American Racer Magazine - Oklahoma by Austin Chadwick

BURNING UP THE TRACK WITH A 312 V-8!

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85-4024

Edward Glenn Roberts, Jr. loved baseball and car racing. Baseball got him his nickname, “Fireball,” but his victories on dirt tracks turned him to racing full time. His most famous racer was a 1957 Ford with a “Thunderbird Special” supercharged 312 c.i. V-8. In it, he won eight races. His victories were second only to his personality and he was voted “Most Popular Driver”.

AMERICAN RACER

FEBRUARY 2015

We’re Back!

| Chili Bowl Rico Abreu rolls into the winners circle at the 29th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midgets Nationals presented by General Tire.

| David Chobat NASCAR photographer David Chobat left lasting images fans will cherish for years to come.

20 | Eddie Hill Always a fan favorite, Eddie Hill paused during his recent trip to Hallett Motor Racing Circuit to discuss his new passion, the Ariel Atom.

27 | Hitch It With a new location, more trailers and accessories to offer customers, Hitch It is the place to shop for your next trailer and truck accessories.

When Oklahoma Motorsports Magazine started in 2011 our goal was to support local racing on a grassroots level. The mantra has not changed. Now American Racer Magazine will bring you the same coverage of the local tracks that you attend and race, but we will also bring you national coverage from the big boys.

American Racer is a new breed of magazine that combines local content with interviews from drivers in NASCAR, NHRA and other professional racing organizations. You may see an interview with a top NASCAR driver and two pages later see someone you know from Port City Raceway. We think you will enjoy the new format, while recognizing some of the old features like The Garage, a new classifieds section and of course the great centerfolds.

In this issue we feature the 29th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals. Rico! What an amazing race. Also look for interviews with Kenny Wallace, drag racing legend Eddie Hill and a Port City Raceway update. Plus we have some great photos from American Racer photographer Brad Harris and a feature from NASCAR photographer David Chobat. As we start a new journey we want to pause and remember those who are no longer with us. Every issue of American Racer Magazine is dedicated to the memory of Larry “Sarge” Heath and Donnie Ray Crawford. God speed gentlemen.

Now lets dust off the fire suit, kick the tires and crank this mother over!

Brad Heath

Publisher

Bent Wrench Media, LLC 12330 E. 60th St. STE A • Tulsa, OK 74146 All rights reserved. Publisher Brad Heath Associate Editor Matt Witte Art Editor Brad Harris Alien Hybrid Rod Coulter Sales/Events Coordinator Katina Heath Contributing Writers Damon Hassell, Brad Heath, Lonnie Wheatley Contributing Photographers Bland Bridenstine, Ashley Harris, Brad Harris, Mike Spivey, Ped Watt, Toyse Woody Jr. Special Thanks Chris Gibson, Todd Harper, Shawn Lowman, Brylan Pittes, Jake Rosario Contact Information Facebook: American Racer Magazine Twitter: @AmericanRacerMag Phone: 918.812.5858 Sales: 918.902.9696 American Racer Magazine is published bi-monthly by Bent Wrench Media, LLC. Reproductions in whole or in part without permission are prohibited. American Racer Magazine is not responsible for the return of unsolicited artwork, photography or manuscripts and will not be responsible for holding fees or similar charges. All digital submissions and correspondence will become property of American Racer Magazine. charges. All digital submissions and correspondences will become property of OMM.

MotorsportsOK.COM

SPRING 2013

PICTURE THIS

Grand Prix

By Brad Heath

AMERICAN RACER

FEBRUARY 2015

Front Engine Dragster By Brad Heath

Don Prudhomme By Larry Heath

TRP Pit Dog By Brad Heath

Hallett Nostalgia Car By Brad Heath

Kimber & Tom Calico By Brad Harris

AMERICAN RACER

FEBRUARY 2015

Outlaw Nationals By Brad Harris

Frank Flud

By Brad Harris

Travis Harris By Brad Harris

Andrew Felker

Trey & Josh Marcham

Michael Faccinto

Kevin Swindell

By Brad Harris

Gunner Bowden By Brad Harris

Maestro’s Classic is more than a Beard Care Products Brand. It is a movement of masculinity, with a nod to love, hard work, strength and creativity. Maestro’s Classic shines a light where others don't...on its supporters. We celebrate the integrity of man and honor his commitment to family, community and craft while helping shape young men with their passage into manhood. We have designed a line of beard care products that are "undeniably good" and will assist in “crafting a better you" in beard care.

AMERICAN RACER

FEBRUARY 2015

NASCAR Not Changing Chase Format Brian France announced during the annual State of the Sport press conference that NASCAR would not change the Chase format for the 2015 season.

“I want to talk a little bit about the Chase because it’s overwhelmingly popular with the most important stakeholder: Our fans. The research and data that we’ve got in over the winter not only suggests that, it determines that loud and clear. They like the fact that it tightened up competition. They liked the drama down the stretch. They liked the emphasis on winning. And one of the things they told us that they really liked is the idea that we weren’t going to change anything, and they strongly suggested that we didn’t, and we’re not going to. It’s not because there aren’t a tweak or two here that we didn’t get good suggestions on, but one of the magical parts of this Chase, and we want to make sure we keep it this way, is the simplicity of it: Win and you get in; be in the top eight, top four, whatever it may be, and move on; coming down the stretch, beat the other three drivers and you win the championship. So whatever we would do into the future, we want to make sure that simplicity is right there,” said France.

IHRA Hires John Bisci With more than 30 years of media relations experience, Bisci will serve as the public and media relations director for IHRA Motorsports and will be the gatekeeper for all communication both internally and externally. Bisci will be responsible for all advance and on-site media relations for IHRA, Nitro Jam, Sonic Rush Tour and various other IHRA events in addition to many other responsibilities. “I’m very happy we found John as he has a massive

amount of experience in working with the media, generating promotional programs and social media experience,” said Scott Gardner. “He will be hitting the ground running as we gear up for a very busy season.” “I am both pleased and proud to accept this challenging position,” Bisci said. “I am looking forward to representing this company and its thrilling style of motorsports entertainment. It will be my job to tell the IHRA’s story to the world and work with all forms of media.”

NHRA Circle K Winternationals: Langdon, Hagan & Line in Victory Lane

Despite having his major sponsorship pulled weeks before

the Circle K Winternationals in Pomona, CA, Shawn Langdon posted a record setting time of 3.700 on Saturday giving him the No.1 qualifying spot in Top Fuel. In the finals Langdon defeated the Matco Tools car of Antron Brown going 3.799 at 309.91 mph to Brown’s 3.804 at 310.70 mph.

