Now the two additional cars will be upgraded to allow us to use them
as supercharged cars. This will allow us to provide a supercharged school as
well as our regular school cars. This is due to the unprecedented help the
school is getting from its sponsors. I cannot thank all these marketing visionaries
too much. We have done a lot of hard work to get this school together but it
could not have happened without their assistance. A quick look at the sponsor
list and you will see that these are the product and market leaders in this
country.
Racer Reports
David Mullins A/MD
Dave had his car apart and is anodising and tidying it up some. How much
better looking could it get? One cylinder was down a little on the leak
check so some new rings are going in to make it a little stronger. News
flash!! - New crank, rods and pistons found their way in as well! I
wonder if it might pick up a half a tenth or so? Dave says, "Ken is making
some new fuel fittings and brackets to tidy up the fuel system some and there
are a couple of small changes I want to make to the fuel curve. We will do
some testing as soon as we get it back together."
Result: Saturday night (Nov. 28) at Willowbank he ran a personal best of
8.57 in 2500 foot air. An 8.64 was his previous personal best and this was in
1200 foot air. The car must have liked the new parts as the red rocket keeps
on getting faster and quicker.
Warren and Katherine Sichter A/MD
Until recently Warren and Katherine shared the seat of their very low 8
second KLRC A/MD. Katherine set the family low e.t. standard of 8.11 a few
months ago, just before their USA trip. Warren will now drive the car full
time for the next year or so because Katherine and Warren are going to be
proud parents. They must have "celebrated" the 8.11 record. So a new drag
racer is on the way. Warren has disclosed the family five year plan and although
I cannot divulge the details, all I can say is that the Sichterglide family
will be around racing for a long time.
Graham Porter T/C
Graham presented his new Ken Lowe Race Cars Top Comp dragster at Willowbank
on November 28 with a smooth, straight first pass, easing the new car on its
maiden pass to a 7.20. Graham says, "This car steers so smooth and goes so
straight that it's a real pleasure to drive. Now we have made our check-out
pass and can go for it." Rain at the meeting changed the plans though. The
car is meticulously prepared and painted a beautiful metallic turquoise with
purple accents and gold anodising, a real credit to Graham and the crew. Looks
like we will all get to find out what the "Jade Grenade" will do at
the first round of the New Year Series on January 2nd at Willowbank. You will
want to be there to see this one - wow is it good looking !
Tony Buckley A/D
Harvest season is over now and Tony can get back to work on the race car.
He has been very quiet and this means that he has been busy on the car. We
know that the engine is getting a freshen-up and some new parts and more
horsepower, but beyond that everything is VERY quiet. You know how these farm
types are, they don't say much, they just show up and get the job DONE. They
should be out testing in the next few weeks in preparation for the first round
of the New Year Series.
Gary Bannerman A/D
Gary is still getting all of the parts to fit inside the 600 cid engine.
Gary says, "The long arm sure takes up a lot of space. Until I get the 600
incher together, I will continue to race with the standard engine. I am still
tinkering with the cam timing on the A/D engine." Although Ken Lowe made the
chassis for Gary's car, the body was done by someone else and now Gary has
scheduled the car in for a new body in a few months.
Mark Brew TA/D
Mark says, "We just returned from the USA and took in a bit of racing there.
I really want to support the new Lucar Cargo Vans Top Alcohol series at
Willowbank so we will be there at the first round of the New Year Series.
We picked up a few parts in the states and are looking to try them out. Our
car moves hard on the 60 foot times but with the very small engine (388 cid)
we must beat the Chryslers to the 1000 foot mark by half a car length or they
will nip us at the finish line.
Our small-block Top Alcohol car must move in the 60 foot like a fuel car
or we are out of the race. We have the fuel system right and now we have the
clutch within a few grams, so we have some new ideas on how to capitalise on
the great working chassis Ken (Lowe) made. Other than the shake problem we
had originally which was due to some very hard clutch discs, the car has been
outstanding. As much power as we put in her, she takes it and runs straight
and smooth to the finish line. We now want to use more of the flexibility of
Ken's chassis."
