Randy Goodwin (1 Viewer)

Cliff

Nitro Member
Looking at the results from Top Sportsmen at the Div 7 race in Tucson. Is that Randy Goodwin from our forum that is racing? If so, he lost rd 1. Fooey! He ran 7.91 @ 173 in Qualifying.
 
My buddy Ken Ratzloff took him out. Sorry Randy, but you got a good one in the first round. Ken won the Sonoma Nationals last year and is always in the hunt.
 
My buddy Ken Ratzloff took him out. Sorry Randy, but you got a good one in the first round. Ken won the Sonoma Nationals last year and is always in the hunt.
Randy took himself out.

I'm just happy the man is back having fun again.
 
Randy took himself out.

I'm just happy the man is back having fun again.

Thank you!

I made 3 license runs on Thursday and ran 3 qualifiers for a total of six runs before first round. Except for my shut off "moderate" run required for a license upgrade, I ran five runs within .05. The super gas engine in the altitude did pretty good, but as Alan said I'm looking forward to taking delivery of my big Sonny Leonard hemi in June.

On Saturday for the first round of eliminations against Ken I left everything the same (K&R Box delay on tree, etc., after my .011 light/7.95 in qualifying) and did everything the same. The red light popped up. I was in the left lane trying to see over the mail box for a scoop I have and could only see the top two ambers so I didn't know I red lit. I ran it down and waited for Ken as I approached the finish line and was so busy I didn't notice his win light was on. I dumped the throttle at the mile per hour light when I didn't see him before the finish line and ran a 7.94 on a 7.93 dial in. Ken went by me about 50 feet after the finish line. I found out I lost when my guys in the golf cart came down to get me with long faces.

Honestly, I had a great weekend and we had a lot of fun. I got my license upgraded, made a bunch of runs getting used to the bracket racing procedures, and had a good time without hampering anyone running against me in the lane next to me. I was probably more concerned about that than anything else. On Thursday we had chute problems and brain fade issues but by Friday all was good.

For example... Ooops!!!

1551662592612.png
 
Randy, what was the deal with T/S and T/D running 1/8 mile? I was looking at results on line, and Rd 1 was 1/4 mile then rest of the rounds were 1/8 mile. None of the other classes seemed to do that. (Drag Race Central) Anyhoo, glad you are back out there. Now we have a T/S killer in our midst. :)
 
Right on Randy! It's great to see you out there and having fun! Goodwin Therapy at it's best!
 
There were concerns about a bump in the left lane just past half track. It was actually more like a dip but was tough to tell. Some that I talked to saw wheel speed take off on their computers meaning the tires were coming loose. Some of the top dragsters we watched actually had tire smoke down track going over the bumps. I hit it on my first hit down the left lane Friday afternoon and it was a pretty good bump. It looked to me like the further left you got in the left lane the worse it was so for my next two runs including first round I drove it over to the right side of the grove toward the center line. It was significantly better over there.
 
Randy,
Glad to see you got the Camaro out and having some fun, that's really what it is about having fun. I think I read you're getting Sonny's power, my good friend Joe Meyer runs an 800 in in his S10 he's had really good luck with it. I've been eyeing the 521 Brad Anderson motor for Corvettethat Lester Johnson runs in his 55 Chevy, he said if he turned it loose it probably run 5.50. Of course the time allowed now is 6.10 I believe.
 
Randy,
Glad to see you got the Camaro out and having some fun, that's really what it is about having fun. I think I read you're getting Sonny's power, my good friend Joe Meyer runs an 800 in in his S10 he's had really good luck with it. I've been eyeing the 521 Brad Anderson motor for Corvette that Lester Johnson runs in his 55 Chevy, he said if he turned it loose it probably run 5.50. Of course the time allowed now is 6.10 I believe.

After pondering all the options for power I pretty much decided on a procharged BAE for my car. I think BAE powerplants are a great choice and I ran them for almost 30 years. I still have leftover parts and pieces from my TA/FC days and I have a great relationship with everyone at BAE. Plus they are located within 40 minutes of me so I thought it was a no brainer. That's one reason I went the B&J triple sprag 3 speed transmission instead of an automatic in my car to keep it all strong. But after investigating I found my legal P/S Camaro would basically need to be front halved to do it. One estimate was $45,000 to make it all fit just spent on the car alone. The problem is the rack and pinion is in the way along with the radiator and everything else. Not being a chassis guy I'm not 100% sure how you could spend that much doing it, but the bottom line is I've allowed myself to borrow what was supposed to be retirement money to do this since my wife passed last September.

