Our great sponsors, Handan Trailer Repair, are on board for the sixth straight year! Thank you John & Kimberly Collecchi for your support again in 2020 and your friendship!
We are very excited to once again be sponsored by such an outstanding company! Kimberly & John have sponsored our four-car team starting in 2015!
Handan is also on Facebook here! – The Young family
Chris’ Chevelle needs a new set of PacAloy valve springs before next season and Paul may want to install a spool in his Mustang over the winter. Plus we have Wilwood front disc brakes to install on Torri’s Pontiac. And we’ll need to work around the upcoming move of Chris, Torri & Peyten to their new homestead in Kent but we’ll get it done!
October 26, 2019:
With Chris & Torri moving, we relocated my large, KRA2496PBO style Snap-On tool box and tools from their garage to my basement. My thanks to Chris, Paul & Pam for making this difficult move possible! The piston on the left is from a R-780 radial aircraft engine I got when attending A&P school. – Roger
73″ Snap-On Box
November 1, 2019:
I’m working at updating my old Holley 830 for Torri’s Pontiac for 2020. I’ve drilled and tapped the pressed-in primary idle air bleeds for screw-in bleeds to give us more tuning ability for the old carb. – Roger
Drilled & tapped the primary air bleeds for screw-in bleeds on my old 830 for Torri’s Pontiac to make the idle circuit more adjustable
Carb update April 4, 2020:
Chris took the Pontiac out for a test drive and the 830 ran well – Roger
November 6, 2019:
Changed the jetting on my two 660 carbs on the ’57 from 75/76 staggered jets to 76 square for next Spring. Engine was slightly lean.
November 30, 2019:
Thanks to our friend Don McClure, we’re purchasing his two Doug-Nash 5-speed transmissions from him over this winter for our ’57. The one has recently been face-plated by Liberty which we hope to put to use in the future as face-plating is an improvement over our pro-shifted Doug-Nash! Thanks Don!
Face-plated Doug-Nash 5-speed
1-4 are face plated by Liberty
April 18, 2020:
Thanks to Chris, Paul & Peyten they made the LONG drive to Pasco and back to pick up the transmissions from Don this weekend while our cars remain parked during this Coronavirus shut-down! – Roger
May 12, 2020:
Liberty’s Gears is making a new input shaft for our face-plated Doug-Nash pictured above, so in the future we can just swap transmissions when the need arises in our ’57. Without Liberty these old transmissions would have become unserviceable years ago!! They are also providing the retainer/collar for our Chev bellhousing & throwout bearing to replace the Ford retainer. – Roger
July 13, 2020:
It’s no longer winter, but Liberty’s Gears delivered the new input shaft, input bearing retainer/collar for a GM bellhousing & throwout bearing, and a new rear seal so we can get the face-plated transmission together for our ’57 – Roger
New input shaft, GM front bearing retainer, tail-housing output seal from Liberty’s Gears
New 6.5″ input shaft with Mopar 18-spline input from Liberty’s installed
Completed face-plated Doug-Nash 5-speed with new input shaft and GM front bearing retainer/collar
Face-plated Doug-Nash with Long shifter
January 1, 2020:
A minor safety upgrade for the ’57, I purchased two 1-5/8″ helmet hooks, cut off the hooks and installed them on the back brace to prevent the shoulder straps from sliding in the event of a mishap. – Roger
January 17, 2020:
Chris is working on Torri’s ’66 Pontiac, installing new upper and lower front A-arms, spindles, and the Wilwood front disc brakes!
New Wilwood front disc brakes for Torri’s Pontiac
New A-arms and spindles for Torri’s Pontiac
February 19, 2020:
I got the new Crow Kam-Lock belts in the ’57 for Chris today, and they are good until June 30, 2022. – Roger
February 22, 2020:
Today, Chris & I got the new PacAloy valve springs in the Chevelle and replaced the #2 exhaust pushrod which had slight wear on the rocker tip. Clearly the old springs were dead! On Sunday, Chris got the new, replacement MagnaFuel pump installed in the Chevelle – Roger
February 24, 2020:
Jim Doyle captured Peyten and Grandpa coming back from bedding in the new front brake pads in 2019!
We got the Jesel rockers back on the motor in our ’57, primed the oil system, refilled the cooling system tested both the water pump & cooling fan motors, and primed the carbs. Except the correct seat-belts and changing the oil & filter the ’57 is ready to go for 2020! – Roger
February 29, 2020:
Today Chris got the Chevelle running with the new valve springs and it sounded good. An oil & filter change, install the new Crow restraints and it will be ready to go for 2020!
