RAPID
Nitro Member
2008 CORDOVA HERITAGE RACE
I am not sure it is even possible to do a weekend story on the Cordova race. There were so many things going on I don't even have a good handle on all of it.
I guess the best way to describe it is just to combine the driving of both cars and merge it all together. Friday morning we went out the track early. We got there before the Houghs, so to kill some time we went down and looked over the new walls on the race track. We also tried to pick out a spot to leave the rental car to be able to get me back to the starting line. I drove the Nanook AA/FA and Danny Miller's Funnycar at this race. I was kinda worried about being able to race one, and then get back to the line in time to drive the other car. Ron Colson came by and put me at ease. He said, "We are running the Rapid schedule this weekend. You will race the Nanook first. Then while we are getting you back to the line we will run some of the bracket cars for a break. Then finish off with the Top Fuelers and Funnycars. You will have time to make it back that way." I am not too sure I am buying the "Rapid's Schedule" part, but the order sounded good to me.
I don't know how it happened, but somehow my name got on the board as driving the Rat Trap also. That got the ball rolling and T-bone, the announcer, played it to the hilt. I think any car that didn't have a driver listed he just inserted my name. It seemed like every time I turned around I was being announced as driving so and so's A-stocker or some other car.
Friday early I got to meet the famous Doc Halladay and crew. Doc and I talked for quite a while as Mark Erickson from Auto Meter worked on his computer on the car. Jerry came in with some of the other crew and I got to finally meet him as well. Shortly after that, Dave and family showed up and we went to work sitting up the pit area. Having all day Friday to prepare for the evening race is a rare treat for us racers. It gives us time to go visit our friends that we don't get much time to see when we are all racing and servicing the cars. Danny Miller and crew got there early afternoon and I started bouncing back and forth between the pit spots. Lucky for me they were pretty close together. The Nitro Madness guys were right beside us as well. It made it really fun to have them so close. At one point I was standing there talking to Pappy and Scott. A little boy came up and asked me to sign his handout. It was Scott's Nitro Madness Handout. I said sure, and took it. I signed "STICK BOY BELT" by Sean's photo, and signed "Rapid Randy Baker, Real Driver" over on the left side. I handed it back to the boy and sent him off to show Sean his hand out. As expected Sean took it in stride and we all got a good laugh out of it.
It had been sunny and nice all day. Later in the afternoon we got a short rain storm. Then a couple of different times it sprinkled. The storm passed and the sun came back out. They started working the track over again to get it prepped for the night session.
Time for 1st round. I discussed it with Ron and Brian Hope. They chose the right lane. I said, "Fine. I will start in the left and we will go from there." We did our burnouts, and backed up together. Gloria is the one who guides me back. She has been doing this so long she knows just what to do and how to signal exactly how much I need to move which direction. The really nice thing about having her there is she understands the complete picture and only moves me when I need to be adjusted. Behind the line Dave gives me time to put the car in forward, and move a small amount forward to verify. Then he comes over and opens the air bleed to set the idle, one last look at the pipe for the proper mist coming out. He then gives me the signal by pointing at me. Now I choose to take this signal as "It's all yours, have a good ride." It might be a signal, "Don't hurt my Hot Rod". I am not sure which.
Then it is time to roll forward with Rick's instructions. He stops me just behind the starting beams, and sets the hi-speed. I get the, take it away, signal from him. He is the crew chief so he is the last guy to make sure everything is set and OK to run.
Ron is the perfect match race partner. You just know he is over there and ready to run. We pull into the beams together almost every time. I staged 1st, when he came in, the tree lit up yellow and I stomp the throttle. Wow this feels pretty good. About 200 feet out I feel it chattering the tires a bit, but nothing to serious. When I get to the 330 cone I stick it in high and shortly after that I feel is chatter the tires again. That part is unusual, but the car is stuck right down the groove so I just keep my foot buried. The car feels pretty strong until right around 800 feet it broke the blower belt. I cost across the finish line with the win. Ron didn't take the lane markings as serious as he should have. I had an .039 light, with a glide clutch that isn't too bad at all. The car ran 1.09 to the 60', and went 4.19 at 183 mph to the 1/8th mile. So it was on a 6.20-30 pass for sure.
