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The Paul Newman movie, "Billy the Kid," was an early effort, and terrible, so I left. Artie was still on the sofa. Later, he told me, friend Randall Roop came over and told him that they had just about wrapped up second round, he'd better get up there to the lanes. Then another friend, Billy Shinn, came by the motorhome and said, "There's not many cars left, Artie." "Okay, I'm going," he told the pair. Roop said, "Man, I don't think you should even go up, the way you look." Artie did anyway. There were four cars left for the round.

He dialed Rambow a 6.46, based on the 6.47 first round, and the Rambler ran dead-on and took the win light. Artie started feeling better (who wouldn't?), checked his blood pressure and found it to be dropping. He went back up, dialed Rambow one number quicker because the temperature was getting a little cooler, and took another win light, running dead on and hitting another "oh-oh" reaction time.

Rambow and Artie plowed through seven dragsters and three door cars, for a 10-round race. He raced Steve Thurman of Old Hickory, Tennessee, in the final, a Mustang racer who shoes one beautiful Mustang. Fulcher had a .502 light in the semis, and that got him the bye run into the final. Against Thurman, Artie dialed a 6.44, and Rambow ran a 6.44 with a 9, with him on the brakes and knocking off three mph. He rolled one number into the delay box and hit a .513 tree. "He (Thurman) was .501, but I put him in the left lane and he said his car spun over there and lost six-hundredths," Fulcher said.

Did the high blood pressure make a difference? Doctor Fulcher said no, but a new Demon 750 alcohol carburetor, a new set of Canfield aluminum heads and a pair of step headers built by Jerry Raspberry of Amery, Mississippi picked Rambow up by five big numbers, from 6.90s to 6.44s. "Plus it made the car more consistent," he said.

People were respectful at church the next day. Artie preached about why Jesus really came to the world (to redeem us), and spent only a couple of minutes talking about his win. When he called up wife Cheri after the win, she didn't believe him. Me, I was safely tucked into bed in our motorhome, blissfully unaware that Artie was going rounds. I felt bad that I wasn't there to watch ol' Rambow (bless its little Chevrolet's heart) win.

There are lessons to be learned here. No. 1: Don't let anybody or anything turn you around. "It was the easiest race I've ever run," Artie said. "I was real relaxed and I never got

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anxious. Usually, I get anxious if they ever shut me off in the water or if I get bumped out of my lane. That happened to me in the race, but I was relaxed. Out of the left lane, the car ran a 6.43, but I dialed it a .43 and went dead-on. I never got uptight about nothing, so I know the Lord really helped me there, 'cause that's not in my makeup."

No. 2: Be thankful. "I only spent about two minutes at church telling about winning the race and how thankful I was and how I appreciated everybody pulling for me. I know the Lord helped me because I was sick as a dog when you (me, Dale) were over at my house. And I preached about how He came into the world not just to save us but to restore back to us what was lost in the Garden of Eden," Artie said.

And No. 3: Don't ever underestimate anybody in bracket racing, nor the car that they are racing, whether it is a small-block-powered Rambler (Artie in Rambow) or a lady driving a Datsun (my wife Fran, who hasn't done squat this year).

Artie says that Rambow suddenly went up in price and worth.

"I guess me and Rambow are buddies right now. He's for sale, but it would take more money to buy him today than it would have a couple of weeks ago at Montgomery (Motorsports Park). That boy who wanted to buy him then should have took it 'cause I wouldn't sell it for that now.

"I saw his buddy at Huntsville this past weekend, and he told me, 'He still wants that car.' I told him, 'Well, it might cost him another dollar now.'"