OK, here's the not-so-skinny:
We had a few new or new-ish racers come, which was really great. We had 5 National Champions in attendance, and 3 fell in the 1st round. We had 18 cars - biggest East race in 3 yrs!
Ellen Chesney drove Meril's Slanted Dakota and won her first round against Frank Brent, who drove from AR with his wife Cinda and their Duster (formlerly Rob Simmons' "Gods Rods" car) to race with us. Frank was persistent with the car and fixed a couple of things Saturday to be able to race. I really enjoyed meeting Frank and Cinda and they took a few parts off my hands. They cooked a great steak/chicken/veggie spread at the track at midnight after the race was over!
George Belor, long time friend of the Bruners, raced his D150 pickup for his first Slant race appearance. Wayne Smith made his first Slanted appearance driving Stacy (Hargis) Lagis' cream puff Valiant. He made Ron Parker nervous and put him out in the first round.
Brian Mimken was there with his Dad Nick and his Duster with fresh "SIXY BEAST" and "Flyin' Brian" graphics. Always great guys to hang out with. Brian faced long distance award winner Charlie Schmid in the 1st round and Charlie's N2O-fed 170 ran some of its fastest times - 8.31 @ 80 MPH (new C/Nitrous record) - to put Brian out. Charlie had a junkyard short block in there, and is always putting the heat gun to his low buck motors. Brian has mostly been working on brakes and axle, but hopes to have some motor mods going by Bristol.
Larry Chesney brought his sweet 64 Dart over with a fresh and strong engine running 9.60s, but fell to Derrick Daugherty in the 1st round. Derrick was really on, and put me (Lou) out in the 2nd round, then had a bye in the quarter finals. I had a bit of luck, and got by Gary Bruner in the 1st round when he redlit. I had a pretty good 0.09 package, so I felt good about that race. Gary, Barbara, and family put me up for 2 nights, so I did bite the hand that fed me a little. Great folks!
Jim Cox was a surprise entrant to most of us, driving down from Columbus, OH to pick up a car from Meril, and drive Meril's nice '65 Valiant in the race. He showed up JUST before qualifying and got one practice run before beating George Belor and then Charlie Schmid. Man, it was great to see Jim, after a long absence. He looked like a recovered alcoholic getting into the sauce again! Big smiles and plenty of sass as usual.
Leighton Drake took on Dale Rose in the 1st and got by him with a better light and then a closing gap at the end to give Leighton the win and a bye in the semifinal round.
Ron Hamby faced Meril Bruner in the 1st round for a rematch of the finals at Wilkesboro. Ron came out on top this time with a better light. Ron's car slowed during the whole night, but he compensated well all the way up to the final round.
Ron H then faced Ellen Chesney, who did very well, but broke out giving Ron the win. Ron met Leighton in the quarterfinals and squeaked by him on the tree, with Leighton breaking out trying to catch up. Ron then had Derrick in the semis. Derrick was on and it was a razor-close race, but not quite enough to get around Ron.
Norman faced Rodney Hargis in a no-holds-barred classic brawl of footbrake vs. box. Norm got it this time when Rodney put down a 0.001 redlight. Norm got another competitor from Wartburg, TN, when he met Wayne Smith in the next round in Rodney's sister's car! After getting past Wayne, Norm took on Jim Cox (another guy in a borrowed car!) and put him down.
Norm then had the bye into the final where he faced the quiet giant, Ron Hamby. Ron left with better light than Norm, but his car slowed at the end, giving Norm the edge, and his second race win of the year! Norm's big smile shone like the sun.
1st round winners:
Ellen Chesney
Ron Hamby
Leighton Drake
Lou Madsen
Derrick Daugherty
Norman Foster
Charlie Schmid
Jim Cox
Wayne Smith
2nd round:
Jim Cox
Norman Foster
Derrick Daugherty
Leighton Drake (bye)
Ron Hamby
3rd round:
Norman Foster
Derrick Daugherty (bye)
Ron Hamby
Semis:
Ron Hamby
Norman Foster (bye)
Finals:
Norman Foster
A big part of this weekend was the help of Meril Bruner bringing 3 cars and drivers, AND more importantly, he and Ella throwing a big feed at their place. We had TONS of good Southern Cookin' and great conversations in the breezy afternoon. All the racers hung around Meril's garage and talked Slants for a couple of hours before the lunch.
Gary, Meril, and a few others donated money to fill out the pot since they did not have to travel. SCT (Southern Chemical and Textiles) was the big sponsor with $700 via Norm Foster's contact, for a total of a solid $1100 purse.
It was awesome walking around the pits with so many racers and family members chatting in multiple groups, and taking up a big pit area. I got misty eyes, I must admit...
I must also mention a sad part of the story. Ella Bruner's brother died late in the week, and they had the visitation on Fri eve and the funeral on Saturday right before the race. This did not stop them from throwing the party and all coming to the race. In heartwarming fashion, about 1/3 of the racers were able to donate their winnings ($590) for Ella's sister-in-law for much needed burial costs and house repairs. What a great group.
All of us on this side of the US are looking forward to the Bristol race, which current National Champion Glenn Terry will attend. We reckon that 17-20 cars are possible at this event too, and some of us (talk to me) might help some with travel costs if you think you can come but maybe can't afford it. Seymour is coming down from MN, and he is trying to get Gordie Stevens to tow down from PA to have all 7 past and present Champs in attendance. Again, I HAVE A CAR TO DRIVE if someone wants to race it!
I will post some pics soon.
See you at Bristol!!
Lou
PS: I was personally very happy to have some relatively minor mods on my car net a 0.6 sec gain, as I went 10.46 @67 on Fri night in bad air. After a big breakfast at Amber's Restaurant near Meril's place with 10 there, I headed to Wartburg to pull an aluminum engine I bought from Rodney out of a '62 Lancer. Rodney's girlfriend Alana's family generously had me over for Sunday dinner (mmm, chicken 'n' dumplin's) and 4hrs after that we had the motor out and I headed back to Blacksburg with it in the trunk. Rodney has quite a museum of perfectly restored cop cars, Petty and Mopar paraphernalia, and old Mopars!
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