Post by sportf on Jun 10, 2024 18:08:45 GMT
Eddyville Race Wrap
22 cars showed up to run for the fun at Eddyville on 7-8 June. Wow, on Friday it looked like it was going to be a cooker, but then some slight over cast clouds came around and it was perfect. Actually, the same happened on Saturday, and as Gerald Kramer, track owner announced, it was perfect racing weather. When the sun went down as the race progressed, well, it got cool, right now. It was actually cold for those south of the Minnesota border, but I will admit, as you can see, I also got my hooded sweat shirt out, and that made it just right.
Now, we had some breakage. Rosie's car just didn't have the right oil pressure, and after a partial pass, Clay decided to park it for the race.
Then, on Saturday, Ronnie Sox shifting Jimmy Fergeson had an interesting noise down track, and dropped synch with the gas pedal and coasted off the track. As seen in a previous picture, his cam plug and a piece of lifter was in the inspection cover of his bell housing. Now, how a cam comes out the back of the block far enough, without hitting the fly wheel, to allow a lifter piece to come out, well, I can't wait to hear the autopsy report on that. The cam most likely broke, but, ah, well, we will tell you what happened when we find out.
Now, the Fergeson incident may have left oil on the track, or oil on the track may have caused Fergeson to over rev. In any case, Jay Feihage was next in that same lane and when he hits second gear the back of his car swung around like it was going to Walmart all by itself. Beth Hamer on the starting line said she saw BOTH sides of Jay's car, and that is never good at a drag race. Donnie Gains, watching the show - doing his burn out in the water box, said he thought Jay's car was up on two, well, he got a little "concerned".
Now, the best part of this show, Jay never hit the brakes and drove that sucker like a pro and although pointed at a wall two times, truly managed to save it. He credited it to just driving the car, tight safety belts, and a firm grip on the seat with his, ah, a firm grip on the seat.
Now, Steve Gantz, watching the show from his car at the starting line, got a little out of sequence with his usual routine, and this is going to cause problems later, but we will get to that then. When the cleanup crew was addressing the track, Jay showed back up at the starting line, and I asked if I should ask for another pass for Jay. Jay said, succinctly, "NO".
So, onto qualifying Saturday afternoon. Dereck Strait managed to run dead on, which was better than the rest of us, and that got him a bye in the first round. The rest of the field mainly ran under as the cooler weather came in right now and caused everybody to pretty much miss the "tune". Just another way to say, we guessed wrong.
Round one
This writer (I love saying that, I don't know why) and Bob Lantero lined up first pair. We had a heck of a time deciding lane as neither of us cared. Well, I was in the right, Bob in the left. I had a little better light than Bob, left first on slower index, and watched him scream up in the left lane beside me, but just not quite in time and I took the stripe. Bob's race fun was done, like half of the rest of the gang, and spectating becomes the option.
Bob Haberburger lines up with Mike Doss. Mike was tossed a curve when the new motor ran slow on the first test pass of the week end. Well, he dropped indexes only to find the fluke run was just that and he could have easily run his faster index. This is not set up for Mike, and Bob beat Mike at the light, and at the other end as well. Mike's Eddyville racing career is done for the day.
Clay Kossuth then lines up with Jay Freihage. Jay kills Clay on the tree and then generates a 60 foot time that anybody with a street car on the grounds could have beat, when he lights up the slicks, new ones at that. The hemi Barracuda of Jay's is parked, but still looks as good as ever. It would have looked better to Jay if he was preparing for next round, but not to be.
David Fusner then lines his real "T" bolt number 45 up against new comer Jonathan Wheeldon, in his 65 Dodge 500. David kills the younger Wheeldon at the tree, and catches him early and takes the stripe. It's good to see a young guy like Jonathan at the track. He is with one of the best tutors in drag racing, Fast Eddie Wheeldon, and will come along nicely. David preps the car for next round, Jonathan will do the same for his Dad's car, as Eddie will make it into the next round.