Being a financially conservative kind of person I decided early on in this that whatever I do I need to be able to recoup some of what I spend some day in order to justify all this in my mind. While my thinking may be screwed up I still consider it "our" retirement money, not "mine" because she and I worked hard to save together and I need to be a good steward of it. And she encouraged me to do this before she died, saying it would be good for me to get back out with my friends at the races, but that I should also use my head in this. And after writing Sonny's the check I'll be just a few bucks short of $200,000 in what is basically just a bracket race car.

As I've said, some of the top sportsman racers found me wandering around in the pits at Pomona last month and convinced me that a naturally aspirated big incher would mean no modifications to a great car, and I could still run with the best of them in terms of performance with very little maintenance. When Mike Rice (NHRA division 7 director) signed off on my license last Thursday he mentioned milestones some top sportsman racers hope to achieve, like running in the six second zone or over 200 miles per hour for the first time. I told him I ran my first "5" over 26 years ago and went well over 200 miles an hour nearly 30 years ago so none of that's in play for me. I just want to have some fun hanging out with my friends at the drags as a get away. And that certainly happened last weekend in Tucson. I'm very happy with how my weekend went.
 
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"Being a financially conservative kind of person"

Thats funny when we are talking about drag racing:)
 
Damn, that's awesome Randy! I'll tell you the best part - too many times I see people that get poisoned by running a Pro-Sportsman class and thumb their nose at running anything of a lesser class or brackets. Drives me crazy. The truth is bracket racers - whether on a divisional/national level or just on the local levels are serious racers. Just because they don't have the resources to travel and all, some people think they could never "lower" themselves. They go to the line to rip your throat out just like the pros or pro-sportsman racers - or more! Love racing against them and once in a while beating them. You bought a nice piece. Your wife can see your smile as you cross the finish line! Good luck and enjoy.
 
After pondering all the options for power I pretty much decided on a procharged BAE for my car. I think BAE powerplants are a great choice and I ran them for almost 30 years. I still have leftover parts and pieces from my TA/FC days and I have a great relationship with everyone at BAE. Plus they are located within 40 minutes of me so I thought it was a no brainer. That's one reason I went the B&J triple sprag 3 speed transmission instead of an automatic in my car to keep it all strong. But after investigating I found my legal P/S Camaro would basically need to be front halved to do it. One estimate was $45,000 to make it all fit just spent on the car alone. The problem is the rack and pinion is in the way along with the radiator and everything else. Not being a chassis guy I'm not 100% sure how you could spend that much doing it, but the bottom line is I've allowed myself to borrow what was supposed to be retirement money to do this since my wife passed last September.

Being a financially conservative kind of person I decided early on in this that whatever I do I need to be able to recoup some of what I spend some day in order to justify all this in my mind. While my thinking may be screwed up I still consider it "our" retirement money, not "mine" because she and I worked hard to save together and I need to be a good steward of it. And she encouraged me to do this before she died, saying it would be good for me to get back out with my friends at the races, but that I should also use my head in this. And after writing Sonny's the check I'll be just a few bucks short of $200,000 in what is basically just a bracket race car.

As I've said, some of the top sportsman racers found me wandering around in the pits at Pomona last month and convinced me that a naturally aspirated big incher would mean no modifications to a great car, and I could still run with the best of them in terms of performance with very little maintenance. When Mike Rice (NHRA division 7 director) signed off on my license last Thursday he mentioned milestones some top sportsman racers hope to achieve, like running in the six second zone or over 200 miles per hour for the first time. I told him I ran my first "5" over 26 years ago and went well over 200 miles an hour nearly 30 years ago so none of that's in play for me. I just want to have some fun hanging out with my friends at the drags as a get away. And that certainly happened last weekend in Tucson. I'm very happy with how my weekend went.
Being happy is most important of all. Just don't lose that killer instinct when you're behind the wheel. LOL
 
Randy -

My memory is still reliable, but after a while, year numbers become fuzzed. Back in 1987. I say, David Baca worked for me because his TAFC's were based out of the shop I worked and he did little more than drive and buy the stuff. In 88 or 9, Kenny Mooers built a new chassis for David which to this day is one of the most beautifully crafted cars I have ever seen, and Kenny was one of the most influential people I had ever met. Kevin Vornhagen painted all of the cars I designed for DB. In 90 or 91 at the PRO warm-up at Bakersfield you had a dark gray primered Olds Cutlass I believe, just getting your alcohol license. You went on and drove until you put in a driver, one of which was my cousin by marriage Larry Miner. I did the cylinder head machining for Fred Sr. for years and designed 2 of their paint jobs as well.

