WHEW! this is a long one...get comfortable! Again its from MS word so some formatting might get screwed up.
Turbo Thunder V Recap
Friday July 30th
I rolled into Woodburn’s gate about 12:00 and found that it was wide open. Of course Geno was already inside and had his camp all set up. Some of the Idaho racers were also there and starting to unload their cars. Len Freeman was also on the grounds getting ready to go. We let a few folks in early to park and we all hung out BS’d, and tried to stay cool until about 2:30. I appreciate everyone heading over to the pay window as requested right at 2:30, that helps us keep a good reputation with the track. The gates opened at 3:00-ish and there were cars running by around 4:00PM.
Friday was laid back for me. I had a great time hanging out with Adam Nonis and his wife. I spent some time looking over his car…that thing is amazing. I forgot to ask him if it had been featured in any magazines yet. It’s just a matter of time for that. Some very talented fab work went into that car. He had his stereo on-line for a time and it sounded BETTER than a live band. It was entertaining to see the spectators casually walking down the pit road. Their jaws would hit the pavement as they walked up to Adams car. Even with the extra stereo weight, I’d look for Adams car to haul ass with a little tuning and traction.
I ran my 87 Turbo T to a stellar 13.34 @ 102.9 on street radials, and 14 pounds of boost. I need to re-work my actuator rod so I can wick up the boost but I wasn’t going to mess with it at the track.
Dan Huffman got his first 12 running next to me. We ere close for the first 60’ and all I saw was the shiny back end of his car from then on…he had me by more than a couple lengths at the top end. I’ve got the timeslip right here. The incrementals:
60’ 2.033
1/8 8.141
MPH 89.02
¼ 12.653
MPH 107.41
This is very impressive in my opinion. Dan’s car is running on street radials (fully aired up) pump gas with alchy, etc. His car is totally in street trim and running easy mid-12’s. There are certainly a few V8 cars out there that could do this, but I wouldn’t drive them on a 400 mile round trip. Dan went on to run almost 110 and backed up his 12.65 with a slightly quicker pass.
Dennis Hogan ran some 9.6X’s at 146. One run in particular had him very loose to the 1/8 mile mark, where he crossed over into the other lane before he got the car settled down. For anyone that watched this run, it was the talk of the weekend. It scared me to watch it, I was glad he saved the car, and there was no damage other than the cone/reflector he hit on the track. I was not there for it, but I understood the track personnel were not happy with what happened. There was plenty of second guessing about the run and what could have been done differently. I’m just glad that the results were zero injuries or bent sheet metal.
My wife was kind enough to put together a raffle. We ended up with some items that were donated from Armstrong Buick here in Gladstone Oregon. As soon as Shawn Miles heard there was a raffle he immediately sent his wife over to buy $50 worth of tickets! We did not track the names of everyone who bought tickets. I know that Ron Neisler also bought a stack of them and he missed the raffle announcement and didn’t win anything (Sorry Ron!) The raffle generated $160 which went toward payouts. There is a chance that we may see additional sponsorship from Armstrong Buick, more on that next year. They also donated all the hats that were handed out to all the pre-registered cars, the rest were raffled off.
The track seemed loose to many folks who were fighting for traction. Someone remind me to ask about the track prep before we start running cars next year.
The Quick-8 program was discussed on Friday and a few folks were concerned about a certain 8.40-ish 66 Nova that was supposed to be running. Well there were a few sighs of relief when we learned that the Nova dropped a valve running at Portland’s Friday-night program.
Friday night a handful of folks camped at the track. It was a good time with some beers, burgers, and BS’ing going on until past 11:00.
Saturday July 31st
The action started pretty early as the gates opened up. Everyone was dusting off their cars and making last minute adjustments to get ready for some time runs. As the groups lined up for their first run, a few of us standing in the lanes noticed a Vega pulling into the Turbo Thunder lane. We all thought the same thing…hey whats this guy doing? As it turns out the Vega had a blow-through Carb’d/Turbo BBC under the hood. It had a name on the side The Flyin Hawaian…or something like that. Anyway out steps Kalani Keppa from central Oregon. I had never met him and had not heard about the car before. He and Gene exchanged some smack talk with Gene following up with…”I’ll race you to Seattle” which pretty much ended the debate. I got the impression Kalani expected not to be welcomed but that was really not the case. He commented many times during the day that he was impressed with the program at Woodburn and equally impressed with the Buicks.