Greg Clayton BB/A
Greg's just purchased the fuel pump and some fuel hardware for his new
KLRC '23 'T' altered. The BB/A, 383 Chrysler wedge only has some machine work
left to do on the engine and then assembly. Greg says, "We are so close I can
taste it. My brother has almost all the machine work done. It has taken me
over three years of hard work and money to get this together so I want it to
be right. I just have to get Ken to do the fuel system and we will be ready
to debut the car. I would like to be out at the first round of the New Year
Series but I know we will not make it. I want to do Ken's Drag Race School in
January, so it will be after that.
Rodney Mills A/MD
Rodney has had his new KLRC modified dragster for about six months now.
All quiet on the western front !
Kevin Schuurs AA/HR
Kevin's new left-hand steer '27 Ford Roadster now has the steering all
sorted out. KLRC had to wait until Kevin supplied the steering joints to
complete the job. Very trick stuff with all Apex joints and removable steering
column. The 4-link is all fitted up and the wheelie bars are being made and
fitted. The car is now ready for final welding. Kevin stopped in at Willowbank
on Friday to have a look at the Drag Race School and said when his car gets
a little closer, he wants to do the school as well. Several of the school
students there agreed that it would be a very good idea.
Graham Frawley A/D
Graham's new KLRC modified dragster is off the jig at KLRC. Fitting of all
the accessories and hardware should start late this week or early next week.
They will start the season with the old car that won the Willowbank Ken Lowe
Race Cars Modified track championship in 1997. Graham was racing the old car
at the Willowbank Nov. 28th race last Saturday when everything got rained out.
Simon Holgerson T/C
"Simon Says" He has been working very hard to "cash up" to get the supercharger
installed on his small-block Chevy. It is almost ready and should be ready
for the first round of the New Year Series at Willowbank - here is another
one to keep your eye on. This race is the one that you will not want to miss.
Simon now has all the parts necessary to assemble his blown small-block Chevy
for his VW. He got a front crank support, blower hub and fuel pump extension
from Ken Lowe Race Cars to finish off the parts that he needed. Final machine
work on the block and final assembly is all that is neccesary. You will want
to see the little red "Herbie" make its maiden pass with the wheels up and
charging for the finish line. It should be a sight!!
Lawrence Moore A/MA
Laurie has been doing well in his '23 'T' A/MA. He has just purchased a
left-hand steer '27 Roadster body from KLRC. Does this mean that they are
about to become a two car family? How good would it be to see a father and
son racing each other?!?
Drag Race School
Sponsor List
Romac Performance Products
Bob Brackam Phone: (07) 3376-7244 Fax: (07) 3376-6876
High quality Romac products need no introduction to experienced racers, their
reputation is well known. Bob Brackam's floater kits and axles, spools, pinion
supports, roller chain cam drives, Powerglide clutch hubs and harmonic balancers
are the standard of the racing industry. Precise machine work from quality
materials and excellent design have created a world class product. Used on the
Drag Race School cars and almost every drag race car in Australia has Romac
Performance Products on them. If you base your purchasing decision just
on quality alone you would purchase Romac Performance Products but when
you compare the price you won't consider anything else. Exporting to the racers
in the USA is an indication of just how good their products are. Romac floaters
are a dependable, cost effective alternative to flanged axles. Romac timing
chain sets and harmonic balancers are good looking, high quality components
that are used on the Drag Race School car as well as many other cars.
Kevin Kent Race Engines
Kevin Kent Phone: (07) 5531-2914
41 Ward Street, Southport, QLD 4125
Kevin is best known for his work on his fire breathing Chrysler engines, this
engine machine and assembly shop has attention to detail second to none. Remember,
performance and detail know no brand. He built the big block Chevrolet engine
for the Drag Race School car and this speaks for itself. If you want to race
Modified, all you have to do is to purchase a "rebuildable" stock engine from
an engine supplier and Kevin can do the rest for you. What you will get will
be a fast reliable engine that will give you many years of winning racing. If
you want, Kevin can arrange for the engine core to be supplied as well.
