OFFICIAL NEWS LETTER OFFICIAL NEWS LETTER March, 2006 Edition
2006 - THE BIGGEST YEAR YET!
HEADS-UP, PRO-TREE – The way it was meant to be!
Dear MOM’s Racer,
What a nice winter we had (or didn’t have for those into winter sports). We could only hope we have an excellent racing season as we have been EXTREMELY busy over the winter. Major, MAJOR changes are abound throughout MOMS Racing!
I don’t even know where to begin, so I’m just gonna spit them all out:
· New WEBSITE!!!!!
· 6 races this year, including 2 weekend dates!!
· Rules have been revised – check them out!
· New DOT Limited Class
· New class sponsorships
· New MOMS Racing sponsorships
· New Tech section/articles
· Updated MOMS Racing logo
· ….and much, much more.
To refresh where we left off last year, here were the 2005 champs:
MOMS Racing OVERALL points Champ - Adam Blackmon!
Randy Dombrowski -NATURALLY ASPIRATED Champ
David Stulpin - LIGHTNING TRUCK Champion
Jason Doty - POWER ADDER Champion
Chris Durbin – STREET Champion
Mark Valvo – DOT Champion
As stated above, for those that have not been there, we have a COMPLETELY new website, developed by Doug Beers. Doug did a fantastic job on it and all we’ve heard is good news.
We have a section for past newsletters. We spent quite a bit of time re-writing all the old newsletters, all the way back to the very first one in 1995. It’s really amazing to see how the performance has changed. In addition to that, Bill Drake has approx. 150+ pictures dating back to 1995 that were scanned and put in the new Gallery section we have. Check out some of the cars. Restani and Imhoff back when their cars were street driven with 10” tires. We have also put in a Hall Of Fame. This features a bunch of the original MOMS Racers that helped set the standard and influence a number of people to get into heads-up, pro-tree 5.0 Mustang racing; DiGiorgio, Restani, Imhoff, Drake, Ashworth, Gallo, and Young - just to name a few. Look for this section to grow as MOMS Racing does. We have a section just for Doc Meyer to speak. This is our very own ‘Dr’s orders’. The forum is hopping, we have some major players on there now, some of which include Bob Kennedy (he has his own tech section to answer questions you may have about your combination), the world famous ‘Uncle’ Robin Lawrence, Ricky Best (www.VortechSuperchargers.com), Harvey Baker (PA Transmissions – www.PerformanceAutomatic.com), John DeMolet (www.TunableInduction.com), Tim Stockwell (www.5litermustang.com), Mike Galimi (NMRA Race Pages), Mike Bowen from Powerhouse Automotive (www.PowerHouse411.com) and more.
Our race season has grown to an amazing 6 races this year. Two of those dates are weekend events. We’re hoping this helps bring some of those long-distance racers as well as make it safer for those high-horsepower cars that skate around when the dew settles on those cold Friday nights.
The races are on the following dates:
SUNDAY - MAY 14th
FRIDAY - MAY 26th
FRIDAY - JUNE 30th
FRIDAY - AUGUST 4th
FRIDAY - AUGUST 25th
SATURDAY - SEPTEMBER 16th
With this said, check out our updated rules. The rules were originally written over 10 years. How the sport of heads-up 5.0 racing has changed, so must the rules. We’ve updated and clarified the rules around back-half/tube chassis cars. We added another new class – Drag Radial Limited. Check it out!! We also renamed the DOT class to Drag Radial as the name fits better and that is what the major organizations call their DOT class.
FREE ADMISSION into NYIRP? How, do you ask? We’ve reinstated our ‘free admission’ newsletters. The one lucky person that receives the newsletter on colored paper, will get into the track for the following event. Just another incentive you can only get from MOMS Racing.
SPONSORS – We are proud to announce the continued backing from KENNEDY’S DYNOTUNE and R.V. Engines.