Later in the pits he showed me where the blower belt left black marks on this front wheels. I calmly told him to "Stop driving over my stuff!" He said, "I was just coming over to draft you, and you starting throwing things at me so I went back to my own lane." What a fun group to race with. While I am on the subject, they race the Rat Trap with a crew of 3. Ron and Brian, and Paul, a friend and employee. Usually, at least so far anyway, Brain's son Mike comes along. Congrats to them for all the hard work.
We pull the Nanook apart as we are sorting out a new engine combination this season. It is decided to change the clutch as well. With Kyle here working this weekend it all goes smooth as silk. Gloria isn't just a pretty face around the pits. She jumps in and gets right with it on the car as well. Linda has her hands full keeping us all in check and selling goods and shirts with Laura. She makes sure we are on schedule and does anything that needs done to keep it all running smooth. Laura tries to keep me on task, no small feat let me tell ya. It is nice to have her be able to help with the fans and round me up when someone wants something signed. Dave and Rick are the Nitro wizards. So I just listen in and learn as they speak. I even manage to ask an intelligent question once in a while. Well at least I guess it is a good question as most times they don't even snicker when they respond.
Everything checks out, we found a rocker adjuster that gave the trouble causing the blower belt to exit stage right. It is only the 2nd blower belt they have broken in all these years. I guess I am now an official part of Nanook history. On jeopardy I can hear it now. Alex asks, "For the win, who was the driver who ran the tally up to 2-blower belts on the Nanook Fuel Altered?" What a legacy.
On this session the timing was perfect. I came back to the pits just as the Funnycars were going to the lanes. When we warmed up Danny's car I could tell the difference just in the way it acted on the stands. It was real zippy and tugged the motor when I stepped off the clutch. We have been fighting a gremlin that makes it put out #3 cyl. When I moved forward to the water box she was really sounding good. I gave it a snap of the throttle and smoked them down track. When I rolled to a stop, it went right into reverse. I am always happy that happens. I have listened to Mike Minick complain about having to push Kyle back at Indy a couple of weeks ago. Kyle is a little guy, so I know Mike wouldn't help push with a normal sized guy in the car. When I let the clutch out the car was idling high enough that I was able to shove the clutch in and let it coast back. I was in the left lane as Doc wanted the right. Our normal routine is back up, and then do 2-dry hops. I was the first Funnycar to do any dry hops tonight and I think I scared half the stands. The older fans loved seeing them again as a number of them came by the pits and told us how cool it was. The younger fans didn't know what was going on, but they were digging it all the same.
Now how cool is this, I am lining up to race Doc Halladay in a fuel Funnycar. Wow, this is neat. We both stage together and we leave almost together. I got a slight, very slight, lead with a .101 light. This car is hauling the mail. It went 1.01 to the 60' timer, then ran 2.64 to the 330 cone. About 450-500 foot I pulled high gear it jerked the front up and headed to the left wall. It was a pretty sudden move, so I lifted. Then just for fun I guess, it decided that close wasn't good enough and hit a little bump which moved it over enough to scrape the headers on the wall. Just a little bit, but enough to throw up a good sparkler show. Inside the car I was mad it did that, but even more upset because I had to lift on such a good run. Even before I knew the actual numbers I knew it was a good one. It ran 4.02 to 1/2 track even with being out of the throttle. It had good enough short time numbers to be a stellar pass on the big end for sure. Oh well, ifa, shoulda, coulda, woulda deal. Hey, look on the bright side, I lined up beside Doc, and almost beat him.
We decided to calm it down a bit for the Saturday run and try to make a nice run all the way down the track. I borrowed some tubing from the Shawn Bowen's group to straighten the headers. A few little changes, a normal service we were good to go.
Saturday was a perfect day in the weather dept. The water grains were down, we were all expecting to rotate the earth on the track. For some reason, it just wasn't happening. This track always has a tremendous bite, but from 300 feet out or so it just didn’t like the high HP cars. Now don't get me wrong, a few made great runs, but by and large most of us had trouble. I think the crowd liked the smoky, wild, all over the track runs just as well if not better than a straight down the track high speed run.