March 17, 2020:
Obviously the spread of the Coronavirus is going to impact the 2020 racing season throughout the nation, but we can get through this difficult time working together and being kind to one another! – Roger
April 20, 2020:
For the first time this year, I had Chris fire up our ’57 and run it thru the gears on stands. And I wish to report to Paul that we’ve cured the slight oil leak that was dripping from the oil pressure sending line fitting!! So, if and when the 2020 season ever begins, we’re ready to get Chris behind the wheel to row the gears!! It was good to hear our ol’ buggy running! – Roger
October 5, 2019:
Hello Race Fans!
Today was the 1st Annual NW Bracket Kings Showdown
@Theplacetorace – Pacific Raceways. I took the Mustang out to support this event put on by fellow racer Freddy Hoffman and had a good time. The weather was perfect with the cool fall temps and great air making for some fast passes as you can see below as these were both record runs.
1st Qual: 11.578 @ 115.6 mph
2nd Qual: 11.568 @ 115.4 mph
I was feeling good going into 1st rd knowing all races were going to be extremely tight. I drew Gary Esnrud in his lovely yellow Mopar for a rematch from earlier in the year which too was a good race. I went .024 on the tree to his .011 and took the stripe by .016 but broke out by .008 running 11.562 on my 11.57 dial against his 11.25 on 11.23 dial.
I was able to buy back into the race against other buyback competition and got a single due to odd cars. I had a .016 rt and ran 11.551 (new record) on a 11.55 dial so felt really good after this pass.
Moving into 2nd rd I had a .044 rt to my opponents .024 rt and ran 11.556 on my 11.54 dial to his 10.709 on a 10.70 dial so another good race but i came up short.
We had a Gamblers race for both Electronics and Non- Electronic cars and I decided to give that a shot.
I lost in the 1st rd running 11.584 on my 11.57 dial due to being tardy on the tree. My opponent had a .020 rt and ran 10.08 on his 10.03 dial.
Please see below winners from both races.
SUPER PRO- Robert Strohm
R/U – Scott Imbler
SP GAMBLER – Scott Imbler
R/U – Randy Hentges
PRO – John Schwaller
R/U – Brad Burton
PRO GAMBLER – Johnny Bumgarner
R/U – Tom Wartinger
SPORTSMAN – Mark Biscay
R/U – Brian Seaberg
I feel that Freddy did a fabulous job along with Pacific Raceways, too bad more people choose not to attend these big buck bracket races.
This has been a great season for me being in Pro Bracket as the car ran wonderful. I was fortunate to get my first Wally @ Seattle Divisional in Pro and another win at West Coast Grudge event so pretty happy.
I would like to thank everyone in my family for their continued support with both the car and in cheering me on along with our fabulous sponsor Handan Trailer Repair.
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! – Paul Young
Paul at NW Bracket Kings on October 5th 2019 – Purple Nurple photo!
This weekend Chris took his Chevelle out to Pacific Raceways and Torri was driving her Pontiac Tempest complete with the new roll bar fabricated by Bill Parsons at the NW GM Nationals. Chris was running 10.50’s and Torri was running 11.0’s during the time hits. Torri set a new personal record running a 11.003 @ 120.46 MPH in Q3!
Purple Nurple (Troy Williams) captured the BIG torque of Torri’s new 436 at the NW GM Nationals in Q1!
Chris leaving HIGH at the GM Nationals! Photo by Purple Nurple!
Torri doing burnout at GM Nationals! Photo by Purple Nurple!
Unfortunately, rain cancelled the event this day after both Chris & Torri won in the 1st round. Torri won with a 11.036 on a 11.02 with a .016 reaction time. Chris won with a 10.632 on a 10.57 lifting with a .036 reaction time.
Torri leaving hard! Photo by Purple Nurple!
This virtually completes our 2019 racing season. We’re pleased how all four cars are running, it was a busy season building a new 436 c.i. Pontiac motor for Torri’s ’66 Tempest and a new 372 c.i. SBC motor for our ’57 Chev. Both cars shattered old records with the new engines under the hood!
