King Kong Meets the Boss
Ok guys...although it wasn't televised, here's the play-by-play. . as I remember it....
We had reached our goal of getting King Kong to the 52nd running of the Indy Nationals with the blower motor installed and running. KK was not yet ready for the track as he needed some additional detail work, but his new found heart sounded good to those who heard him.
Mary and I had been traveling around the track trying to get autographs and pictures for a scrap book she was putting together for Ed Kohler. The first couple of days where thick with dark clouds and some sprinkles here and there. A shower on Thursday had sent everyone home early, but Friday afternoon the skies had cleared and the rest of the weekend was filled with the greatest level of pro and amateur racing we had ever experienced!
We where at the Gathering of Gassers with the likes of Ohio George, Big Daddy, Jr. Thompson, Bones Balough and others. On the race track we got to see the racing teams of John Force, Don Prudhome, and Don Schumacher. On the track a string of names a quarter mile long of the best and talented young and established like Hillary Will, JR Todd, Robert Hight, Eric Medlen, Antron Brown, Angelle Sampey, Larry Dixon, Warren "The Professor" Johnson, Whit Bazemore. We got to see the generals, crewchiefs like Austin Coil, Tim Richards, Ed "the Ace" McCulloch and so many more.
Sunday was super exciting as the last of the Pro qualifying was finished and they ran the Skoal
shootout for the TF/Funnies.
On the edge of their seats two WNY country bumpkins sat watching as John
Force took the big payday of $100,000.00, delivered in cash via a parachuting banker! WOW this is the
big time, at the Big Go!
Later we where riding our golf cart across the staging lane area as the top alcohol were getting ready to run their first round. Mary noticed John Force on a pit bike near the back fence. He was waiting for Ashley’s run and was talking on the cell phone. We had wanted his autograph but not wanting to be rude stood a little away waiting for him to finish. He noticed us and good naturedly came over to sign our book.
..At some point, we showed him pictures of King Kong with Ed and Ray at the 67 Winternationals
receiving their trophy. We told him we had the car and that our friend Ed Kohler could not be here so
we were making up the scrap book for him. John looked over the pics and said cool old car, he remembered
those days and all those racers back then! Those days where cool, and our hotrod was cool but he
preferred the new tech! I replied "John you may be right, but I prefer the old hotrods, and I think
apples to apples the old tech is as good as the new!" "Son, you don’t know what your talking about” he
says. You have a cool old hotrod, and it may have won some races then but apples to apples, or
oranges it could never beat my Mustang!" "John with all due respect you may be a couple of years
older, a 13 time champ and a pro, but KK with Ed at the wheel took on the best back then including
Gas Rhonda in a funny car and together they won their share, plus! KK raced for 4 years winning AHRA,
and NHRA Winternationals, Hot Rod Nationals, Bakersfield Smokers Meet a couple of times in 2 classes and
runnered up here at Indy in 67. That winning came from one car! We know times and technology have
changed and racing is much quicker, but KK still thinks apples to apples he can beat your Mustang!"
John looked over hard with that competitive look, "Normally I am not in the business of taking on a losing proposition, but after winning that Skoal Shootout I am feeling really good. So here is the deal, you tell me what would be apples to apples competition, you put up a sum you can afford to lose, and if fair I’ll put up half of that load of cash I won tonight! There it is Bro, I like you, but you don’t know what you’re talking about so it’s put up or shut up time!"
I told him I would love to run, but KK needs a few things done…John says "like what? Cause I have the best crew in the world PUT UP or SHUT UP cause my new Castrol Syntech Hot Rod Mustang would blow the doors of your old Hot Rod any day." I am feeling the adrenaline now cause I know apples to apples KK was good, and I know my Amsoil Synthetic is way better then his Castrol whatever!
"OK John, YOU ARE ON! here is the deal, we use our best ETs as dial-ins and run to the finish
line, apples to apples, no breakout wins! " John gets a little cocky, "Who mentioned breakout? Wasn’t me!
Your one of them "BRAKE out" racers, afraid to run it all out. You don’t have the guts to PUT UP or
Shut up! And as for King Kongs history its just that, you are not Ed Kohler, and I am not Gas Rhonda,
Put Up or Shut Up, put up a $1000.00. I am giving you 50 to 1 odds and hold on tight as I blow them
old Cal Automotive glass doors off when I fly past you at 300 mph!"
A quick call to Austin and his crew, and they quickly finished what KK needed. We set up to meet at 1:00 am after all at the track had left. I have to admit I was totally nervous, I was racing the best, the legend, the BOSS with $50,000 to gain and only $1000.00 on my part to lose. Then his words hit like lightning as they replayed in my mind, I had no idea how KK and I would be affected when a 300 mph nitro burning funny car would thunder by in the next lane hopefully past at the finish line!
