at Diamondback Engines. Eagle steel crank, H-beam rods, forged pistons, CNC Ported Indy 360 heads, Gasket Matched Indy 360 Intake, roller cam, Diamondback 850 carb, 1 7/8" coated headers, Magnafuel fuel pump — all top shelf parts. The transmission has a billet steel drum, Griner low-band apply footbrake valve body, modified pump, hardened gears, bolt-in sprag, PTC 8-inch steel stator converter, and the balance of the parts are of the same quality. CSR Fiberglass trans shield. This car drives as straight as a string, and will do 10.5 seconds just about anywhere. The car could easily be made into an 8.5 second (cage should certify) True Street, restored as pure stock, or run in the faster street classes — but really it is at home running NMC. I was comfortable enough with the safety of this car for my 16-year-old to race — and he was comfortable enough to win the Texas Outsiders NMC Championship at 16 and 17 (2004 & 2005). If you are Interested, please email me at dave@oldhippie.com.

Speaking of NMC cars, I also have a more entry level NMC car that I prepared for my daughter — but who never really had the time to dedicate to the sport. It is a quality build that I felt comfortable putting my kid in. As it sits, it will consistently do 12.0 1/4s — but I also have a choice of three brand new 408 motors capable of making the car a 10.5 and faster car in the 1/4. Contact me if you are interested.

Both cars have been the subject of many magazine articles.

Reminder — The NSS calendars in the NSS Gift Shop are ready for purchase. Click on the particular calendar cover to view the pages.

Many of the NSS drivers at the Memphis race purchased the calendar with the Asphalt Elephant on the cover. Call any of them to ask about the quality of the calendar.

The 2010 Nostalgia Super Stock Calendar is Ready

Each year I put together a Nostalgia Super Stock calendar. A few years back, I had the help of Donnie at Photosports allowing me to select 13 of his photos to use. In the last few years, Photosports has not been the photographer at the Monster — and so I've used a combination of my photos and those sent in. Since I am hopefully racing with the rest of Nostalgia Super Stock — my only opportunity to photograph the NSS cars is if I'm out (which means others are also out) or broke.

This year I only received track photos from Jim Guy and John Grinwald (plus one of my car) — so I had search through a couple hundred of track photos I took this year to find another 11 that I can use. I try hard select photos that get the wheels up on launches, has a wide selection of makes and colors — and try to give preference to cars with period graphics. It is pretty hard to get good photos from the stands because of lighting conditions and people/golf carts in the foreground. — but I feel like I found eleven that I can be proud of. Below are very low resolution version of the high resolution images used for the calendar.

The 2010 NSS Calendar is ready now, and for the month of October, it is priced $1 less than it was last year. Also available from the above images are coffee cups, refrigerator magnets and note cards. Click here to view the items and order on-line.

These Calendars make excellent Christmas presents and the magnets excellent stocking stuffers.

If you have a colorful NSS car, and a track photo of it showing a little air at launch — you have a chance to get it in the next NSS calendar by taking the photo to Kinkos or Office Max — and have them scan it at the highest resolution they can. Then email the photo's file to me at dave@oldhippie.com and give the particulars.

Monster Mopar Weekend

The Monster Mopar Weekend had 75 entries, which is another record. I remember my first Monster in 2003, there might have been 35-40 NSS cars. As usual, Doug Duell with help from Bob Wilkiewicz ran a smooth ship. Despite the number of cars — staging was very organized.

It rained Friday, and very little racing was going on. Saturday we managed to get in a TT in the morning and then start Class Eliminations after lunch. This was interrupted twice by rain — and NSS/A and FX was not able to finish by the time we needed to leave for our Driver's Dinner — and so those classes finished on Sunday morning.

The driver's dinner this year had guest speaker Herb McCandless, who entertained us with stories of old. TTI donated a $500 gift certificate for headers — and I'm happy to say my son Dallas win it. He had an otherwise rough weekend — detailed in the MSR Blog below. While I don't recall hearing Doug Duell explaining it — Damon Kuhn from Diamondback Engines contributed a new, but heavily reworked for NSS, 800 Carb (retail value $500) — won by the Seltzer and White team. Doug's favorite Charity "Santa Clothes" did well with a couple $100 bills getting stuffed in the box.

