Goofy Weekend for Bankston Boyz Racing20 March 2010 – Baytown, TX - Bankston Boyz Racing rolled into Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, TX this past weekend with new marketing partners for the 2010 race season as a result of aggressive approaches at the Performance Racing Industry’s (PRI) tradeshow in Orlando back in December of 09. As stated in previous press releases we continue to have support from Mississippi Foundation Repair Specialists, TeaCo Geophysical, Speedtech, Reher-Morrison, Goodyear Racing, Jerry Haas Race Cars, Tim McAmis Race Cars, and David Janes Race Cars. We are pleased to welcome 2010 marketing partners Ross Pistons, Jesel Valvetrain Components, Red Line Oil, and Vicci Fashions, without whose support we would have a much greater financial burden to play the game we love to win. Thank all of you for your support and we pledge to make you proud to say that you helped support a winning effort in the 2010 ADRL race season.  The 2010 ADRL season opener at Houston Raceway Park this past weekend was very challenging for Bankston Boyz Racing’s veteran Pro-Nitrous teammates Stan Allen and John DeFlorian, as they were coming into this event with their respective rides practically untested. Allen had just come off a week of intense testing in Bradenton, FL where his best ET in the former Black Ice David Janes ’68 Camaro was in the 3.90 range and low 190’s in mph. John DeFlorian came into this race with his Corvette untested from offseason changes made to the car. On Tuesday after the race was called due to inclimate weather I conducted a short interview with each driver to sorta feel them out about the upcoming season and this is what they told me: Mark: “What were your expectations coming into the ADRL season opener sponsored by UTI at Houston?” Stan: “Well, we knew we were in trouble coming into this event due to the lack of track time. We had about 16-17 passes in Bradenton and as every racer knows new combinations require time not only for me as a driver, but also Mike as a tuner, and my crew. The car I drove last year was running on old, used, worn Crower clutch and now this David Janes Camaro has a Ram clutch hooked to the new 5.3 borespaced Reher-Morrison and this combination is just different all the way around. This is just an example of how changes take time for everyone to learn.” Mark: “Same question, John.” John: “My whole team was very anxious and optimistic about the start of 2010 knowing that I had removed over 70 pounds of weight from my car, and based on where our performance was at Dallas last fall we were just excited! Mike sold the 5.2 Reher-Morrison I had in it last year to Randy Weatherford and put the 5.2 from the McAmis car that Stan drove in Dallas last fall in my Corvette and we know this bullet is strong and is capable of giving us a consistent low 90’s machine.” Mark: “How does your car feel to you as a driver? Are you comfortable?” Stan: “I’m very comfortable in this new car, probably more so than the McAmis I drove last year. The biggest difference I’m noticing in the car is how much better the new clutch set up feels. The pedal is easier to operate and along with a tight clutch I would say I’m happier with it.” John: “The most notable difference I’ve noticed with the car is where the weight is distributed in the car. We put it on the scales last year at the end of the season, and then we lost weight here and there in the car and this somewhat changed the balance. We then put it back on the scales and made appropriate changes in terms of weight distribution. Between this and the slightly different powerband in the motor from Stan’s black car, I am very confident even though I hit the track untested.”  Stan: “My crew members are James “Redeye” Goodson, David Shelton, and Lee Otis Kelley and I am glad to have them all back again this year. You also have Jacob Shelton, David’s son, helping with the car, and a good friend of mine from Duson, LA Charlie whom I would like to add to the crew. I have known Charlie for over 20 years and he too is a driver, and mechanic that ran with me during my Fast Ford days. We will see how this works out!” John: “My crew has not changed from last year but I must admit that the new team shirts make them a little more presentable to the fans!” Mark: “So, with this event postponed until July 23rd how do you feel about your performance this past weekend?” Stan: “LUCKY, the rain saved our team! I mean we are struggling to learn this new car and the clutch. Coming into the 4th round of qualifying I was on the bump at a 5.21 with 3 cars in line that could bump me out of the field. After the 4th round I was still on the bump by lowering my own bump to a 4.32. I got lucky! It’s time to go test and get ready for Valdosta.” John: “After the 2nd round of qualifying and having the car go left each time we looked at the video and compared it to our data from the runs I knew exactly what change needed to be made on the 4 link to straighten her out. With qualifier 3 on Friday night, the car went straight down the groove and I pedaled it to a 3.99 run! Boy did she leave the line, .980 sixty foot and if I had not got out and back in to it I am sure we would have run a low 3.90. So, I guess you can tell why we are ecstatic coming into 2010.” Friday morning was cool and sunny as the pits sprang to life with everyone thrashing to get ready for the first round of qualifying. By noon the corrected density altitude checked in around 950 feet above sea level, which is probably some of the best air we will see for a while under race conditions. We went to the lanes and the track looked decent at the line, but by the time you got out around 75 to 100 feet it was bad with little groove noticeable in either lane. Track temperature for the first round was at 75 degrees and combined with the air reading one would expect a field of 3.90’s! Stan Allen was the first to take the track and as seen in the video, the car leaves and noses over before half track causing the car to fall off the tire. John DeFlorian’s first run saw him go left and stay there for some way down track. It is obvious in my video that I got excited and dropped my camera when this happened and I apologize for the lack luster effort. The videographer has not had test sessions either! Back in the pits, Stan Allen discovered that he had drove through the clutch and the floaters and discs clearly displayed areas that got a little warm. The wear was not bad enough to cause major problems as Stan serviced the clutch and got everything packed for round two. John DeFlorian serviced the Corvette with a smile on his face even though he almost left the paint from his left side on the wall! He said that for having only one hit on Stan’s old motor that torque was considerably different and this was probably a factor that caused it to go left. In round two the air and track temperatures were close to those of the first round and once again both teams experienced near identical problems. John went left almost taking the 330’ cone with his front left, forcing him to click the run. Stan comes out and makes a full run down the 660’ and only posts a 5.21 ET placing him in the bottom half of the field. While watching the completion of Pro-Nitrous qualifying round 2 it was interesting to see how our competition was either running in the 80’s and 90’s or shook and rattled. There seemed to be nothing in between, much like last year. By the time round three began the sun had long faded and temperatures were falling with track temps holding in the mid 60’s and the air coming in around 900’. Stan Allen was first out for Bankston Boyz Racing in the left lane, and as Al Tucci loves to say, gave the crowd a “beautiful smoky burnout!” When he went to back up after the burnout he could not get the car in reverse. Turns out that in order to back up you must first bleed off the air pressure in the pod to allow the car to go into reverse, and Stan thinks this is what happened. With the car pushed back and the run aborted we waited for about an hour due to oil down before DeFlorian could take the track. After the cleanup, Animal signaled DeFlorian to fire the Jerry Haas Corvette to make his attempt. As previously stated in the interview, John said that after round two he knew exactly what to do to get his beast to go straight based on the data and the collected videos. He staged the car and it went right down broadway on a pedaling 3.993 at 184.19 mph! I looked at the data and let me tell you by looking at it one would think the best possible ET could have been a high 4 range.  So, with this the Pro-Nitrous field is set and we find both drivers in the game with DeFlorian being the higher qualified of the two teams at 9th and Allen sucking hind tit at 16th. When racing resumes in July for the rain postponed event we will see DeFlorian matching up against #8 qualifier Ricky Smith, while Allen will match up against #1 qualifier Burton Auxier. We will see you then…. Regards, Mark Teague |