Don and
Lisa David
U.S. Army/Corrosion Specialties
Hi, I am Don David, Driver of the U S Army/Corrosion
Specialties Dragster. My wife, Lisa and I with an excellent all
voluntary crew, race our car all over the southwestern United
States with the Southwest Superchargers.
I want to thank my
Dad, Floyd David for making my racing career possible. In 1962 with Dad’s
help I started racing motorcycles on West Texas dirt flat
tracks in the 50cc class, moving up to the 250cc class until 1965 when it
all began. My Dad took a 130” front engine dragster in trade. The old car
had a flathead Ford motor in with a 3 speed manual transmission. The old
car sat covered on a pipe trailer beside our house for several months until
Dad said to me “If we are going to ever race this thing you’re going to have
to get it ready.” I and my friends under the guidance of my Dad’s mechanic
at his butane company got it to run; we then took it to the Ector Count
Airport and tried it out. It was the most fun I had ever had in my life.
My first race was in Abilene Texas at the airport they called it a smoker.
We ran that car for several years using several different engine types with
Donk Powell tuning the car. In 1969, a friend of my Dad’s, John Luekecheski
from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who had an injured driver called and ask me to drive
his bb altered (blown 283 Chevy) at the Spring Nationals at Penwell, Texas. As it
turned out I drove for him four years with Mike Moeheski as our tuner except
for some of the time I was in the Army. The team was disbanded in 1972
because of the loss of sponsorship.
A year later I
started racing sand drags with Volkswagen Power Buggies, and then a small
block Chevy powered dragster. We sand raced anywhere we could. The tracks
were very limited in our local area. We raced in Arizona and
some in St. Louis, Missouri area in abandoned sand and gravel pits.
In 1977 I got the
call from my old friend John Luekecheski to drive for him again, but in a
different type of racing, that I knew nothing about, Off Road Racing. Mike
Moeheski would be my
Crew Chief once again! We had AC Delco sponsorship
that lasted 8 years. I drove a Porsche-powered class 12 buggy style car for
5 years and 3 years in a Class 10 2 wheel drive truck. We ran everything
from Pikes Peak to Baja. John retired in 1985 and sold all
his team assets to other teams. John was a wonderful man who gave me two
great opportunities and I am very grateful. He taught me so much about
racing and about life. I will never forget him.
1985 brought me back
to asphalt drag racing running in a VW Association (IVWAA) racing all
over
the country in several different classes. We ran one of the first 9 second
runs in a full body VW at Sonoma CA; and had one of the
fastest VW Dragster in the country running 7.29 @ 190 at Dallas, Texas, in
1987. My Crew Chief, Nick Prime and I built all of the 6 different VW
powered cars we ran. In 1989, we tried our hand at NHRA Comp Racing in
G/Dragster (VW Power) and later in F/Econo Dragster (4 cyl. Pontiac Power).
In 1992, I had Jerry Norman back half my 4 cyl Pontiac Dragster to put a
small block Chevy in it and
started running NHRA Super Comp (8.90 index) and
bracket racing. In 1996, I had Jerry Norman build me a new 225” super comp
car that I raced until 2001.
I was lucky in 2002
to find the people of the Southwest Superchargers. I once again had Jerry
Norman
build me a new car, this time a Funny Car Style Altered with a 32 Bantam
body. I started out with a blown 296 cu. in. small block Chevy. Over the
years my engines have been getting larger and larger. I have settled on a
blown 540 cu. In. big block Chevy. Over the 6 years I have been with the
Southwest Superchargers I want to thank all the members and their crews that
have helped me to learn the ropes. I have never raced with an association
before that helps and truly cares.
I
want to thank my wonderful wife, Lisa, for her support in my racing because
without her I would not be there.
To all: Be safe! See you at the races!
