everal months ago, we began asking our readers to tell us about their racing experi- ences. We’ve all followed the exploits of high-profile driv- ers in NASCAR, NHRA, In- READERS dy Car and other professional racing se- READERS Sries. We thought it would be interesting to find out what some “regular folks” were doing at the tracks, and to learn more about their interests and success- es. These folks are MOTOR readers, just like you. And like you, most earn a living during the day diagnosing and repairing vehicles for their customers. WHOWHORACERACE Much of what follows is presented in quoted passages. That’s because we wanted to preserve what was said, and the way it was said, by the volunteers in this experiment—in their own words. Ryan Joe Smithberger Ryan Joe Smithberger is the owner of Smitty’s Automotive in Santa Fe. He has been racing since 1985 and owns three race cars. My dad was a drag racer. Unfortunately, he died when I was only a year old. His dream was to own a garage and race cars. I always wanted to race, so when I was old enough and had a few bucks, I started racing and never quit. Then I opened my own auto shop. I guess it’s in my blood. I now have three race cars, and last year I also started driving for Bill and Sherry York, owners of York’s Equipment.

I met Bill and Sherry in 1989 and we be- Dennis Flaherty Photo: came great friends. Among the great ben- efits to racing are the people you meet I race because I love the competition One of the things I always had trouble and the friends you make. Bill and Sherry and because it’s a great way to make with on those old trucks was the charg- never had kids of their own, and today great friends. ing system. The 6-volt battery was al- Bill and I are like father and son. It’s like ways dead and the headlights were al- racing with the Dad I never knew. Randy Rundle ways a yellowish color. Starting was al- The Yorks own a 1989 For most, racing is a hobby—something ways a problem as well, so I always Ford Thunderbird with a 540-cubic-inch learned to park on a hill so I could coast big-block Chevy. The car has a full that can be supported only by a regular down and “dump the clutch” to get going. chrome moly chassis with a four-link sus- job and pursued during personal time. It was because of this hands-on experi- pension. We have run a best of 8.85 sec- For a lucky few, racing is that job. ence that I decided I was going to fix the onds at 150 mph. Randy Rundle is owner and founder 6-volt charging system once and for all. I We finished third in points in the of Fifth Avenue Antique Auto Parts in decided in my simple logic that I would South West Association Clay Center, KS (www.fifthaveinternet apply modern charging technology in re- (SWDRA) and third in track points at garage.com). Randy started buying verse and build a 6-volt alternator. Albuquerque National Dragway in 2005. 1948-55 Chevrolet trucks back in the By the spring of 1987 I had a reliable About five years ago the track closed early 1970s to restore and resell, while working prototype. The key word here is for a couple of years, so we built a street he was still in junior high school. He al- reliable, with the output I wanted. I test- stock dirt car to fill in the time. We fin- ed the new 6-volt alternator for six ways had a “driver” and one in the 1 ished second in points in 2004 and we months on my 1951 Chevy ⁄2-ton pickup won five out of seven races in 2005. We works. Soon after, he got into selling and it worked great! So I built about a had one second-place finish and our first parts, because he learned there were dozen more and installed them locally on DNF in 500-plus laps when we had a flat lots of other people wanting to fix up antique vehicles with good success. tire with three laps to go. their old Chevy pickups. In 1989 I found out about the Great