We made excellent progress this year getting Paul’s Mustang to be much more reliable which was capped when Paul won his first Wally at the Division 6 race in August at Pacific Raceways which was a BIG deal in my book and a total team effort getting the Mustang to perform well! And Chris made it to two final round appearances this year in his Chevelle!!
Chris’ first final came this year in the Gambler’s race on July 29th, and his second the following day in Pro Bracket on July 30th! Details are posted here! WELL DONE GUYS, I’M VERY PROUD OF YOU!!
Our ’57 kicked off our season setting a personal best at the March 30th Test & Tune with the new 372 under the hood running a 10.255 @ 130.10 MPH. And my profound thanks to Pam for the pictures and video she captured at the track for us despite her injured right knee which is on the mend, which played a vital contribution in getting our clutch working well. We believe we have the transmission issues which haunted us this year resolved. Look for Chris behind the wheel of our ’57 in 2020!
Not to be outdone, Paul set a new personal best in his Mustang on June 22nd running a 11.585 @ 115.44 MPH! We’re amazed at how well the mild 347 SBF runs in the Mustang and we’ve worked very hard on making the car more reliable this season for Paul.
And at the NW GM Nationals, Torri just set a new record for her ’66 Tempest with the new 436 providing the power! She set the new mark at 11.003 @ 120.46 MPH! Well done Torri! Chris did an excellent job researching and building the new Pontiac power-plant with heads, cam & intake provided by Kauffman Racing Engines.
The Chevelle was running very well and more consistent this season with the upgrade of Jesel shaft rockers for 2019 and the new front suspension! And Chris did an excellent job of going rounds this season, one of his best years of driving! If the budget permits, there will be additional upgrades for the wagon next year!
Overall it was a very solid season and we are looking forward to an exciting season in 2020! And our sincere thanks to John and Kimberly Collecchi of Handan Trailer Repair for all their friendship & support over the years!
And our profound thanks to the entire crew at Pacific Raceways for their dedication keeping us safe and providing an excellent track throughout the year! It’s hard to believe the 2019 season is coming to a close, it seems like it just started yesterday when I was assembling the new motor for the 57!
We are looking forward to seeing our friends & fellow racers again in 2020! And our thanks once again to Dale Green & Lane Cavar of DG Machine for their help on the engine builds in 2019! – Roger Young
Enjoy the views of the Pacific Ocean with us in September 2019 at the Sandpiper Beach Resort in Pacific Beach, WA. – Roger & Pam
Sunset on September 10th at Pacific Beach
Matt Levonas presents Paul his Wally in Pro Bracket at Division 6 Race at Pacific Raceways on August 18th 2019 – Chris Young photo
I took the Mustang out to The Place To Race – Pacific Raceways for the final points race of the season & also the King of the Track.
I went 11.63 and 11.68 on the 2 qualifying runs with .020’s rt’s so was feeling good going into 1st rd. I dialed 11.71 1st rd and went 11.697 for the win since my opponent went red.
The 2nd rd opponent race was a good one as I went .030 on the tree to my opponents .026 but unfortunately I came up .010 short running off of my dial due to the ever-changing density altitude & wind. The car is running great and feel real good on the tree so happy with how the season has gone.
Big shout out to our sponsor Handan Trailer Repair for supporting us this season, we sure appreciate it!
Good luck to our Pacific Raceway Pirates teammates at the ET finals this coming weekend, have fun and be safe.
Roving Reporter – Paul Young
Chris & Paul took their Handan Trailer Repair backed cars out to the Division 6 race at Pacific Raceways on August 16, 17 & 18th in 2019 to battle in Pro Bracket. But first…
Matt Levonas presents Paul his Wally in Pro Bracket at Division 6 Race at Pacific Raceways on August 18th 2019 – Chris Young photo
Courtesy of Division 6
Paul stated after the race:
Finally got the elusive Wally this weekend! Had a blast racing with all of my buddies and cheering them on too. We have the car running strong thanks to my Dad & Big Bro as now I only have to drive the wheels off of it not having to worry too much. A big highlight to the weekend was having the opportunity to race my bro in the 3rd rd and of course getting the Wally was icing on the cake. Huge shoutout to Jj Jung for helping us all weekend as it is much appreciated. THANK YOU to everyone for cheering me on and THANK YOU to my family for everything. Kimberly Collecchi and John Collecchi THANK YOU for sponsoring our family and being so supportive out at the track. – Paul Young
Paul’s Wally
Video capture of Paul’s Final Round win!