I was not 100% on Saturday as I think the heat and running between the tower, my motorhome, and the lanes really got to me. I seriously felt like I was going to pass out a couple times and I know I barked at a few people including my wife and Gary Woods…sorry. I really want to ensure that everything goes smoothly and one guy trying to corral 30+ race cars simply does not work. I’ll have help next year and we’ll do better.
The Quick-8 program was a thorn in my side all day Saturday. I didn’t know until right before the cars had to pull into the lanes, who was going to run in the program. I did not ladder the cars appropriately because I simply did not have the time. We ended up with 5 Quick-8 competitors, and as expected by many, the fastest car won. But what many may not have expected is that the runner up was an 11.50-ish GMC Syclone. It just goes to show you that the fast can’t always be reliable too. I was ready to scrap the Quick-8 program for 2005 (TT6) but I was urged to keep it by a few folks so we’ll try it again next year. But I will be signing someone up to organize just that class (Are you reading this Terry??? )
The “slow bracket” or Turbo Sportsman class was excellent. Great competition all day, they had roughly 18 cars competing. One round had an all-female all-GMC AWD pairing which was very cool. Michelle Miller (Hogan) came out on top as Wanda Brooks turned on the red light. This win gave Michelle a bye run into the semi’s where she lost to the class runner-up Steve Murdock. The Cinderella story was Adam Lindsay driving a very sleeper-ish white Buick Turbo’d Hybrid 86 Pontiac Fiero. The kid could not lose as he mowed through the field and took the win in the ALL IDAHO final!
The fast bracket was smaller with 9 or so competitors. With some breakage in the class we had a few bye runs. The semi finals had Gurts Singh and Richard Soon racing each other. These guys are both excellent bracket racers so I knew it would be a good race. I was in the tower and watched the times come up on the screen for this run…Gurts had Richard the whole way…but didn’t brake hard or soon enough and let Richard by for the win. The final round had Scott Hogan driving the 2SLOW white Turbo T against Richard Soon. I did not get the times down for this race, but the kid (Scott) came out on top for the win. Here’s some trivia for you. The 2SLOW Alchy assisted Hogan Buick was gassed up at the pump in Seattle, DRIVEN to Woodburn, made many 10.50 and slower passes over 2 days time, and was still on the SAME tank of “Seattle gas” when he won the race! Referencing my above statement about Dan Huffmans car… I don’t know of anything short of a crotch rocket 2-wheeler that could pull this off, let a lone have seating for 5 and Air Conditioning!
The carnage on Saturday is something that really bums me out. It’s a selfish thing, I can’t help but take it personally when people go to the trouble to get to the event, only to have catastrophic failures. These are people that spent time and money to get their cars ready, pack their stuff, pay for gas, hotel, etc. They took time off work to drive to the event from places like Las Friggin Vegas, and Seattle only to have this happen. Geno, Len Freeman, and Dennis Hogan all hurt their motors on Saturday. These guys are about as close as you can get to “professional” Turbo Buick racers. Being pro’s they all seemed to take the failures in stride.
As I do every year, I’d like to make mention of the people that stood out for me. I AM going to miss people, forget their names, certainly forget their spouses names, but I’ll give it a shot:
Len Freeman: Mr. Cool. I’m going to start smoking, and learn to speak with an East coast accent next year. Len makes it look so cool! There were stories flying around the pits all weekend about people Len has gone out of his way to help. Len has helped out stranded Buick racers, fixed many a tranny under “warranty” and provided plenty of advice to steer folks in the right direction to keep their transmissions alive. Len was one of the first guys to step up and sponsor the event. Then when some folks were sending in $50 to up the ante for payouts and buy some track-side refreshments, Len sends in $100! The few times I spoke to him prior to the event, Len always asked if he could donate parts for a raffle. I always turned him down because I wanted to avoid a raffle and stick to the racing then we ended up having a raffle anyway. Len brought his son and his sons friend this year. These kids were good entertainment. We saw them all weekend riding gas powered scooters and mini-bikes. I know they’re normal healthy kids because they were constantly finding ways to jump wheelie or peel out on the bikes. Thank your son for me Len, I was having a “moment” in the staging lanes, and he carried all the awards over to my motorhome for me…he’s a good kid!
