Drag Racing Online - Drag Racing From a Different Perspective

PILCHER PREVAILS OVER PARKER

Words and photos by Ian Tocher
4/1/04

Johnny Pilcher said his car had some problems with the nitrous turning on and off early in the day, but fortunately, its performance never suffered on the way to the ORSCA Outlaw Pro Mod win at Atlanta Dragway.

ittingly, the two quickest and fastest cars on the grounds faced off Mar. 28, in the ORSCA Outlaw Pro Mod final at Atlanta Dragway, as Johnny Pilcher and Dan Parker traded blows throughout eliminations in a pair of '63 Corvettes before staging their ultimate clash.

It was only the third time out for the car Dan Parker was driving in Atlanta after testing it for four days early in the year at Darlington and finishing runner-up at Orangeburg, SC, two weeks before the ORSCA event. Car owner Mike Hill, who races a turbocharged Mustang in Outlaw 10.5 action, said he plans to enter a few Outlaw Pro Mod events and match races with it himself this year, and may even try to qualify for a couple of IHRA national events.

With 13 cars in the class, both Pilcher and Parker enjoyed bye runs in the opening round. Pilcher ran next-to-last and set low e.t. for the round with a 4.18 at 175.64 mph over the 1/8-mile distance. That left only Parker to make a pass in Mike Hill's '63 Corvette and he promptly went one better with a 4.14 at 179.25 mph. The stage was set. In round two, Pilcher ran another 4.18 against a red-lighting Thomas Lee, while Parker went 4.16 to a 4.58 by Rex Kelley.

Pilcher, from Chancellor, AL, said he showed up at Georgia's House of Speed just expecting to shake down his new Sonny Leonard-built 737 engine and support the fledgling Outlaw Street Car Racing Association (OSCRA). "We've changed some components in the motor, trying to get it faster and get a little more durability. You know, you've gotta' finish to win," he stated.

The semi-finals featured match-ups against James Hancock Jr. for Parker and Jeff Ensslin for Pilcher. In the first pairing, Hancock left early while Parker set low e.t and top speed for the day at 4.12 secs and 179.40 mph. Unfortunately, in the other semi, Ensslin's 1954 Studebaker broke on the line, sending Pilcher on a 4.13-secs solo pass.

James Hancock Jr. knew he had a chance on the tree in his semi-final match against Parker, but wound up redlighting by .011 secs.

In the final, Parker left first with a .020 advantage, but quickly encountered tire shake and veered toward the right guardwall. He still managed to put together a respectable 4.46 at 174 mph, but it was no match for Pilcher's 4.13-secs effort at 177.88 mph in the left lane. "I knew Dan was going to be a tough customer," Pilcher said. "He had been making some fast passes all weekend long and we knew it would be tight, so we stepped it up for the final and turned the third stage [of nitrous] on. That was the first time ever and actually it was a little bit rich and the car slowed up some."

After a day of constant sunshine and 80-degree weather, Parker said he thought the track "went away a little bit" when darkness approached and the temperature dropped. "The clutch locked up two-tenths of a second sooner than it had been all day and when it did that it just kicked the tires out from under us," Parker explained. "I actually had to pedal it a bit to straighten it out and I stayed in it just in case Johnny had problems, too."

SHOOTING GALLERY

One of the most evil-looking Outlaw Pro Mod rides going has to be Bob Clifford's '67 GTO. Dig those glossy black flames on a flat black background! Unfortunately, the Jefferson, GA-based Goat made only one appearance on raceday, as it fell to Jeff Ensslin's '54 Studebaker in the opening round.

Several NMRA Pro 5.0 guys were out testing at the ORSCA event, including David Hance, from Inwood, NY, who entered his '02 Cobra in the Outlaw Pro Mod race, but lost in the opening round to Thomas "The Beast" Lee. Ben Ledford's day came to a premature end when he suffered this nitrous explosion immediately upon launching in the second round of Outlaw Pro Mod action.


Several NMRA Pro 5.0 guys were out testing at the ORSCA event, including David Hance, from Inwood, NY, who entered his '02 Cobra in the Outlaw Pro Mod race, but lost in the opening round to Thomas "The Beast" Lee.	Ben Ledford's day came to a premature end when he suffered this nitrous explosion immediately upon launching in the second round of Outlaw Pro Mod action.