Fast Eddie then lines up with Dalton Bruemmer. Eddie, as his name applies, puts a faster light on Dalton, and Dalton's day ends like half the rest of the gang. Easy going like his dad, he gets ready for NEXT week end at Cordova.
Last year's champ Shawn Johnston, lines up with Bobby Westhoff. Well, we know Bobby is going to have one of the best race days ever here. He does that by - a little better light than Shawn, taking the strip, and going on to the next round.
Don Bruemmer lines up his nuclear hemi powered 65 Plywood against the 64 hemi powered Plywood of Jim Hagenhoff. Jim is waiting on pistons for his regular hemi powered race car, but this street driven car will do for now. Jim puts a light on Don, and Don gets tired or waiting around for the longest delay in this race, a 8.33 against a 6.09. Don turns on the 'done right here" bulb and runs it out anyway. Jim goes on.
John Hamer is going to have a pretty good day, but some luck was involved. Steve Gantz lines up in a 65 Plymouth against the Barracuda of John Hamer's. There is a shutdown of sorts, and Steve and John wait to get that sorted out. Steve then cuts a James Bond light on Hamer and that should be the end of John right there, but it's not. As I said above, Steve's routine was rather disrupted by Jay's skating Barracuda show, and in all the excitement lost track of the sequence and how many rounds he fired. Steve gets that great launch, with his hand on the shifter, and goes right to second gear. Well, that is what can happen when you are not running an electronically controlled air shifted car. John, well, taking an advantage of the disadvantage, takes the stripe, the fun, and gets ready for the next round. Steve gets ready to put his car into one of the best tow rigs on the property. Take a look at his rig if you haven't, it's the way it used to be done if you had the means.
Donnie Gaines then lines up with Brian Habergburger in a 64 Dodge on a 64 Dodge. Two good-looking cars, with two different paint schemes, both looking like they are ready to race. Brian launches and Donnie is in the chase. Donnie is chasing and just isn't getting the job done. Brian is being chased and is NOT going to lift as Donnie will catch him. Both stay in it ALL the way and in the cool night air both break out big time. I mean, big time. But, Brian manages to do that better and the win goes to Donnie. Donnie goes to second round; Brian settles in and waits for a gamblers race that won't take place. (too many oil downs on the track and no time left for a gamblers).
Derek Strait in "Large Marge" racing takes the bye and runs dead on again.
Round 2
It's dark by now, and it's much cooler. Bob Westhoff lines up with Bob Haberburger and puts a light on Bob H. that can't be recovered from. Bob H. can't catch Westhoff in the night air, and Westhoff goes on to a night the rest of us wish we could have.
Donnie Gains then lines up with David Fusner under the night lights of Eddyville. Great lights at this track, and the grounds here are just really great. Gerald has better grass than most of us have at home, which makes a difference when pitting in the heat. Not hot now though, and I don't need my passenger door open waiting in the lanes. Fusner is going to cut a great light, but not before Donnie turns on the "dam it" bulb. David and his Ford go on, its going to be a Ford night, but we don't know it yet.
John Hamer then lines up with Fast Eddie. Eddie, in his real 68 hemi Dart, usually goes right from second into third to slow the car down to an index he likes, and he is ready to do that here. Both cut good lights, with John leaving first. Eddie's car goes way up on the wheelie bars, but not up on them evenly. When he comes down, he is going for the center line and the left lane. He said that didn't bother him as much as pointing right at Hamer's car in the left lane. Eddie, long time racer, really has no choice and backs out of it giving the win to John. John goes on to the money round, Eddie goes to the flat bed for the ride home.
Derek Strait then lines up against this writer, and away we go. Derek launches first and then I go. For the first time at the track this weekend, the car totally hooks, but not evenly. I think I need new tires. When I come down from my launch, I'm going for the left wall. I'm steering, the shift light comes on and my turn signal is also on. Well, it's the left turn that is on and that is the direction I'm going in. Thinking about a thousand miles an hour here, got to set priorities. So, I'm steering right, get the shift, and get the car back into the groove about the time to shift again. Signal light still flashing. I think that must look stupid from the starting line, but so what, I'm busy here. I catch Derek near the line and hit the brakes......but I'm not ahead, and Derek's win light comes on. Derek goes to the money round, and I go to the spectators side of the fence.