Matt Hagan picked up where he left off last season by winning the Funny Car class over teammate Ron Capps. Hagan’s Rocky Boots/Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T ran a 4.011 at 320.89 mph to Capps’ 4.078 at 314.90 mph. Hagan had to defeat Tony Pedregon, John Hale and Del Worsham to get to the finals. In Pro Stock it was Jason Line holding the Wally on Sunday as the Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro defeated rookie driver Drew Skillman in the final round. Line’s pass of 6.545 at 211.83 mph was good enough to give Line his 36th career win. Skillman’s teammate and defending Pro Stock champion Erica Enders-Stevens was the No.1 qualifier in the Elite Motorports Chevy Camaro. Other class winners include Len Damell-Top Fuel Harley, Chris Demke-Top Alcohol Dragster, Jonnie Lindberg-Top Alcohol Funny Car, Alan Ellis-Comp Eliminator, Cody LaneSuper Stock, Jody Lang-Stock, Dave Crawford-Super Comp, Steve Williams-Super Gas.

AmeriFlex / OCRS Sprint Cars Set For 14th Season By John Lemon OCRS Public Relations

The month of March will see the spring equinox ushered in and soon after comes the new season for the AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories / Oil Capital Racing Series sprint cars. The Tulsa Oklahoma based series will begin their tour on March 28th at the Southern Oklahoma Speedway in Ardmore Oklahoma. In all, the series is scheduled for travel to four states (OK, KS, MO & TX)

Oklahoma Sports Park in Ada OK. that will host the 9th Annual Oklahoma State Championship event with this year’s running sponsored by Dooling Machine Products, who won the 2014 Chili Bowl with Bryan Clauson at the wheel. OSP will also host the 7th Annual Harold Leep Memorial Jr. event in May. August will see the return of the Harold Leep Classic at the Outlaw Motor Speedway in Oktaha OK. This event pays tribute to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame driver who passed away in 2014. There are multiple double-header weekends that dot the schedule as well. August will see the sprinters roll into the Salina Highbanks Speedway paired with the USMTS modified series. In recent years, the AmeriFlex / OCRS series has become a must have series for track promoters to have on their schedule and the fans have embraced the series as a must see event for themselves. Round up your friends and catch these speed demons at a racetrack near you this season and enjoy some of the wildest and finest entertainment there is to offer. The series website is: www.ocrsracing.com.

encompassing twelve different racetracks. The sound of raw horsepower that accompanies the sheer speed and volatile maneuvering that these open wheel juggernauts produce is nothing short of amazing. As any sprint car fan can attest, this type of action that is typically witnessed at these events will leave one thirsting for more of the same. The AmeriFlex / OCRS series currently features some of the best young talent in racing today. Andrew Deal 26, was the 2014 champion while Alex DeCamp 25, led the series with 5 total wins last year. There are multiple other drivers that won main events in 2014 including 16 year old Chance Morton, who visited victory lane three times. The 2015 racing season is poised to be the best yet as there will be multiple events on the schedule that will pay higher cash awards for the fourteen year old series. An example is the

It’s time to go racing race fans where “You Can Feel The Thunder”.

Creek County Speedway 2015 Schedule Creek County Speedway has released their schedule for 2015 and it includes several big events, regular points races and plenty of action. The ASCS Red River Region Sprints return on April 10th as the 360 sprints and non-wing champ sprints take the track. On May 22nd Creek County will host the Randy Wheeler Memorial featuring a full slate of Champ Sprints, Modifieds, Dwarf Cars, Factory Stocks and Mini Stocks.

In June the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour Speedweek returns and in late August you can catch the USAC Southwest Sprints & Lucas Oil POWRi West Midgets. For a full schedule visit www. creekcountyspeedway.co or call 918-693-7223 for more information.

AMERICAN RACER

FEBRUARY 2015

CHILI BOWL RICO ABREU

By Lonnie Wheatley Photos By Brad Harris TULSA, Okla. (January 17, 2015) Saturday night at the Chili Bowl was one for the record books, as California’s Rico Abreu raced to his first triumph in the finale of the 29th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals presented by General Tire, delivering car owner, Keith Kunz, his first Golden Driller since 2002. “I just tried to stay as patient as I could. You know the race is a not a long race, but it is a long race. For a few laps I just kind of got after it just to see where we were at and I hung with him [Bryan Clauson] pretty good,” commented Abreu about his pass for the lead. “I don’t know how hard he was racing, but when the time was right I pulled the trigger and gave him a slide job and was waiting for him to slide me back. We dragged raced each other into three and I came out with the lead.” Gridding the Toyota / Abreu Vineyards No.97 third, Abreu slipped back to fifth as Bryan Clauson jumped to the lead over Jerry Coons, Jr. with Kyle Larson in tow. Jumping to a sizable advantage on the restart, Coons and Larson raced for runner-up until Larson spun in turn two on the 15th round.

AMERICAN RACER

FEBRUARY 2015

Using restarts to his advantage, Rico jumped past Coons for second on a Lap 20 restart. Slowed again on Lap 22, green laps saw Abreu on the back bumper of Clauson for the lead. Setting up the pass, Rico bolted the bottom line entering the first turn. Sliding clear of Clauson, the 2014 winner turned low in a drag race to turn three. Railing the cushion, the advantage was to Rico on the 26th lap. Leaving the field to battle, caution flew again on Lap 39 as Daryn Pittman tangled with Bryan Clauson in turn four battling for second; sending the pair to the tail of the field. Picking his way through the field from the tail after being involved in a crash on Lap 13 that involved five other drivers, Kevin Swindell moved to third on Lap 40 after contact with Father, Sammy, sent the No.1 back several spots. Finding traffic in the final laps, Kevin closed quickly but time would run out as Rico grabbed the win. “You come here four years in a row and leave here as the winner, and sit in that middle chair, it’s no fun to even run second anymore. Last year was kind of depressing and pretty much the same thing of just being a couple laps too late,” commented Swindell.

“We had a great car, but somebody else’s mistake really put me behind the eight-ball at the beginning. I did all I could to get back, but Rico was really good at the end.” From the night’s first B-Feature, Damion Gardner clawed from 23rd to third as the race’s hard charger in the Leffler Memorial No.71L. Tanner Thorson came from 18th to fourth with Sammy Swindell recovering to complete the top-five. From his tangle with Clauson, Oklahoma’s Daryn Pittman came to sixth with Kyle Larson recovering from a spin to place seventh. Andrew Deal was eighth with Zach Daum ninth after starting 20th. Bryan Clauson ended up tenth. The 2015 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals presented by General Tire saw 326 drivers make the call. Saturday’s alphabet began with the N-Feature. The year’s flip count was 61 with all drivers able to walk away. Dates for the 30th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals are set for January 12-16, 2015. Information on ordering tickets and prices will be posted to http://www.chilibowl.com.

