(Jeff Burk photo) |
When the new homebuilt ‘63 Stingray nitrous machine
of St. Louisan Aaron Hodges, (driven in its debut by local
Outlaw star John DeFlorian), could not appear for the first
round despite thrashing all night prior to the race and
working on the car right up until the first round of eliminations.
Hill then made a 4.27/158.17 solo effort punctuated by a
disintegrating supercharger drive belt at 3.47 seconds into
the run which destroyed everything from fuel lines to the
fuel injector intake blades. The thrash which ensued found
Hill straightening some of the damaged engine components
with a hammer (!), the crew adding new fuel lines and rewiring
the NGK sparkplugs, and Josh Hill rebuilding the damaged
MSD unit.
(Jeff Burk photo) |
The effort proved valid when, in the second round, Hill
upended past JMPMS event winner Jim Wiens’ turbocharged
388-cubic inch smallblock ‘69 Camaro with one of the
quickest runs in series history. Hill’s 4.17/172.87
buried Wiens’ 4.40/166.13.
Central Missouri Pro Stock standout Tim “the Dawg”
Albright’s Sonny Leonard-powered Monte Carlo qualified
2nd in the eight-car field and dropped series associate
sponsor and chassis builder Terry Murphy, (driving Donnie
Little’s 2004 JMPMS Champion nitrous ‘68 Camaro),
in the first round. Little and Murphy upgraded the Camaro
over the winter by purchasing one of “Trickie”
Rickie Smith’s Charlie Buck built 715 inch engines
right after Smith ran a 4.13 pass. They took the engine
out of the car after the pass and put it in their trailer
and brought it home. The team had electrical problems at
this event and the Camaro never left the starting line under
power.
Chassis guru Terry Murphy wheeled
Donnie Little’s revamped “Punisher” ‘68
Camaro
until Murphy can find time to complete his own new car;
electrical gremlins kept them out of the hunt (Bret Kepner
photo).
(Jeff Burk photo) |
In the semis, Albright got a break when ageless Kansas
City veteran Delon Joseph’s new Jerry Bickel-built
nitrous Cavalier stumbled just off the starting line. In
the final round, Albright fell victim to tire shake and
was helpless against Hill’s consistent 4.21/172.43.
Hill, who enjoys a personal friendship with August Busch
IV, may have taken the most crowd-pleasing win at Gateway
International since Kenny Bernstein’s 2002 Sears Craftsman
Nationals Top Fuel victory for sponsor Budweiser. The crew
was given a standing ovation by the Busch-loyal fans all
the way down the track. In the winner’s circle, Hill
was quick to salute the other St. Louis businesses which
have supported his team for more than a decade, including
Wise Speed Shop, Crest Industries, Chuck-A-Burger Restaurants,
Cooper Color, Lubri-Loy and Vinyl Images.
After his first win since assuming full-time crew chief
duties, 24-year-old Josh Hill praised the help of Larry
Jeffers, legendary tuner Bill Barrett, fellow Pro Mod racer
Chip King, and longtime Hill family mentor Bill Kuhlmann.
