Robert Hemphill's PRA race season bio, 2,2,2,2,2
Here is a little PRA racing recap about myself, car and fellow racers. Some may know some of this, some may know none of this and some may like reading about this. I started out racing at the PRA events in 1993, mainly in AZ and Palmdale, in Sportsman class. Only had this one 1969 street bug, which was my only car. Needless to say I did not start out over my head, I took it easy, learned as the years past. Built a 78 X 94 N/A street engine and had a built trans with the stock ratio gears so I could drive the many thousands of miles commuting back and fourth to work. Back in the day, P/E was 12.99 and quicker. I allways wanted to race in P/E but only got my chance in AZ and Palmdale because they had 13.99 cutoff. My bug was a solid 13 second daily driver. I used to watch Mike Sheldon kick butt in P/E, years 97, 98, 99 when he won the threepeat. That inspired me, to watch him race and be that good. Those years I also used to go to the Pomona street drags, where I honed my skills. Used to take out many a V-8 cars and win a few races there. As time went on I learned more about the power band, gear ratios, shift points, jetting and I tweaked and tweaked to where I went down from 13.7's to 13.3's. I started to think, lets pull out some weight like back seat, passenger seat, stereo and see where it puts me. Went to Speedworld and ran 13.0's @ 100, wow. Now for the new season 2000, I got some light weight wheels and a few more engine tweaks so I could compeat in P/E the whole season. At SAC I was running 12.8's @ 102, good there but not so good at other tracks. 2000 P/E: This was to be Mike's last year in P/E. Muffler Mike #1, turbo_bob #2, Troy Smith #3, Richard Laitnen #4, Clyde Berg #5 I put over 300,000 miles on the car myself, with just over 100,000 miles on the 2165 engine. I retired that engine, still together on the garage floor to this day in one piece. 2001 P/E: This is the first year going turbo with the current turbo engine that I am still racing today, 23,000 miles to date. Troy Smith just got by me 20 points. Troy Smith #1, turbo_bob #2, Marty Chase #3, Richard Laitinen #4, Eric Calabrese-RedBaron #5 2002 S/G: This is my first year in Super Gas, hi Mike :) John Schuerger #1, turbo_bob #2, Muffler Mike #3, Jeff Richards #4, Allen Wiess #5 2003 S/G: Major trans problems, only raced at Firebird and the trans tore itself apart at SAC durning 1st pratice run. My year was over because of parts availabilty. John Schuerger #1, Allen Wiess #2, Michael Meyer #3, Muffler Mike #4, Rick Oliver #5 2004 S/G: Both Mike and I were having a time trying to run 11.90, just too slow for our turbo cars to work right. This year about half way through Mike went into S/C. Also the level of competition steped up in S/G. This year was a strange year too with the double points at LV. Both John S and I had the #1 in site, we also lost in the 1st round too. Doug Berg went all the way that day and won the #1 spot. Doug Berg #1, Mike Lawless #2, John Schuerger #3, AJ Sims #4, turbo_bob #5 2005 S/C: This is my first year in S/C, hi again Mike :) Well this year I got really sick, only made it to two races, AZ & LV. This is also the year Jeff Lovell won four races in a row. Jeff did not make the 8 car field for this LV race. And because of double points he was robbed of the #1 spot. I won this race and got #1 qualifier, Mike got #2 qualifier and R/Uped. Muffler Mike #1, Jeff Lovell #2, Michael Meyer #3, turbo_bob #4, Tim Haugen #5 2006 S/C: First year of the 16 car field. Also the double points deal is gone (HURAY). A new drop one race is in effect. The level is rising as it did in S/G, Pat Downs raced the season in his 9.90 bug. This was a very close race season between Mike, Pat and I for the #1 spot. You all might wonder how I can remember all of this detail of years past. Well the PRA used to have a newsletter and this is where I got some of the info. 2006 & 2007 no newsletter so I dont have all the facts in front of me. I came from behind and tied up with Pat in finals, a dead tie, point for point. Mike won the race and the #1, I R/Uped and #1 qualifier. I think I might have had a shot at the #1 if I would have won that race ? Muffler Mike #1, turbo_bob & Pat Downs #2, ___?___#3, ___?___#4____?