L NATIONALS Rico Abreu A-Feature

A Feature (55 Laps): 1. 97-Rico Abreu[3]; 2. 39-Kevin Swindell[10]; 3. 71L-Damion Gardner[23]; 4. 67-Tanner Thorson[18]; 5. 1-Sammy Swindell[16]; 6. 21-Daryn Pittman[8]; 7. 71K-Kyle Larson[4]; 8. 15D-Andrew Deal[6]; 9. 5D-Zach Daum[20]; 10. 63-Bryan Clauson[2]; 11. 8K-Blake Hahn[15]; 12. 05-Brad Loyet[7]; 13. 5-Jerry Coons Jr[1]; 14. 7A-Darren Hagen[22]; 15. 2B-Ryan Bernal[17]; 16. 17C-Casey Shuman[25]; 17. 1ST-J.J. Yeley[12]; 18. 39B-Spencer Bayston[11]; 19. 63K-Chris Windom[5]; 20. 17RW-Dave Darland[24]; 21. 15X-Chad Boat[9]; 22. 5C-Colten Cottle[21]; 23. 71-Christopher Bell[14]; 24. 88B-Terry Babb[13] Lap Leader(s): Bryan Clauson 1-26; Rico Abreu 27-55

B-Feature: Top 6 advance to the A-Feature

B Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 88B-Terry Babb[4]; 2. 8K-Blake Hahn[2]; 3. 2B-Ryan Bernal[1]; 4. 5D-Zach Daum[12]; 5. 7A-Darren Hagen[3]; 6. 17RW-Dave Darland[15]; 7. 73T-Trey Marcham[6]; 8. 24-Tracy Hines[19]; 9. 51X-Colby Copeland[10]; 10. 3-Shane Cottle[7]; 11. 91K-Kevin Bayer[13]; 12. 21K-Cory Kruseman[11]; 13. 11W-Brady Bacon[14]; 14. 10V-Richard VanderWeerd[17]; 15. 5E-James Edens[20]; 16. 56-Levi Jones[18]; 17. 19W-Matt Streeter[16]; 18. 26-Shane Golobic[9]; 19. 47-Danny Stratton[5]; 20. 3N-Jake Neuman[8] B Feature 2 (20 Laps): 1. 71-Christopher Bell[3]; 2. 1-Sammy Swindell[4]; 3. 67-Tanner Thorson[1]; 4. 5C-Colten Cottle[6]; 5. 71L-Damion Gardner[13]; 6. 17C-Casey Shuman[8]; 7. 11A-Andrew Felker[20]; 8. 47X-Tim McCreadie[5]; 9. 17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr[16]; 10. 68-Ronnie Gardner[9]; 11. 4J-Tim Crawley[18]; 12. R8-Joey Moughan[14]; 13. 1JR-Stevie Sussex III[19]; 14. 91T-Tyler Thomas[12]; 15.

Brian Clauson 68W-Jake Swanson[17]; 16. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[15]; 17. (DNF) 63NZ-Michael Pickens[10]; 18. (DNF) 21S-Joey Saldana[2]; 19. (DNF) 37-Seth Bergman[11]; 20. (DNF) 5X-Justin Peck[7]

C-Features: Top 6 advance to the corresponding B-Feature

C Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 17RW-Dave Darland[3]; 2. 19W-Matt Streeter[1]; 3. 10V-Richard VanderWeerd[5]; 4. 56-Levi Jones[8]; 5. 24-Tracy Hines[13]; 6. 5E-James Edens[6]; 7. 52C-Isaac Chapple[12]; 8. 57D-Daniel Robinson[11]; 9. 27-Alex Bright[4]; 10. 19S-Patrick Stasa[16]; 11. 88J-Jace VanderWeerd[10]; 12. 7B-Austin Brown[17]; 13. 17K-Alex Schutte[7]; 14. 19L-Landon Hurst[15]; 15. 66-Shane Cockrum[19]; 16. 85H-Shane Hollingsworth[18]; 17. 92-Brenden Bright[2]; 18. (DNF) 22E-Mike Goodman[9]; 19. (DNF) 82H-Mike Hess[20]; 20. (DNF) 38-Justin Grant[14] C Feature 2 (15 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[6]; 2. 17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr[3]; 3. 68W-Jake Swanson[4]; 4. 4J-Tim Crawley[5]; 5. 1JR-Stevie Sussex III[1]; 6. 11A-Andrew Felker[10]; 7. 8J-Jonathan Beason[14]; 8. 17S-Dominic Scelzi[17]; 9. 37F-Hunter Schuerenberg[9]; 10. 9E-Brody Roa[12]; 11. 1T-Tony Roney[8]; 12. 2ND-Jeb Sessums[2]; 13. 9D-Sean Dodenhoff[13]; 14. 67K-Kevin Thomas Jr[19]; 15. 41-Jason Johnson[15]; 16. 57C-Chad Boespflug[11]; 17. AMERICAN RACER

FEBRUARY 2015

51F-Mike Spencer[16]; 18. 2A-C.J. Leary[18]; 19. 37X-Tim Kent[20]; 20. 8H-Harli White[7]

D-Features: Top 6 advance to the corresponding C-Feature

D Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 19L-Landon Hurst[2]; 2. 19S-Patrick Stasa[1]; 3. 7B-Austin Brown[10]; 4. 85H-Shane Hollingsworth[3]; 5. 66-Shane Cockrum[6]; 6. 82H-Mike Hess[7]; 7. 99P-Dillon Welch[15]; 8. 19P-Robert Ballou[12]; 9. 79J-Jacob Patton[4]; 10. 33-Davey Ray[13]; 11. 62T-Taylor Simas[14]; 12. 78-Nick Wean[8]; 13. 96-Cody Brewer[16]; 14. 7T-Tanner Berryhill[17]; 15. 17M-Michael Koontz[5]; 16. 12-Chris Sheil[18]; 17. (DNF) 24X-Landon Simon[11]; DNS 73D-David Gravel D Feature 2 (15 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson[5]; 2. 51F-Mike Spencer[1]; 3. 17S-Dominic Scelzi[10]; 4. 2A-C.J. Leary[3]; 5. 67K-Kevin Thomas Jr[15]; 6. 37X-Tim Kent[4]; 7. 17W-Cole Wood[7]; 8. 50-Daniel Adler[11]; 9. 71X-Tyler Courtney[14]; 10. 35X-Frank Flud[13]; 11. 17J-Chase Johnson[9]; 12. 55D-Nick Drake[8]; 13. 20S-Shon Deskins[18]; 14. 05T-Gary Taylor[17]; 15. (DNF) 51J-R.J. Johnson[16]; 16. (DNF) 35-Billy Wease[6]; 17. (DNF) 7SS-Wade Seiler[2]; 18. (DNF) 75X-Travis Berryhill[12]

F-Features: Top 4 advance to the corresponding E-Feature

F Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 11-Justin Melton[1]; 2. 7D-Michelle Decker[5]; 3. 3C-Raven Culp[2]; 4. 19J-Jonathan Cornell[11]; 5. 20-Tadd Holliman[10]; 6. 14W-Matt Westfall[15]; 7. 88W-Chad Wheeler[7]; 8. 81-Ryan Beechler[8]; 9. 57M-Matt Mitchell[14]; 10. 76M-Adam Pearson[4]; 11. 14H-Harley Hollan[13]; 12. 11K-Gavin Harlien[6]; 13. (DNF) 98D-Clint Boyles[16]; 14. (DNF) 35M-Matt Sherrell[12]; 15. (DNF) 56X-Mark Chisholm[9]; 16. (DNF) 7M-Kevin Ramey[3] F Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 27T-Tucker Klaasmeyer[2]; 2. 11XS-Donovan Peterson[1]; 3. 17D-Alex DeCamp[3]; 4. 68M-Tyler Edwards[5]; 5. 19B-Jake Bubak[10]; 6. 5H-Tyson Hall[6]; 7. 9P-Parker Price-Miller[7]; 8. 16-Brandon Matus[4]; 9. 14S-Steve Schaberg[8]; 10. 86C-David Camfield[16]; 11. 22D-David Stephenson[12]; 12. 23A-Hannah Adair[14]; 13. 4MTy Hulsey[11]; 14. 3A-Chris Andrews[9]; 15. 17T-Travis Scott[15]; 16. (DNF) 14D-David McIntosh[13]

G-Features: Top 4 advance to the corresponding F-Feature

Blake Hahn

Brad Loyet 14

AMERICAN RACER

FEBRUARY 2015

G Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 14H-Harley Hollan[1]; 2. 57M-Matt Mitchell[6]; 3.

