Oconto WI pull

TRUKPULR June 9th 2012, 1:23 pm

I got bent over with out Vaseline in Oconto

OK I was up at the crack of dawn ready to get that oil leak fixed on ShaZam. Found a o-ring had $hit out on the AN fitting feeding the oil port on the filter pad. This is a New A-460 block and I had this problem with my old block. So I headed to Menard's to pick up some new o-rings to fix this problem. Well as luck has it I must have gotten a Friday Block, In the paper work from Ford motor-sports it say the A-460 block are machined to except a AN o-ring fitting if running a dry sump system. My block must have missed this operation cuz the o-ring area is flat and the o-ring kept squeezing out of the area where it was suppose to stay. So I finally got one to fit and stay put after an hour of putzing around with it. So with this fix ShaZam is all ready for Oconto's pull tonight @ 7:00 p.m.

OK Leave for Oconto at 2:45 p.m. so I can get a good parking spot just off the track so I don’t' have to do to much driving around in the pits area, Running that Q16 this season and @ $18.00 per gal. One tends to keep the unnecessary running down to a minimum seeing how I don't have a 4 wheeler and 5 buddies to Drag my sorry A$$ around in the pits.

So everything is going good Stopped up to see Jodi got my name on the list in both Super and Mod, I Helped the club out with inspecting a few Stock trucks until some one relieved me from doing that, Had all four battier chargers topping off the batteries but forgot the cord for the new heater in the oil can so I messed up on that one. Thing are going good they posted the pulling order for the night my classes where 8 and 11 out of 11 classes and in Super Stock I was listed in 5th puller following Travis Lentz , and I was last puller in Mod following Bruce Wagner.

OK Drivers Meeting was called @ 6:30 so it looked like the pull was going to start on time. The normal Bla BLa BLa was said and they noted that in the past we are a very organized group that know how to keep things moving along making sure everyone gets over the scale and in order. So with that pat on all the drivers back they said we have 80 hooks so lets get the show on the road. OK so one more time I go check the line up and yes we are still classes 8 and 11 so that means I'll pull my first class around 11 p.m. and the last class of the night will be around 1 a.m.

Finally at 10 p.m. it caught me off guard a little but Super Stock was up so I waited for Travis to get in line and I got behind him. All psyched up about my new motor and seeing just what it has compared to my old motor. I had the same gear as last year and in Super Stock it ran 8000 Rpm's with a wheel speed of 33.605 mph. So with all things said if this motor runs just as good I expected to do really good tonight.

So to start the class off we where getting lined up and Jeff Rivers boy came up to my truck and told me I was the 12th puller in the class and I was in the wrong spot. And I told him no I was the 5th puller. Then he told me they made a mistake and for got to sort the line up out and I was really the 12th puller out of 13 trucks. Cool I always like pulling later in the class anyway. So with that we regroup and get in the right order Donny was now first puller, he gets hooked to the sled and starts to bring the r's up and started to slip his clutch out and at 22' it went Kaboom and he was done. Broke the front drive shaft yoke off and windowed his oil pan in two spots, his Season just came to a end seeing he's still has to order parts for his new motor. He might have a back up motor somewhere we'll have to wait and see.
So next truck up was Derek Peetz, Derek is still running his small 480 back up motor and it looks like he'll be running for the next month before his big motor makes it back from the engine builders. SO Derek gets the chain tight wines his little motor up the 7000 rpm's and side steps the clutch the wheels blow free off the line and at the 100' mark you can hear the motor bend to the track and Derek has the run of a life time going and pulls the sled 324.68' with a track speed of 24.6 mph Awesome little engine that could.
With that run the sled operator decide to reset the sled because we had some heavy hitters here tonight and we'd be out in the woods with some of the trucks.
So next up was Junkyard Dog and John pulled the sled 284.33 but turned the pull down to come back at the end of the class and try it again. Next up was Jeff Rivers in Aftershock, Jeff is one of the big hitters and he pulled the sled to 302.58 with a track speed of 24.80 Next up was Tom Scheffen and Tom's getting his $hit working pretty good this year, he pulled 296.93 with track speed of 24.00 mph. Next up was Ed McClain his run was going good till he hit the 280 mark and his Truck stopped like someone threw out a anchor 280.18 going 21.80 mph. Next up was Jake Luther and MeanStreek he pulled 285.64' with a track speed of 23.40 mph Next up was Scott Kieckbush, he's another one of the big hitter guys, Scott pulled 290.80' with a track speed of 24.10 next up was Travis Lentz he pulled 291.56' with a track speed of 23.6.
OK here's where the pull get interesting Pat pulls the sled back turns off all the light an shuts it down, Calls a meeting saying he'd like to reset the sled cuz the tracks going away really bad and we where getting some really bad ruts at the starting line he'd like to get fixed up but knows he can't do it unless we restart the class and make fare for everyone. Jeff Rivers spoke up saying he in the lead and if they reset the sled he'd load up his truck and head home now. The driver talked a little and it was voted on we'd continue seeing we only had 4 truck left in the class. Sometimes tracks get better as the night goes on sometimes it get worst. we just take it in stride and keep our chins up.