Richard Soon: After 3 years or so, I’m running out of nice things to write about Richard. He’s never missed an event, he’s an excellent bracket racer who always goes rounds, and he’s the classiest “Buick guy” I know. Hope to see the rest of the family at the event next year!
Gurts Singh: Gurts had his whole crew (family) there this year. Like Ricahrd, I’ve written much about Gurts over the past few years. As I’ve said before, when the event is over, and the beers are flowing I’ll be standing there with Gurts BS’ing. He’s a kick to hang out with, and he’s another great BC bracket racer.
Chris Cairns: Here’s a guy that needs no introduction. Chris is popular on the message boards, and he’s even more entertaining in person. I forgot to tell him that I really like that silver car of his. And it runs good too…he was in the mid-low 10’s all weekend.
Ron Neisler: Always an event supporter. Ron was THE first guy to step up to sponsor. He is usually the first guy to pre-register also. His car doesn’t seem to change, but it always goes faster! He ran his best ever this year with a 12.08 @ 111. Ron
Adam Nonis and his wife hung out with us and he parked the Hybrid-T next to our motorhome all weekend. Adam’s efforts to prepare for this event rival the work that my wife and I put in. He arranged for the art work, printing, and donation of the T-shirts. The shirts alone generated $590 towards payouts. We all owe Adam and CAR TOYS a big thank you for all that they provided. Your pit-spot is already reserved for next year Adam!
Josh Peery: You get my vote for “Best wheels” hope to see you back next year running even quicker. That is one nice GN you’ve got there!
Shawn Miles: Always entertaining. Shawn and I share a love for anything that has sick horsepower and runs on gas. ATV’s, motorcycles, etc. Shawn likes to have a cigar with his beer, and I heard that he’s got a car in the works over in Idaho that might have twin’s on it?
Dave Bolwar: Also known as Big Dave. This guy brought over the fastest Syclone I’ve ever seen at Woodburn. He ran in the 11.50’s when I was watching but I heard he expects to go even quicker.
Team Hogan: Dennis, Scott, and Michelle were on hand with their significant others in tow. About the time Dad was towing his car back from a run where he broke it, the kids were going rounds. Scott took home the cash and plaque for the fast bracket, while Dad took home the fastest/quickest stage plaques for the 2nd year in a row. Michelle didn’t bring home anything more than bragging rights for the all-female all-GMC all-wheel-drive shootout in round 2 where she came out on top.
The Idaho hybrid Lindsay brothers. I didn’t get enough time to go check out all their rides. These guys build some cool sleepers. I think the Fiero with skinny street rubber and no external way to tell there’s an LC2 under the hood is the best one. The Volvo is also very cool…it will be even cooler when its running 12.0’s.
The Terry Ryan family: I’d like to thank Terry & Jennifer Ryan for coming down to support the event even though they weren’t racing. He and his whole family braved the heat, and lack of sleep to hang out with us. If he’s not racing something I hope to get his help next year with the Quick-8 program.
Gary Woods: Every time I’ve got an idea, news, a gripe, a concern, or a question about this event. The first guy I call is Gary Woods. He’s always offering to help and provides excellent moral support. Gary spent this event getting sunburnt while he took hundreds of pictures of TTV competitors…look for these pictures to hit the net soon.
Kathy Loney aka…the wife: Once again she handled all the money for the event. She also organized the raffle, bought, packed, and set out water and pop for everyone, and sold T-shirts. She also takes care of registration at the track, and the toughest job of all all…she puts up with me.
I missed many people, and forgot many names...sorry for that. I really appreciate everyone taking the time, spending the money, and making the effort to attend this event. At times it seems like a burden. The reasons I do it are as follows:
1. I love Turbo Buicks, the faster they are, the more I love them
2. The camaraderie and social aspect, the people are great
3. The “other” turbo cars are cool, the faster they are the cooler they seem…to me anyway.
4. It’s fun to be a part of something that people look forward to each year. Trust me, I look forward to it also!
I’ll post some ideas for next year soon…TT6!