14W-Matt Westfall[14]; 4. 98D-Clint Boyles[4]; 5. 37T-J.T. Imperial[16]; 6. 10J-John Hunt[10]; 7. 15B-Danny Burke[15]; 8. 7K-Robby Parish[12]; 9. 87F-Brian McClelland[8]; 10. (DNF) 4K-Josh Lakatos[7]; 11. Damion Garder (DNF) 3T-Tim Barber[2]; 12. (DNF) 2K-Kyle Jones[3]; 13. (DNF) 51-Jake Hagopian[9]; 14. (DNF) 20W-Chad Wilson[13]; DNS 75-Thomas Meseraull; DNS 13SR-John Ricketts G Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 14D-David McIntosh[3]; Kyle Larson 2. 23A-Hannah Adair[7]; 3. 17T-Travis Scott[4]; 4. 86C-David Camfield[12]; 5. 45-C.J. Johnson[16]; 6. 4F-Chad Frewaldt[11]; 7. 11C-Chett Gehrke[14]; 8. 73-Jason McDougal[15]; 9. 8L-Austin Liggett[2]; 10. 25B-Steve Buckwalter[9]; 11. 7C-Chance Morton[8]; 12. 41P-Austin Prock[13]; 13. 11B-Josh Baughman[1]; 14. (DNF) 57K-Kevin Studley[5]; 15. (DNF) 74-Jamie Speers[6]; DNS 22-John Heydenreich

H-Features: Top 4 advance to the corresponding G-Feature

H Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 20W-Chad Wilson[1]; 2. 14W-Matt Westfall[14]; 3. 15B-Danny Burke[2]; 4. 37T-J.T. Imperial[9]; 5. 2$-Stuart (Stu) Snyder[16]; 6. 2D-Steve Davis[10]; 7. 1W-Mike Wheeler[12]; 8. 70K-Kevin Olson[7]; 9. 80-Josh Hawkins[8]; 10. 2-Ryan Hall[15]; 11. 8R-Randi Pankratz[5]; 12. (DNF) 25J-Matt Juhl[13]; 13. (DNF) 83G-Matt Gilbert[4]; 14. (DNF) 7JR-Robert Black[3]; 15. (DNF) 6M-Pat McVicker[6]; 16. (DNF) 35T-Tyler Robbins[11] H Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 41P-Austin Prock[2]; 2. 11C-Chett Gehrke[4]; 3. 73-Jason McDougal[9]; 4. 45-C.J. Johnson[5]; 5. 3FF-Jake Blackhurst[14]; 6. 8-Alex Sewell[11]; 7. 22Q-David Prickett[12]; 8. 32A-Garrett Aitken[15]; 9. 95-Jim Radney[6]; 10. 0G-Glenn Styres[8]; 11. 89-Nick Bailey[16]; 12. (DNF) 35D-Dahne Lynn McKay[13]; 13. (DNF) 82-Eric Johnson[3]; 14. (DNF) 18P-Payton Pierce[7]; DNS 69-A.J. Fike; DNS 98-Jarid Blondel

I-Features: Top 4 advancing to the corresponding H-Feature

I Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 25J-Matt Juhl[1]; 2. 14W-Matt Westfall[3]; 3. 2-Ryan Hall[4]; 4. 2$-Stuart (Stu) Snyder[6]; 5. 2M-Seth Motsinger[5]; 6. 15-Tim Siner[11]; 7. 88-Tyler Nelson[15]; 8. 11D-Dustin Hapka[7]; 9. 7R-Anton Julian[9]; 10. 21N-Nick Speidel[16]; 11. 7CG-Logan Jarrett[14]; 12. 83-Shane Weeks[10]; 13. (DNF) 69X-Jeromy Hefler[2]; 14. (DNF) 8M-Kade Morton[13]; 15. (DNF) 7X-Gage Walker[12]; 16. (DNF) 25G-Dustin Golobic[8] I Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 35D-Dahne Lynn McKay[2]; 2. 3FF-Jake Blackhurst[7]; 3. 32A-Garrett Aitken[8];

4. 89-Nick Bailey[10]; 5. 67RW-Sarah Fisher[5]; 6. 35L-Cody Ledger[13]; 7. 33C-Chase Briscoe[15]; 8. 31R-David Wheeler[6]; 9. 4R-Ryan Greth[14]; 10. 77-John Klabunde[11]; 11. 9U-Doug McCune[4]; 12. 31E-Evan Sewell[12]; 13. 27RW-Kyle O’Gara[3]; 14. 14N-Paul Nienhiser[16]; 15. (DNF) 14E-Eric Fenton[1]; DNS 6K-Ryan Foster

J-Features: Top 4 advance to the corresponding I-Feature.

J Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 8M-Kade Morton[3]; 2. 7CG-Logan Jarrett[7]; 3. 88-Tyler Nelson[1]; 4. 21N-Nick Speidel[5]; 5. 7-Shannon McQueen[15]; 6. 7W-Kory Schudy[2]; 7. 6-Tom Harris[9]; 8. 2HH-Nathan Benson[8]; 9. 05W-Kenny Wallace[14]; 10. 91W-Mickey Walker[12]; 11. 6R-Lucas Schott[10]; 12. 313-Mitchell Frewaldt[6]; 13. (DNF) 4X-Shawn Petersen[4]; 14. (DNF) 7AB-Amber Balcaen[11]; 15. (DNF) 43-Logan Arnold[13]; 16. (DNF) 33H-Cameron Hagin[16] J Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 35L-Cody Ledger[9]; 2. 4R-Ryan Greth[15]; 3. 33C-Chase Briscoe[16]; 4. 14N-Paul Nienhiser[13]; 5. 4C-Chadd Howell[7]; 6. 00-Cole Custer[10]; 7. 5G-P.J. Gargiulo[1]; 8. 56L-Jack Hawley[2]; 9. 35W-Nate Wait[3]; 10. (DNF) 87C-Kip Hughes[5]; 11. (DNF) 55-Nick Knepper[11]; 12. (DNF) 44D-Philip Dietz[4]; 13. (DNF) 6C-Cory Butler[6]; 14. (DNF) 21H-Harlan Hulsey[8]; 15. (DNF) 83H-Jonathan Halford[12]; 16. (DNF) 44-Don Droud Jr[14]