We are also introducing something new to MOMS Racing, much like the NMRA and every other racing organization out there – class sponsorship. For a nominal fee, a class can be titled and promoted. We have begun with the Power Adder class. We also are proud to announce Pro Car Performance (585-247-8770 www.ProCarPerformance.com) of Rochester, NY. As a benefit of sponsoring the class, each car that runs in the Power Adder class will wear a small Pro Car decal on the quarter window. This will apply to all classes that become sponsored. In addition, Pro Car will have a table located next to the MOMS Racing sign-in table to display any of their products or specials. The class will now be referred to as the Pro Car Power Adder class (for the duration of 2006). We feel this will help MOMS Racing grow tremendously as well as help promote businesses that help promote us. Pro Car Performance is a nationally recognized chassis shop. The owners; Pat Budd and Randy Jewell have a championship 2000 Corvette. The car runs consistently in the 6.80’s at over 200 mph on the juice and has won back-to-back NSCA Championships in the Top Street class. They are in the process of building another shop car to mess around with. A super nice S-10 with a, get this, 101 mm turbo small block. They already have had MOMS racers bring their cars in – take a look at Ron Funk’s roll bar, Anthony Thomas’ coupe and Dave Laurer’s complete chassis, including tin work and headers. In addition, Pro Car sponsors the Fun Ford Weekend and OSCA (Ontario Street Car Association) and they do a ton of chassis work for Canadians – hopefully this will bring a bunch of new faces to our races. If you’re in the area, stop by and thank them (Pat, Randy, Chris, Shannon or Gary) for stepping up and sponsoring MOMS. It’s always nice to stop by and check out some of the awesome cars they are building. With that said, we are looking for more class sponsors, so if you know someone out there, let’s talk.
Here are a couple of pictures of the shop at Pro Car Performance.
In addition to Pro Car Performance, we have the pleasure of introducing Vortech Superchargers as the sponsor of the Drag Radial class – now the Vortech Superchargers Drag Radial class. Is this wild or what? MOMS Racing is finally getting some recognition in the Mustang racing world. You can see their products at www.VortechSuperchargers.com. They have dominated 5.0 Mustang racing for years, set numerous records, and continue to strive to offer the best products out there. If you’ve always considered stepping up to forced induction, now is the time.
We also welcome Performance Automatic as sponsor of the Naturally Aspirated class – now officially the Performance Automatic Naturally Aspirated class. Harvey Baker decided was the ONLY place to be in Upstate NY and stepped up as a class sponsor. Welcome PA and visit their site at www.PerformanceAutomatic.com! In addition we have our new Drag Radial Limited class. It is now sponsored by the one and only NITTO Tires! Yes, Nitto has stepped up! Check out www.NittoTire.com. They have some awesome drag radial tires and are now in the drag racing slick market. We feel this new Nitto Tires Drag Radial Class will be fantastic for both parties. And we can’t forget the Street class – now the UPR Street class. UPR makes some fantastic suspension pieces as well as a ton of billet aluminum accessories. Look for their 53 foot trailer at a number of MOMS events this year. Check them out at www.uprproducts.com. Finally we have our beloved Lightning class. We really weren’t sure if we would get anyone to sponsor the class, but low and behold, Johnny Lightning has stepped up to do it. If your into Lightnings, this is the place to go. He has been an innovator with the vehicle and you can see him in virtually every NMRA Race Pages that comes out. See www.JohnnyLightningPerf.com for more info.
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Advertising We are going to continue the MOMS Racing advertising sheet. Price is $25 an issue or $100 for a whole year. This includes a link on our website if you have a site yourself as well as a business card size advertisement. This is great for those that don’t want to spend the bucks to sponsor an entire event. You still get your name out there, only for a smaller fee. To get involved, contact anyone of the MOMS Racing Team. Please help promote these places, as they help promote MOMS Racing.
NYIRP NEWS: Look for new burnout boxes when you race this year. Bob Metcalfe spent some good old fashioned cash and did a number of improvements. One of those you will notice when you turn off Route 36 and check out the NYIRP sign. Bob asked us if we could make a sign naming NYIRP ‘The Home of MOMS Racing’! So we have a giant MOMS Racing logo up there. Can you believe it? Awesome.