Turbo Thunder V Recap
Friday July 30th
I rolled into Woodburn’s gate about 12:00 and found that it was wide open. Of course Geno was already inside and had his camp all set up. Some of the Idaho racers were also there and starting to unload their cars. Len Freeman was also on the grounds getting ready to go. We let a few folks in early to park and we all hung out BS’d, and tried to stay cool until about 2:30. I appreciate everyone heading over to the pay window as requested right at 2:30, that helps us keep a good reputation with the track. The gates opened at 3:00-ish and there were cars running by around 4:00PM.
Friday was laid back for me. I had a great time hanging out with Adam Nonis and his wife. I spent some time looking over his car…that thing is amazing. I forgot to ask him if it had been featured in any magazines yet. It’s just a matter of time for that. Some very talented fab work went into that car. He had his stereo on-line for a time and it sounded BETTER than a live band. It was entertaining to see the spectators casually walking down the pit road. Their jaws would hit the pavement as they walked up to Adams car. Even with the extra stereo weight, I’d look for Adams car to haul ass with a little tuning and traction.
I ran my 87 Turbo T to a stellar 13.34 @ 102.9 on street radials, and 14 pounds of boost. I need to re-work my actuator rod so I can wick up the boost but I wasn’t going to mess with it at the track.
Dan Huffman got his first 12 running next to me. We ere close for the first 60’ and all I saw was the shiny back end of his car from then on…he had me by more than a couple lengths at the top end. I’ve got the timeslip right here. The incrementals:
60’ 2.033
1/8 8.141
MPH 89.02
¼ 12.653
MPH 107.41
This is very impressive in my opinion. Dan’s car is running on street radials (fully aired up) pump gas with alchy, etc. His car is totally in street trim and running easy mid-12’s. There are certainly a few V8 cars out there that could do this, but I wouldn’t drive them on a 400 mile round trip. Dan went on to run almost 110 and backed up his 12.65 with a slightly quicker pass.
Dennis Hogan ran some 9.6X’s at 146. One run in particular had him very loose to the 1/8 mile mark, where he crossed over into the other lane before he got the car settled down. For anyone that watched this run, it was the talk of the weekend. It scared me to watch it, I was glad he saved the car, and there was no damage other than the cone/reflector he hit on the track. I was not there for it, but I understood the track personnel were not happy with what happened. There was plenty of second guessing about the run and what could have been done differently. I’m just glad that the results were zero injuries or bent sheet metal.
My wife was kind enough to put together a raffle. We ended up with some items that were donated from Armstrong Buick here in Gladstone Oregon. As soon as Shawn Miles heard there was a raffle he immediately sent his wife over to buy $50 worth of tickets! We did not track the names of everyone who bought tickets. I know that Ron Neisler also bought a stack of them and he missed the raffle announcement and didn’t win anything (Sorry Ron!) The raffle generated $160 which went toward payouts. There is a chance that we may see additional sponsorship from Armstrong Buick, more on that next year. They also donated all the hats that were handed out to all the pre-registered cars, the rest were raffled off.
The track seemed loose to many folks who were fighting for traction. Someone remind me to ask about the track prep before we start running cars next year.
The Quick-8 program was discussed on Friday and a few folks were concerned about a certain 8.40-ish 66 Nova that was supposed to be running. Well there were a few sighs of relief when we learned that the Nova dropped a valve running at Portland’s Friday-night program.
Friday night a handful of folks camped at the track. It was a good time with some beers, burgers, and BS’ing going on until past 11:00.
Saturday July 31st
The action started pretty early as the gates opened up. Everyone was dusting off their cars and making last minute adjustments to get ready for some time runs. As the groups lined up for their first run, a few of us standing in the lanes noticed a Vega pulling into the Turbo Thunder lane. We all thought the same thing…hey whats this guy doing? As it turns out the Vega had a blow-through Carb’d/Turbo BBC under the hood. It had a name on the side The Flyin Hawaian…or something like that. Anyway out steps Kalani Keppa from central Oregon. I had never met him and had not heard about the car before. He and Gene exchanged some smack talk with Gene following up with…”I’ll race you to Seattle” which pretty much ended the debate. I got the impression Kalani expected not to be welcomed but that was really not the case. He commented many times during the day that he was impressed with the program at Woodburn and equally impressed with the Buicks.
