Ok Boys and Girls it's Storytime

[regan wilson]

Well it looks like we are going to race this weekend. I thought it was in Noble Ok. But I was wrong. It's in Belle Rose, La. Maybe I can get this thing sorted out. I'm going to try to get there early enough to test.

[regan wilson]

Well guys I got home from South Louisiana yesterday. It was hot humid and hellish down there. I made three test passes Thursday. I was spinning on the hit but running good down track. Friday morning with the NHRA taking over I had a good hit in the right lane .005 10.905 @ 153.27. The other two time trials that day went to crap spinning the right tire on the hit. I decided I was going too tweak on the our link. The only flat spot we could find was the scales. I had to wait till everything was over. We worked on in the dark and put some hit in it. First round Saturday morning I had to run an old friend from my hometown Billy Hughes. I was .008 he was -.008 I was way fast but no big deal. Second round I had to run my buddy Jason Owens who was tied for first place. He put me in the left lane I spun a little on the hit and was .20 on the tree he was .011. He was set up too hot and I pushed him out with a 10.86 @ 153.43 to his 10.83 @ 143. Third round I drew Jimmy Daniel from Montgomery Alabama and his all Pontiac powered race car. I blew on the tree with a .054 light to his .021. I went 10.898 @ 152.81 he took a hun of strip with a 10.91 @ 148. His next opponent didn't even leave the starting line. He had a bye into the final and his final round opponent red lit. Dammit!! I'm going to regroup and go to Noble Ok in three weeks. As of today I'm sitting in 12th place in division but still have four more races I can run. All in all I felt pretty good after the weekend.

[71Dragtruck]

Well your weekend was better than mine, we had forecast for rain on fri night and Sat but Sunday looked half decent. So I decided I’d load up on fri morning and head in after dinner to spot my trailer and if we got rained out on the sat the wife and I would just do some stuff in the city. Got word fri the very short non paved stretch of road to the track was damaged from rain and local traffic but was being repaired and should be done before I got there, well halfway to the track bit over an hr into the trip I get a text that the races have been called off due to the forecast for more rain and the damaged road. So I turned around and went back home to unload again.

[regan wilson]

Well I haven't posted in awhile so here's and update. Not a great one but an update. We went to Noble Ok and struggled with track conditions and inconsistency issues all weekend. I did experiment with some timer adjustments and had a good first round win. Second round should have been good but I went up there and turned on the redlight. So at the end of 5 races for the season I had one first rd loss, three second round losses and one third round loss. After all that I was sitting just outside the top ten in points.

[regan wilson]

Moving on to the next race in Topeka Kansas. We left last Wednesday July 26th and made the 500 mile trip to Heartland Motorsports Park. We started time trials on Thursday. With nearly 700 cars we only got two hits at the track. We ran first round Friday morning and I drew a spotdropper that was crossing at 70 and 80mph. I had him good on the tree and went down there and scrubbed nearly two tenths and 25mph for the win. Second round I get up there and the truck would barely start. I'm .009 on the tree to my oponents .000. the truck wouldn't run the number due to low voltage so I got another second round loss. So that was the end of the first race of the weekend for me.

[regan wilson]

Moving on to the second race in Topeka. We got one time trial Saturday morning. Aeromotive was sponsoring a Super Shootout. You put $20 in on this one and the best 8 split the pot. I get up there and try to hit the tree and go .001 10.900 for a one though package. So I have a check coming in the mail anyhow. We ran first round of the second race that afternoon. Low and behold I get the same car again (out of 104 cars). I actually rooled some numbers in o my transbrake to avoid going red. We stage and I watch him turn the top bulb off. We leave the line and he gets an automatic redlight for deep staging. I get back and look at the timeslip and I'm -.002 red 10.905. I'm feeling pretty good at this point. We were done for the day and just sitting around when a guy comes by with a National Dragster shirt on. He tells me the Division 5 Tech Crew picked me for Best Engineered Vehicle!