Comments, Facts & Rumors * Wow, my email has been jammed and the website forum is spilling over with news about some tremendous cars being built out there. I’m not sure where to begin. * Joe Turazzo is building a new SN95 car. This is going to be a serious contender for the Street/Drag Radial/Drag Radial Limited class – whichever he decides to run! He’s taking his time and doing it right starting with a very solid rust free chassis and cage. * Joe’s old GT was sold to Tom Lapp. Tom has raced with MOMS in the past, and plans on doing some damage with his new ride. He’s already sent the car in for paint work, had a cage installed, and picked up a NEX nitrous kit as well as some aftermarket axles. Look for some seriously low 11’s. * Look for our Drag Radial king to return for 2006. Brennan Ashworth has rebuilt his bad-ass 4-eyed GT. Everything has been refreshed, I mean everything. New Edelbrock Victor Race heads were added and it will return with gobs of spray. Look for low 9’s again and once he gets settled and comfortable, 8’s may show up. * John McGowan from P & J Speed Shop has a new toy. John picked up a new ’05 GT. In its naturally aspirated form, it has already run 12.70’s at over 104 mph. He’s added some basic suspension upgrades, a C & L Cold Air Kit, and exhaust components from Kooks and Bassani. Hopefully we can get him to bring it out this year.
* Jeff Lee has done some work. He’s dumped his 6 lb. Powerdyne in favor of a Vortech S-Trim pumping out 10 lbs. of boost. Other improvements included moving the battery to the trunk, installing a LM-1 wideband, as well as hiding the engine compartment wiring. He hopes to beat his personal best of 11.46 – I don’t see a problem with that. * Joe “Stallion” Hoffman picked up Jeff’s Powerdyne and put it on his ’89 LX. Aside from that, Joe still has his Vortech-powered ’89 Coupe. Hopefully we’ll get to see at least one of them at MOMS this year. * Holly “Soon to be Mrs. Hoffman” Stowell has picked up a 2001 Stage 1 Roush. Family rivalries – gotta love ‘em. * Ian Muller – man oh man – this boy has done a ton of stuff. Turbo 331. That’s all I’m saying. Done, don’t even try prying anymore out of me. What was already a bad ass car is going to be even more bad ass. Does that make sense? Doesn’t matter. This car is wild. * Jason “Insane” Debbold has possession of Ian’s old ’87 GT. A solid 10-second runner, there’s no reason it won’t continue to decimate unsuspecting people. * Dave “Shrek” Midura has finally gotten his ’87 LX back together after a 3+ year hiatus. Although it’s an 1/8 mile runner, hopefully we can get him to change the gears and run the full 1320. * Alex Sarnacki’s ’93 Cobra has also stepped up from a Powerdyne to a polished S-Trim, aftercooler, heads, cam, and plenty more. With 122+ mph trap speeds, this thing cooks. * Gary Hoffman may finally bring something out of his stable. He gets to choose between a stock (for now) ’93 Cobra or his 351-stroked ’85 GT. * Brian Hoffman’s ’89 LX convertible now has a ’93 Cobra engine with S-trim. Another sleeper. Come on guys, bring them out to MOMS. I know it’s a long drive, but now that we have some weekend events, you have no excuses. * Reggie Stockton has an ‘89 GT that now has a 351 Sportsman and his brother Pete has been hush-hush about his combo. Pete’s ’84 GT has been running high 11’s on a stock 302 roller and carb. Yikes, come on out guys. It looks like you can do some damage in our Street or Drag Radial classes. * As mentioned in previous newsletter’s last season, Dave Laurer’s Super Street ’98 Mustang is coming along rather well. Check the forum for updates or better yet, his website (www.LaurerRacing.com) for pictures of the build. * Anthony Thomas is well on his way to returning to MOMS Racing. Anthony ran a baby blue LX with us a few years ago. A solid 11 second car, he sold it to play with other toys, but the bug had already bitten him. He’s bounced between a few cars since, but has settled on a nice Coupe he picked up from Pro Car Performance. Already loaded with suspension pieces and a nice cage, Anthony seriously plans on running a blowthrough carbed turbo-powered 351. I can’t wait to see it. * Our own Doug Beers filled an entire UPS truck with products from UPR. Complete front and rear suspension pieces – tubular a-arms, k-member, caster/camber kit, bump steer kit, anti-roll bar, you name it, if UPR makes it, Doug now has it for his side project. * I know you’ve heard