32 March 2006 tery stayed in the car for the entire race. al famous west coast road courses, in- Bud finished in the top ten that year. cluding Fontana Raceway, Willow Parked next to Bud in the pits that year Springs Raceway, Buttonwillow Race- was Howard Sharp, who was driving a way, Bakersfield, Infineon Raceway, 1929 Dodge Sport Roadster—one of only 1200 made that year....The following year Thunderhill Raceway and Las Vegas I put an alternator on the 1929 Dodge. Motor Speedway. For the next two years the Sharp Racing After 35 years of marriage, I think it’s team got closer and closer to winning the great that my wife has to go to a race- Great Race. Now that their battery and track to see her boys. After we got mar- starting problems were over, they could ried, I sold my Shelby GT500 ($2400) for concentrate on the navigation part of the a station wagon. That’s what I drove un- race. Finally, in 1993 they won first til the boys got their driver’s licenses. place—$30,000 in prize money and a The racing only came after Ryan and new Buick Roadmaster. I had finally es- Brady had graduated from college. Our tablished a track record for the alternator. youngest son Sean is in his junior year, I still help prepare about a dozen cars majoring in engineering at Santa Clara. for the Great Race each year and I con- The participation—working together tinue to sponsor Howard Sharp, just as I and independently, then coming together have every year since 1989. Howard now as a team once a month—is very reward- drives a 1911 Velie in the Great Race. ing. Winning is just icing on the cake. Most years it’s the oldest car entered. The people we race with are as great a There is also a lot of satisfaction in seeing group as you could ever hope to find. For some, working a car that you prepared, especially one as There is nothing like a National Auto old as the Velie, being driven across the Sport Association (NASA) event. on cars for a living U.S. every year without a breakdown. during the day The Great Race has been a good experi- Michael Lindquist just isn’t enough. ence for me. It’s a way to find out what you know versus what you think you Michael Lindquist is president of To maintain their know. It also teaches you to pay attention Wilton Service Center, Inc., in Wilton, hydrocarbon high, to the details. Ignoring the smallest details CT. It’s a three-bay full-service repair these readers can end up costing you the most money. facility, with Getty gasoline service. He has been an automotive technician retire to the race Dennis Flaherty shop in the since 1984 and claims to have loved rac- Dennis Flaherty is a sales representa- ing for as long as he can remember. evenings and hit tive for ALLDATA in Huntington the track on My dad was always on a pit crew way Beach, CA. He started racing in the ’60s back in the late ‘60s and ‘70s at the Dan- weekends. with a supercharged ’56 Ford. Business bury Racarena, in Danbury, CT. I got my and family responsibilities kept him first taste when I was in 6th or 7th grade away from racing until a few years ago, racing go-karts until I was in 10th grade. Race—a rally-type race where pre-1945 when he returned to road course racing We have a late-model stock car that we cars are driven 4500 miles across the with his three sons. race at Thompson Speedway in Thomp- United States during a two-week period. Brady Flaherty drives a ’93 Camaro son, CT. It has a tube chassis with a I looked for a high-profile car entered in (No. 70), and was the 2005 NASA Ca- fiberglass/aluminum/plastic Monte Carlo the race that was likely to have charging maro Mustang Challenge (CMC) West- body. We run a two-barrel carb with problems and I got more than I bar- ern Champion. He also broke the lap 10:1 compression, headers, stock clutch gained for in a 1936 Cord. The Cord, and a solid cam. It’s making a little over owned by Bud Melby of Seattle, had an record by three seconds at Fontana 400 hp, I think. electric shift transmission that was shift- Raceway last season. In 2004, Brady ed via electric solenoids that were con- was the runner-up in CMC and won It’s difficult to go racing without help. trolled by levers on the steering column. Rookie of the Year honors that year. Most of the readers we spoke with In addition, there was an electric over- Dad and Crew Chief Dennis Flaherty mentioned friends or family who help drive, along with two electric fuel pumps also won a McGyver Award in recogni- them follow their racing dreams. Mike and an electric radiator cooling fan, all 6- tion of his wrenching expertise in 2004. is no different. volt. It didn’t take long to see why the Another son, Ryan, drives the Maxi- original 40-amp Cord charging system mum Motorsports ’89 Mustang (No. Bob Mattera is my main everything man. could not keep up. 17), and is a prior winner in the Ameri- He is at it every minute with me, and It took quite a sales job on my part to without him I would not be doing this convince Bud that I could fix his car. I of- can Iron racing series. right now. It’s great knowing you have fered to give him the alternator for free in Phil Hausman helps out with parts someone who is easy to work with, who exchange for an advertising endorsement and Dennis’ third son, Sean, handles will show up to work around my crazy if it worked. The Cord shifted better than the video, video editing and production. hectic life and is into racing. Bobby is it ever had before, and the original bat- The Flaherty clan has raced at sever- just happy making it to the end of a race,

March 2006 33 READERS WHO RACE Photo courtesy Ryan Joe Smithberger Ryan courtesy Photo Rundle Randy Photo: Three wide in Turn 2! Ryan Joe Smithberger (No. 96) is Randy Rundle gets his kicks helping his friends prep their cars right in the thick of things in his street stock dirt car. For for the 4500-mile Great Race, held each year on public roads. additional excitement, Ryan Joe is also heavily into drag Randy has been sponsoring Howard Sharp since 1989. How- racing, driving for longtime friends Bill and Sherry York. ard now drives this 1911 Velie, still game after nearly 100 years. with no great expectations other than Amy Bartram is the shop bookkeeper. Many amateurs enter races every year having a beer afterwards, telling some She also serves as our timekeeper, picks and never taste victory. There’s always war stories and having some great up and makes sandwiches and beer for the hope that “next week” or “next year” laughs. Bobby makes it fun for me. us after the races. will be different. For many, winning Mike Christianson is my secondary My children each have their own atti- races is not the primary motivation. main man. He’s always around when we tudes about my involvement in racing. “get behind” (which is most of the time) My daughter Marissa (14) is not at all in- Some savor the competition, others en- and will do whatever needs to be done. terested in racing. She will say things to joy the challenge of preparing the car Pat Kretschman is the ultimate spotter. me like: “So you can wreck it again? I and others simply look forward to time He also is great at setting up the car and don’t get it.” spent with close friends and family. coaching me on driving. The only prob- Christopher (9) would be in the garage I won a heat race once. That was the lem is that Pat is also my service manag- and at the track more than me if he pos- most memorable racing moment for me. er at the Getty station, and it’s difficult sibly could. When he was five years old I felt like I had won the Daytona 500! I for both of us to leave on the same after- he installed a “super power button” in took the lead in the feature that night af- noon or night to go racing. the car for me. He gets red in the face ter four or five laps (the car was unbe- Carol Angotta is my girlfriend and the now when we talk about it but I still in- lievable!). Everything was going great love of my life. She brings sanity to my sist that the button be “installed” every until I hit some oil dry that did not get crazy life. She never makes me feel guilty time we repaint the car. cleaned up coming out of Turn 4 on a about my interest in racing and never Julianna (4) loves dirt bikes, snowmo- restart and the car sailed hard into the feels neglected when we are in “thrash” biles and race cars! As soon as she is able, wall. Not only did I not win, but the car mode (most of the time) to get the car she will probably have grease under her needed a new front clip, etc. Ugghhh! I ready for a race weekend. pretty fingernails (if she wants to). love racing. Photo: Michael Lindquist Photo:

Photo: Dennis Flaherty Photo: Another family affair. Michael Lindquist’s daughter Ju- Dennis Flaherty has two sons involved in road course racing, lianna enjoys spending time with her dad when he’s work- and a third who enjoys documenting the action. Here, son ing on or racing his late-model stock car. At age four, Brady (No. 70), the 2005 NASA Camaro Mustang Challenge she’s already developed a taste for dirt bikes and snow- Western Champion, works his way through the race field. mobiles. When do I get to drive, Dad?

34 March 2006 READERS WHO RACE

Melvin D. Mann This is Mel Mann’s Melvin D. Mann, Sr., is the owner of latest race car, but Aajax Transmission in Colorado Springs. it’s certainly not his He’s been working on cars and building first. Mel proudly transmissions since he was a teenager. states that he started racing more I started racing in 1956 in Aquasco, than 50 years ago. At MD, when a friend borrowed my ’47 age 72, he’s still Ford Convertible and raced it before I ready to give the knew anything about it. After that I youngsters a run for raced a 1933 Dodge Convertible. We their money at the drove our cars to the track. There was strip in his 9-second

no Christmas tree, only a flagman. Barracuda. Melvin D. Mann, Sr. Photo: There were very few rules and regs back then. chassis is hand-made, including the roll I’ve raced the Barracuda at Pueblo I quit racing in 1970 because of fami- cage, floors and dash. The headers also Motorsports Park, in Pueblo, CO, ly demands. In 2002 a customer came are custom-made. I built the engine my- Bandimere Speedway in Denver, Jules- into the shop and we started talking self. It’s a Chrysler 440 bored .30 over. burg Dragstrip in Julesburg, CO (one of about drag racing. He had a 1972 The trans is a 727, which I also built. It the oldest tracks in the country), Speed- Dodge Demon he was racing. I went has a trans brake but no box. way Raceway Park in Surprise, AZ, along to watch and was bitten by the The last pass of the season last year Southwestern International Raceway in bug again. We double-teamed his car was 135 mph and 10.15 seconds. With Tucson and Douglas Dragway in Dou- for two years. the modifications that I am making, the glas, WY. I hope to race in Kansas this Not long after that, Mel decided he car will go in the 9-second range this sea- year. Bob Bruier and Roberta Hine- needed to have his own race car again. son. We dyno’d the car last week and it’s baugh are my pit crew. developing 495 horsepower and 1900 I bought this car in 2003. It took two It’s a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda that’s a foot pounds of torque to the rear wheels years of hard work and lots of money to completely custom build. The entire at 3500 rpm. get it going. I am now 72 years old. I have

Circle #25 36 March 2006 If you want to get to The engines are sealed to keep costs the top, starting down. The series also uses a spec tire and early never hurts. spec shocks. Because everybody in the Michael Vellines is field has very similar equipment, it puts a proud to report that greater emphasis on driver skill. his son Michael (shown here) has The father and son team relies on been racing since he Ben Rothkopf (spotter), Denise M. Vel- was nine years old. lines (backup spotter) and Bob Semple Eight years later he’s (crew) for support when they’re at the doing very well in a track. The touring series races in Vir- 3 ⁄4-scale Allison ginia, North Carolina, South Carolina

Photo: Michael Vellines Michael Vellines Photo: Legacy series car. and Georgia. Some of the tracks they’ve visited include Concord Motorsports passed both the physical and driving re- asked if he could try out racing to see if Speedway, Hickory Motor Speedway, quirements to drive a 9-second car and I he liked it; he was nine years old at the Peachstate, Lonesome Pine Speedway, have been working to do that this year. time! After watching some events to- Florence Speedway and Myrtle Beach. Michael L. Vellines gether, Dad decided it would be a hob- Michael won the track championship by they could enjoy together. at New Smyrna Speedway in 2002. He Michael L. Vellines is the owner of M The younger Michael began in quar- also was a winner in the Gasoline Alley & M Auto Repair, which opened in ter midgets and has since moved up to Nationals at the Brickyard in Indianapo- Kissimmee, FL, in 1984. Michael is an the Allison Legacy series. The cars in lis. At the ripe old age of 17, it looks like ASE Master Auto and L1-certified 3 this series are ⁄4-scale models of NEX- he has many more racing victories to technician. His shop does general re- TEL Cup cars. Chassis construction is look forward to. pairs, with an emphasis on computer similar to the larger cars, but a 2.2L en- diagnostics. gine from a B2200 truck pro- Visit www.motor.com to download In 1998, his son (also named Michael) vides the power. a free copy of this article.

Circle #26 March 2006 37