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Grudge match Race

By Pete Shreeves

Will: Its oldies night at DJ’s Raceway in Nashville Tenn and grudge matches are on this evening’s card. I’m Will Go, your announcer and I hope you will enjoy this event as much as I know I am. George “Gee Dub” Henderson (NY) and “Sneaky” Pete Shreeves (AL) have brought with them boxes of vintage hard-bodies and are re-staging their duels from the early ‘70s. I want to emphasize, they are using the same machines they drove against each other on the old Long Island racing circuit.

 The long hair, bell bottoms and sideburns may have left these competitors years ago but their pride in their equipment and passion for innovation has never left them. What better way to see what the state of the art was decades ago than seeing a heads-up race in the old style? Let’s watch.

Round four is 36 Pro-Stock. This category in the old NOVA rulebooks was intended to let the builder take a complete, late-model hard-body and do whatever was possible to get it down the track first using an unmodified 36D motor. What these large diameter motors lacked in RPM, they made up for in torque. Keep in mind that these were match racers running on strips that were primitive compared to today’s vinyl-surface, mega-watt catapults. The surfaces were usually home racing track with undulating surfaces and unpredictable power. Getting any power to the ground, even with 36D motors, was a constant struggle.

Rolling on the goop block is Dub's California Flash Duster. This original, red/orange-molded MPC bodied 1972 Duster sports the black and white and yellow “California Flash” livery of Butch Leal’s contemporary Hemi-powered Pro Stocker. To tell you more, here is Tom Bomb.

(A techno-bubble pops up and we can see a three-quarter view of the running gear through a translucent body. The car sports a yellow painted 36D motor nestled in-line between two heavy frame rails that connect the front and rear 1/8^th inch axle tubes. The motor is on its side, making it taller than normal and a short drop arm is hinged from the frame rails ahead of the motor to the pick-up under the front axle.)

Technical Color announcer, Tom: This chassis is a long way from the “Springie Thingie” so popular a few years earlier than this car was built. Dub built this car very solidly with a high center of gravity and the body is mounted solidly to the frame rails. This innovative design is maximized for a fast transfer of all the car’s weight onto the tires. That kind of transfer was needed in those days when traction was often hard to find. Notice the car has a drop arm to allow the front end to lift until the car gets onto the solid wheelie castors nestled under the rear quarter panels. I can’t say how this combination will do on a modern drag strip. It may be a wild ride!

Will: That’s right, Tom. Those wheelie castors make a good story all by themselves. This car never had wheelie castors in the old days and they were actually added earlier today. Gee Dub burned the midnight oil back home to restore the famous "Flash" in time for this historic match. The car was in pristine condition when he arrived but during practice runs this afternoon he got a wild ride indeed! Traction is no problem and the power is more than these cars have ever experienced. That old “torquer” motor tossed the car straight out of the slot every time! Once Dub discovered the problem, Pete offered to donate a set of castors to try and keep the car on the ground. So that’s how they got there. We will see if they work.

Also rolling on the block is Pete's '74 Rod Shop Dodge Aspen. This original white-molded AMT Aspen sports a red, white and blue color scheme from the old Rod Shop stable of MOPARS. The car is hand painted because there were no decals like that at the time.

(A techno-bubble pops up and we can see a three-quarter view of the running gear through a translucent body. The car sports a purple painted 36D motor mounted in-line with two heavy frame rails extending from the bottom of the motor mount that dip near the ground and rise at the front to meet the front axle tubes. The motor is mounted flat and dips down with the frame resulting in a lower overall package. A long drop arm is hinged from the motor mount to the pick-up just a head of the front axle.)

Tom: Here you see a little different approach to getting traction. Given the same basic problem, Pete built a chassis that almost acts like a multi part spring, specifically to avoid the quick weight transfer we saw in Dub’s machine. The long drop arm allows the car to maintain power when the car rises and the softer castor mount absorbs energy as the car rocks back. The lightly sprung body mounting is also designed to absorb energy with two hinge-like mounts at the back and a single long spring rod extending the length of the car to support the front. As the chassis rises, it compresses the spring at the front the body. The energy of launching the car is spread out over time, first raising the frame, then bending the body mounts and then compressing the wheelie castor. It happens in a fraction of a second but it lets the tires maintain traction and gets the car moving in that first critical inch off the line. The softer setup also acts like a suspension to keep the car running over the bumpy tracks they ran on back then.

