On The Run with Mark Faul driver of a C/SA '69 Chevelle and a GT/IA '98 Grand Am

National Dragster, Aug 13, 2004 by Faul, Mark

I've been fortunate during my two-year career as a touring Sportsman racer: I haven't had to go back to work (thanks to the help I get from Valvoline and Jim Butner), and this season I won Super Stock in Las Vegas and runner-upped in Stock in Bristol.

The '69 Chevelle Stocker is a new addition to my racing operation, which includes a '98 Pontiac Grand Am Super Stocker. I had been running a dragster in Super Comp with limited success, but my heart wasn't in it very much. I enjoyed bracket racing the dragster, but I didn't go to as many big-dollar races as I envisioned when I bought it, so at the end of last year, I decided to sell it and go back to Stock and Super Stock. Luckily, Tony Pietrofitta, a racer from New Jersey, saw my ad and wanted to swap his C/SA Chevelle for my dragster. 'Great,' I thought, except that I live in Tacoma, Wash., and he was 3,000 miles away.

He graciously agreed to meet me halfway. Because he's a schoolteacher, he could only do it between Christmas and New Year's Day, which was fine with me, but I had to cross the Rockies and tow through about 500 miles of snow.

It wasn't terrible for my first time pulling a trailer in those conditions, but it definitely was no picnic. After leaving on Christmas Day, a Thursday, I reached our meeting place, Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, and we swapped cars in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

When I got home, I decided to redo the contingency decals, but, unfortunately, in doing so some of the paint came off, so then Dad and I had to do a paint job. Oh, and we were also in the process of fixing my motorhome's frame, which had broken away from the house section because of too much tongue weight and some very bad roads. We finished the paint and reassembled the car two days before it was time to leave for the Winternationals, but my old trailer wasn't set up to carry two door cars. Because I wore out my poor father, who needed a break and decided not to go to Pomona, he let me take his ramp truck and trailer. He said he was never so happy to see the taillights leave his driveway.

The racing in Pomona and Phoenix didn't go very well, but I found a stacker trailer while online at a library in Phoenix. Of course, the trailer was in New York. (Why can't I, just once, find something within a couple hours of home?) I went home so that I could get the motorhome to pick up the trailer.

On the way home from Phoenix, in a very deserted section of Nevada, I was crossing some nasty railroad tracks, and when I hit them, the lower ball joint broke out of the control arm. That jammed the tire into the fender and sent me onto the shoulder and into a stop sign and other road signs, and I was skidding all over the place. Luckily, everything stayed shiny side up, but I was 60 miles from anywhere. A tow truck from Wells, Nev., towed it to town. Fortunately, a wrecking yard had a replacement control arm and got me back on the road.

Because of that mishap, I lost a day, and I had to hustle to New York to make it back in time for the Las Vegas national event. Things went pretty smooth, except for a lost alternator in the motorhome in the Idaho mountains, which cost half a day. After leaving New York, I went to Bill Kuhhnann's shop in St. Louis to have him install one of his Framesavers, which is like an overgrown tow dolly that takes all of the tongue weight off the motorhome. If you're at a race where I'm competing, stop by and check it out.

I arrived home on a Monday, left Tuesday morning, and arrived in Las Vegas dog-tired Wednesday. After all of the miles and challenges, it was very gratifying to win the race.

Things have gone pretty well since those adventures. I've scored some lateround finishes and, recently, two runner-ups at Lucas oil Drag Racing Series events, so the points are looking pretty decent in Super Stock. In Stock, I'm beginning to feel more comfortable with the car than I ever did with the Super Comp dragster, so I hope that leads to good things.

Racing for a living wouldn't be possible without the help of Valvoline, Jim Butner, Mickey Thompson Tires, Mallory, Mr. Gasket, K&N, Holley, Automotive Specialties, Turbo Technology, and Jeff Lane and Jerry Hancock, who let me use their race shop to freshen my engine. Of course, none of this could be done without my parents Gary and Cynthia, who take care of things at home while I'm on the road fulfilling my dream.