___#5 2007 S/C: A new point structure, the drop race deal is gone. Pat Downs is not racing this year. Mike and I thought this would be our year again. Then along came Joel Carter (Flying Turd). Mike and I talked about him to each other while at AZ, we saw the potental there. Mike had some trans problems this year and it set him back in points. This was my first year of doing above average in qualifing for both S/G & S/C. If you want to win the big #1 you have to do good durning qualifing. I was leading in points after the first SAC race and maintained the lead until the last SAC race when Joel got in front of me by 3 points. LV Joel got #3 and I got #4 qualifier, so now he is 4 points in front. And to top it off, the four of us in point contention, Joel, myself, Chris Brown, Rob Meyer, they were on the bottom half of the ladder, Mike and I was on the top half. So I cant do anything about the three, unless I meet up with them in the final. And I would have to race Mike 3rd round, dam! It was Joel's day and not mine for sure, dam headwinds, 2/10's off ET for me. While up against Mike I knew this was it, and the strange thing, I was calm. My only mistake was not going up in launch RPM, from 6,800 to 7,000. The track got even better from last round and when I let the clutch out the engine pulled way down in RPM's. When that happend I knew it was over right there in first gear. After that the car responded real good and made good power and I hit the shift points and got .03 light advantage on Mike. Even if the car did not bog, By looking at the speeds and 60' it would have been around a 11.14, just enough for Mike to get in front by .010 Dont feel bad Mike, I know you wanted me to win the championship but you also were not going to give the race away either. #1 has to earn there way like Joel Carter did. Congrats to Joel Carter and team. Now some time for soul searching, I wanted to retire if I got the #1. Put the glass and a diff back in the bug so I can drive it more often. So I may have to come back next year and try again ? The other thing with my bug, I have no launch RPM devise (MSD) like most have. I got one eye on the tach and one eye on the tree. That is a big handycap, everytime on the launch the RPM's are not exact from run to run. I also have a very old SDS system with there ignition. The new SDS systems have a NOS retard and MSD ignition (like Fiat Pat). If I convert to this watch out, dial in the launch RPM for consistancy and leave hard with the same turbo MAP but when in 4th gear if need be I could hit the NOS button and the SDS will retard the ignition for the NOS. I put off slicks for a long time, I put off a spool for a long time and I put off wheele bars for some time. I just dont know if I want to go through the hassle and expense of MSD and new SDS ? Allways been behind the curve racing a underpowered street car in P/E, overpowered street car in S/G, underpowered street car in S/C. So a recap 2007 #2 S/C 2006 #2 S/C 2005 #4 S/C two races 2004 #5 S/G 2003 S/G one race 2002 #2 S/G 2001 #2 P/E 2000 #2 P/E It has been a ride for sure :) Robert Hemphill aka turbo_bob
Here is a little PRA racing recap about myself, car and fellow racers. Some may know some of this, some may know none of this and some may like reading about this. I started out racing at the PRA events in 1993, mainly in AZ and Palmdale, in Sportsman class. Only had this one 1969 street bug, which was my only car. Needless to say I did not start out over my head, I took it easy, learned as the years past. Built a 78 X 94 N/A street engine and had a built trans with the stock ratio gears so I could drive the many thousands of miles commuting back and fourth to work. Back in the day, P/E was 12.99 and quicker. I allways wanted to race in P/E but only got my chance in AZ and Palmdale because they had 13.99 cutoff. My bug was a solid 13 second daily driver. I used to watch Mike Sheldon kick butt in P/E, years 97, 98, 99 when he won the threepeat. That inspired me, to watch him race and be that good. Those years I also used to go to the Pomona street drags, where I honed my skills. Used to take out many a V-8 cars and win a few races there. As time went on I learned more about the power band, gear ratios, shift points, jetting and I tweaked and tweaked to where I went down from 13.7's to 13.3's. I started to think, lets pull out some weight like back seat, passenger seat, stereo and see where it puts me. Went to Speedworld and ran 13.0's @ 100, wow. Now for the new season 2000, I got some light weight wheels and a few more engine tweaks so I could compeat in P/E the whole season. At SAC I was running 12.8's @ 102, good there but not so good at other tracks. 2000 P/E: This was to be Mike's last year in P/E. Muffler Mike #1, turbo_bob #2, Troy Smith #3, Richard Laitnen #4, Clyde Berg #5 I put over 300,000 miles on the car myself, with just over 100,000 miles on the 2165 engine. I retired that engine, still together on the garage floor to this day in one piece. 