many, MANY times before, but the old championship ‘92 GT of Bill Drake, should actually be out and running this year. It’s been on a 3 year hiatus since it was sold, but new owner Joe Musso had the car COMPLETELY disassembled, stripped, shaved, and painted this winter. The engine is already done, all that remains is assembly of the body and interior, and a few miscellaneous items. Look for a complete new funny car roll cage, mini-tubs, parachute, wheelie bars, Weld wheels, and some serious low ets! Once the new car bugs get worked out on the ‘92, look for Joe to begin the same process on Fluffy’s purple coupe, which he picked up a couple years ago. * Andy Gallo, picked up a new carbon fiber Tunable Induction cold air intake set up as well as a few other little pieces. I would suspect his beautiful ’87 GT will drop a couple more tenths this year. * Dan Fell is well into stepping up his ’86 GT. 351 stroker. 5-lug conversion. Big brakes. Nitrous. Turbo. Blower. You name it, he’s getting it. Both Summit Racing and UPS have offered discounts due to the enormous amount of product being delivered to the Fell residence. Simply amazing. * Mike Young is selling his ’98 Saleen, previously owned by Mark VanMeter. This is being done in order to make room for a brand new SSO out law car. Like five aren’t enough already. Based on Mike’s current stable of cars and his dedication and drive to win, I can’t wait to see this new car. * Bill Drake is planning on some suspension improvements as well as a nice 4” Cervini’s cowl hood. * Jim Noto had his engine out by the beginning of October already making way for upgrades. Can’t say anymore, Jim’s handgun is bigger than mine. Sorry. * Some of you may have noticed the super clean ’84 Cobra of Kyle Kane at the last event in ’05. Kyle plans on throwing some ’93 Cobra wheels and brakes on the car in addition to adjustable upper and lower UPR contro l arms. A Kennedy’s Dynotuning is tops on his list and possibly some ‘03/’04 Cobra seats. See the theme? Cobra = Power. Nice. * You’ve all seen the sinister black GT of Jacks Toepfer (a.k.a. – Choda). I’m sure you wondered what does that mean? It’s just a fun nickname from high school. The fun stops there. Already running 11.0’s, a few more items are planned such as new upper and lower control arms and some tuning help from Mark ‘Big Hands’ Valvo. He hopes to make it a TRUE DAILY DRIVEN 10-SECOND CAR! Not many people can say that. Choda plans on driving the car to the track, slapping on his new Weld Drag Lites (15 x 3 & 15x10), yanking a few wheelies, popping off some 10.80’s, throwing the street tires back on, then cruising home. Sweet. * Speaking of Mark Valvo, our 2005 Drag Radial Champion, he’s got some plans for the new year – paint and a refresh to his combination. That’s about it. * ‘Swinging’ Chris Durbin has some plans up his sleeves. Since he’s dominated the Street Tired class time and again, he’s gonna let some of those guys ‘catch up’ for a year. Chris mentioned stepping up to the new Drag Radial Limited class. Can he be the first multi-class champion in MOMS? We’ll see. * Cheryl ‘Hot Pants’ Malczewski will be solidly in the 9’s this season. Upon regular winter maintenance, they found that the thrust bearing had failed and took out the crank and a rod! They are not sure when it happened, but something has to be said for the awesome craftsmanship of her husband Jerry and the tuning by Kennedy’s to have that kind of damage and continue to pump out low 10’s is phenomenal. A completely new rotating assembly is already in the works along with a few other items. * Rob Chandler is ready to run 9’s. Sporting a new R Block 331 with forged internals, Kooks jet-hot coated headers, DFI and complete fuel system, custom cam, fresh C4 (thanks Brennan), and more, Rob should be able to beat his previous best of 10.20. He’ll be returning with his dual power adder set up of a 14 lb Kenne Bell blower and 150 horse shot of the sauce. * I just heard from Bob Kennedy regarding Joe Zito’s Coupe. The car is currently being upgraded to prepare for the coveted 8-second zone. Both Joe and Bob had concerns regarding going 155 mph+ on a 10.5” tire, so the car is most likely going to be backhalved, while the roll cage and suspension will be improved as well. They have enlisted G Force Race Cars to do the work. Joe’s car will continue to be a test bed for new products and tuning techniques for Kennedy’s Dynotune. * Doug VanGee