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Featured Racers:
Glenn Powell
Donnie
Powell
Sue & Floyd
Stringer
Jack
Chapman
Andy Mears
Kenneth
Rierson |
Featured Racer
Every month or so we
are going to have an article on one of our racers in the SWSC. Some
of you may remember when we did this before. We have found out over
the last couple of years that we have ALOT of people following our
humble website. We have also gained new race teams! This gives
everyone a look at who we compete with all season long and maybe a
little insight for those that follow the SWSC!
Racers, this is your notice that I will be contacting you for
a bio and team photo!
L.H. Newlin
The
50s... My first trip down a dragstrip was late 1954. I was 17 years
old and had just bought a new 55 Ford Fairlane. The first day
I had the Ford I took off work and put 2 inch lowering blocks,
finder skirts and a pair of Smittys on it. The dragstrip was the old
Caddo Mills dragstrip. After that first time down the track I was
hooked. The Ford was a pretty fast car and I won a lot of
races with it, but had a hard time with the 55 Chevys with those
power packs. I sold the Ford when I joined the Air Force in June of
1956 and didn't do any racing until I got out in July 1958. After
getting out I lived in Killeen, Tx. for about a year. During that
time I had a 34 Chevy Coupe, with a 302 GMC 6 cylinder in it. That
302 had 5 Rochester, 2 bld. carbs, Engle cam, Fenton headers, a 37
Packard trans and a 54 olds rear end. Quite a hot set up for the
time. I raced it at Little River dragstrip in Temple, Tx and won
about as much as I lost, but it sure was fun to drive. I also had a
custom 52 Ford hard top during this period of time very good looking
car but I never raced it on the strip.
My parents had moved to Ark. while I was in
the Air Force, and now out I was living in Killeen, Tx. when my Dad
got sick and could no longer work. So I packed up and went to Ark.
to help my mom and little brother with the bills.
While I was up there, in late 59, I met
someone, and after a short courtship we got married and stared a
family. IN 1960 my new wife and I moved my parents and brother back
to Killeen. Once settled I got back to the good stuff, (drag
racing!)
I raced all through the 60s,
with several cars, most were gassers. Now understand that back then,
these cars were also used to get back and forth to work every day.
One was a 1938 Chevy, with a 301 cu in Chevy engine for power. The
car had only the drum brakes on the rear. I used to race a lot at a
track outside of Killeen that had a short shut down area, now after
about three runs the brakes would get hot and the car didn't want to
stop any very good. About once a month I'd end up going through the
barb wire fence at the end of the track, I can't tell you how many
times I had to fix that fence. Low dollar and low tech. For example
I built a set of headers for it out of flex pipe, and used ammo
boxes for collectors. Sometimes when I would let off the gas on the
street it would back fire through the exhaust and blow the lids off
the ammo boxes. I was well known by the law around Killeen.
While living in Killeen I also was
partnered with a friend in 1/4 mile dirt track car, racing at Waco
and Temple. Between drag racing and dirt tracking we spent a lot of
time on the road, mostly flat towing our 34 Chevy dirt car home from
the track at about 2 a.m. on I-35. Once we notice a car passing us,
looking over we realized it was our 34 Chevy! The car then crossed
the median, the lanes of oncoming traffic, and the service road,
stopping after it knocked the pillars out from under the front porch
roof of a farmhouse. Now with no pillars to hold the porch roof up
it swung down crashing into the front of the house. This of coarse
woke the people who lived there. Now they are trying to get out the
front door to see what happened, which is now blocked by the porch
roof. After going out the back door and coming around to see the
damage, we explained to him what had happened. When we told him what
happened, and offered to come back on the weekends to fix his porch
he was able to see some humor in what had hapened. It took about a
month and a half of weekends to get that porch fixed though. It also
took a long time, about 3 years, before we could afford a trailer.
In 1965 I moved to Austin, and while there
I got a 62 Ply. With a 426 cu in wedge and 4 speed trans. I raced
that at the old Austin track, Little River, and Prairie Hill in
Waco. After a while I traded a 1964 Barracuda for a 1958 M G
Roadster. I installed the 426 eng. and trans from the 62 Plymouth
into that MG. This was not easy, for example that 426 had the long
over the valve cover ram intakes, this meant cutting holes in the
top of the fenders just to get the carbs ti fit. Big Mistake! This
thing tried to kill me. It seemed that every time I shifted that
thing it would lift the front wheels, and with the cars quick
steering and my effort in shifting caused me to move the steering
wheel making the car dart right and left with every gear. The Austin
track told me to leave and never come back with the MG. They really
didn't have to tell me because as soon as I got home I put eh 426
back in the 62 ply, and sold the MG.
In 1970 I changed jobs and moved to Dallas. I left the
Plymouth with an uncle so I didn't have anything to race for a
while, but that didn't last long. I bought a 64 VW project car for
$300. The VW body was on a cut down 58 Chevy frame with not eng. or
trans. I reworked everything and built and installed a 327 Chevy and
4 speed and some 513 gears in a Chevy rear end and went racing. I
raced mostly at Yellow Belly and Green Valley dragstrip. Yellow
Belly was an outlaw track that is still open today. The track is
short, rough and narrow, it has four-foot high concrete walls on
both sides the full 1/4 mile. At the end there is a sharp turn off,
a ditch and a railroad track. Teh ditch between the curve and the
railroad track was where they threw their trash, mostly beer cans
and bottles. Not getting slowed enough on time I ended dup taking
nosedive into that ditch, NOT GOOD. On another occasion I left
the starting line, the car went left, and I ended with the left side
flat against the wall. Nothing was hurt inside, the tires stuck
outside the body, although it took me a while to work it off the
wall. The starter had me back up to the line to try again. Staging
again I saw a guy standing by the flagman pointing at the front of
my car. The flag man just shock his head and sent me on the way.
When I got back in the pits and looked at the front of the VW I
found the left headlight was out of the fender and just hanging by
the wiring. The flagman had sent me down the track that way. This
thing was a hand full, wild, wild ride, but I won more races with it
than any car I have ever had.
In 1976 I moved from Dallas to Tolar, Tx. and
quit racing. From 76 to 92 I was pretty much out of it. I went
through a couple of divorces but was slowly getting back in the car
thing. Got into street rods and that's when I met Frances. We went
to a nostalgia race and saw a 23T altered roller for sale. Frances
told me if I wanted to get back into racing that's what to get,
because we were getting old to lay over fenders and work under a
hood. So we got it! This was 1998. Cantankerous was born! And away
we went! The first 2 years we went with big block Mopar power on gas
and carbs. It wasn't quick enough for us so we changed to SB Chevy
and fuel injection on fuel, but didn't really have any place to run.
So in 2006 when we heard about the SWSC's we liked what we saw and
heard. So we installed a 6-71 on top and joined in 2007.
We ran 2007 with a SB but broke all our stuff trying to
keep up. So for 2008 we changed over to a BB Chevy and so far have
been very please. We have found a home with the SWSC's and love
racing with the group. We plan on racing until I am to old to get in
the car! Before I shut up I need to
say I couldn't be doing this without Frances! She builds and tunes
the engines and power glides and loves drag racing as much as I do.
I hope to see you at the races in 2009!!
That's all Folks!!!
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