On the Run with Pat Joffrion

National Dragster, Apr 22, 2005 by Joffrion, Pat

No Problem Raceway Park track owner and driver of the No Problem SS/KA Camaro

Trying to juggle the 2005 race schedule amid all of the national and divisional events is just as hard as dialing during a gusty headwind. It has been four years since I last competed on the NHRA circuit, but Stock and Super Stock racers will once again see a familiar face at tracks across the country. My wife Linda has encouraged me to "get back to racing and having fun." She helped me find a new motorhome, and we plan to enter a dozen or so events in 2005.

The only racing I got to do last year was at No Problem Raceway Park in Belle Rose, La. The problem was that the locals didn't like it when the boss man took them out. They think that the tower personnel can somehow control the outcome of the race. That's not true, but I established a special match race, where I challenged the previous week's winner in No-Electronics to a $100 bonus if he took me out and a $50 bonus if he lost the match. I just wanted to compete and have some fun. Still, it's not good business to beat up on one's customers, so I parked my cars.

I recently sold my two Stockers in anticipation of focusing strictly on driving my '98 Z28 in SS/KA. That lasted about a month. I was approached by "Country Dog" Jimmy Hidalgo about building the '88 Z28 that was sitting in my garage. "Dog" and I checked the car and realized that we could convert it to a legal Stocker at a relatively low cost. The fuel-injected 350 should be very competitive, and I have enough spare parts to build it quickly. With the Stock and Super Stock cars, I can enter any race that fits into a weekend when we are not racing at No Problem. Now I just have to figure out how to use the Internet to enter a national event. After sitting out four years, it's all new for me.

It was really fun to build No Problem Raceway Park. From my experiences at various racetracks across the country, I had a great understanding of what Sportsman racers were looking for in a track. For one thing, a track has to hook. Nothing hurts worse than to travel 1,000 miles, get up for the first round, spin the tires, and lose because the track wasn't prepped correctly. As a track owner, I personally make sure that the starting line is 100 percent right. I tell my customers that if they can't hook here, they need to take their car home and go work on the suspension.

A track also has to be smooth. Next to spinning, a rough ride down the track can cause a racer to miss the dial at the least or crash the car at the worst.

Finally, the track has to be long enough. A short shutdown area wears out brakes and nerves at the same rate. I can remember participating at tracks where the shutdown area was so short that you had to jam the brakes before the finish line. Last year at No Problem, we had a Lucas oil Drag Racing Series Top Alcohol Funny Car driver experience a chute failure, yet he was able to stop his car six inches from the runoff. Another racer experienced brake failure and was able to negotiate the runoff without sustaining any damage to his dragster.

My perception as a driver led to many of the design improvements for No Problem. hot showers in the racer pit area came about from my experience one cold night in Memphis. Back in 1994, we would meet around midnight in swim trunks to take a "hose-down" shower. My buddies and I would laugh as we cleaned up under a hose, dried off quickly, and ran back to our enclosed trailer to warm up. Back then, we considered ourselves lucky to have an enclosed trailer with an air mattress to sleep on. Today, the racers who have limited financial support can treat themselves to hot showers and a driver's lounge located in the pits at No Problem Raceway Park.

Most Sportsman racers enjoy the company of their competitors gathered around in the pits in the evenings. Somebody is always cooking something. People wander through the pits visiting and reminiscing about the last race, the last match, and the next day's pairings. I miss those times, and that is why I plan to get back on the road. Look us up when you are at the races. We'll be the folks in the pit area passing out Cajun gumbo and making the most noise. By the way, we have an outside showerhead installed on our motorhome and a pair of swim trunks - just in case.