I was not 100% on Saturday as I think the heat and running between the tower, my motorhome, and the lanes really got to me. I seriously felt like I was going to pass out a couple times and I know I barked at a few people including my wife and Gary Woods…sorry. I really want to ensure that everything goes smoothly and one guy trying to corral 30+ race cars simply does not work. I’ll have help next year and we’ll do better.
The Quick-8 program was a thorn in my side all day Saturday. I didn’t know until right before the cars had to pull into the lanes, who was going to run in the program. I did not ladder the cars appropriately because I simply did not have the time. We ended up with 5 Quick-8 competitors, and as expected by many, the fastest car won. But what many may not have expected is that the runner up was an 11.50-ish GMC Syclone. It just goes to show you that the fast can’t always be reliable too. I was ready to scrap the Quick-8 program for 2005 (TT6) but I was urged to keep it by a few folks so we’ll try it again next year. But I will be signing someone up to organize just that class (Are you reading this Terry??? )
The “slow bracket” or Turbo Sportsman class was excellent. Great competition all day, they had roughly 18 cars competing. One round had an all-female all-GMC AWD pairing which was very cool. Michelle Miller (Hogan) came out on top as Wanda Brooks turned on the red light. This win gave Michelle a bye run into the semi’s where she lost to the class runner-up Steve Murdock. The Cinderella story was Adam Lindsay driving a very sleeper-ish white Buick Turbo’d Hybrid 86 Pontiac Fiero. The kid could not lose as he mowed through the field and took the win in the ALL IDAHO final!
The fast bracket was smaller with 9 or so competitors. With some breakage in the class we had a few bye runs. The semi finals had Gurts Singh and Richard Soon racing each other. These guys are both excellent bracket racers so I knew it would be a good race. I was in the tower and watched the times come up on the screen for this run…Gurts had Richard the whole way…but didn’t brake hard or soon enough and let Richard by for the win. The final round had Scott Hogan driving the 2SLOW white Turbo T against Richard Soon. I did not get the times down for this race, but the kid (Scott) came out on top for the win. Here’s some trivia for you. The 2SLOW Alchy assisted Hogan Buick was gassed up at the pump in Seattle, DRIVEN to Woodburn, made many 10.50 and slower passes over 2 days time, and was still on the SAME tank of “Seattle gas” when he won the race! Referencing my above statement about Dan Huffmans car… I don’t know of anything short of a crotch rocket 2-wheeler that could pull this off, let a lone have seating for 5 and Air Conditioning!
The carnage on Saturday is something that really bums me out. It’s a selfish thing, I can’t help but take it personally when people go to the trouble to get to the event, only to have catastrophic failures. These are people that spent time and money to get their cars ready, pack their stuff, pay for gas, hotel, etc. They took time off work to drive to the event from places like Las Friggin Vegas, and Seattle only to have this happen. Geno, Len Freeman, and Dennis Hogan all hurt their motors on Saturday. These guys are about as close as you can get to “professional” Turbo Buick racers. Being pro’s they all seemed to take the failures in stride.
As I do every year, I’d like to make mention of the people that stood out for me. I AM going to miss people, forget their names, certainly forget their spouses names, but I’ll give it a shot:
Len Freeman: Mr. Cool. I’m going to start smoking, and learn to speak with an East coast accent next year. Len makes it look so cool! There were stories flying around the pits all weekend about people Len has gone out of his way to help. Len has helped out stranded Buick racers, fixed many a tranny under “warranty” and provided plenty of advice to steer folks in the right direction to keep their transmissions alive. Len was one of the first guys to step up and sponsor the event. Then when some folks were sending in $50 to up the ante for payouts and buy some track-side refreshments, Len sends in $100! The few times I spoke to him prior to the event, Len always asked if he could donate parts for a raffle. I always turned him down because I wanted to avoid a raffle and stick to the racing then we ended up having a raffle anyway. Len brought his son and his sons friend this year. These kids were good entertainment. We saw them all weekend riding gas powered scooters and mini-bikes. I know they’re normal healthy kids because they were constantly finding ways to jump wheelie or peel out on the bikes. Thank your son for me Len, I was having a “moment” in the staging lanes, and he carried all the awards over to my motorhome for me…he’s a good kid!