I am up in the Nanook first, same run order as last night. Ron is in the left lane for this race. We left together, I had a .055 light. It ran 1.08 to the 60, and 4.15 @ 180.19 MPH at half track. Just after half track it moved to towards the center and I had to give it a quick pedal to keep the run going. She ran 5.32 at 1000-feet and it took 2-more pedals to make it to the stripe. It ran 6.33 @ only 211 MPH. The run was pretty exciting with the way it was moving around, but the shut down got really fun. I was moving it off the centerline as I crossed the finish line. It must have caught an edge of a bump or something. Right after I crossed the stripe and dumped the chute it started bouncing side to side. It was on the left 2-wheels, then the right 2-wheels, then left, then right. I was saying come on chute hit already. When the chute hit it settled down and I was able to use the brakes and bring it to a stop on the last turnout. Sean, the safety guy, came up, "Man I sure thought you were in trouble there for a while." I said, "Me too, for a couple of seconds there." Of course my next question, what did it run? He didn't know.
Dave, Linda and Laura come down honking the horn. I figured it must have been a decent one. Dave came over and said "Great Job!" Linda and Laura gave me hugs. Linda said, "Now that was a fuel altered pass." What a cool feeling to have everyone so pleased on only the 5th run in the car ever for me.
We towed back to the pits, and the Funnycars were up in the lanes. Laura and I took off running so we didn't hold anyone up. Now just picture this, me running in a -20 suit and fire boots. Laura was running beside me carrying my helmet and gloves. Did I mention it was hot and humid out? I got there and we are racing Doc again. I am in the right lane this time. It is our turn and Doc and I hit the water at the same time. I finish up my burnout out and start backing up when I hear him come by in the other lane, but it doesn't sound good. I look over and he is stopped with a big old oil trail out the back. Dang, that guy will do anything not to let me beat him. I thought maybe since he was off to the side they would run me after he got out of the car. However I got the signal to shut off. Now remember, I just made a run in Nanook, it is hot out, and now I am stuck in Danny's car while they do a clean-up.
The crew pulled the plugs, backed the motor down. We sent one of the guys back for more fuel. Danny saw some color on #2 plug already. So it was decided that when they were ready for us, I would do a short burnout, back up quickly as the engine would be getting hot. With a couple of dry hops, I put it in the beams. I got a .106 light, but could tell it was soft right away. The 1.12 60 told the tale. When I pulled the lever into high gear it didn't take off and charge. It was just a steady pull. We made a nice run right down the track but it only went 6.68 and right at 1200-1250 feet or so it started stuttering so I let off. We got it back in the pits and discovered #1 piston was damaged. There just wasn't enough time to get it fixed before the next round. I will say the boys were close to pulling it off though. The changes we made let it go down the track, but just not fast enough. Maybe if it had time to cool back off all the way, it might have not hurt itself. I don't know for sure.
Back in the pits, Nanook is serviced and ready to roll when they call us to the lanes. I am back in the left lane for this run. Everything goes great until about 300 feet, then she starts trying to move around and is hanging the rear end out. Ron blasts past and I give chase but, no great success. The good news is she ran her best 60' foot time of the weekend with a 1.06. I had another .055 reaction time. It stuck just long enough, Rick and I were talking later, to give us some hope it was going to make it,,,then nope fooled ya.
I want to take a minute and thank Dave, Linda, Rick, Gloria, and Kyle Hough for all that they do to make it possible for me to drive one of the most famous Fuel Altereds in the world. It is truly an honor and each run I make I will remember forever.
I feel the same way about Danny and Dorothy Miller. I am enjoying the summer of racing a Nitro funnycar. Rich, Seth, and Harry work their tails off so I get to go run fast. Every race they do, the whole Plastic Fantastic team just keeps getting better and better.
I know I have skipped over a ton of things. There was just too much action in a very short period. Scott and Laura Gardner, Jerry, Ron, and Tazz have figured out how to pack the place and know exactly what to give the fans. They are to be commended.
I hope you enjoyed my "What I Did Last Weekend" story.