Sichterglide Transmissions
Warren Sichter Phone: (07) 5543-6445 Fax: (07) 5543-6435
267 Palomino Road, Tamborine, Gold Coast Coast, QLD 4272
Warren Sichter has been racing for 15 years and has built many winning transmissions.
His Sichterglides are at the forefront of technology and reliability.
You can spend a lot of money building a transmission. If you are building a
glide for a modified or a supercharged application, the transmission is built
quite differently. Sure, a supercharged transmission would be truly strong enough
for a Modified application but it would double the cost (or more) and you do
not need that. Warren will build you just what you need, no more, and not waste
money on things that you don't need. Warren built the transmission for the
Drag Race School car.
Graffiti Stickers
Gordon Williams Phone: (07) 5576-1169 Fax: (07) 5576-0486
Gordon has been making the Ken Lowe Race Car and the Lowe Fuel Injection
stickers for over 3 years now and everybody in drag racing has seen them so
you can see the high quality that you get with Graffiti Stickers. When
you need stickers for your company why not use a sticker company that supports
drag racing and the Drag Race School. The quality is the best and the price
is too. When you need stickers just fax him a sketch of what you want and he
will do the rest.
Queensland Ignition Leads
Doug Boyce Phone: (07) 3886-5700 Fax: (07) 3204-6480
Made from the finest wire and wire ends available, this new company is new in
name only. Doug worked for the original company for many years and when the
old company faltered he purchased the company and the equipment. Serving
Queensland and adjacent states, Doug supplies many original equipment vendors
as well as replacement parts vendors. High performance leads up to 10.5 mm are
not new to Doug and Queensland Ignition Leads. They supply the Drag Race
School cars and can supply the ignition leads for your car as well. Contact
Doug for the nearest supplier of Queensland Ignition Leads to you.
Chute Metal Products
Phone: (07) 3390-3683 Fax: (07) 3390-1731 Mobile: (0418) 778-229
Chute Metal is the inventor of the safety blanket and has made very high quality
parachutes and driver's harnesses for many years. Chute Metal's representative
in Australia is none other than Top Alcohol racer Adrian Pozzebon. Chute Metal
safety gear is used exclusively by the Drag Race School because of its reliability.
When you really need a parachute you really need Chute Metal. The parachute
that you learn to pack at the Drag Race School is a Chute Metal parachute.
When you need a parachute for your race car call Adrian and he will take care
of you.
Trailer Engineering
Brett Everding Phone: (07) 3281-7042
Need a trailer for your race car? Will you purchase one from a company that
builds horse floats? Or should you purchase one from someone who specialises
in drag race trailers? Brett and his crew build race trailers and know exactly
what a new racer will need, probably more than the new racer will know. You
can rely on his judgement for what you need and his skill and quality is first
rate and his prices are very fair. Much cheaper than having to drive to Melbourne
to get something that you may not be happy with. Give him a call if you need
a trailer. Brett has built many of the trailers that you see at the race track
today. Many of them are years old now and this is a testament to his work and
designs. If you want a rickety piece of crap trailer, you will have to get one
from someone other than Brett. If you ever see one of Brett's trailers beside
the road, it is the truck broken down, not the trailer. Compare price, quality
and availability and you will come to the same decision a lot of other people
have. Trailer Engineering builds the best race car trailers.
FXL Data
Graham Wilson Phone: (07) 3372-8490 Mobile: (0419) 342-555
24 Sittella Street, Inala, Brisbane, QLD 4077
Graham Wilson builds computers (data recorders) for race cars. This is his
business, not a sideline and he is very good at it. His company even writes
the software as well. Graham's computers are on the cutting edge of technology
in every way. One part of his software even tracks incremental times and graphs
them so you can compare from one run to the next. Nobody else's does this.
Graham is there at every race to assist his customers - you won't find another
computer manufacturer/designer at the race track. What does this mean ?
Service to you.
Crankshaft Engineering
Dave Stek Phone: (07) 3806-7488
2/20 Tradelink Road, Hillcrest, Brisbane, QLD 4188
Dave Stek and his crew are crankshaft specialists. They do the best crankshaft
grinding and balancing anywhere in the world. Renowned for their Alcohol and
Fuel crankshafts, for these guys "close enough" is not part of their vocabulary.