K-Features: Top 4 advance to the corresponding J-Feature

K Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 43-Logan Arnold[3]; 2. 05W-Kenny Wallace[1]; 3. 7-Shannon McQueen[4]; 4. 33H-Cameron Hagin[11]; 5. 21D-Justin Dickerson[5]; 6. 77K-Katlynn Leer[13]; 7. 16C-David Camfield Jr[15]; 8. 25-Marvin Mitchell[10]; 9. 10X-Ronnie Burns[2]; 10. 78J-Tommy Kunsman[9]; 11. 32D-Danny Jennings[14]; 12. 7CH-Critter Malone[8]; 13. (DNF) 25D-Dylan Petersen[16]; 14. (DNF) 12C-Chris Stockham[12]; 15. (DNF) 55S-Jerry McGehee[7]; DNS 12J-Jay Mounce K Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 14N-Paul Nienhiser[1]; 2. 44Don Droud Jr[7]; 3. 4R-Ryan Greth[4]; 4. 33C-Chase Briscoe[13]; 5. 5T-Tom Everhart[11]; 6. 59E-Dex Eaton[15]; Harley Hollan 7. 22AZ-Rick Shuman[6]; 8. 85Matt Johnson[14]; 9. 53H-Matt Harms[16]; 10. 2J-Ryan Leavitt[9]; 11. 17KT-Ryan Ellis[2]; 12. 75L-Lee Dakus[8]; 13. 05H-Justin Tanner Berryhill Hendricks[10];

14. (DNF) 12A-Austin Archdale[5]; 15. (DNF) 56J-Isaac Schreurs[3]; 16. (DNF) 13JR-Jock Thacker[12]

L-Features: Top 4 advance to corresponding K-Feature

JJ Yeley

L Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 77K-Katlynn Leer[1]; 2. 32D-Danny Jennings[6]; 3. 16C-David Camfield Jr[3]; 4. 25D-Dylan Petersen[14]; 5. 86S-Danny Smith[5]; 6. 7S-Pat Schudy[11]; 7. 19N-Nick O’Neal[4]; 8. 71.5-Robert Bell[9]; 9. 101-Chuck McGillivray[15]; 10. 18-Tony Bruce Jr[12]; 11. 51M-Michael Curtis[16]; 12. (DNF) P40-Aaron Dromgoole[8]; 13. (DNF) 24T-George White[2]; 14. (DNF) 1OU-A.J. Burns[10]; 15. (DNF) 1PW-Paul White[13]; DNS 68S-Matt Land L Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 33C-Chase Briscoe[4]; 2. 85-Matt Johnson[7]; 3. 59E-Dex Eaton[6]; 4. 53H-Matt Harms[9]; 5. D6-Dakota Gains[11]; 6. 71T-Ricky Shelton[13]; 7. 14R-Jody Rosenboom[16]; 8. 1P-Terry Nichols[15]; 9. 7J-Shawn Jackson[14]; 10. GO-Coby Hughes[1]; 11. 12S-Bryan Severs[12]; 12. 11F-Floyd Alvis[10]; 13. 19-Steven Drevicki[8]; DNS 35Z-Zach Hampton; DNS 5B-Andee Beierle; DNS 3M-Mike Fulper

M-Features: Top 4 advance to corresponding L-Feature

M Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 1PW-Paul White[4]; 2. 25D-Dylan Petersen[3]; 3. 101-Chuck McGillivray[1]; 4. 51M-Michael Curtis[7]; 5. 12K-Chris Dyson[8]; 6. 93-Dustin Morgan[14]; 7. 20X-Jimmy Harris[10]; 8. 45K-Chase Allen[13]; 9. 62-Jacob Davis[16]; 10. 31-James Burke[5]; 11. (DNF) 94-Darren Kingston[11]; 12. (DNF) 32-Cale Thomas[15]; 13. (DNF) 7RS-Scott Crystal[9]; 14. (DNF) 17N-Duke Nalon III[6]; DNS 5F-Rik Forbes; DNS 5BL-Barry Lamb M Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 71T-Ricky Shelton[1]; 2. 7J-Shawn Jackson[10]; 3. 1P-Terry Nichols[14]; 4. 14R-Jody Rosenboom[3]; 5. 77B-Kenny Bowers[2]; 6. 7F-Claud Estes III[7]; 7. 2H-Robert Harr[5]; 8. 29S-Christian Kinnison[9]; 9. 58X-Lance Bennett[4]; 10. 0K-Don O’Keefe Jr[11]; 11. 27K-Kyle Keeler[16]; 12. 24F-Hunter Fischer[13]; 13. 55T-Tony Everhart[8]; 14. 5A-Ashley Hazelton[15]; 15. 53-Aaron Schuck[6]; DNS 48J-Wally Pankratz

N-Feature: 1, 3, 5, 7 to M1 - 2, 4, 6, 8 to M2

N Feature 1 (8 Laps): 1. 45K-Chase Allen[5]; 2. 24F-Hunter Fischer[9]; 3. 93-Dustin Morgan[4]; 4. 1P-Terry Nichols[7]; 5. 32-Cale Thomas[12]; 6. 5A-Ashley Hazelton[1]; 7. 62-Jacob Davis[2]; 8. 27K-Kyle Keeler[8]; 9. 48-Taylor Forbes[3]; 10. (DNF) 1B-Bobby Brewer[13]; DNS 9$-Kyle Clark; DNS 2X-Charlie McDonald; DNS 0-Johnny Murdock; DNS 15M-Travis Herman

AMERICAN RACER

FEBRUARY 2015

Bobby

Brewer

David Chobat-Photographer

Bill Elliott

In his 28-year career as a professional motorsports photographer, David Chobat took roughly 3.5 million photos, making him one of the most prolific photographers in the history of NASCAR. A native of Detroit, Mich., he grew up an avid fan of sports and photography, and his experience behind the lens of a camera was second to none. For more than 10 years (1966-1976) David worked as the team photographer for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. Prior to that, he worked as a freelance photographer for a number of publications in Georgia. But in 1976 he moved into the field of motorsports photography by joining Griggs Publishing, the official publisher of “NASCAR Winston Cup Scene” and “NASCAR Winston Cup Illustrated.” It didn’t take long for David to develop into one of the most respected and well-known photographers in NASCAR. Drivers including Bill Elliott and Dale Earnhardt, along with a number of sponsors and team owners including Home Depot, Pennzoil, Hooters, Goodwrench and Hendrick Motorsports purchased his photos. His subjects included everyone from Rusty Wallace to Tony Stewart, and 18

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he was a regular nominee at the annual NMPA Awards. In August of 2004, David passed away due to complications of a heart attack. A fixture in the world of motorsport photography, he is chiefly responsible for many of the photographs that racing fans have enjoyed in numerous books, magazines and newspapers around the world today. American Racer Magazine honors the contributions from one of the top photographers in motorsports history with this pictorial courtesy of CMG Worldwide.