OK with that side next up was Tory Laubach with Locked and Loaded Tory gets the chain tight and blows the tires right off the starting line eased out of it a bit and the tires seemed to hook at the 100' mark When it came to the big end of the track he stopped at the 290.49' with a track speed of 24.50 mph. Next up was Bruce Wagner and Bruce had a good take off broke the tires free then waited for them to hook at the 100' mark but they weren't hooked good enough cuz when he matted his throttle again they just spun free again stopping at the 280.71' mark with a track speed of 24.00 mph.
OK ShaZam is up next It's now 10:45 p.m. I get all hooked up everything but my Tranny Brake is working fine. I set the tach Push in on the clutch pedal bring the r's up to 4500 and we start moving off the line I bring the r's up to 6000 but I startt to get front end chatter, ease out of the throttle some trying to let everything get caught up but at the same time knowing I'd better kick it in the a$$ really quick or I'd be sucking hind tit, at the 150 mark I went hell bent for the end of the track and the front end was still chattering really bad, Pat stopped ShaZam at the 269.82' mark and I had a track speed of 22.10 mph Finishing last in the class. With this pull under my belt I pulled my tail between my legs and headed back to the trailer too get ready for Modified class.
Should we have listen to Pat and reset the sled and started over, we might have gotten a better track but one will never know. But we really should listen to the guy driving the sled they do this more then we do during the summer, if he sees something and says hey this is what's happening and I feel the later guys are going to get boned, maybe we should start over. Hind site is 20/20.

So Mod Diesel class was up next with 6 trucks and the 9500# Ltm Hot farm Class had 9 Tractors then he we are it's going on midnight and the mod trucks are up.
I was the last puller in Mod .
1st up was Jake Luther With the big Mod tires on he pulled 326.53 with a track speed of 25.50 mph, Next up was Craig Emmes and Cold Ethel Tonight the truck ran good with only a little spitting but Bruce thought it might have been hitting off the chip, Craig stopped at the 324.98' mark with a track speed 26.20 mph, Next up was Scott Kieckbush and Scott was running some 38" Super Swamps tires today as he lef the line it looked like the tires where low on air cuz he started to bounce really bad and then his rear-end took a nasty bounce and pitted the truck side ways and Pat had to hit the binders to keep Scott off the big cement blocks on the side of the track, so Scott was Dq'd, Next was the Junk Yard Dog with Sheila Driving, She blew the tires off it right off the line and got hooked up about 100' out and she drove a good pull down to the 305.24' mark with a track speed of 23.10 mph, Next up was Derek Peetz and he did his normal 7000 side step and Pat stopped him at the 308.53' with a track speed of 22.80 mph, Bruce Wagner is next and Bruce had this one dialed in to the tie, Walked it out 75' then matted it and pulled the sled to the mark of 330.84' with a speed of 26.10 mph.

OK Now all night I'd been hearing that there was a soft spot at the 280' mark and the right side seem to be harder then the left, Pat put the sled right in the middle of the starting area, so my plan was to go right at the 100' mark drive around the soft spot the hammer it down to the end of the track, and see where the dust settles.
So as I eased it out to the 100' mark I got my head of steam going I was right of center on the track and I could feel Pat pulling my rear to the right some so I corrected by steering left and I just hit 8200 Rpm's and I see the Flagman waving the red flag franticly at me to stop. I got out of the throttle cuz I thought there must have been a malfunction with the sled cuz I had one hell of head a steam going. As things came to a rest I got out of the ShaZam and asked Pat what was Wrong he gave me the I don't know why did you stop look. I told him the flagman thru the red flag, SO I went and asked the flag guy what was wrong, He said I went out of Bounds, And this is where I lost it, I was not out of bounds the sled might have been going around the soft spot but ShaZam never went out of Bounds. So I got on the radio to protest my being stopped and asked for a re-hook. Where the flagman then said He threw the flag because I seem to be out of control. Well I guess the Officials decision is final and I wasn't allowed to re-hook. So there it is Last place again. But in my short little run I did pull 285.63' with a track speed of 25.6 mph heading out the back door. Pat said he knew once I got straighten out there was nothing but a win in front of me. You know in all the years I have pull this is the first time I ever seen the flagman after I left the line. It Sucks

OK next week is a off weekend NO Pulls in my area Club's. So next write up will be after Pound's Fireman's Pull Sat. June 23rd. If you start to have withdraws Just head to my Story page http://www.shazampulling.com/pulling_stories.htm and re-read some of my older stories from years past.

Dan and ShaZam