Houston's Racing - 2004

December 10, 2004 - Last outing of the year for "The Hawk".  Houston and Marva took a trip down to No Problem Raceway, and for the first time, Houston had a hard time getting Marva to come to the starting line, or to do those things she normally does.  You see, they purchased a new truck!  The new truck is a F-350 diesel, 4dr with leather interior and all the good stuff.  I mentioned Marva not wanting to leave the truck, they have a 13" TV in the back!  It is really nice. 
The car took advantage of the good air and turned out the best times yet.  On the 1st time trial, Houston laid down a 8.21 @ 168 MPH.  He backed that up with his best ever (all motor) run of 8.20 @ 167 MPH.  Houston was really happy and he put the car in the trailer with a big smile on his face. 

Nov. 13, 2004 - Houston, Marva and Grumpy attended Battle On The Bayou at Louisiana Raceway.  Houston got a bye in the first round and was still running when the race was stopped.  Everyone left collected purse money.  The car ran some of its best times of the year.  The air was really good until the mist came over the track just at sunset.  Houston posted a 8.25 sec. run during time trials and in the first round he ran a 8.28.  Houston was thinking about doing a rebuild, but with numbers like that, and no problems, he may just wait. 
  Houston, Arnold and Marva 

Oct. 31, 2004 - Houston, Marva and "Grumpy" (the wiener dog) attended the Old School Car Show at Man Dunn's Place, 12 miles North of Clinton, LA.  Excellent car show with some great old time cars.                        Photos.

October 30, 2004 - Houston and Marva took "The Hawk" to State Capitol Dragway to run in their Bracket Race.  Houston won the first two rounds and had a red light in the third round.  The car was running very consistent and showing numbers close to those that he ran in Shreveport, considering the difference in weather.  Houston's best run was 8.37 sec. in the 85 degree heat and high humidity of Baton Rouge.  

October 16, 2004 - Houston ran his best time of the year at Red River Raceway this past Sat. night.  Houston had a 8.29 sec. at over 165 MPH (all motor on C-16 racing fuel with 2 - 4 barrel carbs).  The air was excellent Marva and Al, Marva's youngest son,  were along for support.  There were no problems during the night and Houston was very pleased with the way the car ran.  

Sept. 30, 2004 - Houston has overhauled his transmission, after finding the high gear clutches burned.  He also made some other needed modifications to increase the reliability of his transmission. 
Houston now has all the tools to build and test racing PG transmissions.  Bracket Masters Racing Team purchased these tools for use by team members to repair their transmissions.  Houston will work on team members transmissions, at a reduced labor cost, plus the parts to make the repairs for team members.
Houston took his car to State Capitol Dragway for testing and everything worked as it should.  He ran an impressive 8.43 sec. @ 161 MPH.  Houston is ready for the Shreveport trip!

Sept. 4, 2004 - Houston qualified for the Quick-8 at the Louisiana Drag Classic with an impressive 8.38 @ 162 MPH pass.  He had some problems after that pass.  First a rocker arm broke, them his fuel pump locked up just after he completed his burn-out in the first round. 

August 27, 2004 - Houston tuned up for the Louisiana Drag Classic by posting some 8.30 sec. times at No Problem Raceway Park.  "The Hawk" is back!

August 7, 2004 - Houston & Marva helped coordinate the very successful team annual picnic.  Everything went just great.  Houston was all over the place, helping with the picnic preps. and working on everyone's car that needed help.  He drove Willie's Wagon and helped Skip tune his Camaro.  He also helped Johnny with his Pontiac and several other members of the team.  Thanks goes out to Houston and Marva for their part in making this a very successful picnic.  

July 22, 2004 - Houston took his car to No Problem Raceway Park for testing Weds. night.  The track was very slippery and it was hard to get a good pass.  On his second run he pulled a stud on his rocker assembly and the car started to misfire. 
Later that night, he had some more misfortune.  A racer making a large turn into his pit area, hit and damaged the wheelie bars and damaged the parachute mount on the rear of the car.  The driver, was very nice and apologetic, and will pay for all the damages.  The other driver was very nice about wanting to make everything right. 
Lesson learned:  Always get as much information from the other driver as you can, including D.L. number, address and phone number. Take some photos of the damage, if possible.  Report what happen to the track owner/operator.  File a "Incident Report" with the police.  This is added security that the other driver will pay for the damages.   An Incident Report can be converted to an "Accident Report" if there are problems getting the problem corrected.  As of today, the estimate has been made and the damages are being paid for.  Case Closed.

July 3, 2004 - Houston, Marva and the girls are on the road again.  This time they went to Houston, TX to participate in a "Trail Ride".  For those of you that are not from the country, or are not cowboys, a Trail Ride is a big party.  It features lots of food, lots of music, hayrides and horse rides, and lots of drinks of your choice.  It is a big family affair that is mostly taken part in Western Louisiana (where Houston Hawkins is from), and Texas.   While I was enjoying company and relaxing at home, Houston and Marva called and said they were on a wagon full of hay and the horse was sh...... all over them!  I think they were having fun!