is another Kennedy’s customer and long time MOMS Racer. He plans on racing the entire season with his little black Coupe. It will remain Kenne Belle powered. * Word has come in from some other Buffalo area street racers; Poochie is upgrading to a full roll cage in his 9-second AOD street sleeper; Wayne Brown has a Lightning that is going to absolutely crush, CRUSH, the MOM’S Lightning record; Slim is planning, dare I say, a turbo-powered C6 Vette and Albert Andrews, a multi-time MOMS Fastest In Competition record holder has been quiet. Not sure if that is good for our big hitters or not. He’s always caused uproars when he brings his bad ass Coupe to a MOMS event to decimate a record (or two)! Not to mention the wades of cash hanging over the chain link fence. * Dorian Jennings will be back this year with his absolutely beautiful ’96 Mystic Cobra. Sporting a real , real big Procharger and a complete Sean Hyland engine, I would expect nothing less than 8.90’s out of this sick car. * Ed ‘Fluffy’ Imhoff has finally checked in – items such as bead-locks, a tighter convertor, carbon fiber hood, and aluminum rods will be added to start. * Brian ‘Sweet Pea’ Larson has called out Vinnie ‘Mr. Pizza’ DiFlorio for a little match race at the opening MOMS event this year. Both are 9-second cars. Does DiFlorio have what it takes to stomp on Larson’s car? Or will Larson make a mess of Vinnie? Better show up to see who steps up!
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Guest Tech comments – By Pro Car Performance’s Pat Budd
Top Ten, errr…Eight, avoidable Racer Mistakes
1.) Bad Driving. Let’s start with the obvious. We have all seen the menace; the guy that thinks it’s cool to ride the edge. This moron pedals three times, gets all kinds of out of shape, clomps on the brakes, rolls it and then screams at the track officials over track prep. You sir, are an idiot. This kind of behavior is all too prevalent in the fastest streetcar ranks. Never fails to show up at least five times an event, thank God we haven’t paid the ultimate price. Macho is winning races, and keeping the smile nice and pretty. Greg Anderson would look a whole less cool with an Alfred E. Newman smile.
2.) The Encourager of the bad driving. This is a special breed of moron. He’s the hanger-on, often with little to contribute, often with no car of his own. He will make a driver that cheats death for a qualifying pass feel like a hero. The minute the driver climbs out, he’s there with a pat on the back and his misguided adorations. You sir, need to sniff glue and eat lead paint. Keep your hero alive and smack him in the head for that behavior, don’t buy him a round of drinks for it. Even if your boy survives a wreck, it’s hard to go rounds and keep racing a bent racecar.
3.) No low RPM shutoff for Nitrous engagement. There are several products that will shut off the nitrous at just a few hundred rpm below the twostep, effectively ending the chance for a big starting line boom that inevitably results in fractured fuel fittings and a nasty fire. Today’s digital ignitions have these provisions, and rpm switches can be used for those with analog equipment. A few bucks, a few hours, no boom boom. Good investment. If you’ve installed these safety devices, regularly inspect the microswitches and relays for corrosion or shorts that could thwart your best efforts.
4.) Dialing in. This was excluded because at MOMS Racing we run heads-up, pro-tree. None of that sissy dial in, stab the brakes at the top end crap.
5.) Failing to tune for conditions. When we unload our cars in Belle Rose (LA.), we will be greeted by some of the flattest, smoothest asphalt we’ll see all year. The air will be crisp, and close to sea level. It’ll be flat-out good. By the time we get to Salem (MA.), a bumpier racetrack riding at a higher elevation will greet us. What will you change? Air bleeds? Main jets? Nitrous jets? Shocks? Four link? Wing? Once a car leaves any shop it should be set up with a ‘git down’ tune up and have another for those fast, special conditions we chase all over the country. The ‘git down tune up will go through a hog farm – but where do you go to pick up a bit extra when things get good, or – where do you go when your OPPONENTS can’t adjust for the slower track? Come up with a game plan – each track presents new challenges that you can overcome better than the opposition, sometimes making up a horsepower deficit in the process.