Rapid
I am not sure it is even possible to do a weekend story on the Cordova race. There were so many things going on I don't even have a good handle on all of it.
I guess the best way to describe it is just to combine the driving of both cars and merge it all together. Friday morning we went out the track early. We got there before the Houghs, so to kill some time we went down and looked over the new walls on the race track. We also tried to pick out a spot to leave the rental car to be able to get me back to the starting line. I drove the Nanook AA/FA and Danny Miller's Funnycar at this race. I was kinda worried about being able to race one, and then get back to the line in time to drive the other car. Ron Colson came by and put me at ease. He said, "We are running the Rapid schedule this weekend. You will race the Nanook first. Then while we are getting you back to the line we will run some of the bracket cars for a break. Then finish off with the Top Fuelers and Funnycars. You will have time to make it back that way." I am not too sure I am buying the "Rapid's Schedule" part, but the order sounded good to me.
I don't know how it happened, but somehow my name got on the board as driving the Rat Trap also. That got the ball rolling and T-bone, the announcer, played it to the hilt. I think any car that didn't have a driver listed he just inserted my name. It seemed like every time I turned around I was being announced as driving so and so's A-stocker or some other car.
Friday early I got to meet the famous Doc Halladay and crew. Doc and I talked for quite a while as Mark Erickson from Auto Meter worked on his computer on the car. Jerry came in with some of the other crew and I got to finally meet him as well. Shortly after that, Dave and family showed up and we went to work sitting up the pit area. Having all day Friday to prepare for the evening race is a rare treat for us racers. It gives us time to go visit our friends that we don't get much time to see when we are all racing and servicing the cars. Danny Miller and crew got there early afternoon and I started bouncing back and forth between the pit spots. Lucky for me they were pretty close together. The Nitro Madness guys were right beside us as well. It made it really fun to have them so close. At one point I was standing there talking to Pappy and Scott. A little boy came up and asked me to sign his handout. It was Scott's Nitro Madness Handout. I said sure, and took it. I signed "STICK BOY BELT" by Sean's photo, and signed "Rapid Randy Baker, Real Driver" over on the left side. I handed it back to the boy and sent him off to show Sean his hand out. As expected Sean took it in stride and we all got a good laugh out of it.
It had been sunny and nice all day. Later in the afternoon we got a short rain storm. Then a couple of different times it sprinkled. The storm passed and the sun came back out. They started working the track over again to get it prepped for the night session.
Time for 1st round. I discussed it with Ron and Brian Hope. They chose the right lane. I said, "Fine. I will start in the left and we will go from there." We did our burnouts, and backed up together. Gloria is the one who guides me back. She has been doing this so long she knows just what to do and how to signal exactly how much I need to move which direction. The really nice thing about having her there is she understands the complete picture and only moves me when I need to be adjusted. Behind the line Dave gives me time to put the car in forward, and move a small amount forward to verify. Then he comes over and opens the air bleed to set the idle, one last look at the pipe for the proper mist coming out. He then gives me the signal by pointing at me. Now I choose to take this signal as "It's all yours, have a good ride." It might be a signal, "Don't hurt my Hot Rod". I am not sure which.
Then it is time to roll forward with Rick's instructions. He stops me just behind the starting beams, and sets the hi-speed. I get the, take it away, signal from him. He is the crew chief so he is the last guy to make sure everything is set and OK to run.
Ron is the perfect match race partner. You just know he is over there and ready to run. We pull into the beams together almost every time. I staged 1st, when he came in, the tree lit up yellow and I stomp the throttle. Wow this feels pretty good. About 200 feet out I feel it chattering the tires a bit, but nothing to serious. When I get to the 330 cone I stick it in high and shortly after that I feel is chatter the tires again. That part is unusual, but the car is stuck right down the groove so I just keep my foot buried. The car feels pretty strong until right around 800 feet it broke the blower belt. I cost across the finish line with the win. Ron didn't take the lane markings as serious as he should have. I had an .039 light, with a glide clutch that isn't too bad at all. The car ran 1.09 to the 60', and went 4.19 at 183 mph to the 1/8th mile. So it was on a 6.20-30 pass for sure.