Bill Doner was a great promoter at SIR that brought us 64-Funny Cars and Fox Hunts which packed the stands and brought big names to our local track. We attended many of his events back then and he was noted for his radio ads on KJR saying; “Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!! Be there!” and for his outstanding promotions of the 64-Funny Cars.
64 Funny Cars, Courtesy of CompetitionPlus.com
Pacific Raceways (formerly SIR) wrote on his passing:
Bill Doner
Nov. 29, 1938 – Aug. 16, 2019
Bill Doner was our friend. We would see him every summer, talk to him every other week (sometimes multiple times a day) and replay a life so full, it would be hard to cram anything more into it. Bill was also our mentor; we learned from him every chance we got.
Bill awakened the Pacific Northwest to big time motorsports with drag match races, fox hunts and of course 64 Funny Cars. Was there another promoter who ever lined up 64 Funny Cars on a drag strip and fired them up at the same time? Before he made his mark with drag racing, Bill promoted road racing to race-starved Northwest fans with USAC-sanctioned events, Trans-Am racing, the Dan Gurney 200 and more. Seattle International Raceway featuring Bill’s ubiquitous radio ads, thrilling events and even more thrilling side shows were part of the summer’s soundtrack in the 1960s and 70s.
Over the past several years, Bill held court in the Finish Line Club at the NHRA Northwest Nationals interviewing and roasting drivers, both his old friends and new friends, like John Force, Ron Capps, Jack Beckman, Antron Brown, Steve Torrence, and Jerry “The King” Ruth just to name a few. He was making plans to work with Pacific Raceways on other projects….always thinking, always promoting, and always entertaining.
Rest in peace, Bill.
NHRA’s Phil Burgess wrote an excellent article in August 2016:
More on Doner:
Hall of Fame promoter Bill Doner returns for 4th of July blowout – The Spokesman-Review – July 4, 2018
Farewell to ‘the Dones’ – Phil Burgess, NHRA, August 23, 2019
Storytellers at CPTV – Bill Doner Tells the Story of Linda and the Open
A very interesting video you may enjoy. Changing gears in our old Doug-Nash is similar but we only have one cluster shaft. The double cluster shafts as shown in the video make the Liberty transmission MUCH stronger! – Roger
July 27, 2019:
We took the ’57 out this day in Pro Bracket at Pacific Raceways and learned that replacing the 3-4 shift arm in the Doug-Nash 5-speed did the trick and resolved the constant shifter adjustment issue we were having. We’re making progress!
Over the winter we’ll reset the pressure ring (finger) height on the pressure plate and open the air gap a bit on our Ram clutch!
We have a video report below which also features Ryan Warnke in his Junior Dragster, Jeff Warnke in his bad-ass Nova, and Martin Lambert in his hard-charging Monza, AND a significant announcement for 2020 within! – Roger Young
Q2 video capture on Feb 27, 2019. 1.426 60-foot!
New, lower input gears have arrived from Liberty’s Gears for 2020 upgrade. This will lower 1st thru 4th in our Doug-Nash 5-speed. We’ll also be resetting the pressure ring (finger) height on our Ram clutch and opening the clutch air gap before the car goes back out to the track:
New 23-33 lower input gears (center), high-reverse slider (left) & high gear pro-shift ring (right) from Liberty’s Gears for 2020
August 20, 2019 Update:
Today Chris & I got the transmission out of the ’57 and installed the new 23-tooth input gear and new pro-shift ring which mates with the new 33-tooth cluster as seen on the right of the picture. (Old gears were 23-32) along with a new high-reverse slider, all from Liberty’s Gears.
We then reinstalled our used 3.11 1st gear set back in the transmission as seen on the left of the picture.
The lower input gear ratio set impacts the 1-4 gear ratios as follows:
3.11 1st to 3.21
1.99 2nd to 2.07
1.49 3rd to 1.53
1.21 4th to 1.24
High remains 1:1
This should help accelerate the car quicker to the 1/8th!
August 22, 2019 Update:
Transmission is back together for 2020. Next is to adjust the clutch pressure ring height and get it all back in the car, then set the clutch air gap as a final step in the process. – Roger
Assembled Doug-Nash 5-speed with Long shifter
August 24, 2019 Update:
Chris and I got the clutch reset today, reduced the lever weight by .5 grams per lever, reinstalled the transmission and set the clutch air gap. Pretty much ready for 2020 with Chris behind the wheel! – Roger
Hello Race Fans!