Long time racers and friends Clay Kossuth lines up with Jim Hagenhoff. It's hard to be consistent in a street car launch, and although Jim had previously cut a really good light in the other round, not so much here. Jim turns on the "dam it" bulb and allows friend Clay to move on to some money and a pretty good night.
Round 3
We are down to 5 cars now, and the first pair out is Clay against the T bolt of David Fusner. Its cool out now, maybe cold. Cold for us spectators, but not for the racers still in. Pretty exciting for these guys, and us spectators wish they were us. David turns on the "done right here bulb" and Clay goes on. David had a pretty good run, but that red bulb completes the night for him.
John Hamer then lines up with Derek Strait in a Barracuda 65 Dodge battle. These guys have lights with in .003 of each other and so it comes down to who runs the index better. In a squeaker round, John comes out on top and that is it for the night for Derek.
Bob Westhoff gets the ladder bye into the next round.
Round 4
Bobby Westhoff lines up with John Hamer. Once again these guys cut almost identical lights and it comes down to the finish line another squeaker race. But we know Bob comes out on top for the whole night, and John has a great day finishing up in the semi's.
Clay gets a ladder bye to the finals.
Final round. Well, whatever it takes to get to the finals, these guys are there. Bobby cuts an .022 light which is a nice light, and hard to beat. Clay launches and turns on the "Hey Bobby, I'm way back here, but you are the winner already light". Clay still has a nice day making it to the finals, and that is hard to argue.
Wow, another great race day, another great snack out and bull session. Another great day for Victory NSS racing. Thank you Leanna and Robert for making the ladder, which is a tedious task. It was good to race with the gang again. And I guess that is what makes us come back for more.
22 cars showed up to run for the fun at Eddyville on 7-8 June. Wow, on Friday it looked like it was going to be a cooker, but then some slight over cast clouds came around and it was perfect. Actually, the same happened on Saturday, and as Gerald Kramer, track owner announced, it was perfect racing weather. When the sun went down as the race progressed, well, it got cool, right now. It was actually cold for those south of the Minnesota border, but I will admit, as you can see, I also got my hooded sweat shirt out, and that made it just right.
Now, we had some breakage. Rosie's car just didn't have the right oil pressure, and after a partial pass, Clay decided to park it for the race.
Then, on Saturday, Ronnie Sox shifting Jimmy Fergeson had an interesting noise down track, and dropped synch with the gas pedal and coasted off the track. As seen in a previous picture, his cam plug and a piece of lifter was in the inspection cover of his bell housing. Now, how a cam comes out the back of the block far enough, without hitting the fly wheel, to allow a lifter piece to come out, well, I can't wait to hear the autopsy report on that. The cam most likely broke, but, ah, well, we will tell you what happened when we find out.
Now, the Fergeson incident may have left oil on the track, or oil on the track may have caused Fergeson to over rev. In any case, Jay Feihage was next in that same lane and when he hits second gear the back of his car swung around like it was going to Walmart all by itself. Beth Hamer on the starting line said she saw BOTH sides of Jay's car, and that is never good at a drag race. Donnie Gains, watching the show - doing his burn out in the water box, said he thought Jay's car was up on two, well, he got a little "concerned".
Now, the best part of this show, Jay never hit the brakes and drove that sucker like a pro and although pointed at a wall two times, truly managed to save it. He credited it to just driving the car, tight safety belts, and a firm grip on the seat with his, ah, a firm grip on the seat.
Now, Steve Gantz, watching the show from his car at the starting line, got a little out of sequence with his usual routine, and this is going to cause problems later, but we will get to that then. When the cleanup crew was addressing the track, Jay showed back up at the starting line, and I asked if I should ask for another pass for Jay. Jay said, succinctly, "NO".