[regan wilson]

Gotta go for now I'll post pics later Forgot I had to resize before uploading to the Bucket. Oh and I screwed up second round again. Flickered the bulb staging and got flustered ! The announcer said I was so red it made Rudolph's nose jealous. That's it for racing until the Nationals at the TX Motorplex in October

[71Dragtruck]

Thanks for the updates Regan, I feel your pain on the flickering bulb, did the same staging 2nd round a few weekends ago, pre staged and second set started to flicker, rolled too far when went ahead and went deep setting my trans brake, red light and out.

[regan wilson]

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[regan wilson]

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[regan wilson]

I was actually too shallow. I got flustered thinking Autostart was on and I had to get in ASAP. Bumped back in and anticipated the light. I just lost my focus.

[regan wilson]

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[SCOTI]

Nice hardware.

[aggie91]

Congrats on the award! Truck is still looking good as always!

[regan wilson]

Thanks guys. Would have rather had a Wally but I dang shure didn't turn it down.

[71Dragtruck]

Yeah I'd be happy with that too, way better than a kick in the nuts lol.

[mattfranklin]

I just found this thread and I'm enjoying reading the story.

[regan wilson]

Well I just woke up in a place I've never been before. Gateway International Raceway in St Louis. I think my truck might have been built here but I've never been here.

[regan wilson]

Well I got home from St Louis Monday afternoon. It's a neat racetrack with all kinds of things going on all the time. We made two time trials Friday then one on Saturday morning. While we were waiting a Tech Inspector came by. He said don't pack up and leave because we are giving you Best Appearing! All I could say was you're Sh****ng me and Thank You. Ran first round Saturday afternoon and made it through then we were done for the day. In the downtime also I did a VIN decode and sure enough my truck was built in St Louis. I sure wanted to bring home a Wally even more after that. Sunday morning were first out and I made it through second round.I drew and old friend of mine third round and lost a tough one. I missed the tree with a .037 light to his .019 and almost pushed him out the back door but he was 10.902. At that point in the day all I could do is watch the race then get up early Monday and come home . But I did get my cool wall hanger.

[regan wilson]

I'm getting ready this weekend for the O'Reilly Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex.
Maybe I can turn things around and do some good. If any of you Texas members go come by and say hi. We will start time trials Thursday Oct 17th and Eliminations on Friday the 18th.

[aggie91]

Good luck this weekend. I can't make it because of Football for Owen and other commitments on Saturday with my Daughter.

Congrats on the Best Appearing award!

[regan wilson]

Well I got to the Tx Motorplex Wednesday afternoon got parked and got mt credentials and everything. So far so good. Thursday morning I go for my first time trial. Everything is good till I pull high gear about 580 ft out. The motor zinged and I had no high gear. I coasted to the end of the track and stopped. All it had was park! We get it back to the trailer not sure of what to do and how to do it. I unbolt the converter and it feels fine. Thing is I'm not trying to pull the transmission in the gravel. We ended up pulling it up in my friend Wes Neeley's trailer to pull the tranny.

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[regan wilson]

Wes and his son Landon helped me and my friend Ken pull the transmission. I already had an offer from JM Harrison who crews for our Friend Roger Massey on his Top Sportsman car to help with the transmission. We got it out and took it to their pit and tore into it. Walla it was just as I had guessed. A broken input. Looked like you cut it with a band saw.

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[regan wilson]

Ken got on the phone with Summit Racing in Arlington Tx. They had an input shaft. He came back with a complete drum with an ATI 300 m input in it. It was bigger so now we had to repack a drum. I borrowed a clamp from another racer who is a transmission guy and we got it back together. Then it was back to Wes's trailer to put it back together. It was after dark when we got done but I was out driving it around and it seamed all good.

[regan wilson]

Now onto Friday. I missed all the time trials except for my one hit with only good numbers to the 330. I get up there first round and were both green on the tree. My opponent was a slower car and when I start to catch him around 1000 ft he is starting to dump. He could't see me coming and I cruise through on an 11.30 for the win. While we were waiting for second round the National Dragster photographers come by. They ask me if I would like to be the Featured Flyer. I say well hell yea I was one in 2007 but it was in black and white and only a 1/4 page deal. So we took the truck down to a clear area in the back of the pits.

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