I was wondering when the last time you drove was, because I saw no rust at all, even the Ooops. It had to have been different not having a butterfly in your hands and the shaft between your legs.

Sorry for the name drops and the scenic route to get too my question, but you know the players.

- Thanks and romp on.
 
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I remember Kenny Mooers. He had an alky F/C called California Gold. It was a good car, ran hard.
 
Randy -

My memory is still reliable, but after a while, year numbers become fuzzed. Back in 1987. I say, David Baca worked for me because his TAFC's were based out of the shop I worked and he did little more than drive and buy the stuff. In 88 or 9, Kenny Mooers built a new chassis for David which to this day is one of the most beautifully crafted cars I have ever seen, and Kenny was one of the most influential people I had ever met. Kevin Vornhagen painted all of the cars I designed for DB. In 90 or 91 at the PRO warm-up at Bakersfield you had a dark gray primered Olds Cutlass I believe, just getting your alcohol license. You went on and drove until you put in a driver, one of which was my cousin by marriage Larry Miner. I did the cylinder head machining for Fred Sr. for years and designed 2 of their paint jobs as well.

I was wondering when the last time you drove was, because I saw no rust at all, even the Ooops. It had to have been different not having a butterfly in your hands and the shaft between your legs.

Sorry for the name drops and the scenic route to get too my question, but you know the players.

- Thanks and romp on.

Thanks, Ray. I'll give you a brief but hopefully not too boring history.

I started out bracket racing my neighbors race car at OCIR and Irwindale from 1971 right after I got my driver's license when I was 16. I was just a teenager driving this:


Vicious Vette 2.jpg



Then in 1976 when I was 20 I ordered my first race car from New Visions. It was an Arias powered altered that I ran in the "Quick 32" at OCIR and in the Top Gas West series.


OCIR 1981 Popular Hot Rodding.jpg



DS4.jpg



When OCIR closed I sold my altered and in 1984 I married Kathy. In 1989 I partnered in a dragster with Greg Oliver and we were going to share the driving duties but he crashed it in the final of a Top Gas West race at Bakersfield which destroyed the car on just it's 9th run. Shifting gears, in 1989 I ordered a new funny car from Steve Plueger for Top Alcohol and got my license in 1990. The first race I ran with it was the 1991 Winternationals. It was unpainted the first few times out. David Peters did an awesome paint design for it and Tom Stratton painted it for me.


Plueger race cars.jpg


Japan 1993-1994.jpg





I sold the car to Ron August the end of 1994 and purchased a Uyehara TA/FC roller. I ran it until 1996 and parked it to start a new business. One of my crew members, Pete Swayne, asked if he could drive so we licensed him. For the first time I was not the driver of one of my race cars. Pete went on to win the 1999 Division 7 championship placing #7 nationally that year.


Goodwin and Swayne 1999.jpg


He continued to drive until the finals at Pomona in 2000 where it was announced that the PSI screw blower overdrive would be reduced from 125% over to 92% over. Pete felt the car would slow down and wasn't interested in driving. I always maintained my license so I decided to get back in it 4 months later for the 2001 Pomona Winternationals. I made huge changes to the fuel system to accommodate for the reduction in boost, and on my first run I shut it off early and ran a 6.09 at 228 in order to check things out without destroying everything in case my calculations were off. Everything looked good so I went up for Q2, but on that run John Knox, who was in the other lane, launched before the tree came down, drove into my lane and stayed there. I launched at the green but had to shut it off. Q3 I ran a 5.82 at 246 for my first full run since 1996. That put me number 10 out of 24 cars. First round I raced Jay Payne and ran a 5.83 to his 5.81. I had a slight hole shot on him but lost by .001 of a second. My 5.83 was 3rd quickest of the session. Here's a link to the first round coverage on DRC:

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCStory.asp?ID=85447&Filter=Year2001#indextop

That was my last run down the track in anything. After that I had people paying me to drive my car, and at times I was actually earning a living racing my car. Drivers included Larry Minor, Marc White, Dan Dickey, John Lombardo Jr (I licensed him), Russ Parker, and then Daniel Oliver.