So, onto qualifying Saturday afternoon. Dereck Strait managed to run dead on, which was better than the rest of us, and that got him a bye in the first round. The rest of the field mainly ran under as the cooler weather came in right now and caused everybody to pretty much miss the "tune". Just another way to say, we guessed wrong.
Round one
This writer (I love saying that, I don't know why) and Bob Lantero lined up first pair. We had a heck of a time deciding lane as neither of us cared. Well, I was in the right, Bob in the left. I had a little better light than Bob, left first on slower index, and watched him scream up in the left lane beside me, but just not quite in time and I took the stripe. Bob's race fun was done, like half of the rest of the gang, and spectating becomes the option.
Bob Haberburger lines up with Mike Doss. Mike was tossed a curve when the new motor ran slow on the first test pass of the week end. Well, he dropped indexes only to find the fluke run was just that and he could have easily run his faster index. This is not set up for Mike, and Bob beat Mike at the light, and at the other end as well. Mike's Eddyville racing career is done for the day.
Clay Kossuth then lines up with Jay Freihage. Jay kills Clay on the tree and then generates a 60 foot time that anybody with a street car on the grounds could have beat, when he lights up the slicks, new ones at that. The hemi Barracuda of Jay's is parked, but still looks as good as ever. It would have looked better to Jay if he was preparing for next round, but not to be.
David Fusner then lines his real "T" bolt number 45 up against new comer Jonathan Wheeldon, in his 65 Dodge 500. David kills the younger Wheeldon at the tree, and catches him early and takes the stripe. It's good to see a young guy like Jonathan at the track. He is with one of the best tutors in drag racing, Fast Eddie Wheeldon, and will come along nicely. David preps the car for next round, Jonathan will do the same for his Dad's car, as Eddie will make it into the next round.
Fast Eddie then lines up with Dalton Bruemmer. Eddie, as his name applies, puts a faster light on Dalton, and Dalton's day ends like half the rest of the gang. Easy going like his dad, he gets ready for NEXT week end at Cordova.
Last year's champ Shawn Johnston, lines up with Bobby Westhoff. Well, we know Bobby is going to have one of the best race days ever here. He does that by - a little better light than Shawn, taking the strip, and going on to the next round.
Don Bruemmer lines up his nuclear hemi powered 65 Plywood against the 64 hemi powered Plywood of Jim Hagenhoff. Jim is waiting on pistons for his regular hemi powered race car, but this street driven car will do for now. Jim puts a light on Don, and Don gets tired or waiting around for the longest delay in this race, a 8.33 against a 6.09. Don turns on the 'done right here" bulb and runs it out anyway. Jim goes on.
John Hamer is going to have a pretty good day, but some luck was involved. Steve Gantz lines up in a 65 Plymouth against the Barracuda of John Hamer's. There is a shutdown of sorts, and Steve and John wait to get that sorted out. Steve then cuts a James Bond light on Hamer and that should be the end of John right there, but it's not. As I said above, Steve's routine was rather disrupted by Jay's skating Barracuda show, and in all the excitement lost track of the sequence and how many rounds he fired. Steve gets that great launch, with his hand on the shifter, and goes right to second gear. Well, that is what can happen when you are not running an electronically controlled air shifted car. John, well, taking an advantage of the disadvantage, takes the stripe, the fun, and gets ready for the next round. Steve gets ready to put his car into one of the best tow rigs on the property. Take a look at his rig if you haven't, it's the way it used to be done if you had the means.
Donnie Gaines then lines up with Brian Habergburger in a 64 Dodge on a 64 Dodge. Two good-looking cars, with two different paint schemes, both looking like they are ready to race. Brian launches and Donnie is in the chase. Donnie is chasing and just isn't getting the job done. Brian is being chased and is NOT going to lift as Donnie will catch him. Both stay in it ALL the way and in the cool night air both break out big time. I mean, big time. But, Brian manages to do that better and the win goes to Donnie. Donnie goes to second round; Brian settles in and waits for a gamblers race that won't take place. (too many oil downs on the track and no time left for a gamblers).