It was another nice weekend at The Place To Race – Pacific Raceways for a TNT event Fri night and West Coast Grudge Sat night. We did some testing with Joe Loch’s Top Sportsman Camaro to get it ready for the upcoming NW Nationals and all went really well. The 1st pass on Fri was 6.49 @ 214 and 2nd pass was 6.53 @ 215 so everyone was happy! Great job by Joe and Chris in getting the car running like it should as they have been battling it for a few races this year.
We had 3 cars running the West Coast Grudge on Sat with Torri making her first passes with the new 436 engine combo in her ’66 Pontiac Tempest, I was running my ’85 Mustang in the 7.50 index class and Joe was running his car in the Big Tire class.
Torri did a great job driving in making numerous passes with the best of the night being 6.88 in the 1/8 mile. She was able the grudge race against our buddy Barry Hobson also in a Pontiac and Torri was able to get the win. The car ran superb and driver did a great job too.
I had the good fortune in getting to the winners circle as my final round opponent hurt the transmission in his car. It was not how we like to win but will definitely take it. The car was consistent running best of 7.35 even with trying to slow it down to be closer to the 7.50 index.
Joe was also able to make it into the winners circle in the Big Tire class, his best pass was 4.20 to the 1/8.
The West Coast Grudge crew – Willie Peterson, Jen Peterson & Cory Sherbon all do a fabulous job in promoting these events, just wish there was more cars last night.
Hope you all have a great week and hope to see you at the track!
Paul Young
Chris captured Torri on her 1st hit vs Barry Hobson:
1/8th mile, 6.96 @ 98 mph at Pacific Raceways
Since the race above, Bill Parsons has installed a rollbar in Torri’s Pontiac:
Hello Racefans!
We had another exciting weekend at The Place to Race Pacific Raceways. It was action packed with Nitro Funny Cars, Nostalgia cars, SWIFT TOOLS bracket racing along with Bracketstars car show.
Chris was running in Pro along with myself both Saturday and Sunday. Chris unfortunately bowed out in the 1st rd Saturday and I made it to the 3rd rd before losing by .006 in a double breakout against James Van Cleve. The day got more exciting though for Chris as he bought into the No-Box Gambler race and made his way through the field in nice fashion all the way to the finals against Brian McGinnis. It was a great race as both drivers were on the tree and by a slim margin of .009 Brian got around him right at the stripe. Great job Chris!
We both gave it another shot on Sunday and I unfortunately went red 1st rd by .001 running .01 off my dial. Chris continued his winning ways all the way to the finals once again to face off in a rematch from earlier this year against Mike Driscoll in his badass Camaro. Both of the drivers had outstanding lights in the semis leading to the finals and was looking to be another great race like earlier this year. Mike cut another great light and ran his number to get the hard earned win against Chris whom just went red by a slim margin.
Chris Runner-Up on June 30th 2019!
It was an outstanding job of driving this weekend by Chris. The car ran really well and he had some killer lights, very proud of him!
The points race is really starting to heat up for all of the SWIFT TOOLS participants battling to make the ET Finals. Hope to see you all at The Place To Race in the near future! – Paul
’57 Update:
While Chris & Paul were at the track this weekend, I got the new electric radiator cooling fan in the ’57 on Saturday with the appropriate Bosch relay & wiring to trigger the cooling fan from a coolant sensor. After the installation I fired up the ’57 while Pam monitored the new cooling fan which came on at 160-degrees and shuts off at 140. This addition should improve the cooling and take a load off the Moroso water pump motor since it is no longer turning a heavy, high-pitch fan. This has also improved coolant flow because of more RPM at the water pump at 3 less amps. Thanks honey for your help!!
I also ran the car through the gears and checked the Long shifter adjustment which remains unchanged since replacing the 3-4 shift arm in the Doug-Nash transmission, good news! It was a busy weekend for the team and we’re very proud of the great effort by Chris & Paul this weekend at the track! VERY WELL DONE! – Roger
PROUD AMERICAN FAMILY!
Roger is a Retired
Roger, U.S. Army – Vietnam
A Troop, 3/17th Air Cav
Pam, U.S. Navy – YN2/E5
CINCPAC Joint Command
Vietnam-Era Veteran
Operation Homecoming
Northwest Veterans Newsletter by Roger & Pam Young
Silver Spurs Website by Roger Young
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