Will: Thats fascinating, Tom. Can you tell us which of these approaches worked the best?

Tom: Well, the softer setup had an advantage but it probably didn’t account for more than a fraction of a second. This was heads-up, green light racing and that advantage could always be absorbed by a faster reaction time. Elapsed times really varied a lot with the traction, power and number of potholes in each lane. The drivers used to joke that the tracks were faster after a rain because they could skim over the holes instead of bouncing through them!

Will: Strange as it sounds, rain was a possibility in those days! The circuit tracks were portable affairs that were sometimes set up outdoors. Drivers had to be ready for anything. But I don’t think these competitors were prepared for what they’d find on JD’s track today. When Pete ran his Aspen in practice he got a wild ride of his own. The track pumps so many Amps that the Aspen's springy chassis really did “The Twist” down the track. At one point it looked like the chassis was going one way and the body was going another! This match-up promises to be an eye full!

Here is round one. The Flash is in the left lane and Dub takes a couple of short stabbs to make sure the cars isn’t deslotting. Pete checks the brushes and rolls the car to into the lights. He is staged. Dub could stage late to toss off Pete’s concentration. No, he rolls to the lights, apparently more interested in maintaining his own concentration. The room is hushed as tree flashes down and the cars leap under 200+ amperes! Dub’s legendary reflexes are all there and The Flash comes out of the hole ahead. Pete’s Aspen twists like Chubby Checker off the Rosin and the red Flash stretches ahead just over a car length. Something is working right for the Duster and it wrestles out another half car length like stretching warm taffey.

Meanwhile, the Aspen is all twisted over but pulling hard. It looks like the Dub moved just in time to clear the Aspen's front fender which is torqued 30 deg. to the left and may be crossing the centerline! But Wow! The Dodge body mounts flex back at quarter track returning the stored energy to the car and the she starts reeling the Duster back in. The cars start to blur as the Aspen completes the pass at three-quarter track and beats the Flash to the stopping glue! Both cars slam the mud and the Rod Shop Aspen body is hurled off the mounts continuing at speed! It clatters through the shut-down zone and thuds against the rags at the wall! What A Run!

After retrieving his body, Pete shrugs, pops it back on the mounts and heads for the starting line. Dub peers sternly into his car as he stretches his legs back down the strip. Its round 2 and the boys exchange lanes. Will it be the same story? Will the Aspen hurl the body under the stress and leave eight ounces of vintage slot car parts splattered around the track? The drivers look serious enough. They stage. The lights come down. Dub holeshots again! But not by as much this time. The Aspen uncoils itself like a startled cobra and begins its march to the top end. By half track they are even. The Flash falls behind and the Aspen wins again from behind. That’s two out of three. Its over! Tom is waiting for the boys on the top end. Take it Tom.

Tom: What a race! Tell me George, what do you think of the runs?

George: I swear. I thought it was just a horsepower thing. Pete’s go a balanced French arm in his car and I thought that was it. But I remembered that the Aspen used to get walked over by his Wife’s ‘72 Camaro all the time in 36 Pro. So that couldn’t be it. Between rounds I noticed I’m still geared for the eighth mile! What gears are you running, Pete?

Pete: I donno, I never changed the gears. That’s right, I used to gear my 36s to lug and make use of the torque. Maybe it pulled out some top end speed for me.

George: I always geared to get top RPM across the finish line just like the real Pro Stockers did. No wonder she lays down on the top end! Next time, I’ll change the gears and spank you silly!

Pete: In your Dreams!

Tom: Interesting! Like they always say, you can’t race anywhere without learning something. And what fun to see the old cars putting such a show! For Will, myself and all the good folks at Wilco Productions I hope you’ve enjoyed the show. Catch ya’ next time!