Bobby Labonte

Cale Yarborough & Bill Elliott

Mark Martin & Bill Elliott

Chase Elliott

Talladega

Tim Richmond on Pit Lane

Tim Richmond Plays UNO With The Crew AMERICAN RACER

FEBRUARY 2015

Kenny Wallace

From the NASCAR circuit to the Chili Bowl and Fox Sports RaceDay, Kenny Wallace continues to be one of the fan favorites in racing. We caught up with Kenny in Barberville, Florida as he prepared for the 2015 DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia.

Photos By Brad Harris AR: This was your first Lucas Oil Chili Bowl. Tell us about the experience. Wallace: I had always heard of the Chili Bowl. Knew how important of a race it is to many of the open wheel guys, but I had no idea until I actually got there and experienced it for myself. Tony Stewart called me and said I needed to run in it because it was something that I had to experience and I can tell you it’s an amazing event with some great drivers. AR: What was your favorite moment of the Chili Bowl? Wallace: There were so many highlights and great moments. No doubt my favorite moment of the week was when Rico won. When he won and was done with his burnout, all 15 or 16,000 fans started chanting, Rico! Rico! Rico! Here’s this wonderful kid you’ve been following. Everyone knows the story of him and Kyle Larsen coming up together racing karts, then to win the most epic event midgets have to offer was amazing. Everybody at the Chili Bowl is knowledgeable. Nobody is there for the hell of it. Everyone knows Rico and when he won that race and they all started chanting his

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name it said so much about human drama. This kid overcoming all odds. It was just an incredible moment.

AR: And for Chili Bowl fans, it wasn’t a Swindell. Wallace: Well you know we need the Swindell’s. You have to have the black hat and you have to have the white hat. Thank God Sammy and Kevin just love wearing that black hat. That’s what makes a good show.

AR: What else do you have on tap for 2015? Wallace: My number one love is TV. We are excited that we’re back at track with the fans. The fans really missed us being at track. We’ve done the popular RaceDay and Victory Lane shows for ten straight years now. There’s a clear line in the sand. Fox has the first half of the season then when NBC takes over for the second half. I’ll go in studio on Sunday’s for RaceDay/Victory Lane shows. I have a full-blown career that I’m very grateful for at Fox. Number two is my dirt car. Last year we ran 71 races. And I have some great sponsors that I do appearances for, give speeches, and I’m married with three kids. But there’s no doubt about it dirt racing is my passion. We’ll probably run both Iowa races this year in the NASCAR Xfinity series and the

Wallace: I would say Bristol, Tennessee is the most incredible show as far as a fun time. That’s in NASCAR. I would say this Chili Bowl pretty much is No.1 now. But in NASCAR it’s Bristol. I told my wife if there ever comes a day when we’re done with NASCAR it would still be fun to go to Bristol. It’s quite a show.

Mud-Summer Classic for NASCAR. But I’m 51 years old and I’ve had a wonderful career; 901 NASCAR starts and nine Nationwide wins. I was never an “A” driver, but I like to think I’m a “B” driver. I’m just happy to be a part of the sport and I’m very thankful.

AR: Did you know you would make a good on-air talent? Wallace: Absolutely not. Television found me. That’s the easiest way I can explain it. I was very lucky. I had no idea I was going to do TV. I was asked to do TV. by Humpy Wheeler’s daughter, Patty Wheeler. She asked me years ago, back around ’94 or ’95. Then when Fox Sports started, they asked me to be with Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip and Mike Joy and I turned them down because I was only 36 years old. I called them back when I was about 40 and said, I’m ready. It was difficult because I consider myself a hardcore racer. Back in my day if you said you were going to do television, it meant your racing career was over. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to do TV. and race at the same time.

AR: You’ve always been a fan favorite. Why do you think fans tend to lock onto one particular driver and literally follow that driver for their entire careers? Wallace: I think for me I’m just very middle class. Listen, I studied it too. I looked at it and said, why do people like me? I don’t know, but what people tell me is I get across to the average Joe. I’m not mean, but I give a good opinion. I don’t trash people, I give a very bold opinion, but my goal is not to be mean or to be loved and liked. I just want to give a solid opinion people understand. I don’t insult people’s intelligence. AR: Social media allows fans to get close to their favorite drivers, what advice would you give the younger guys out there when it comes to things like twitter? Wallace: Answer your fans. Talk to your fans. Be nice to your fans. Promote yourself. Let people know what’s going on. Let them inside your homes. Show them your closet. You don’t have to get too deep. Don’t show your checkbook, but people are nosey. Everybody wants to know what the inside of your house looks like. Entertain. Sponsors don’t sponsor your racecar for the hell of it. Sponsors sponsor people that people like. Make your sponsors proud. Take some time out of your day when you’re going down the road in the passenger seat or you’re sitting at lunch waiting for your food; answer your fans. Let them know you see them.

AR: Drivers always talk about their favorite tracks or the toughest place to win. What’s been your toughest track to tame? Wallace: Out of my nine wins, Richmond is three of them. I’ve won at Bristol, Loudon and Rockingham. I would say the track that was the toughest on me in my NASCAR career was Atlanta. I could never figure that damn track out for the life of me. I always looked forward to going there, but it was like a pinball machine. I wanted to put a quarter in and keep going at it to see if I could get better. I got a lot better at the end.

AR: NASCAR announced no change to the Chase format. Is that the right call or is there something they could have changed to make it batter? Even though it was a pretty great season last year. Wallace: There’s no doubt. I tweeted earlier today; I cannot remember when there was this much excitement a month before the Daytona 500. People are hyperventilating. That championship came down to the very end last year. Harvick wins the championship in the last 10 laps. You run the whole damn year and it comes down to the last ten laps. NASCAR gets beat up because they’re the boss, but when you look at the NASCAR championship races it’s obvious. The Chase was amazing. Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards a couple of years ago tied. They tied! I don’t know how you can make the championship any more exciting. Six million viewers! That’s pretty incredible. I don’t know why you would want to change anything about what happened last year. AR: As fans you don’t always get the opportunity to know you are watching a drivers last full season in NASCAR. Richard Petty is one that comes to mind. With Jeff Gordon’s announcing his retirement, what will the mood be in the garage and will guys race him differently on the track? Wallace? There’s a lot to it. I think why it shocked everyone is because of his age. He’s probably the youngest since Freddy Lorenzen, the Golden Boy, which is funny because they both could be called the Golden Boy. The kid grows up, model type girlfriend and gets married, has wonderful children and wins everything that there is. And here he is at 43 now. It’s unheard of to totally be done with NASCAR at 44 years old. Yes it’s going to different with Jeff not driving, but it’s very clear he’s not going to leave the sport. We can’t remember the last time someone as good as him said hey I’m going to retire at 44. AR: Thanks for the time Kenny. Good luck this season. Wallace: Thank you. @Kenny_Wallace www.kennywallace.com

AR: I think it’s paid off for you. You have a big following on twitter. People love to see you pool side or at the track. Wallace: Listen, I haven’t had that much success to have that many followers so I assume I have that many followers because I let people inside my life. There’s this fictitious thought that I’m this NASCAR guy and I have a maid or something (laughs) and that’s further from the truth. I vacuum my own carpet and deposit my own checks, I take my trash out, I just happen to be on T.V. and in the spotlight a little bit. AR: Where’s the friendliest track in the country?