Marc White ran a string of 5.50's with me in 2004 when they were very rare.

Marc White 1.jpg



In just 8 races Daniel Oliver won two national events including the 2012 Winternationals and runner upped once. After the win light came on in our lane at the Winternationals I declared to everyone that I quit.


TAFC Phoenix 2009 2.jpg



Then, as most of you know, my wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She encouraged me to find a hobby or something to do because she knew I was going to be a basket case after she passed. So, with her blessings, in early 2018 when JR Carr's RJ Race Cars Pro Stock Camaro less engine and transmission was listed for sale on Racingjunk I grabbed it within one minute of Frank Gugliotta placing the ad. Once I got it shipped out to California from Maryland I put it at the back of my shop with a car cover over it and it sat because I was with my wife 24/7 at home, in ICU, and finally in Hospice Care. When Kathy passed away on September 26th I waited a few weeks and decided to start working on it to get my mind off the tremendous grief I was experiencing. I ran it November 17th at the IN N OUT Burger 70th Birthday Party at Pomona and had a lot of fun with it but I knew it was too slow with the super gas engine I had sitting around in it, although I did go the unconventional route by putting a 3 speed B&J triple sprag transmission in it like I ran in my TA/FC's. After talking with Top Sportsman racers Chip Rumis, Joe Roubicek, and Mike Ferderer at Pomona I ordered a 777 Sonny's fuel injected hemi two weeks ago which will be here mid June. It should put it in the 6.40's-6.50's. Plenty quick for Top Sportsman. Todd at Sonny's says I should get 90 to 100 runs on a set of rods, and between rounds maintenance is very low. Perfect for me.

So, in a sense, I've returned to my drag racing roots by having a fast bracket car. In it's day back in the late 1970's/early 1980's my Arias powered altered was pretty quick bracket car and a lot of fun. This should be too.


Tucson large photo.jpg



But it's no substitute for the loss of my beautiful bride:


1551834943375.png
 
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Randy I’ve always enjoyed your posts, and look forward to many race reports in the future. You’ve always had great looking cars and your new one is no exception. Also, that is a great pic of you and your wife!
 
Thank You, for your response Randy.

Boring, heck no!
Division 7 was loaded with Top Alcohol cars, and I have always kept up with what you were doing, and was not 100% sure if Kathy was down at the scales and said, what a beautiful car we had, but I would like to think that it was her. We talked for a bit and the rest is history. Just like Kenny, when he dropped off the new chassis at the shop and we thrashed to make sure everything was going to fit, his wife was so nice and they were so warm and welcoming, helpful and informative. You don't ever forget people like that who take the time and are interested in you as a person as well.

You know the saying, behind every good man... You got a peach for sure, and when something like what you both dealt with always make me wonder why. I guess it's too remind those of us who do care, to wake-up and remember.

My sympathy has been with you this entire time, but in the end the answer seems to be the same. I wouldn't change a thing, except for the suffering.

Peace be with you my friend!
- safe rides
 
Wow, boy do I remember that photo Randy....it's funny how something you see as a young'un comes back to you in a flash. I might still have that issue too!
Out of thousands of race cars I've read about I really remember that one...the Arias Hemi was the standout feature that lit up my otherwise fuzzy mind

OCIR 1981 Popular Hot Rodding.jpg
 
Thank You, for your response Randy.

Boring, heck no!
Division 7 was loaded with Top Alcohol cars, and I have always kept up with what you were doing, and was not 100% sure if Kathy was down at the scales and said, what a beautiful car we had, but I would like to think that it was her. We talked for a bit and the rest is history. Just like Kenny, when he dropped off the new chassis at the shop and we thrashed to make sure everything was going to fit, his wife was so nice and they were so warm and welcoming, helpful and informative. You don't ever forget people like that who take the time and are interested in you as a person as well.

You know the saying, behind every good man... You got a peach for sure, and when something like what you both dealt with always make me wonder why. I guess it's too remind those of us who do care, to wake-up and remember.

My sympathy has been with you this entire time, but in the end the answer seems to be the same. I wouldn't change a thing, except for the suffering.

Peace be with you my friend!
- safe rides
Couldn't have been said better Ray, hope to meet both of you someday.
 
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