Commercial

Will: Good evening folks. I’m Will Go your announcer and we’re back at DJ’s Raceway in Nashville Tenn for the “Oldies Grudge Matches”. It’s been an exciting and educational day watching a classic match-up between the old rivals, George “Gee Dub” Henderson  and “Sneaky” Pete Shreeves. These cars behind me are from the early ‘70s Long Island match racing circuit and they are little changed from those days. I’m here with Tom Bomb, our technical commentator who will help us understand what we are seeing. Tom, walking through these pits I get the feeling this is as much a car show as it is a race.

Tom: Your feeling is right, Tom. It is like stepping back in time to see these cars, let alone have the experience of watching the same drivers take them down the strip. I’m always fascinated to see where the technology was in those days. For instance, most of the cars here are hard-bodies cars made from contemporary model kits. Today’s racers are so used to lightweight lexan bodies, they may not know that many racers preferred model bodies.

Will: That’s right, Tom. Back in the baby-boom sixties the model car companies sold such a volume of kits and competed to such an extent that you could find nearly any bodystyle you wanted. It wasn’t unusual to find the kits upgraded every year to keep pace with the styling coming out of Detroit.

Tom: And you could find kits of the latest race cars as well. Our next match race is a perfect example. Both these cars are wedge body dragsters and they are built from hard body kits. There weren’t more than a hand full of wedge dragsters in history but Pete and George had 2 kits to build from.

Will: This is the Top Fuel category with the biggest motors and highest speeds. Were hard bodies required by the NOVA Race rules?

Tom: No. That’s what is so interesting about this timeframe. You could build whatever you wanted and the racers preferred the styrene the bodies. Here is George’s machine. This white molded AMT Tom McCuen Mongoose body sports a purple and white paint scheme in US Air Force sponsor colors.

(A techno-bubble pops up and we can see a three-quarter view of the running gear through a translucent body. The car sports a yellow painted 16D motor nestled in-line between two thin frame rails that run the length of the car and connect to a solid slot pin mount at the front. A thin rod crosses at the front carrying the small front wheels and another thin rod at the back hooks into indentations to support the wedge body.)

Tom: Looking at this flimsy chassis you get the impression the brass is only there to hold the parts together rather than be the frame. This is almost true. The wedge body is the real structure for this car and the brass frame acts like the suspension. The small 16D motor moved with the rear axle and would be part of what engineer’s call the “unsprung mass”. All the force of the tires is channeled into pushing the “sprung mass” of the body down the track.

Will: A suspension was important to these drivers because the tracks the old Long Island circuit were so poor. They were often made from plastic track with bumpy sections and spotty traction. But, how could they stand such heavy cars in a Top Fuel category?

Tom: Yes, the track surfaces had a lot to do with it since traction was always a problem but more of the story came from the engine compartment. Open motors in those days were 16Ds but they were monsters compared to the motors being run today. The cans and armatures were full sized and the arm stacks were extra long to get in as much magnet wire as possible. The added rotating mass meant the motors weren’t “quick” (i.e. couldn’t reach top RPM in the shortest time) but the motors made tremendous torque and pumped out unbelievable horsepower all the way down the track. The heavier bodies went a long way toward focusing all that power into forward motion.

Will: Do you mean horsepower has gone down since then?

Tom: Yes and no. There is always a balance. As track surfaces got better and the available amperes went up, drag motors got lighter, quicker and more sophisticated. Runs today are far faster than in the old days but the motors changed with the tracks. These wedge dragsters were very fast cars for their time and the tracks they ran on.

Will: How fast did they go?

Tom: It was rare to break the one-second mark on those eighth mile tracks. Today’s dragsters go twice the distance in half the time. Here is Pete’s wedge car.

(A techno-bubble pops up and we can see a three-quarter view of the running gear through a translucent body.)

Tom: You can see that the chassis is very similar to George’s but Pete has a couple of unexpected innovations. His slot pin is not the usual slot car shoe type but is made from a piece of styrene attached directly to the car. The bottom of the body acts as the brush holder and mounts two pair of brushes, one behind the other! This was an attempt to get as much juice as possible to the motor as well as provide more contact area to offset the dead spots in the track’s power strips. Another original feature is running these tall red silicon tires instead of sponge tires. Silicon tires were old at the time and had been introduced as an improvement over the solid rubber tires of early slot cars. The rims are heavy aluminum castings, which helped traction as well keeping the wheels from accelerating too quickly. That was another factor in controlling those monster motors. The interesting aspect of the wheels, seen from today is that they were tall and narrow like today’s drag tires. Maybe Pete was on to something.