It was too late, I could not back out, my mouth did it again!!….But you know it was more about pride now than big money. KK remembers all too well when the slick newer bodies back then took over the gas classes. Ohio George in the Mustangs at first, then those pesky Opel GTs came out of nowhere and helped to kill the class he raced in. This was personal and he had a chance to even that score…apples to apples.
It was more like 1:45 am before everything was ready, Austin was not happy to see John risk their
valuable race car to run an "old runt" like KK, and they had a lot of points to race for in the
morning, not this meaningless macho crap! …But John was the Boss!!
Now KK was boiling, and although his roar could not match the nitro car he was ready to
go ‘mano y mano’, and rumble for all it was worth. The night air was nippy, the bite of the quickest
top fuels in history had since gone and the track was now cold! With a cold sweat of nervousness
I quickly thought GOOD, hopefully that should equal the difference of our reaction times at the
tree, HEE HEE maybe he will smoke them big hides!
Meanwhile John, cool as always and joking with his crew, looked over and thought it was a shame the pretty historical Anglia with the nice paint and graphics would be blown to bits similar to the track wall graphics Cruz had nitro-blasted away earlier with his zoomies when he would fly by at 300 mph plus he was planning!
OK reality is about to show up, in a moment of weakness John had agreed to a full tree…again advantage Kong! Yes here we go, BS time is over, with KK ready I start my burnout, it goes real well, the Hampton Blower, and Mike Janis flowed Hilborn is having no trouble cooking the Mickeys. Carl’s trans seems to be working just fine! I know the track is cold and I want them hot. John does one of his trademark ½ track burnouts and proceeds to drown KK and I in his Mustangs roar and smoke!
Through the choking clouds I can barely see, but I follow my procedure, and Mary stages me centered as I decide to go my preferred… shallow stage. For one split Walter Mitty second I thought of toying with the big guy, since he had pre staged I could let him sit and stew a while! Naugh, never liked the games, and it may back fire in the long run…. I proceed with my pre stage, stage and wait. Hey maybe the big guy was into games as it seemed like a good while before his stage bulb came on, must be trying to ice me!!
In my mind I should be near the 1000 ft line with John just watching that little tangerine "runt" getting smaller in the distance…Ha, this guy is not used to that! ADVANTAGE Kong, cause he may just red light! Nervous, as the first light comes on I can feel a drop of cold sweat, alright now KK its show time buddy we go on three and we’re letting it rip! ….
As the 3rd lights up KK and I move in unison and launch just right….hey this FEELS GREAT!
We are off, no red, and that blower is showing me more torque then I ever dreamed.
Rocky had warned me
about the torque pushing the body left! KK was moving fast, I had set the wheelie bars low as John and
his crew joked about my sissy bars!! I foot braked on the launch from idle and the front wheels where
skipping lightly a couple of times as KK was starting to dance left! Instinctively for a split second I
fought it hard, then realized I would quickly get out of shape… after all we had been there before.
That first second I struggled to remain calm, and then it was like a ghost came out of nowhere to watch
over me! My hand got lighter and quicker on the wheel, with smaller moves I guided KK back in line
with nothing but a clear, crisp, cold night air and the end of the track in sight. Was it me?
Or perhaps a gasser drivers ghost of long ago. Maybe Darrell Russell was there and thought I was not
ready to join them yet…for whatever reason first gear went by quicker then anything I ever experienced.
I felt the motor skip once as I just hit the rev limiter as I shifted …boy are you slow I thought, you’re going to hurt this motor and KK if you don’t straighten up like quick!
We hit high and KK is very torqued. I mean he is feeling strong, and taking Austin’s comments
personally now, winding up and picking up mph fast, the 1/8 mile flew by, and somewhere after that a
1000 ft I hear a thunderous roar behind us drowning KK’s growl in the night air….OOPS the
Man and his Hot rod are fast approaching! !
I can feel the thunder as the Mustang is gaining
real estate on us like real quick! Not much more to go…. I can see the last center cone get closer,
and closer yet, we seem to be holding on. It all feels like it’s in slow motion… too slow! Come on
KK keep going, don’t let him catch us! Just as we are crossing the finish line I feel the
thunderous roar of John’s nitro burning hotrod and KK’s body starts to dance as we are being pushed
right in the air wake blasting by!! …Are we still on the ground? Are we air borne yet? No I don’t want
to roll at 50 much less 150 mph! Did we make it across first? …Hey dummy look for the win light!!
Yes Oh No in slow motion I feel, and hear this horrible loud and annoying "beep beep beep beep"!!!
In the dark I feel Mary’s hand "Come on Honey, time to get your shower, we need to get to the track
soon, it’s the finals this morning!!!"
As the saying goes "This is my story and I am sticking to it!"
CarlosPS- What you have read previous was based on some facts, and maybe some dreams…you make the call!