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FEBRUARY 2015

Eddie Hill has done just about everything one person can do in motorsports. We caught up with Eddie and Ercie at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit for a look at his new passion, the Ariel Atom. And of course we talked a little drag racing. AR: Eddie lets start with the early days of your drag racing career. You once ran Indy with a car that had four tires on the back and two engines. What was that like? Eddie: That was interesting because it was fairly fresh asphalt and it threw pretty big divots out of the track. Buster (Couch) got me by the ear and pulled me up to the starting line and said, “See what you did to this race track?” He took the divots, put them back in the holes, tapped them in and said, “Now don’t run here again, move over here!”

AR: There were more innovations you gave to drag racing. The front wing was something you were one of the first people to use. Tell us about the front wing. Eddie: I took a balsa wing with a piece of cord and aluminum side plates and mounted it on the front of one of my early cars back in the 60’s. We painted it purple to match the car and it was a thin sheet of balsa with balsa ribs like a model airplane. You could see the ribs in there. I ran it for several months and it worked pretty good until a spectator came up and said, “that looks like balsa wood,” and poked his finger through it (laughs) and ruined it.

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AR: Speaking of spectators and the fans Eddie and Ercie Hill have always been fan favorites. You were always generous with your time. Tell me about that fan/driver relationship. Eddie: Well that’s one reason we had as much fun as we did. The fans were always very good to us. We enjoyed them and I guess they could tell that. We always tried to treat people the way we wanted to be treated if the roles were reversed. In fact when we decided to make a comeback into top fuel, we went to Pomona after a long absence and we decided that we wanted to try and be the fan favorites. Be nice to people and have them enjoy us and their experience at the track. There was a conscious effort to be kind to people and treat them right.

AR: It showed because the Hill’s were the fan favorites for a long time. You still have a ton of fans out there. Eddie: It felt like it. They were awfully kind to us. Ercie: Tell them what our written goals were when we came back to top fuel. Eddie: We wrote it down. We wanted to win a world championship, I wanted to be the fastest and quickest guy at the drag strip regardless of class and have fun doing it. And we did it.

AR: When was the last time you were at a national event for the NHRA? Eddie: 1999 when I had my L-1 vertebrae crushed 40%. It was my last ride in a car. I crashed due to a defective engine block on its first run. AR: Do you think you’ll ever go back? Eddie: No sir. (laughs)

AR: Done with it? Eddie: Been there, done that. I’m the only guy that’s ever won a top fuel championship on land and water so we kind of proved our point. Really it’s too commercial anymore. It’s too expensive and it’s too business like. When I started 50 years ago, literally 50 years ago in the NHRA, it was like this (Hallett). Everyone was laid back, you never saw a frown, you never heard a cross word. Everyone helped everyone. You could teach the new guys and everyone laughed. The guys that finished last and the guys that finished first all had a good time. It used to be that way in the NHRA, but now it’s a circus. It’s so corporate. It’s a business. We spent 2.3 million dollars one year and I never could get comfortable spending that much money. Call it Pennzoil money or sponsor money. I just didn’t like spending that much money. My dad was a Veterinarian so I didn’t grow up poor, but middle income or a little less and he taught me not to waste money and when it got to the point that a crankshaft wouldn’t last but one or two runs and a block wouldn’t last but three or four runs and you’re taking eight rods out every single run and throwing them away, I just couldn’t get comfortable with that. What I wanted the NHRA to do and would still like them to do and what might eventually save the sport is to institute and one engine rule. You go with one engine and it’s sealed. Whoever can win with that one engine on race day wins. Everyone would squeal to high heaven to begin with, but the smart guys would figure out how to keep them together and tune them enough so they could make four runs and still be alive. That would cut the expense way down. I don’t mean to preach about the NHRA, but the way it is now, I don’t have any intention of going back. AR: What about the switch to 1/8 mile over a 1/4 mile? Eddie: I wasn’t in favor of it, but overall since it’s saving lives, it’s a good thing. Drag racing’s always been a quarter mile race. It’s just not quarter mile drag racing anymore.

AR: So what got you into road racing? Eddie: When I got out of that top fuel car in 1999 I frankly thought I would die of terminal boredom then I saw a video on Top Gear on the Ariel Atom and decided to get one. Jay Leno got No.1 and I got No.72 of that first batch of American built Ariel Atom’s back in 2007. We had been traveling so much for so many years that we didn’t like traveling anymore. I heard about this AtomFest meet they were having at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in 2007 and I said that might be a lot of fun, but I don’t want to drive four and a half hours to get there. But there was a guy name Randy Lamp that was promoting the event and he finally talked me into making the drive to Oklahoma. We ended up becoming good friends. I had so much fun here at that event the bug hit me. I’ve hardly missed a track day since. After doing that for several years I said I need a dealership for these cars because I believe in them and understand them and can convey some of that enthusiasm to other people. We have a lot of business experience with our motorcycle business (Eddie Hill’s Fun Cycles) in Wichita Falls, TX. It just felt like a natural fit. When the people at TMI (AutoTech) moved their factory from Oregon to Virginia, they agreed with me and we set it up in 2010. Since then we’ve sold 16 of the cars. It’s a tough way to make a living, but someone has to do it (laughs). Ercie: And you have to come out and race to demonstrate the cars so we can sell them (laughs).

AR: Ercie, do you ever get nervous seeing him on the track? Ercie: The only time I get nervous is if I think he’s not going to have a podium finish in a feature (laughs). Sometimes he doesn’t have the fastest racecar out there, but he does have the most consistent. To finish first, first you have to finish. I’m his number one fan and I’m always out there. Today I bought a tablet and I’m trying to learn how to video to show him what it looks like out there. I’m having a real good time.

AR: You have been there for all of it. Was there ever a time through all of the different types of racing that made you questions whether or not he should be doing it? Ercie: I understood how dangerous boat racing was and it nearly killed Ed on his last ride in a top fuel boat and I was real happy when he went back into top fuel cars. He had his share of major spills along the way, but I never went to the starting line thinking something bad was going to happen. I always strapped him in the best I could, then one of our crew guys would finish tightening his belts. I always told him to do good, be careful and left the rest to the Lord.