Will: I asked Pete about those tires and he gave a slightly different story. He said the put the tires in the car because they matched the color scheme! They do go well with the chrome silver wedge panels and red striped body. Maybe that was all it took! Tell me Tom, which of these cars do you think has an advantage today?

Tom: That’s a good question. A lot of the wild card factors aren’t here today. These cars are literally museum pieces and they are packing stock silver can 16Ds instead of the old monster motors. With identical motors it’s a very even race between drivers and basic car designs. George’s car may have an advantage based on it’s more flexible body mounts but Pete may have an advantage if those dual pick-ups really do provide better power. The silicon tires my also be an advantage on this smooth plastic surface.

Will: Either way, we are in for a special treat watching these cars run down a strip again. Here is the first round. Pete is fussing with his multiple braid configuration and rolling the car manually into the lights. Dub has been rolling his tires on the goop block and takes a couple of roll-throughs with the controller to get the grip set. Dub sets the car for staging and blips the controller jerking the car into the beams. The lights click down and the cars surge to the sound of arching and cracking. Dub’s purple mount has leapt free of the slot and halted. Pete’s silver rail moves down the track spasmodically sputtering electric arcs from the brushes. It’s a bad run but it counts under the rules.

Dub checks his slot pin and brushes. Re-slotting his car he slaps the trigger several times to make sure the nose of his car isn’t popping out again. The clock is reset and Dub stages with the controller as before. Pete resets his brushes and sets the car in the grove electing to stage manually again. The lights click down and the cars jump ahead. This time Dub’s machine is stable and pulling evenly. Pete’s wedge is right behind, still sputtering along. They cross into the trap that way and it is one round each.

Round 3. Dub rubs his thumbs over the slicks as if to clear any dust, tweaks the braids and sets the car three feet behind the lights. A look of confidence settles on his face as he watches Pete wrestling with his thirty-year old brush set. The brushes are of a light design no longer available so he has to work in cleaning the oxidation and balancing the tension before each pass. Pete sets the car down and stages with the controller for the first time. The car surges slowly to the line. No sparks are evident as it cuts the beams and the “staged” lights glow.

Dub lifts the controller like a matador stepping into the bull ring. Pete’s eyes are fixed on the tree trying to ignore what Dub is doing. Dub lifts the rear of his car and spins the motor. He drops the car and stabs the button for an instant. The chassis loads up and the nose lifts slightly, the entire car looking like a javelin poised for launch. The car drops and rolls stopping six inches behind the eyes. Dub looks at the crowd, now mesmerized by the show. Pete’s brow glistens sweat and he concentrates on the lights not daring to be distracted for an instant. Dub gazes off across the room in nonchalance and blips the conroller dropping the car exactly in the lights as if by magic. The tree rushes down automatically and the drivers punch the triggers as close as they can to the dreaded “pink eye”. The cars surge as one gathering speed off the bottom end. Hurtling through quarter track they are blurred into a single shape, moving as if they were bolted together. A half track Flame Bursts…! No, its just sparks…! Sparks trickle off Pete’s braids lighting up the wedge body and spilling onto the apron. The stricken car sags like a stunned bird losing a car length across the top end before they slam into the glue with a single “wham!”. Its over!

Tom: What a race! Tell me George, what do you think of the runs?

George: Looks like I’m Top Fuel again, Pete!

Pete: What do you mean Again? You’ve never been Top Fuel before! I’ve been holding that record since ’74 and this isn’t even my Fast car! You want to try this again with the Real motors in them, huh? I’ll show to the quick way home….

George: Yeah, yeah, sure! Don’t forget. The beer is on you tonight, buddy. And I want that trophy engraved and sent to my house FedEx!

Tom: I guess some things never change. The competition is still fresh in these guys. What fun to see the old cars putting such a show! For Will, myself and all the good folks at Wilco Productions I hope you’ve enjoyed the show. Catch ya’ next time!

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