Skip and Barbara raced
two 1967 Camaro's in the past 16 years. The first car,
"Masterpiece",
was towed out of a barn in north Baton Rouge in 1988 and Skip built a .060"
over 350 SBC engine with a 4-speed, and went racing. Skip became one
of the most feared racers at State Capitol Dragway and he took that car to
many of the tracks in the area, including Gulfport, Houston Raceway Park,
Hattiesburg and Mobile. Skip has participated in several "Black
Sunday" races in St. Louis, MO. Skip was always very competitive, winning his
share of races and finishing in the top 4 many times. The best time
for that engine was, 11.60 @ 125 mph.
The little 350 engine gave
way to a 383 stroker engine, which he also built himself, in the mid 1990's
and the car dropped down into the mid 10 second range in the quarter mile.
Skip tried to get into the nines by using a Alky Fuel Injection system, but
the best he could do, in the 2900 lbs. car, was 10.21 @ 130 MPH. Skip
wanted to get into the nines so he could get his NHRA License.
Early in 1999, Skip decided
to give up on the small block as the ticket to getting his NHRA license.
I was introduced to Bryon Durham,
son of the famous black funny car racer, Malcolm Durham. Malcolm passed away in
June 2006. Malcolm was the first black funny car racer back in the
60's. He raced and won many match races against the top NHRA funny car
racers of the time. His son Bryon, now runs Supercar Engineering,
which is a full service speed shop that can do any type of racing
fabrication, build all types of racing chassis, and racing engines. They have a
complete machine shop, dyno and fabrication shop. They are located in
Hyattsville, MD.
Skip and Bryon agreed on a BBC 540 CID Engine
as a reliable engine that would get me into the nines and live with only
routine maintenance and a price was agreed upon. Bryon agreed to dyno test the engine in
his shop, while I observed, before it was delivered. The engine was
picked up in August 1999 after removing it from the dyno. The engine
horsepower was 776 HP and 680 ft. lbs torque, and this was with a small base
BG 775 CFM carb. This engine put the car solid into the nines, as I got my
license with a pass of 9.76 @ 140 MPH! Later, that same engine with a
BG 1090 carb would drop down to 9.21 @ 146 MPH.
In the year 2000, Skip
purchased a second Camaro, "Mr. Skip" and
after many months of work,
rewiring and installing the different systems to make the car a legal Super
Gas car, the engine and transmission was moved from "Masterpiece" and "Mr
Skip" was put into service in 2003. I was not pleased with the
car from the first time I went to the track. Although the car was
lighter, it did not handle as well as the old car and it was not as quick.
The best time in the new car, with the same engine/trans combination was,
9.26 @ 145 MPH.
Soon after overhauling the engine
in early April 2005, the engine broke a rod on #6 piston. The engine was
overhauled again and I did not tighten the cam bolts, causing another engine
failure, and cylinder damage, in October 2005. At that point the decision was made to go up
to a 555 CID engine (there was also a strong desire to get into the 8's). After many months of engine work, head porting
by Alvin Calhoun,
machine shop problems, purchasing a new head, and just having many things go
wrong, we finally got back on
the track in October 2006.
During Saturday testing at Louisiana Raceway, the
car ran 9.15 @ 145 MPH even though the engine hit the rev. limiter and shut
off for a short
time just after the shift. We could feel the power was there to go
into the 8 second range, but we had to find the cause of hitting the rev.
limiter just after the shift point.
We decided to make a few test runs at No Problem Raceway Park on
Weds., November 15, 2006. On the second pass, after leaving the line with the
wheels in the air, when the car came down, it was moving in and out of the
groove, and just before the 1/8 mile the car took a hard turn to the left
into the concrete guard rail. The throttle stuck open and the car came
back across the track and hit the wall on the other side and I saw stars. The car finally came to rest just across the finish line. A
track emergency worker stopped the engine with the emergency cut-off switch.
The car body is a total loss. The engine, transmission, rear end and
electronics
are the only things that are of any use. Skip sustained shoulder, neck
and leg injuries, but they have responded to physical therapy and Skip
is back to almost 100% after therapy rest and relaxation.
Hit wall on both sides!
In late December 2006, Skip decided to cut
back on his active involvement in drag racing. Skip is not retiring,
but making an extreme cutback . He will be at the track, with camera in hand, taking photos for the
Bracket Masters web site. If an extreme good deal on a car comes
along, Skip may get back into ownership of a car (Skip kept the engine and
tranny!). We will have to think about who the driver will be...
Skip is an active church
member. In the past, Skip was a singer in the Male Chorus
and he designed the church web site. He has also done a lot of the
photographer work for the church. For a number of years he
served as Chairperson of the Men's Day Program. Bracket
Masters Racing Team has given Jordan
United Methodist Church a free Car Show three times in recent years,
including 2006,
much to the delight of the church members. Recently, Feb. 2007, Skip
moved his church membership to Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church to unite
Skip and Barbara under one church home. Barbara has been a member of
Shiloh, and has been singing in the church choir, for over 30 years. The family
that prays together, stays together.