AR: What’s more difficult to pilot? Eddie: Difficult? Well… Ercie: Boat! Eddie: It’s probably harder to do a top fuel boat. At least it was the way we did it back then. We only had a single prop. Now they have dual counter rotating props and it looks like that took about 90% of the danger out of it. With a single turning the way it was when you hit the throttle that thing would jump up, blow the tail out of the water and there was only about half of the bottom half of the prop in the water and it was always trying to turn the boat to the right. If an engine blew up it was an instantaneous reversal of the rudder effect on the prop and that’s what flipped me out at Firebird. I blew the blower off at about 1000 feet and it instantly turned the boat around and it actually accelerated me out ahead of the boat. They clocked me at 166mph across the finish line in front of the boat. That was the only time in my career I didn’t have me personal parachute hooked up. I just forgot to do it. Everyone standing on the bank said if I had been wearing my chute you would have died because it would have slowed you down and that boat would have caught you. The good Lord was looking out for me one more time. AR: Blowover’s in a top fuel dragster, being tossed out of the boat, fires. Do you ever get used to it? Eddie: I’ve crashed boats at 200 mph and cars at over 300 mph. Been upside down and on fire at 300 mph. Had a car disintegrate around me, all kinds of fires, blew the rear end out of the car numerous times, and lost brakes. I may be the most crashed individual that’s still around, but no matter how many times I’ve done it; I’ve never got to where I like it (laughs). Ercie: When he has one of these major catastrophes for about six months after that he is just the happiest person in the world. AMERICAN RACER

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and we did that. It got worse after 1993. Ercie: It got to the point where racing was really secondary. Sponsorships, television, radio and PR requirements became more important than actually racing. That became first and racing became second. That was sad. Eddie: There was so much I had to wade through before even getting in the car to make a run.

Seriously on a day-to-day basis he’s the happiest.

AR: Like cheating death. Ercie: Yes he did. Eddie: It’s like the Lord said, okay here’s one more life lets see what you can do with this one. AR: Could you take what you know about racing and take someone who knows very little or nothing about racing and teach them to drive a top fuel car or is it something that’s just inside you? Eddie: You have to be inclined to enjoy that sort of thing. Without that you couldn’t make a driver out of them. If they don’t want to do it, no amount of instructions would ever make a driver out of them. But if you could take someone that really enjoys that acceleration and the thrill, sure I could give someone instruction on driving. We had a guy named Frank Booth who flew left seat in our Learjet when we were flying the last few years and he would have made an excellent top fuel pilot. In fact I took him out to Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School and I even went through even though I was a veteran at that point. I even learned some stuff from Frank Hawley. To answer the questions, yes. If a guy is qualified I could probably help somebody. AR: You seem to really enjoy what you’re doing today. What does the future hold for Eddie Hill? Eddie: More of the same. I’m really enjoying this. Don’t have to work on the car. No crew. No sponsor requirements. No contract negotiations. Everybody smiles.

AR: Sounds like what you are saying is, it’s back to what you remember racing being in your early days. Ercie: It is. Eddie. Yeah. Why I did it in the first place. Do it for fun, not for money. Money was never the goal. Winning a championship was

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AR: When you’re not at the track in a fire suit, what are we doing? Eddie: We have a ranch. We built our dream home about five years ago out in the country. We have 450 acres out there. No neighbors real close, just peace and quiet. Nothing but God’s created beauty out there. It’s quit the contrast from a top fuel. Ercie: We raise Tennessee Walking horses and American bucking bulls and grow hay. We’re actually farmers and ranchers (laughs).

AR: Do you pore over your track times on the road course, like you would in drag racing? Ercie: Absolutely. He looks them over. He uses a Track Mate that’s built into his car and he goes and looks at every corner, where he’s losing time, where he’s gaining time, where his best laps are. He looks at it all. Eddie: The TrackMate data recorder that I have now will let me play my best lap against my next to best lap so you can see where you can make time, where you’re losing time against myself and it will calculate a theoretical best time if you put all of your best corners together. Ercie: And he has a Go-Pro camera that will sink up with the TrackMate so you can watch it on the big screen TV and you can check your TrackMate to see exactly what you were doing and actually have a visual picture of it. Eddie: When we were first in the 4’s back in 1988 the computer was actually what allowed me to do that because I saw what was going wrong at 1000 foot and we may not have ever known what was going wrong without a computer telling us what happened. I took steps to fix it and we were first in the 4’s. AR: You guys have been more than generous with your time. Thank you for everything and good luck with the Ariel Atom. Hopefully we’ll see you at Hallett again soon. Ercie: Thank you. Eddie: Thank you. We’re enjoying what we’re doing. We’ll see you out here again soon.

Darryl Starbird’s 51st Annual

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Tulsa, Oklahoma February 20-22, 2015 River Spirit ExPO Expo Square Fairgrounds

Go For the Gold “Fine Nine” $10,000 Cash Award Plus, the KKOA Village

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AMERICAN RACER

FEBRUARY 2015

AMERICAN RACER

FEBRUARY 2015

Hitch It

Trailer Sales, Parts, Service & Truck Accessories

service department with experienced service personnel. Our knowledgeable staff can help you find the parts you need, troubleshoot trailer and truck issues, repair and maintain your trailer, install your truck accessories and so much more.” Performing regular maintenance to your trailer is something Hitch It can provide. A little prevention can save you money in the long run. “Racing season is just around the corner. Before you hit the road remember to do a few things that will prevent problems later in the season. Pack your bearings once a year or every 10,000 miles. It could save you an axel. Always have a good spare tire and make sure the wheel bolt patterns match your trailer. And always check your lights. Running lights and hazards should all be in working order,” said Scheulen.

Tulsa, OK – Hitch It Trailer Sales, Parts, Service & Truck Accessories has made the move to a new location! Now located at the northeast corner of 61st street and HWY 169, Hitch It owner Chrissy Scheulen said the new location will allow them to better serve their customers. “Hitch It has moved to Tulsa to better serve our customers. We have a new, larger showroom to display our extensive inventory of trailer parts and truck accessories and a larger sales lot to keep more cargo, utility, dump and gooseneck trailers in inventory for everyone to see,” said Scheulen.

But the new location is not the only thing that’s new at Hitch It. After four years of the family owned and operated business serving the greater Tulsa area, Hitch It has added several brands to their inventory list.

For more on Hitch It visit them at www.HitchItTulsa.com for a full list of inventory and prices. Also find them on facebook at www.facebook.com/HitchIt for fun giveaways and shenanigans at the shop! They’re open Monday-Friday from 8am-5:30pm and during the summer you can catch them on Saturday from 9am-12pm. “We don’t only “just” sell trailers or “just’ sell parts, we sell maintenance, repair and install all trailer parts and truck accessories to help haul your trailer. If you have a trailer problem, we are here and ready to help. We take pride in our low prices, customer service and a timely service schedule. We will be here for you, as your full service trailer shop.” – Chrissy Scheulen, Hitch It Trailer Sales, Parts, Service & Truck Accessories.

“We carry several lines of trailers including Haulmark, Lark, Rice and Tiger. We stock enclosed racing and cargo trailers, open utility trailers, dump and gooseneck trailers and we can custom order trailers to fit your needs and specifications,” said Scheulen. “Hitch It Trailers also has an extensive inventory of trailer parts and accessories as well as a full

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FEBRUARY 2015

Earn your competition license, improve your skills, check one off your “Bucket List” or upgrade your current license. Or try the new Dragster Adventure with Side-By-Side Racing! Many locations across the country.

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