batmansbuick
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read this on autoracingdaily.com, has some TR FBI info....
Ray Smith, GM Racing program manager for the NASCAR Busch Series
To say Ray Smith has seen it all in Busch racing the past 23 years is an understatement. The GM Racing program manager is a long-time pillar in the Busch series, just part of a storied history at GM that includes managing Buick’s Indy Car engine program, assisting young drivers like Davey Allison, and participating in a car chase through the streets of Hackensack, N.J. with the FBI.
Smith’s fascination with racing began at age 17, racing sprint cars, until he married in the mid 50s. “I got married in 1956 and my wife was too nervous with me racing,” Smith said. “I lost a lot of friends in those days because there weren’t roll cages and other safety stuff, and the helmets weren’t really helmets, they were more like polo hats. They’d take about one shot, then crack the second time.”
Smith kept a written log of every day he’s worked for GM, a career that started at the Milford (Mich.) Proving Ground. He joined Herb Fishel in Buick Special Products Engineering in 1980, responsible for total development of all Buick Specialty Vehicles, including: Grand National Regal, the 1981 and ’83 Indy pace cars, the Buick Wildcat in 1986, and 80 special Turbo Regals for the FBI.
“In about 1986 or ’87, the FBI contacted us because they were getting tired of losing drug dealers in car chases,” Smith said. “So we took the speed chip out of the Turbo Regal and we could run it 140 mph-plus, even more than the Corvette of that day. One day we took the FBI out to test it at the Meadowlands Race Track before it closed.
“We finished the test and coming out of the tunnel onto the public street we saw an injured woman. She said she was just raped and her car was stolen. She pointed out the suspect and the FBI guy had her jump in and we followed him to Hackensack. As soon as he realized someone was following him, we were going up and down one way streets the wrong way and jumping curbs. I was on the radio with the FBI office while the agent drove and within five minutes the police had every street blocked and they caught the guy. Unfortunately, it all turned to be a lie as the guy we thought was a rapist was her boyfriend whom she was fighting with. But that sure was an interesting day.”
Also in the early 1980s, Smith completed some wind tunnel testing with GM’s Gary Eaker to study why stock cars were leaving the track and flying, doing reverse flips, etc.
“We had some down time in the wind tunnels, so we turned some cars sideways 90 degrees to see why cars were flipping at Daytona,” Smith said. “As we tested, we recessed the right side window in about an inch and three-fourths at the top so it acted like a spoiler. We combined that with some rocker skirting and the lift off speed went up to about 220 mph, where before that it was 180-something. There was not much interest by NASCAR in our findings until three years later, when Bobby Allison almost cleared the grandstand fence at the start of a race at Talladega in 1987 and came within about a foot of killing the flagman. About a week later I got a call from NASCAR, asking what we learned in the wind tunnel.”
Smith’s position at GM in the Busch series for more than two decades has allowed him to help teams developing young drivers such as Davey Allison, Bobby Labonte, the Burton brothers, Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart. The latter has made it well known publicly that Smith was one of those responsible for keeping a young Stewart in stock cars instead of returning to open wheel.
“I helped Davey and his brother Clifford Allison get going in ARCA,” Smith said. “Davey got into Busch for a while, too. Davey was such a great talent; his death was a huge loss. He just was patient, he picked his spots, and I never saw him doing anything that today would be considered rough driving. Just a great guy and an excellent racer.”
Smith gave up piloting airplanes a few years ago and more recently became involved in street rodding during his personal time. He and wife Linda have lived in North Carolina for 19 years.
Ray Smith, GM Racing program manager for the NASCAR Busch Series
To say Ray Smith has seen it all in Busch racing the past 23 years is an understatement. The GM Racing program manager is a long-time pillar in the Busch series, just part of a storied history at GM that includes managing Buick’s Indy Car engine program, assisting young drivers like Davey Allison, and participating in a car chase through the streets of Hackensack, N.J. with the FBI.
Smith’s fascination with racing began at age 17, racing sprint cars, until he married in the mid 50s. “I got married in 1956 and my wife was too nervous with me racing,” Smith said. “I lost a lot of friends in those days because there weren’t roll cages and other safety stuff, and the helmets weren’t really helmets, they were more like polo hats. They’d take about one shot, then crack the second time.”
Smith kept a written log of every day he’s worked for GM, a career that started at the Milford (Mich.) Proving Ground. He joined Herb Fishel in Buick Special Products Engineering in 1980, responsible for total development of all Buick Specialty Vehicles, including: Grand National Regal, the 1981 and ’83 Indy pace cars, the Buick Wildcat in 1986, and 80 special Turbo Regals for the FBI.
“In about 1986 or ’87, the FBI contacted us because they were getting tired of losing drug dealers in car chases,” Smith said. “So we took the speed chip out of the Turbo Regal and we could run it 140 mph-plus, even more than the Corvette of that day. One day we took the FBI out to test it at the Meadowlands Race Track before it closed.
“We finished the test and coming out of the tunnel onto the public street we saw an injured woman. She said she was just raped and her car was stolen. She pointed out the suspect and the FBI guy had her jump in and we followed him to Hackensack. As soon as he realized someone was following him, we were going up and down one way streets the wrong way and jumping curbs. I was on the radio with the FBI office while the agent drove and within five minutes the police had every street blocked and they caught the guy. Unfortunately, it all turned to be a lie as the guy we thought was a rapist was her boyfriend whom she was fighting with. But that sure was an interesting day.”
Also in the early 1980s, Smith completed some wind tunnel testing with GM’s Gary Eaker to study why stock cars were leaving the track and flying, doing reverse flips, etc.
“We had some down time in the wind tunnels, so we turned some cars sideways 90 degrees to see why cars were flipping at Daytona,” Smith said. “As we tested, we recessed the right side window in about an inch and three-fourths at the top so it acted like a spoiler. We combined that with some rocker skirting and the lift off speed went up to about 220 mph, where before that it was 180-something. There was not much interest by NASCAR in our findings until three years later, when Bobby Allison almost cleared the grandstand fence at the start of a race at Talladega in 1987 and came within about a foot of killing the flagman. About a week later I got a call from NASCAR, asking what we learned in the wind tunnel.”
Smith’s position at GM in the Busch series for more than two decades has allowed him to help teams developing young drivers such as Davey Allison, Bobby Labonte, the Burton brothers, Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart. The latter has made it well known publicly that Smith was one of those responsible for keeping a young Stewart in stock cars instead of returning to open wheel.
“I helped Davey and his brother Clifford Allison get going in ARCA,” Smith said. “Davey got into Busch for a while, too. Davey was such a great talent; his death was a huge loss. He just was patient, he picked his spots, and I never saw him doing anything that today would be considered rough driving. Just a great guy and an excellent racer.”
Smith gave up piloting airplanes a few years ago and more recently became involved in street rodding during his personal time. He and wife Linda have lived in North Carolina for 19 years.