Later in the pits he showed me where the blower belt left black marks on this front wheels. I calmly told him to "Stop driving over my stuff!" He said, "I was just coming over to draft you, and you starting throwing things at me so I went back to my own lane." What a fun group to race with. While I am on the subject, they race the Rat Trap with a crew of 3. Ron and Brian, and Paul, a friend and employee. Usually, at least so far anyway, Brain's son Mike comes along. Congrats to them for all the hard work.
We pull the Nanook apart as we are sorting out a new engine combination this season. It is decided to change the clutch as well. With Kyle here working this weekend it all goes smooth as silk. Gloria isn't just a pretty face around the pits. She jumps in and gets right with it on the car as well. Linda has her hands full keeping us all in check and selling goods and shirts with Laura. She makes sure we are on schedule and does anything that needs done to keep it all running smooth. Laura tries to keep me on task, no small feat let me tell ya. It is nice to have her be able to help with the fans and round me up when someone wants something signed. Dave and Rick are the Nitro wizards. So I just listen in and learn as they speak. I even manage to ask an intelligent question once in a while. Well at least I guess it is a good question as most times they don't even snicker when they respond.
Everything checks out, we found a rocker adjuster that gave the trouble causing the blower belt to exit stage right. It is only the 2nd blower belt they have broken in all these years. I guess I am now an official part of Nanook history. On jeopardy I can hear it now. Alex asks, "For the win, who was the driver who ran the tally up to 2-blower belts on the Nanook Fuel Altered?" What a legacy.
On this session the timing was perfect. I came back to the pits just as the Funnycars were going to the lanes. When we warmed up Danny's car I could tell the difference just in the way it acted on the stands. It was real zippy and tugged the motor when I stepped off the clutch. We have been fighting a gremlin that makes it put out #3 cyl. When I moved forward to the water box she was really sounding good. I gave it a snap of the throttle and smoked them down track. When I rolled to a stop, it went right into reverse. I am always happy that happens. I have listened to Mike Minick complain about having to push Kyle back at Indy a couple of weeks ago. Kyle is a little guy, so I know Mike wouldn't help push with a normal sized guy in the car. When I let the clutch out the car was idling high enough that I was able to shove the clutch in and let it coast back. I was in the left lane as Doc wanted the right. Our normal routine is back up, and then do 2-dry hops. I was the first Funnycar to do any dry hops tonight and I think I scared half the stands. The older fans loved seeing them again as a number of them came by the pits and told us how cool it was. The younger fans didn't know what was going on, but they were digging it all the same.
Now how cool is this, I am lining up to race Doc Halladay in a fuel Funnycar. Wow, this is neat. We both stage together and we leave almost together. I got a slight, very slight, lead with a .101 light. This car is hauling the mail. It went 1.01 to the 60' timer, then ran 2.64 to the 330 cone. About 450-500 foot I pulled high gear it jerked the front up and headed to the left wall. It was a pretty sudden move, so I lifted. Then just for fun I guess, it decided that close wasn't good enough and hit a little bump which moved it over enough to scrape the headers on the wall. Just a little bit, but enough to throw up a good sparkler show. Inside the car I was mad it did that, but even more upset because I had to lift on such a good run. Even before I knew the actual numbers I knew it was a good one. It ran 4.02 to 1/2 track even with being out of the throttle. It had good enough short time numbers to be a stellar pass on the big end for sure. Oh well, ifa, shoulda, coulda, woulda deal. Hey, look on the bright side, I lined up beside Doc, and almost beat him.
We decided to calm it down a bit for the Saturday run and try to make a nice run all the way down the track. I borrowed some tubing from the Shawn Bowen's group to straighten the headers. A few little changes, a normal service we were good to go.
Saturday was a perfect day in the weather dept. The water grains were down, we were all expecting to rotate the earth on the track. For some reason, it just wasn't happening. This track always has a tremendous bite, but from 300 feet out or so it just didn’t like the high HP cars. Now don't get me wrong, a few made great runs, but by and large most of us had trouble. I think the crowd liked the smoky, wild, all over the track runs just as well if not better than a straight down the track high speed run.