Sunday we finished Class Eliminations. The winners were:

• NSS/G [13.00]

  8606 Bax; Henley, MO; ‘62 Pontiac, 13.08

  NSS/F [12.50]

  777 Rhoda; Brookfield, WI; ’63 Plymouth, 12.52
  

  NSS/E[12.00]

  7042 Kuenster, J; Potosi, WI; ’59 Chevy, 12.03
  

  NSS/D[11.50]

  7063 Kuhn, M.; Celina, OH; ’63 Plymouth, 11.37
  

  NSS/C [11.00]

  7572 Ray; Atoka, TN; ’65 Chevy, 11.00
  

  NSS/B[10.50]

  7777 Duell; Newburgh, IN; ’67 Plymouth, 10.54
  

  NSS/A [10.00]

  4965 Sanders; Brook, IN; ’65 Dodge, 10.03
  

  F/X

  7747 Herzing; St. Clair, MO; ’63 Plymouth, 9.60
  

  Low Elapsed Time

  17 Quinn; Springfield, IL; ’62 Pontiac, 8.939

Eliminations started after lunch, and lasted until about 10PM when a non-Mopar final between Jim Nederland and his Buick and Steve Wilson and his Chevelle had Wilson win the event. This is the first Monster Mopar Weekend that did not have a Mopar as a winner.

I pointed out at the Driver's Dinner that many of the FX Drivers (there were 12 of us that made it to FX Class Eliminations) felt it a bit unfair that we bring the fastest cars — yet are forced to run as one class, while a few of the slower classes don't have but 2 or 3 in the their class — yet are not combined.

The next day, a little birdie told me that my complaints didn't fall on deaf ears — and that next year they would still run all of the FX cars together — but that it would be made into an event in itself with a $1000 prize to the Class Winner. These are arguably the most exciting cars of the NSS cars, doing the biggest wheel stands and smokiest burnouts — and I think it is a good idea that they get some special recognition for building and bringing the faster cars to the Monster.

So if you have a car hanging abound the 10.0-11.0 area — you might strongly consider tweaking it, getting your license, certify the cage, and run in the FX Classes next year.

Click here for the discussions and photos of this last Monster Mopar. Your car is most likely there.

MoparStyle Racing Blog Entry

The following is a more of a personal note on what happened in the pits of Big Red Ram and Texas Black Magic.

We (Deb, Hope, Dallas, I, and the three dogs) loaded up Tuesday, left Wednesday morning and arrived Thursday morning — after having the rig washed across from the track. After setting up the pits — we took both Coronets to be teched in. My son Dallas normally runs a 10-second Demon in NMC — but will be running the black Coronet in C/FX starting next year — and this was a dry run, since there is no NMC at the Monster.

As stated above, Friday was a raining until late in the day. On the first TT had the car breaking up at 6000 and oil spraying from somewhere. We guessed the oil pump and replaced the bolts with lock washers. We couldn't make either of the symptoms occur in the pits and he took the car out for another TT. It still broke up — and still leaked oil. It was suspected that the oil was coming from the left head — so we spent until 2:30AM replacing the head gasket.

Meanwhile on my car — I had lined up with 7 other 8-9 second FX cars at the end of the line — where we were going to run the cars all out in a match race. My car gave me a hard time starting up in the staging lanes, then broke up horribly in third and fourth gear on my pass — and finally stalled at the end of the track and wouldn't restart. Back in the pits, (after a tow) we observed a burned rotor and so I replaced it. The car wouldn't restart and it was suspected I flooded it — so I changed the plugs. The car still wouldn't start and gave indications that it was a timing issue. The crank trigger's accuracy has been suspect all year — so I went to Indy's tent and bought a MSD Distributor (I have three on the shelf at home — but none in the trailer) and a set of wires for a MSD cap. Damon locked down the distributor and installed it (as it has to be clocked due to the interference between Indy's intake and MSD distributors). The car started right up — and after another reclocking the wires — we were able to get 36 degrees. The car was finished in time for another TT, was back to running its number.

Saturday after the first round of class eliminations, Dallas' car was still leaking and breaking up — and looked as if the engine needs to be pulled — so we pulled the plug on his car and put in on the trailer. In my first round, I was lucky that my opponent red lit as my car bogged bad off the line — with the fuel pressure showing 13 pounds flooding the carbs. After the pass — fuel pressure was down to my normal 9 pounds so I didn't give it any more thought. Sunday it was down to five of us in FX and I was to run Mitzi. I totally goofed — thinking I was doing a qualifying — and pressed the light not thinking it made a difference. I red lit, but actually thought I won the race until it came to me on my way to get the ticket. Mitzi wound winning class after a bye and another red light — which was nice since it was ten years ago at the Monster that Bill last raced — and he won class.