Derek Strait in "Large Marge" racing takes the bye and runs dead on again.
Round 2
It's dark by now, and it's much cooler. Bob Westhoff lines up with Bob Haberburger and puts a light on Bob H. that can't be recovered from. Bob H. can't catch Westhoff in the night air, and Westhoff goes on to a night the rest of us wish we could have.
Donnie Gains then lines up with David Fusner under the night lights of Eddyville. Great lights at this track, and the grounds here are just really great. Gerald has better grass than most of us have at home, which makes a difference when pitting in the heat. Not hot now though, and I don't need my passenger door open waiting in the lanes. Fusner is going to cut a great light, but not before Donnie turns on the "dam it" bulb. David and his Ford go on, its going to be a Ford night, but we don't know it yet.
John Hamer then lines up with Fast Eddie. Eddie, in his real 68 hemi Dart, usually goes right from second into third to slow the car down to an index he likes, and he is ready to do that here. Both cut good lights, with John leaving first. Eddie's car goes way up on the wheelie bars, but not up on them evenly. When he comes down, he is going for the center line and the left lane. He said that didn't bother him as much as pointing right at Hamer's car in the left lane. Eddie, long time racer, really has no choice and backs out of it giving the win to John. John goes on to the money round, Eddie goes to the flat bed for the ride home.
Derek Strait then lines up against this writer, and away we go. Derek launches first and then I go. For the first time at the track this weekend, the car totally hooks, but not evenly. I think I need new tires. When I come down from my launch, I'm going for the left wall. I'm steering, the shift light comes on and my turn signal is also on. Well, it's the left turn that is on and that is the direction I'm going in. Thinking about a thousand miles an hour here, got to set priorities. So, I'm steering right, get the shift, and get the car back into the groove about the time to shift again. Signal light still flashing. I think that must look stupid from the starting line, but so what, I'm busy here. I catch Derek near the line and hit the brakes......but I'm not ahead, and Derek's win light comes on. Derek goes to the money round, and I go to the spectators side of the fence.
Long time racers and friends Clay Kossuth lines up with Jim Hagenhoff. It's hard to be consistent in a street car launch, and although Jim had previously cut a really good light in the other round, not so much here. Jim turns on the "dam it" bulb and allows friend Clay to move on to some money and a pretty good night.
Round 3
We are down to 5 cars now, and the first pair out is Clay against the T bolt of David Fusner. Its cool out now, maybe cold. Cold for us spectators, but not for the racers still in. Pretty exciting for these guys, and us spectators wish they were us. David turns on the "done right here bulb" and Clay goes on. David had a pretty good run, but that red bulb completes the night for him.
John Hamer then lines up with Derek Strait in a Barracuda 65 Dodge battle. These guys have lights with in .003 of each other and so it comes down to who runs the index better. In a squeaker round, John comes out on top and that is it for the night for Derek.
Bob Westhoff gets the ladder bye into the next round.
Round 4
Bobby Westhoff lines up with John Hamer. Once again these guys cut almost identical lights and it comes down to the finish line another squeaker race. But we know Bob comes out on top for the whole night, and John has a great day finishing up in the semi's.
Clay gets a ladder bye to the finals.
Final round. Well, whatever it takes to get to the finals, these guys are there. Bobby cuts an .022 light which is a nice light, and hard to beat. Clay launches and turns on the "Hey Bobby, I'm way back here, but you are the winner already light". Clay still has a nice day making it to the finals, and that is hard to argue.
Wow, another great race day, another great snack out and bull session. Another great day for Victory NSS racing. Thank you Leanna and Robert for making the ladder, which is a tedious task. It was good to race with the gang again. And I guess that is what makes us come back for more.