| performlink.net |
| performlink.net |
| Motorsports unlimited Lance Stillwell |
| June 5-8 Triple zero reaction (.000), dead on with a 3 on the 8.90 index (8.903). This is the deadly package Rose Richardson put on me in the 1st round in Chicago at the Torco Race Fuels NHRA Route 66 Nationals. We started out with qualifying runs on Thursday and despite high winds and the threat of bad weather the PerformLink.net, Motorsports Unlimited, Lang's Body Shop and Painting, Lidy Graphics, APT Powdercoat, Davison Service & Equip, Crow's Hybrids, Mean Machine Dragster was dialed in on the 8.90 index posting a 8.909 run in the second session. On Friday, we had nearly identical conditions as Thursday so I set up the car a little fast to compensate for the 20 + mph winds and went to the line. As the tree came down and I let off of the transbrake button, my mid 20 reaction time was no match for her perfect light but there is 1320 feet to make up for that and as I traveled down the 1/4 mile, I moved around as I expected to so felt confident with my throttle stop choice and tried to push her out the other end but ended up running too fast. Now with that over with Melissa, Savanah and Dylan arrived in time to see Corey and me sitting around with our tails between our legs after the a$$ whipping we just got. You don't think a little spanking got us completely down, we stayed till Sunday watching some exciting runs from the Pro's, the Jeg's All Stars and the remaining sportsman racers. I got some good pictures for PerformLink.net and even waited for severe storms and tornado's near the track to pass all around us on Saturday. Even though we didn't make the excitement, there was still excitement all around us and a good time had by all. |
| Torco Race Fuels NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Chicago |
| June 14-15 Our initial plans of running the Chicago points race was diverted due to personal things that came up, but that didn't stop us from racing all together. On Saturday, we headed to our home track, Coles County Dragway. The weather was beautiful and the car was consistent which makes it easier to go rounds and that's exactly what we did. Although we were upset in the 1st round by Gary "too tall" Morse, we bought back into the 2nd round and started our quest of reaching the final. We managed to make it through some good drivers like Bill Jarret, Bruce Johnson and Johnathan Jones only to be stopped by Jason McConnell. In the 5th round, my .048 light wasn't enough to hold off Jason's .020 light which forced me into a breakout situation ending our day in the quarter finals. By this time you know the drill, we got the grill out cooking up some barbecue chicken and headed to bed. |
| June 21 Hey were going rounds again and it was a beautiful weekend for a bracket race. We headed to Coles County Dragway for the Thunder on the Prairie race and it was a huge success with tons of spectators in the stands and on the grounds. The night included two alcohol dragsters, Branden Booher and John Tilford, running in the low 4 teens at over 170 mph; Jerry Dronenberg's supercharged altered; two Super Stock wheel Standers and the main attraction, Fran Peppler's Rock n Roll Thunder jet car. The PerformLink.net, Motorsports Unlimited, Lang's Body Shop and Painting, Lidy Graphics, APT Powdercoat, Davison Service & Equip, Crow's Hybrids, Mean Machine Dragster made it too the semi final round beating some of Coles's toughest drivers including Corey Butler, Jacqueline Gebhardt, Troy Salazar, and Doug Kennedy before Scott Gordon put one on me stopping my chance of winning the race. Rounds and rounds we go, where we stop nobody knows! Hopefully, it's the final. |
| performlink.net |
| June 22 This story isn't about me even though we made it to the quarter final round at Action City Dragway. This story's about my brother Lance, owner-operator of Motorsports Unlimited in Terre Haute IN. On Saturday, Lance showed up at Action City Dragway but the weather had a different plan with buckets full of rain canceling race activities for the day and rescheduling for the next day. After they canceled the race, Lance called me to see what the weather was like at Coles and what was going on. After we talked, he decided to head to Charleston. On the way over is when all hell broke loose. Lance and his son, Corey was passing a semi on Interstate 70 when he blew a tire on the trailer causing the trailer to start whipping all over the road, luckily the driver of the semi saw what was going on and backed off, but before it was all over they were sliding sidewards down the Interstate jackknifing the trailer, hitting the guardrail with the truck on the right side of the road and hitting the left guardrail with the trailer coming to a stop crossway's in the interstate blocking traffic. After accessing the damage, there was a few bumps and bruises on the truck and trailer and only needed a couple trailer tires to get the rig back home and other than a couple of scratches the race car was alright. Needless to say, he didn't make it to Coles. Sunday morning, I texted Lance to see if he was headed back to Action City Dragway and he said he didn't know and that he would have to think about it, so I told him, get back on the horse that bucked you off and later that morning, Lance showed up with trailer in tow. It's funny how 24 hrs. can change things, because Lance started going rounds and ended up beating John Moy in the final to take the Super Pro win at Action City Dragway. Way to go Lance, Shelly, Corey and Deven. You can reach Lance at Motorsports Unlimited for the best in performance parts at a very competitive price with next day shipping on most parts by phone at 812-232-4282 or online at mtrsportsunlimited.com |
| Lance Stillwell wins Super Pro at Action City Dragway June 22, 2008 |
| June 27 -29 Thursday morning, I headed to Indy for the Super Chevy Show and this is where the fun begins. On the way over, I was heading down Rt 40, just west of Cloverdale IN, listening to the music thinking about the up coming weekend when all of the sudden a large BOOM came from the back off the motorhome and in the mirror, I see the tread of one of the back tires laying in the middle of the road. If you have never been on Rt 40 in this area, there isn't much of a shoulder, so I had to drive several miles on 3 good back tires and a flat just to find a place to change it. I finally found a church parking lot and changed the tire in 90 degree weather. By this time, I'm thinking turn around, head back, go home, do anything just don't go to the track, but like any addicted racer will tell you, this might be my only bad luck of the weekend and my good luck is on the other side of the horizon. Well, I might be right on this one. I pulled into O'Reilly Raceway park, set the levelers, kicked back to stack for the night when I see the rigs around me heading into park in the pits, this a good thing because I was able to get a premium parking spot with electric and water. By this time, I have already forgotten about tire problem because I'm sitting in my air conditioning. Life is good. Friday was a normal day of qualifying with runs in the low to mid 8.20's at close to 160 mph in the quarter mile. Saturday started off like any day at the races with qualifying, but we ended up 8 rounds later with the bonus race win!! Life is even better. I must say this was probably 8 of the hardest rounds I have ever raced. We ran the last 7 rounds in 2 hours and 20 minutes, there was hardly a second to stop and think about what we were doing and before we knew it, I was in the final round against a tough competitor, Roger Parks. As the tree lit, I had the advantage on the tree and carried it through to the finish line for the win. Sunday, we started the day off in 1st round of the main race with a win and made it to the 5th round with only 6 cars left and a quarter final finish. This was a very good weekend considering the way it started off. If you read the story about my brothers flat tires and his win in the June 22 story, I guess this means we have to have some flat tires to win in this family. |
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