6.) Tuning their Nitrous systems outside of their design parameters. Commercially available nitrous systems will only deliver so many lbs./hr. of nitrous before they go horribly rich or lean – no matter what the instructions or your buddy says, make sure that system dumps what you expect when you jet up over 120 thou total area, not more, not less. Too often, there are very large pills in these systems that do not deliver a consistent amount due to phase change, quickly depleting bottle pressures, etc. From the front to the back of the track it may be inconsistent, let alone run-to-run. Many of the guys still in tech at the end of Sunday night (ie – the ones with the checks $$) have smaller, tighter, meaner kits than the ones on the cars chasing them.
7.) Disrespecting their elders, even if they are slower. I see some of this crap at the NSCA races more than in Canada. There are guys in the NSS (Nostalgia Super Stock) lanes that competed in Pro Stock, guys that were in the Mercury and Dodge ads back in the day. You owe your sport to them. Don’t gun your motors at them when you are on the return road, don’t view them as ‘bracket cars’. Get to know the guys with the old iron. We’ve had big time living history pass through the NSCA – Mancini, Vanke. They are often legends that we are ignorant of because they don’t go 7’s with nitrous. No, often they go eights with 421’s and 409’s. Listen and learn.
8.) Bringing a wounded car to the line, thinking it’s ‘macho’. This one is easy to explain. Stuffed rags, wet RTV and duct tape do not belong on the starting line. Save the risky stuff for your personal life, there is another car in the other lane that deserves to get to the other end without seeing you in his. Once a track is oiled due to a shoddy repair, you could be subject to disqualification. We don’t make a lot of noise about this (perhaps we should – what happened to common sense?) but racers have lost points and entry fees due to their sloppy oil downs.
Instead of reaching for two more items, I’ll end this by encouraging everyone to look into at least one new safety item you ‘don’t need’ for the ’06 Season. Maybe a fire system, a diaper, or a fire suit. The rulebook should always be considered minimum, not a guarantee of protection. Only you can ensure that. Ask questions if confused.
- Pat Budd
I’d like to add another item to the above comments, even though it does not compare directly. Courtesy Staging. Do you know what it is? It will be strictly enforced this season. We have spoken with Bob Metcalfe and requested he ask the starter to make sure we play nice.
Courtesy Staging is exactly that. Once you light the top ‘PRE-STAGE’ bulb in your lane, you need to wait until the guy in the other lane lights his ‘PRE-STAGE’ bulb. Once that is done, you are welcome to pull in further and light your ‘STAGE’ bulb. This is something that is enforced in the major heads-up, pro-tree organizations. It is simple respect for the person in the other lane. By ‘double-bulbing’ the other lane, you are forcing them into the lights before they may be ready, plus it is giving an unfair advantage to you since you have some extra time to prepare for your run. If you ‘double-bulb’ the other lane, the starter will have you back your car up and re-stage. If it becomes a problem for a particular racer, we may have to take further actions.
Thank you – The MOMS Racing Staff
Safety If you have ANY questions regarding safety, contact anyone on the MOMS Racing Team or even call Bob Metcalfe, N.Y.I.R.P. owner at 585-382-3030.
If anyone has any suggestions regarding the newsletter, please contact someone on the MOMS Team. We would like any constructive criticism. If you would like to see a Tech article, or have some good info for the Rumor/Trash talking area, or any other idea, let us know and we’ll see what we can do.
**** Also, it is up to you to let Mom Meyer know of any change of address. Call, write, email, whatever is best for you, but keep her current so newsletters do not get returned to us.
If there is a need to contact anyone on the MOMS Team, below is any necessary information:
Pat “Mom” Meyer: (585) 374-2109 –pjmwhm@rochester.rr.com
6757 Italy Valley Rd.
Naples, N.Y. 14512
Pam Meyer: Mailing & Distribution
Scott Verkey: Tech
Melanie Gallo: Gate & Tower Help
Andy Gallo: Race Director & Tech: (585) 225-8285 – NOSGT@aol.com
Bill Drake: Newsletters, Tech, & Official MOM’s Racing Historian; onebad5pto@hotmail.com
Doug Beers: WEBSITE & Points
Dan Fell: WEBSITE
Jim Noto: WEBSITE, Tech, help, water boy, clutch repairman, forum junkie, damage control, etc, etc, etc. jnoto@rochester.rr.com
A BLAST from the past – Frank DiGiorgio’s ’85 GT
For a printable version of this newsletter just click on this link!