Very fair prices and very high quality product is their standard. They did the
crankshaft in the Drag Race School car. If they do your crankshaft, you are
guaranteed a quality product. Why experiment with anyone else ?
Crow Cams
Robert Henty Phone: (03) 9357-0469 Fax: (03) 9357-0001
The rocket you ride at the Drag Race School is powered by a Crow Cams
cam and valve gear. Leaders in camshaft technology for years, Crow Cams
has powered most of the quickest cars in Australia. The Drag Race School cars
are built for performance and reliability and this is the reason we chose
Crow Cams and valve gear. When you can see a product as successful as
Crow Cams, why would you consider anything else ?
Yella Terra Rockers
Mark Connor Phone: (03) 9555-5522 Fax: (03) 9554-4152
Yella Terra Rockers has proven themselves over the years in use as a
high quality product doing a tough job and making it look easy.Yella Terra
Rockers are made in Australia to high quality design standards to meet a
demanding market place. The Drag Race School uses Yella Terra Rockers on the
school cars because they work well and are reliable. A rocker arm must do two
things, move the valves according to the cam and do it all the way to the
winners circle. Yella Terra rockers do this and they look good doing
it.
North Terrace Tyres - Goodyear
Bill McKenna Phone: (08) 8362-4417 Fax: (08) 8362-8811
When it comes to racing tyres, Goodyear says it all. Leaders in tyre technology
for many years, Goodyear has excelled at the race track and on the road to the
race track. If your tyres let you down on the way to the race track then how
do you get there so you can win ? Suppliers of the Drag Race School 300 mph
rated front runner tyres, North Terrace Tyres supports drag racing, so
support the people who support your chosen sport. Think of Goodyear when you
need race tyres or when you need tyres for your truck, trailer or your wife's
car.
Cheapa Auto Parts
Oxenford Phone: (07) 5529-8999
Rolf supplies main stream auto parts more than hard core race parts. If your
ute or your wife's car needs spark plugs or wheel bearings (or such) please
support someone who supports drag racing. You will find his prices are very
reasonable and he has the parts in stock. If you are getting your car worked
on somewhere, specify Cheapa Auto Parts at Oxenford for the parts. And
they deliver to garages at no charge. You get good parts at good prices -
delivered ! You win and drag racing wins.
Al-Ko Trailer Axles and Accessories
Gary Hogarth & Mike Jovicic
Phone: (07) 3808-3030 Fax: (07) 3808-1719
When you are on the way to a race, the LAST thing you want to do is to have
to work on the trailer. How many times have you seen a race car trailer on
the side of the road with a broken spring ? Myself, I have seen or heard of
it at just about every major meeting. Al-Ko rubber ride axles will
never have this problem. Now I know never is a very long time but when
you look at the design of the Al-Ko rubber ride axle you will agree
with me that it is a great idea. We have them on the Drag Race School car trailer
and the smooth ride is unbelievable, it is just like air ride suspension without
the air bag problems. Without shackles and rockers to move and wear, the rubber
ride axle is extremely quiet. When you compare the prices of Al-Ko rubber
ride axles to the standard shackles and spring combination you won't even think
of using the old style spring and shackle units. This is one product that you
must consider for your race car trailer. Anything else is old
technology.
Supercycles, Indooroopilly
Phone: (07) 3878-3622 Fax: (07) 3878-3627
8/34 Coonan Street, Indooroopilly, Brisbane, QLD 4068
Every one needs pit transportation at the race track, don't they ? It sure is
a long walk to the toilets and some times it might just be nice to have a look
around and see what everyone else is doing. The drag strip is a 1/4 mile long
and the pits are bigger than the race track, so why walk ? Ride a bike for pit
transportation and recreation at home. Visit the bicycle experts at Supercycle
Indooroopilly, not because they have the best prices and the best range
(which they do), but because they support drag racing as well.
