Denver... (1 Viewer)

[Redman]

OK. I likes our chances in Denver. We finally have found the racecar we lost early in the year. It should be very interesting. There is a lot of room for movement in the standings behind Capps and JF. The Western swing has been known to be a key turning point in the year for shuffling the deck.

Jim

 

[Bottle]

It will be very intertesting to watch the rest of the season in FC.

 

[Gordon]

The thing I've noticed is that Mike Neff, Gary Scelzi & the entire Oakley team have quietly crept back up the proverbial ladder without a lot of fanfare. There's been so much focus, and rightfully so, on the Brut team and their consistency that the Oakley team has been able to focus on righting the ship without a lot of distraction along the way. It seems Tony Schumacher was getting all the headlines for struggling, though that ship seems to be righting itself as well, and Gary was left to his own.

I agree with Baadal that the remainder of the Funny Car season is going to be awesome to watch as it unfolds.

 

[Redman]

It is probably too late to make a run at the Championship, but not too late to make an impact. This is a VERY tough class. It was last year and I'm betting there will be lots of surprises before the year is done. We all thought that Robert and Prock were going to run away and hide from the field last year at this time. Lots can happen.

Jim

 

[Gordon]

Yeah, unfortunately Gary fell pretty far behind & may have too much ground to make up, but I think he & the Oakley boys are going to shake things up for the rest of the year.

 

[Jrod]

There are 44 rounds of racing left this year...alot can/will happen.

I am surprised to see Del struggling as much as he has been. Chuck and Del have some good guys over there and normally would have seen Del in a final by now.

 

[Redman]

I would expect several teams to "find it" before the year is done.

Jim

 

[Rick]

I agree Jim, I think the western swing is going to be a pivotal moment for a lot of teams that have been struggling to cope with the new tire and other performance issues. Should be interesting to watch.

 

[Raconteur]

If you have not been to one of the best drag racing Pre-race parties, try to attend the Mopar Big Block Party in downtown Golden, Colo., on Thursday, July 13. It's the official kickoff to the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals event, the Mopar Big Block Party autograph session is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. MDT. FREE!

 

[Kevin Brown]

Hey it's Scelzi.... "O" on the car.....master wrench with Zippy......top shelf crew......should be a great western swing! Best of luck Jim, Don, Gary and the boyz....

KB

 

[RAPID]

Jim,

Good luck with the racing. Did Zippy find any one thing that was trouble? We see it all the time, things work well, then they don't. Since we are all trying to make this board something special again, perhaps you could/would find out and respond.

Thanks for your time,

Rapid

 

[Redman]

Crew chiefs will admit when things aren't going well, but really don't care to say what it was when they figure it out...for several reasons, all of which I support. I do know that the new tire in combination with a few new things we were trying made it difficult to sort through. Good news is that we have had our race car back for the past few races and feel good about where we are from here on out. I wouldn't trade Zippy for any crew chief out there, and there are a lot of great ones. Neither would Gary.

Jim

 

[BaldyLochs]

Well, I too hope you have a great outing. For those of you not here in CO, the weather for the last week here has been really freaky - cloudy, rain almost every day, and temps in the 60's. The last 2 days especially have been soaked! But... it's supposed to turn nice again by Tuesday... and come the weekend we should be sunny & back in the 90's, so no breaks from Mother Nature for you guys running.

 

[NitroRichFire]

Hey west coast "Maters"! Someone please take some pictures if you are attending any of the western swing races. I will do the same for Reading and Virginia! Thanks!

 

[RAPID]

Crew chiefs will admit when things aren't going well, but really don't care to say what it was when they figure it out...for several reasons, all of which I support. I do know that the new tire in combination with a few new things we were trying made it difficult to sort through. Good news is that we have had our race car back for the past few races and feel good about where we are from here on out. I wouldn't trade Zippy for any crew chief out there, and there are a lot of great ones. Neither would Gary.

Jim

Thanks Jim,

These are the kind of posts I enjoy reading. I was hoping for a "we found a part in the fuel system not repeating, or we found a timer doing some unexpected things" but just being able to ask and getting a response direct was cool. I understand what you are saying and I wasn't expecting the exact thing. Heck, sometimes even on our car I can't point to the exact thing!

I appreciate your time.

Rapid

 

[megadeth]

Gary's car looks like it finally turned the corner he is becoming consistant! I think Gary, Mike and team are going to start making some noise in F/C and it's going to be interesting to watch things take shape.
Good luck Jim it's great to have you back here at the mater hopefully "Doc will come back also!

 

[Kelly]

Jim, I love Gary to death and wish him well this weekend.....unless he's lined up against that pretty green car with Capps behind the wheel and Ace behind the tuneup.

 

[megadeth]

Hey Kelly your guy is having an awesome year and it's great to see!
I would love to see Ron hold on and finally win the championship he has more than paid his dues!
I would like to see "Ace" get his too if that moment happens I hope I'm there.

 

[Redman]

Capps is cool, I agree. I've always liked Capps. Even when he was pushing our buttons last year in the Final. He kinda snuck up on the field at the end of the year. He's not sneaking up on anybody now. It's nice to see him doing so well.

I really hope to see Ace in full health. I've always said, "if I have to get in a bar room brawl, I want Ace right beside me". I don't think Gary would be much help. He'd be over entertaining a large group and would be oblivious to the fight!

I really want the Doctor back here! I enjoy his family and his posts. Smart, nice, respectful guy who adds a lot to the board. Somebody go find him and tell him we need his posts.

Jim

 

["Dr. Dirt"]

I'm back!!!

I believe Zippy to be in a class of his own. Coupled with Gary's championship driving skills and will to win, he matches up with the best. I see a lot of similarities between his style and Jimmy Prock's but maybe that's just me? That being said, even the best crew chiefs have had their moments of doubt. I remember Ace's "Woke up stupid" statement and Coil's early year in the 2005 season and Alan Johnson is now writing the book on "perfection in limbo." Any one of these guys could be considered "Tops" in their field given the perfect circumstances but any of them could also stumble a while.
Best news is that they all can, and will sift back to the top.