Richard Soon: After 3 years or so, I’m running out of nice things to write about Richard. He’s never missed an event, he’s an excellent bracket racer who always goes rounds, and he’s the classiest “Buick guy” I know. Hope to see the rest of the family at the event next year!
Gurts Singh: Gurts had his whole crew (family) there this year. Like Ricahrd, I’ve written much about Gurts over the past few years. As I’ve said before, when the event is over, and the beers are flowing I’ll be standing there with Gurts BS’ing. He’s a kick to hang out with, and he’s another great BC bracket racer.
Chris Cairns: Here’s a guy that needs no introduction. Chris is popular on the message boards, and he’s even more entertaining in person. I forgot to tell him that I really like that silver car of his. And it runs good too…he was in the mid-low 10’s all weekend.
Ron Neisler: Always an event supporter. Ron was THE first guy to step up to sponsor. He is usually the first guy to pre-register also. His car doesn’t seem to change, but it always goes faster! He ran his best ever this year with a 12.08 @ 111. Ron
Adam Nonis and his wife hung out with us and he parked the Hybrid-T next to our motorhome all weekend. Adam’s efforts to prepare for this event rival the work that my wife and I put in. He arranged for the art work, printing, and donation of the T-shirts. The shirts alone generated $590 towards payouts. We all owe Adam and CAR TOYS a big thank you for all that they provided. Your pit-spot is already reserved for next year Adam!
Josh Peery: You get my vote for “Best wheels” hope to see you back next year running even quicker. That is one nice GN you’ve got there!
Shawn Miles: Always entertaining. Shawn and I share a love for anything that has sick horsepower and runs on gas. ATV’s, motorcycles, etc. Shawn likes to have a cigar with his beer, and I heard that he’s got a car in the works over in Idaho that might have twin’s on it?
Dave Bolwar: Also known as Big Dave. This guy brought over the fastest Syclone I’ve ever seen at Woodburn. He ran in the 11.50’s when I was watching but I heard he expects to go even quicker.
Team Hogan: Dennis, Scott, and Michelle were on hand with their significant others in tow. About the time Dad was towing his car back from a run where he broke it, the kids were going rounds. Scott took home the cash and plaque for the fast bracket, while Dad took home the fastest/quickest stage plaques for the 2nd year in a row. Michelle didn’t bring home anything more than bragging rights for the all-female all-GMC all-wheel-drive shootout in round 2 where she came out on top.
The Idaho hybrid Lindsay brothers. I didn’t get enough time to go check out all their rides. These guys build some cool sleepers. I think the Fiero with skinny street rubber and no external way to tell there’s an LC2 under the hood is the best one. The Volvo is also very cool…it will be even cooler when its running 12.0’s.
The Terry Ryan family: I’d like to thank Terry & Jennifer Ryan for coming down to support the event even though they weren’t racing. He and his whole family braved the heat, and lack of sleep to hang out with us. If he’s not racing something I hope to get his help next year with the Quick-8 program.
Gary Woods: Every time I’ve got an idea, news, a gripe, a concern, or a question about this event. The first guy I call is Gary Woods. He’s always offering to help and provides excellent moral support. Gary spent this event getting sunburnt while he took hundreds of pictures of TTV competitors…look for these pictures to hit the net soon.
Kathy Loney aka…the wife: Once again she handled all the money for the event. She also organized the raffle, bought, packed, and set out water and pop for everyone, and sold T-shirts. She also takes care of registration at the track, and the toughest job of all all…she puts up with me.
I missed many people, and forgot many names...sorry for that. I really appreciate everyone taking the time, spending the money, and making the effort to attend this event. At times it seems like a burden. The reasons I do it are as follows:
1. I love Turbo Buicks, the faster they are, the more I love them
2. The camaraderie and social aspect, the people are great
3. The “other” turbo cars are cool, the faster they are the cooler they seem…to me anyway.
4. It’s fun to be a part of something that people look forward to each year. Trust me, I look forward to it also!
I’ll post some ideas for next year soon…TT6!