Ken Lowe says, "I cannot thank the Drag Race School sponsors enough. I
can only ask that racers and the public support the involvement of the Drag
Race School sponsors and support them like the sponsors have supported drag
racing. When you need a product, go ahead and give them a call."
There is one opening left at the school to be run on January 27-29.
Anyone interested in the school should contact Ken Lowe on mobile (0411)
699-535.
Scoops Tips & Tricks
Last week Peter Zelow made several runs in his A/MD and the best on the
day was one of the best runs his car had ever made - an 8.58. Then he bolted
on his new Ken Lowe Race Cars scoop and stepped all the way up to an 8.42 -
with no other changes. This is almost a two-tenths of a second improvement !
Now he is going to tinker with the fuel system and add some more fuel to the
extra air the scoop is providing. Can he find more peformance?? . . . Stay
tuned.
Next week Phil Spencer is taking his pro stock-type scoop off his A/MD and
installing his new Ken Lowe Race Car scoop. We will keep an eye on him and see
what improvement he has. Watch this space for the results.
Some of the KLRC scoop users are: Rod Rainford, Warren Sichter, Jeff Dell,
Peter Zelow, Chris and Rebekah Stewart, Tony Buckley and the Drag Race School.
How good is it? Everyone who has put one on has run personal best numbers.
Beauty is a quick ET slip!
Is the new KLRC '27 Roadster body that a Top Doorslammer racer in Gladstone
purchased going to wind up with a supercharged hemi in it? Now I'd like to
see that!
If you've got any news, scoops, tips or tricks to pass along for the next
issue, e-mail us at Ken Lowe
Race Cars.
Editorial
What is your favourite class of race car ? This is a question often
put to someone in surveys to help us decide what the spectators want to see
and therefore what classes a promoter wants to race at his track to draw in
the most spectators (customers). This is a valid and important part of business
today. I applaud any businessman (promoter) who wants to improve the bottom
line by increasing the sales volume.
However, I would caution on just relying completely on surveys as they
can be misleading because of the question(s) or the way the question is asked
and conclusions can be drawn that may not be totally accurate. In one survey
the question was asked, "Other than Top Fuel, what is your favourite class ?"
The responses were interesting, but I offer an alternative school of thought
to the situation.
I think that the appeal of drag racing is the MIX of cars that are
participating. Regardless of the answer to the question above, if you only
had Top Fuel and the "favourite class", fewer spectators would come to the
races if the "mix" was not there.
This phenomenon will occur at "normal" races only. Normal races are
separate from "EVENTS" such as the Winternationals. There are several big
races at Willowbank each year with the same types of cars all racing but the
Winternationals is the biggest by far. The reason for this is that the Winternationals
is an EVENT - not just a race. In the 60's it would have been called a "Happening".
Something special, not just a race but more. Every race track can have have
a defining moment on the calendar, but adding more "defining moments" to the
calendar only diminishes the existing events.
There is only one Indy 500, one US Nationals, one Grand Finals, one
Winternationals. These are EVENTS and as such stand alone and cannot be duplicated.
At these EVENTS the spectators expect the full treatment and they know they
will receive it because of the history of the event. It is difficult to establish
two or three of these events each year at one location or in one marketplace.
People schedule holidays or travel plans around such events. The cycle time
of the marketplace limits how many of these events you can schedule without
diluting each event. If it is special it happens once a year. If it happens
more, then it becomes "normal" or routine.
There is a lot of racing done every year at Daytona, Florida's tri-oval:
go karts, motorcycles and sport cars; but there is only one Daytona 500 because
it is an EVENT. Only during this EVENT are the stands packed with people. Ask
these people what their favourite class is and I bet you can guess the answer.
They have races there with the NASCAR sedans at events other than the "500"
but they don't fill the stands like they do at the "500" because the "500" is
an EVENT.
The challenge is to get more people in the gate at "normal" events.
Now having said all this, the point is that at most races what brings auto
enthusiasts in the gate is the mix of cars, not just one or two types of cars.
First it is the mix, second it is the mix and last it is the mix. Drag racing
has diversity, colour and detail unparalleled in any other type of motorsport
if we use the mix. Let us use the assets that we have.
