Race Recap

The 2024 SMACKDOWN held by the Midwest Drag Racing Series at the Flying H was a great event. This was the first Midwest Series race the team had participated in and it was a great experience.  It was also be the first time the team had seen the new track at the Flying H. The Smackdown was a big race that paid $10,000 to win and after a first round loss in the Chaos Finals in Mo-Kan the team was eager to get back to the track and race for something BIG! Before the team even left the shop the weather was not looking good for the weekend calling for rain in the forecast on Saturday. With the rain in mind the Midwest series modified the schedule and was going to run the event in TWO DAYS! With over 40+ Pro Mods on the property along with Jr.Dragster, TopDragster, Top sportsman, Bracket Racing , and most importantly FUNNY CAR!!! It would be a tough show to fit it all in.  Off the trailer the car wasset up to make it down the track A to B, with no data where do you start? It is important to get data to make improvements on.  The car ran a 3.803 at 203.9 mph, which placed Williams in the #3 spot after the first session. That first run wasn’t too bad, the car had good mph but we were still well off the mark performance wise. Steve Macklyn laid down a very solid 3.66 at 203.4 MPH in that first session! The track was exceptional, even with the track temp at 114 degrees it had teeth and could take more. This was evident as our 60ft time was slow, we needed to get the car going we needed to pick up! Based on the data from Q1 we threw some more clutch at the track for Q2. Typically the move we made to the clutch would have been considered quite aggressive, but on this occasion it was not enough. The track was very tight and wanted more our 60 ft time was slow again, however the car did pickup ever so slightly and ran a 3.796 at 205.23 mph.  With the third qualifying run later that night and the way the track was acting we decided to swing for the fence and make some major changes. We took fuel away, added clutch, made the timing more aggressive, and made an wheelie bar adjustment. Hopefully this would get the car some wheel speed!!! However we were not able to find out that evening as one of the pro-mod cars lost an engine oiled the track and would took the remainder of the night to clean up. That was the end of racing for the evening and we would run early in the morning at 9am on Friday.   The morning air was still cool and the track was still in good shape. We were going to leave the aggressive changes in the car and give it a go. Or what we thought was aggressive. The car did pick up in Q3 but only slightly, not what we were looking for. Running a 3.78 at 203.9mph. This would end qualifying and place Williams in the #3 position going into eliminations.  The first round was against Lance Van Hauen. The track was a touch warmer for the first round we, felt this would help our situation, so we planned to leave the car alone and go A to B. Maybe we could pickup a little if the track was looser. In the first round Lance had trouble with his 2 step during staging and the car lurched through the lights causing him to foul out. Williams would win the round, picking up just a little running 3.77 at 204.4 mph. It was good that the car kept picking up and responding to changes, but the team definitely needed more to win the race.  In the second round Williams faced a tough opponent Steve Macklyn who had been running very fast all weekend. In the first round Steve ran a 3.66 at 205mph to compete with that the team needed to pickup a bunch!!! Heading into this second round the team threw a bunch of changes at the car again hoping to pick up enough that Kirk could win this thing at the starting line.  The two cars left the line, and Kirk did a great job cutting a 0.013 light. Steve went RED -0.042 giving Williams the win! This was a bit of luck, as Steve could have out ran Williams if he had gone green with a light better than 0.083. Williams picked up running a 3.73 at 204mh,  to Steve’s 3.66. This would place Williams into the final round against Mark Billington. This scenario was similar to Mo-Kan in the chaos finals. Except we were the faster car by quite a margin and went red to the slower car. It was the little bit of luck the team needed.      Unfortunately as the day progressed, the event got behind  due to a few oil downs and a crash to clen up. The finals were pushed into Saturday where rain was in the forecast for much of the day.   It started raining early in the morning and kept going with only small breaks until the race was called just after lunch. There would not be a make up day and the purse would be split.  All in, the race was a good experience. The facility was excellent and track was tight, no parts were hurt and a little money was won. Which will help finish that new car for the 2025 season! Rain played a big part in the race season this year. Cancelling one race entirely at Eddyville, and ending two early. This one and one Odessa Texas. This brought an anticlimactic end to the season. With rain winning the day again. On a high note the season ended with no major …