I am up in the Nanook first, same run order as last night. Ron is in the left lane for this race. We left together, I had a .055 light. It ran 1.08 to the 60, and 4.15 @ 180.19 MPH at half track. Just after half track it moved to towards the center and I had to give it a quick pedal to keep the run going. She ran 5.32 at 1000-feet and it took 2-more pedals to make it to the stripe. It ran 6.33 @ only 211 MPH. The run was pretty exciting with the way it was moving around, but the shut down got really fun. I was moving it off the centerline as I crossed the finish line. It must have caught an edge of a bump or something. Right after I crossed the stripe and dumped the chute it started bouncing side to side. It was on the left 2-wheels, then the right 2-wheels, then left, then right. I was saying come on chute hit already. When the chute hit it settled down and I was able to use the brakes and bring it to a stop on the last turnout. Sean, the safety guy, came up, "Man I sure thought you were in trouble there for a while." I said, "Me too, for a couple of seconds there." Of course my next question, what did it run? He didn't know.
Dave, Linda and Laura come down honking the horn. I figured it must have been a decent one. Dave came over and said "Great Job!" Linda and Laura gave me hugs. Linda said, "Now that was a fuel altered pass." What a cool feeling to have everyone so pleased on only the 5th run in the car ever for me.
We towed back to the pits, and the Funnycars were up in the lanes. Laura and I took off running so we didn't hold anyone up. Now just picture this, me running in a -20 suit and fire boots. Laura was running beside me carrying my helmet and gloves. Did I mention it was hot and humid out? I got there and we are racing Doc again. I am in the right lane this time. It is our turn and Doc and I hit the water at the same time. I finish up my burnout out and start backing up when I hear him come by in the other lane, but it doesn't sound good. I look over and he is stopped with a big old oil trail out the back. Dang, that guy will do anything not to let me beat him. I thought maybe since he was off to the side they would run me after he got out of the car. However I got the signal to shut off. Now remember, I just made a run in Nanook, it is hot out, and now I am stuck in Danny's car while they do a clean-up.
The crew pulled the plugs, backed the motor down. We sent one of the guys back for more fuel. Danny saw some color on #2 plug already. So it was decided that when they were ready for us, I would do a short burnout, back up quickly as the engine would be getting hot. With a couple of dry hops, I put it in the beams. I got a .106 light, but could tell it was soft right away. The 1.12 60 told the tale. When I pulled the lever into high gear it didn't take off and charge. It was just a steady pull. We made a nice run right down the track but it only went 6.68 and right at 1200-1250 feet or so it started stuttering so I let off. We got it back in the pits and discovered #1 piston was damaged. There just wasn't enough time to get it fixed before the next round. I will say the boys were close to pulling it off though. The changes we made let it go down the track, but just not fast enough. Maybe if it had time to cool back off all the way, it might have not hurt itself. I don't know for sure.
Back in the pits, Nanook is serviced and ready to roll when they call us to the lanes. I am back in the left lane for this run. Everything goes great until about 300 feet, then she starts trying to move around and is hanging the rear end out. Ron blasts past and I give chase but, no great success. The good news is she ran her best 60' foot time of the weekend with a 1.06. I had another .055 reaction time. It stuck just long enough, Rick and I were talking later, to give us some hope it was going to make it,,,then nope fooled ya.
I want to take a minute and thank Dave, Linda, Rick, Gloria, and Kyle Hough for all that they do to make it possible for me to drive one of the most famous Fuel Altereds in the world. It is truly an honor and each run I make I will remember forever.
I feel the same way about Danny and Dorothy Miller. I am enjoying the summer of racing a Nitro funnycar. Rich, Seth, and Harry work their tails off so I get to go run fast. Every race they do, the whole Plastic Fantastic team just keeps getting better and better.
I know I have skipped over a ton of things. There was just too much action in a very short period. Scott and Laura Gardner, Jerry, Ron, and Tazz have figured out how to pack the place and know exactly what to give the fans. They are to be commended.
I hope you enjoyed my "What I Did Last Weekend" story.
Rapid