2001 P/E: This is the first year going turbo with the current turbo engine that I am still racing today, 23,000 miles to date. Troy Smith just got by me 20 points. Troy Smith #1, turbo_bob #2, Marty Chase #3, Richard Laitinen #4, Eric Calabrese-RedBaron #5 2002 S/G: This is my first year in Super Gas, hi Mike :) John Schuerger #1, turbo_bob #2, Muffler Mike #3, Jeff Richards #4, Allen Wiess #5 2003 S/G: Major trans problems, only raced at Firebird and the trans tore itself apart at SAC durning 1st pratice run. My year was over because of parts availabilty. John Schuerger #1, Allen Wiess #2, Michael Meyer #3, Muffler Mike #4, Rick Oliver #5 2004 S/G: Both Mike and I were having a time trying to run 11.90, just too slow for our turbo cars to work right. This year about half way through Mike went into S/C. Also the level of competition steped up in S/G. This year was a strange year too with the double points at LV. Both John S and I had the #1 in site, we also lost in the 1st round too. Doug Berg went all the way that day and won the #1 spot. Doug Berg #1, Mike Lawless #2, John Schuerger #3, AJ Sims #4, turbo_bob #5 2005 S/C: This is my first year in S/C, hi again Mike :) Well this year I got really sick, only made it to two races, AZ & LV. This is also the year Jeff Lovell won four races in a row. Jeff did not make the 8 car field for this LV race. And because of double points he was robbed of the #1 spot. I won this race and got #1 qualifier, Mike got #2 qualifier and R/Uped. Muffler Mike #1, Jeff Lovell #2, Michael Meyer #3, turbo_bob #4, Tim Haugen #5 2006 S/C: First year of the 16 car field. Also the double points deal is gone (HURAY). A new drop one race is in effect. The level is rising as it did in S/G, Pat Downs raced the season in his 9.90 bug. This was a very close race season between Mike, Pat and I for the #1 spot. You all might wonder how I can remember all of this detail of years past. Well the PRA used to have a newsletter and this is where I got some of the info. 2006 & 2007 no newsletter so I dont have all the facts in front of me. I came from behind and tied up with Pat in finals, a dead tie, point for point. Mike won the race and the #1, I R/Uped and #1 qualifier. I think I might have had a shot at the #1 if I would have won that race ? Muffler Mike #1, turbo_bob & Pat Downs #2, ___?___#3, ___?___#4____?___#5 2007 S/C: A new point structure, the drop race deal is gone. Pat Downs is not racing this year. Mike and I thought this would be our year again. Then along came Joel Carter (Flying Turd). Mike and I talked about him to each other while at AZ, we saw the potental there. Mike had some trans problems this year and it set him back in points. This was my first year of doing above average in qualifing for both S/G & S/C. If you want to win the big #1 you have to do good durning qualifing. I was leading in points after the first SAC race and maintained the lead until the last SAC race when Joel got in front of me by 3 points. LV Joel got #3 and I got #4 qualifier, so now he is 4 points in front. And to top it off, the four of us in point contention, Joel, myself, Chris Brown, Rob Meyer, they were on the bottom half of the ladder, Mike and I was on the top half. So I cant do anything about the three, unless I meet up with them in the final. And I would have to race Mike 3rd round, dam! It was Joel's day and not mine for sure, dam headwinds, 2/10's off ET for me. While up against Mike I knew this was it, and the strange thing, I was calm. My only mistake was not going up in launch RPM, from 6,800 to 7,000. The track got even better from last round and when I let the clutch out the engine pulled way down in RPM's. When that happend I knew it was over right there in first gear. After that the car responded real good and made good power and I hit the shift points and got .03 light advantage on Mike. Even if the car did not bog, By looking at the speeds and 60' it would have been around a 11.14, just enough for Mike to get in front by .010 Dont feel bad Mike, I know you wanted me to win the championship but you also were not going to give the race away either. #1 has to earn there way like Joel Carter did. Congrats to Joel Carter and team. Now some time for soul searching, I wanted to retire if I got the #1. Put the glass and a diff back in the bug so I can drive it more often. So I may have to come back next year and try again ? The other thing with my bug, I have no launch RPM devise (MSD) like most have. I got one eye on the tach and one eye on the tree. That is a big handycap, everytime on the launch the RPM's are not exact from run to run. I also have a very old SDS system with there ignition. The new SDS systems have a NOS retard and MSD ignition (like Fiat Pat). If I convert to this watch out, dial in the launch RPM for consistancy and leave hard with the same turbo MAP but when in 4th gear if need be I could hit the NOS button and the SDS will retard the ignition for the NOS. I put off slicks for a long time, I put off a spool for a long time and I put off wheele bars for some time. I just dont know if I want to go through the hassle and expense of MSD and new SDS ? Allways been behind the curve racing a underpowered street car in P/E, overpowered street car in S/G, underpowered street car in S/C. So a recap 2007 #2 S/C 2006 #2 S/C 2005 #4 S/C two races 2004 #5 S/G 2003 S/G one race 2002 #2 S/G 2001 #2 P/E 2000 #2 P/E It has been a ride for sure :) Robert Hemphill aka turbo_bob