2024 Smackdow at Flying H Read More »

The final stop on the Chaos championship tour is Mo-Kan Dragway. This championship final is very tight heading into this race team Williams holds a slim lead of 3 points. Each round is going to matter.  The first day Friday is won by mother nature. It started raining early afternoon and continued into the night ending racing on Friday. The race would be run in its entirety on Saturday with Q1 coming early at 11 am.  Finally the weather was willing to cooperate with an overcast morning followed by some sun later in the day. This would allow racing to continue starting with Q1 on Saturday morning. Out of the box the team ran a 3.73 at 206 mph, this run would give the team the number 1 qualifying position after the session. This Q1 was also the first round of the Great 8 Shootout. Williams would defeat Jordan Ballew to move on to the second round of the shootout.  In the second qualifying session which also counted as the second round in the shootout Williams would face off against Shayne Lawson. The car would slow slightly to run a 3.75  at 205 mph this would have been good enough to defeat Lawson running a 3.86 at 195 mph, however Williams went red, giving the round to Lawson.  At the end of qualifying Williams would be the number 2 qualifier. Keith Zimmerman ran a quicker 3.70 at 203 mph. Due to the rain on Friday the event would only have 2 rounds of qualifying. So first round would be against Shayne Lawson.    The first round did not go as planned, the car left good and was on it’s best pass of the weekend.  However Williams went red -0.004 this ended the race on the starting line giving the win to Shayne. This loss would end the chaos season for the team.  With that loss the team would finish a respectable 2nd in the Chaos points chase.  The worst position the 200 Proof team has held in the Chaos series is 2nd place. This Chaos season was full of ups and downs. Reflecting on the season this loss is not the only/main reason we were not able to claim the Championship. Yes we were in control of our outcome here, where we could win as long as we could execute. However we could have had more breathing room if we were able to execute earlier in the season. For example had we not accidentally left weight on the clutch and choose the wrong transmission ratio for the second round in New Mexico, loosing the ability to finish the race in Odessa due to rain where everyone left with the same competition points, and in Cordova well we were outdone by Dave Hirata in the Drastic Plastic.  This championship was decided by one point. If we were able to win one more round of racing at any point during the season the outcome could have been different. It is all about winning rounds, win more rounds win more races, win the championship. Execute.  The team has one more Race planned at the Flying H in September, after that the focus will be on finishing the new car for the 2025 season. One thing that you can be sure of is that during the off season we will be working hard to improve our chances to reduce mistakes and execute!  Wheelie bar installation!!!

After a long delay due to weather cancelling Chaos in the Corn Field at Eddyville Raceway Iowa, the team has finally made it Cordova Dragway in Illinois. Going into the weekend the team knew this was going to be a tough race and was going to need a bit of luck, due to the combination of a good track and a strong showing of nitro cars that enter this event each year.  Every race team needs a bit of luck every now and then, and Williams is no exception, as he was on the receiving end of it this weekend. However lucky Williams was, it was the teams skill and experience that setup the weekend for success.  It all started with a plan, the goal was to qualify as high as possible and not be on the same side of the ladder as the nitro car, easy right. Well at the start of Q1 the Drastic Plastic team was first pair and set the bar high right away, running a 3.454 at 227 MPH, and the alcohol guys were now gunning for the number 2 spot.  Off the trailer Williams ran a 3.678 at 207MPH this would be good enough to clinch the #2 qualifying position. This time would be enough to keep Williams in that number #2 position at the end of Friday night Qualifying. The plan was looking good… Saturday was the third and final qualifying attempt. The Q3 run did not go as planned, the car left the line and quickly died. It sounded as if it was an ignition issue. The team returned to the pits to find that the crank hub had sheared the key stock allowing the engine to retard its timing and die. Williams would hold onto that number 2 spot and face Ray  Drew in the first round. That Plan is still looking pretty good.  A Field Final Qualifying order. Dave Hirata (3.454 , 227.38mph) Kirk Williams (3.678, 207.62mph) Shayne Lawson (3.736, 202.85mpn) Robbie Massey (3.752, 202.79mph) Bill Bernard (3.760, 203.28mph) Ray Drew (3.794, 190.22mph) Jim Chase (3.815, 192.33mph) Lance Van Hauen (3.831, 191.65mph) After a poor the third round of qualifying due to a pair of broken key stocks, the team would roll into the first round against Ray Drew where the team would receive a bit of luck. As the track had changed for the worse and the car struck the tires on the hit, it would appear that the race was over. However Ray went 0.024 red and was disqualified. The plan was still alive! In the second round of eliminations the team be up against Robbie Massy. Robbie would be forced to sit the round due to a burned up rear main. This would give Williams a bye into the finals.  This was a bit lucky as the car shook hard and would end up breaking the rear motor mounts. This would setup a final round against the Drastic Plastic team. To beat a good fuel team like Plastic Williams needs to go A to B.  Before heading into the final round against Drastic Plastic the crew had some works to do. They needed to repair the broken motor mounts. Along with doing their normal maintenance and changing the tune up to ensure the car makes it down the track. The way the design of the rear motor mounts are, provide 2 benefits. First it and most importantly the design protects the bottom frame rail and second it makes for easy repair.  The team has welded a “sacrificial” pc to the main frame rail where to which the motor mount is welded to. In the event of hard shake and the motor mount breaks away from the car it will tear a chunk out of the “sacrificial” piece leaving the main frame rail un damaged.  This ensures that the bottom frame rail will maintain it’s integrity much longer.  With the frame rail fixed and the car going back together in the clutch area and the regular engine maintenance complete. It was now time to implement Chris the Crew Chief’s master plan that he is confident would make the car go, and give the best chance for victory.  The final round against Drastic Plastic would be an exciting drag race! Both cars line up and take the pre-stage after a short pause Hirata makes the first move and lights the stage bulb. Williams quickly follows bringing the revs up and goes into stage. The tree activates and Williams is off with the advantage, cutting a 0.012 light to Hirata’s 0.122 light. Williams was on a good run and looked to be ahead, however this advantage would fade down track with Hirata also on a good run tracking Williams down quickly. Hirata drives around Williams for the win using all of the track. Grazing the wall just past the finish line.  Williams would run a 3.701 at 203.25 mph to Hirata’s 3.465 at 229.43 mph.  In then end the plan work up until the final round.  It was a good weekend nothing major was damaged, we made the final round, and went A to B giving us the best chance to win the round.  The team worked hard, and was proud of what they accomplished together. We also need to thank the people who help us on and off the track.  Redline Oil, Goodlife RV, CP Carrillo, Good Year, Ward Luke Construction, and Star Racer