In the first round of eliminations I had a bye — and again the fuel pressure shot up on that run. Back in the pits it was 16PSI — and so we scrambled to change it with the one from Dallas' dead car, while they were calling us to the line. In the second round I had a .020 light and ran a 9.501 (on a 9.50) against Psychotic Reaction. In the third round I was up against Charlie and his 59 Chevy — and although I had a good RT and ET — Charlie bettered me in both and ran a 11.503 on a 11.50 class.

We started packing up — but did get to see the 4th round get run — where all four passes were settle by a red light. We pulled out of Gateway at 8:30PM and drove all night to arrive home (900+ miles) at 11:30AM Monday.

After Memphis, we'll freshen up my engine for Dallas' car, build a new one for my car, and see what the deal is on the engine in Dallas' car — and put it in the wagon — where I'll have the Big Red Ram as a backup.

Started Work On Calendars

Every year I try to put together a wall calendar of NSS cars. In the past, Donnie from Photo Sport has allowed me to select 13 photos from the Monster for this calendar. No one takes better photos than Donnie — as he not only gets close to the action — but he also has proper flash lighting. Last year I took 100s of photos of the NSS cars — but my problem is that I'm not allowed to get as close, which causes lighting and obstruction (other people along the wall taking photos) problems. Since I will only use the best photos, I can usually only find 5 for every 200 I take that meets my criteria. I think that between all of the photos I have taken and a few that have been sent to me so far — that I might have enough to put together a calendar as good as the previous five years.

However, if you have an excellent track photo, and you would like to have your car in the 2010 Wall Calendar — please take it to Kinkos, Office Depot, or Office Max RIGHT NOW and have them scan it at 300 or 600 DPI (preferably as a PNG — but JPG is almost as good) — and email the file to me at dave@oldhippie.com with the subject Calendar.

Here's what I look for when I select the 13 photos. The car has to be colorful and representative of NSS cars with the period graphics. An all white or all red car without graphics usually won't do. Also, I try not to have too many of any one colors. The lighting has to be good (no heavy shadows on the side of the car) and the obstructions in the foreground minimal. People like to see either super smoky burnouts — or the front wheels off the ground.

I would like to get this finished in the next day or so — so I can bring 50 or so Calendars to Memphis for the NSS drivers to purchase without having to do do on-line. So if you want me to consider your car — email me the data file of your scanned photo by noon Friday.

MoparWiki

The MoparWiki project is a collaboration of many people's information, to put together an encyclopedia of all things Mopar. I ask those Wordsmiths and those with valuable reference material to please be part of that collaboration. We have Wiki papers on Mopar people, Mopar models, Mopar Makes, Mopar Racers, and Mopar drive trains. It is a work in progress just starting to get a roll going — and sure could use the help of some of the older Mopar guys sharing their knowledge and old references. Examples of the pages are:

• Main Page

• History of Dodge

• Coronets

• Walter P. Chrysler

• Dave Duell

The On-Line help is excellent. You have to register (simple deal that takes 10 seconds) at www.MoparStyle.com to be able to add or edit a Wiki. Please check it out and help out where you can.

Important Links

• Driver's Discussions — Swap lies with your NSS Driver friends. It is easy.

• NSS Racing Ning — News, (free) Driver's/Team Blogs, NSS racing photos and videos

• NSS Classified Ads — List for free with photos

• MoparWiki – building an encyclopedia for all things Mopar

• Big Red Ram — my race car's web site — could be an idea starting point for those thinking about putting together a team web site to solicit sponsorship.

• NMCA – has a series of 7 NSS races every year.

• Old Hippie's Gift Shop — NSS, Mopar, Humor, and Political items.

• Rules & News! — Very informative NSS Site.

• MoparStyle — Mopar People with Style. News, Forums, Photos, Free Classifieds, Time Slips, garage, and a whole lot more.

• OldHippie.Com — a web site with discussions about cars, Texas, Humor, Politics, Electronics, and just about any other topic you wish to discuss or need some help with.