June 25. 2004 - Much work has been taking place on Houston's Camaro.  The engine is being overhauled and he has taken it to a chassis wizard in Alabama to have it set up correct.  Houston reports that several things were wrong with the cars chassis setup, and now he expects to gain 2-3 MPH in the quarter now that things have been set straight. 

June 13, 2004 - After leaving Shreveport, they took a relaxed trip through Mississippi and Alabama sightseeing and spending the night in Pensacola, FL.  This was the start of their week in the Sunshine State of Florida.  They spent a day with "The Mouse" at Disney World and they got all wet and wild as they spent a day at the Water Park.  Houston and Marva had so much fun, they are already planning their 2005 vacation, a cruise to Jamaica.  On the way home they stopped in Ocala, FL and spent a few hours touring Don Garlits' Drag Racing Museum.

June 12, 2004 - Houston & Marva started their Florida vacation by driving up to Shreveport, LA to take part in the teams trip to run with the Shreveport Racers.  Houston worked with Willie's wagon and the other teammates all day, helping Skip and others in the pits and on the starting line.    

5/16/04 - Congratulations to Brandy Hawkins upon her graduation from Loyola University in New Orleans.  She earned a degree in Music.  Brandy is a concert pianist and teaches music. 

May 7, 2004 - The team took three cars and the Jr. Dragster to Prescott Middle School for their "Career Day".  Houston was there to support the team.  In addition to Bracket Masters, there were Doctors, Lawyers, a Judge, along with other prominent persons from the community.  We were all given a very nice home cooked lunch and we were presented plaques for coming.  James Richardson, Harry Sills and Willie Beathley had their cars on display.  The young men and women were very nice, asking a lot of questions and they pulled up our web site and looked at several of the other team members cars.  Houston assisted with the Youth & Education Services presentation in the classroom.  (Photos)

April 23, 2004 - After installing new plugs (NGK), and doing normal maintenance, Houston was back at SCD for more testing Friday night.  This time he developed a leak on a sending unit and one of his copper head gaskets started to leak.  Houston put the car up and will do some extensive troubleshooting to fine the cause of so many leaking head gaskets.  

April 16, 2004 - Houston tested at SCD after spending some time working on the transmission (he does all of his repairs on his Powerglide).  He also calculated the length of new pushrods, ordered and installed them.  
Houston made two passes.  The first was just a short blast of the starting line (1.220 sec. sixty-foot time).  The second was a full pass during trophy eliminations.  He dialed in a 8.50 and ran 8.38 @161 MPH, for the losing time.  Houston is still not satisfied with the power and will keep looking for the reasons the engine is not running up to the potential that he knows it will do.  
View Video of Houston's two  runs, click here.  About 2 min.

This is my first try at video added to the web site, so don't get mad if it is too long, to small, slow download or you just don't like it.  I should get better as time goes on (Skip).  
 You may need to download (free), Windows Media Player. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/players.aspx .

           Click to View Run

March 28, 2004 - Houston completed his repairs and traveled to Hattiesburg, MS for the Edmund Hall Baby Pro-Mod race.  Houston competed in the 5.30 sec. class, but there was an electrical problem in the trans-brake system and Houston red-lighted in the first round of eliminations.  The car was running very well up to that point and right on the mark in the 5.30 sec. class.   
For the first time in many years, Marva did not go with the team on a trip.  She is recovering from surgery at home.  She is doing well and really wanted to come, but Houston insisted she stay home this time.  

March 26, 2004 - Houston tested at State Capitol Dragway and the car showed awesome power!  Houston encountered a problem when he bent two spark plug tips.  His plugs must be indexed to prevent touching the pistons.  

March 21, 2004 - Houston is almost ready.  He received his new carbs. this week and has them installed.  Several of the team mates have been over to look at the new configuration and to listen to the motor.  It sounds awesome!  The two-fours on a sheet metal manifold should really make this motor wake up.  The car will go to Wizard Racing tomorrow for the hood scoop modifications to accept the twin four carbs.   Testing should take place this Friday at either State Capitol Dragway or No Problem Raceway park. 

March 9, 2004 - Houston is updating his motor again for 2004.  I won't disclose the new configuration, but let's just say, he will have to slow down to run the 5.30 sec. 1/8 mile class this year.  This year Houston will concentrate on the Edmund Hall Baby Pro-Mod series of races.  He has run in the 5.30 sec. class for the past two years and has done very well.  He is one of the featured drivers on the series flyer.  The first Edmund Hall race of the year will be March 28, 2004 in Hattiesburg, MS, Hub City Dragway. 

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