The third stop on the Chaos tour was in Odessa Texas. This is a race track the team has had success on in the past, winning this event in the A field the past 3 years in a row.  This track is in West Texas and previous years we have battled grueling heat, wind, dust, and rain during this event. This outing would be no different.  Although not as hot as previous years, mother nature was not kind this weekend.  Despite mother nature’s poor attitude this weekend, the car was performing as expected. Friday for Q1 the team decided to take the right lane off the trailer. The right lane is historically not as good as the left, we wanted to get going down that lane out of the way. We wanted to take the left lane later in the day when the track was cooler. For the first session that west Texas sun was out, and the track was hot, at roughly 120 degrees. The track was still fairly tight. So, the plan was to be conservative due the nature of the right lane and see if we could traverse the lane in some way. The car left good, and made its way out of the trouble spot, where Kirk had to do some driving. He said it was a little unexpecting “The car hit the bump hard, and it bounced my hand off the steering wheel, I got my hands back on the wheel and got the car pointed back in the groove and shifted to get it settled down.” Later we could see where the car went air born as the driveshaft graph was extremely erratic.  That pass was 3.93 at 194 this would be good for the #2 qualifying spot. Doug Schneider would claim the #1 spot after Q1 running a 3.927 at 192 mph With a little data and the plan to run Q2 in the left lane the goal here was to take the number 1 spot. During the turnaround time, mother nature took her first shot at us, with a dust storm. The winds picked up and dust filled the air covering the track with dirt, and we were delayed until the wind and dust would settle down. This storm lasted for about 2 hours, and we were called up for Q2. The track crew did a good job at cleaning the track to get all the dirt off. It was now cooler at 89 degrees and tight. As drivers began to suit up to take the track the winds had begun to pickup again. Bringing in more dirt. The pairs in front of us had trouble getting down the track causing them to get out of the throttle for one reason or another. It was now our turn to take a shot at the now dirt road. Kirk brought the car into the lights with the RPM high and swapped feet. The car left good, and Kirk was able to stay in it. Running a 3.892 at 195 mph. This would be good for the #1 qualifying spot.  At the other end of the track when asked about the run and why he stayed in it, Kirk said, “When I left, I felt it stick and thought okay here we go… and it stayed pretty straight. The car was trying to drift towards the center, and I was able to guide it back. So I stayed in it!” From the outside it looked far more impressive, based on the troubles that all the competitors had. That run was definitely a crowd pleaser. Saturday the schedule was pushed up two hours in an effort to beat the weather. This would place Q3 at noon. In Q3 based off the data we had from the previous runs, we had plans to make an improvement on the 3.89 pass. We were going to take the Left lane again to setup the car for the eliminations, however that didn’t pan out. When it cam time to run we were pushed to the right lane to keep pairings going down the track. This changed the plan a little bit, we were still able to make a good pass down track. This time Kirk knew what to expect and was ready. Kirk still had to drive the car and it did not beat the 3.89 like planned, but its sill respectable for the lane conditions running a 3.94. This would be the last pass down the track, as mother nature had different intentions. During the turnaround time another dust storm rolled in causing a delay.  That storm would end, and we would be called to the lanes, getting 2 pairs down track. When it began to rain, it was light rain at first. Which turned into heavy rain mixed with small hail. There was a tornado watch issued and we would witness wall clouds around us. This would continue from 4:00pm to about 6:00pm with more rain behind it. The system dumped so much water that the track was waterlogged and could not be dried in time to finish the race before the second system would hit. That system was supposed to be just as large as the previous one. With large hail possible there as well. For the safety of everyone on the property the race was called. Even though the race was called the team was on target to achieve their goal. They qualified number 1, ran low ET of the event, had top MPH, and was going to head into first round with a bye run. Giving them an automatic birth to the Semi-finals. In a few weeks the team will be back inaction at their hometown track Eddyville Raceway in IOWA. Come out to the track and check out the action, it is going to be great!! Nap Time…

Race Recap for State Capitol Raceway 2024

The 2024 Funnycar Classic at the Texas Motorplex!
Race Recap