Last Call for NHRR
June/11/2008 02:22
Last night, I stopped by to witness the check out for the Tennessee Bo-Weevil top fueler as Ray Godman's gang prepped the car for the National Hot Rod Reunion. The return to Beech Bend Raceway for this year's event has fostered much anticipation of another enjoyable weekend at the historic Kentucky racetrack. Enthusiasm for the 2008 NHRR is strong, as was the nitro fueled 426 Donovan motor in the Bo-Weevil.
First up for a check out was the Bo-Weevil fueler, as it's the car that will participate in this years Cacklefest. Here, Preston Davis adjusts the fuel mix while his son Mark mans the cockpit.
As the dragster cackled, Ray Godman assumed a familiar role and analyzed the idle of the nitro powerplant. This edition of the long line of Bo-Weevil race cars is truly a stunning recreation. It's a duplicate of the last top fuel car that Godman campaigned before transitioning to funny car racing for most of the 1970's. It made it's debut in 2006 at Bowling Green, and will make another appearance at the 2008 NHRR.
The last Bo-Weevil racer was this Plymouth Arrow bodied funny car which also received some attention and was fired up last night for a maintenance check out.
They left it on the trailer, but dropped the body while the nitro flames lit the night time air. This car is not a recreation, nor is it really a restoration. It's simply a well cared for 30 year old flopper that has received just enough re-hab to appear periodically and remind us what a real funny car was before they became the brutally fast but mostly unrecognizable cars that compete today.
The participants in the 2008 National Hot Rod Reunion are already on the highways headed for Bowling Green. So just in case you haven't made long range plans to be at Beech Bend Raceway this weekend, you still have a couple of days left to make it happen. So consider this posting a last call to hit the road and join the fun. Trust me, if you can attend this event, you should. You won't regret it.
LK