READERS WHO RACE

Motor,  Mar 2006  

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For some, working on cars for a living during the day just isn't enough. To maintain their hydrocarbon high, these readers retire to the race shop in the evenings and hit the track on weekends.

Several months ago, we began asking our readers to tell us about their racing experiences. We've all followed the exploits of high-profile1 drivers in NASCAR, NHRA, Indy Car and other professional racing series. We thought it would be interesting to find out what some "regular folks" were doing at the1 tracks, and to learn more about their interests and successes. These folks are MOTOR readers, just like you. And like you, most earn a living during the day diagnosing and repairing vehicle's for their customers.

Much of what follows is presented in quoted passages. That's because we wanted to preserve what was stud, and the way it wtis stud, by the volunteers in this experiment-in their own words.

Ryon Joe Smithberger

Rytin Joe Smithberger is the owner of Smitty's Automotive in Santa Fe. He has been racing since 1985 and owns three race cars.

My dad was a drag nicer Unfortunately, he died when I was only a year old. His dream was to own a garage and race cars. I always wanted to race, no when I was old enough and had a few bucks, I started racing and never quit. Then I opened my own auto shop. I quess it's in my blood.

I now have three race cars, and last year I also started driving for Bill and Sherry York, owners of York's Equpment. I met Bill and Sherry in 1989 and we became great friends. Among the great benefits to racing are the people yon meet and the friends yon make. Bill and Sherry never had kids of their own, awl today Bill and I are like father and son. It's like racing with the Dad I never knew.

The Yorks own a 1989 Super Comp Ford Thunderbird with a 540-cubic-inch big-block Chevy. The car has a full chrome moly chassis with a four-link suspension. We have run a best of 8.85 seconds at 150 mph.

We finished third in points in the South West Drag Racing Association (SWDBA) and third in track points at Albuquerque National Dragway in 2005.

About five years ago the track closed for a cpouple of years, so we built a street stock dirt car to fill in the time. We finished second in points in 2004 and we icon five out of seven races in 2005. We had one second-place finish and our first DNF in 500-plns laps when we had a flat tire with three laps to go.

I race became I love the competition and because it's a great way to make great friends.

Randy Rundle

For most, racing is a liohhy-something that can be supported only by a regular job and pursued during personal time. For a lucky few, racing is that job.

Randy Rundle is owner and founder of Fifth Avenue Antique Auto Parts in Clay Center, KS (www.fifthaceintemet garage.com). Randy started buying 1948-55 Chevrolet trucks back in the early 1970s to restore and resell, while he was still in junior high school. He always had a "driver" and one in the works. Soon after, he got into selling parts, because he learned there were lots of other people wanting to fix up their old Chew pickups.

One of th things I always had trouble with on those old trucks was the charging system. The 6-volt battery was always dead and the headlights were always a yellowish color. Starting was always a problem as well, so I always learned to park on a hill so I could coast clown and "dump the clutch" to get going.

It was because of this hands-on experience that I decided I was going to fix the 6-volt charging system once and for all. I decided in my simple logic that I would, apply modern charging technology in reverse and build a 6-volt alternator.

By the spring of 1987 I had a reliable working prototype. The key word here is reliable, with the output I wanted. I tested the new 6-volt alternator for six months on my 1951 Cheuy ½-ton pickup and it worked great! So I built about a dozen more and installed thein locally on antique vehicles with good success.

In 1989 I found out about the Great Race-a rally-type race where pre-1945 cars are driven 4500 miles across the United States during a two-week period. I looked for a high-profile car entered in the race that was likely to have charging problems and I got more than I bargained for in a 1936 Cord. The Cord, owned by Bud Melby of Seattle, had an electric shift transmission that was shifted via electric solenoids that were controlled by levers on the steering column. In addition, there was an electric overdrive, along with two electric fuel pumps and an electric radiator cooling fan, all 6volt. It didn't take long to see why the original 40-amp Cord charging system could not keep up.

It took quite a sales job on my part to convince Bud that I could fix his car. I offered to give him the alternator for free in exchange for an advertising endorsement if it worked. The Cord shifted better than it ever had before, and the original batterry stayed in the car for the entire race. Bud finished in tlie top ten that year.

Parked next to Bud in the pits that year was Howard Sharp, who was driving a 1929 Dodge Sport Roadster-one of only 1200 made that year....The folloiving year I put an alternator on the 1929 Dodge. For the next two years the Sharp Racing team got closer and closer to winning the Great Race. Now that their battery and starting problems were over, they could concentrate on the navigation part of the race. Finally, in 1993 they won first place-$30,000 in prize money and a neio Buick Roadmaster. I had finally estabUslted a track record for the alternator.