Red Line Oil is a company that makes special engine oils. The idea is that better oil can reduce friction inside the engine and help it handle extreme driving.
Engine friction is the resistance created when parts rub against each other as the engine runs. Less friction can mean less wear and better efficiency, especially when the engine is worked hard.
This is a drag racing weekend run by NHRA, with lots of different race classes. “Potomac Nationals” is the specific event name, and it’s where teams compete for wins and points.
Pro Stock is a class in NHRA drag racing. The cars are purpose-built for racing but based on production models, and the races are usually very competitive.
On the drag strip, “going red” means you started too early and the lights show a mistake. If that happens, your run usually doesn’t count even if you’d have been fast.
A Top Fuel Dragster is the fastest class of NHRA drag racing cars. They use nitro fuel and are designed to launch hard and go as fast as possible down the strip.
Olin Gocher is described as a friend of drag racers and the subject of a celebration of life. In this segment, he’s central to the episode’s human-interest story tied to the drag racing community.
NHRA drag racing is a type of racing where cars race in a straight line to see who can accelerate the fastest. The cars are built and tuned to fit specific rules for their class.
FTI performance transmissions is referenced as a sponsor connected to transmission and torque-converter products used in performance applications. In drag racing, transmission components are often selected and calibrated to match the car’s power and launch/shift strategy.
The chassis is the car’s main frame and suspension setup. In racing, it affects how the car stays stable and how well it grips the track when launching and accelerating.
A tune-up in racing means adjusting the car’s settings so it runs right. It’s about getting the engine to respond correctly and consistently for the track and weather.
Naturally aspirated means the engine makes power without a turbo or supercharger. It depends on getting the right amount of air and correct tuning, so changes in conditions can throw things off.
Top Fuel is the fastest class in NHRA drag racing. It uses specialized race cars (dragsters) built for maximum acceleration, and the episode is talking about new rules for it.
“2027 rules” means the racing rulebook changes coming in 2027. When rules change, teams often have to adjust how they build and tune their cars to stay competitive.
NHRA.com is the NHRA’s website. NHRA is the organization that runs and sanctions a lot of drag racing, and the site is used to look up race brackets and results.
Term
tire shape
They’re talking about how the tires are doing after being worked hard. If the tires get worn or don’t grip the same way anymore, the car can feel different and slower or harder to drive.
Term
shake zone
A “shake zone” is a part of the track where the car gets unstable—like it starts to bounce or lose grip. Drivers have to be careful there because it can slow them down or mess up the tires.
They swapped in a different engine between rounds. That usually happens when the first one broke or got damaged, and they have to keep racing with a replacement.
The clutch linkage is what physically/hydraulically moves the clutch pedal/actuator to engage or release the clutch. If it’s not working right, the car may not shift or launch smoothly, which can cost races.
“Broke his engine” means the engine failed badly and couldn’t keep going. It likely held up through most of the run, then gave out under the hardest part of the drive.
This is about how you use the clutch at the start of a drag race. If you don’t release it the right way, you can mess up your launch—or sometimes people try to “game” it to get a quicker start, which can backfire.
A “red light” in drag racing means the driver reacted too early and triggered the start light before the allowed timing window. It’s recorded as a foul, and it can decide the race even if the car is otherwise fast.
Term
laying some lights down
“Laying some lights down” is drag-racing slang for producing strong timing on the starting lights—typically meaning a very good reaction time or consistent launch. It’s often used as shorthand for “great starts” that put you ahead before the car even reaches peak speed.
The clutch pedal is what you press to connect and disconnect the engine from the gearbox. At the start, you have to find the right pressure so the car launches hard without stalling or bogging.
In drag racing, a trans brake is a feature that lets the car rev up while it’s still stopped at the start line. When you release it, the car launches hard and tries to hook up quickly.
A practice tree is the set of starting lights drag racers use to practice. It helps drivers practice their timing so they react consistently when the real race start happens.
Reaction time is how fast you respond when the starting lights tell you to go. In drag racing, that timing matters a lot because it can affect whether you’re competitive or get a bad start.
Air at sea level is denser, so engines can usually make more power. If you race somewhere with different air density, the car may feel different because it’s getting less oxygen.
Beaded seats are custom racing seats that mold around you using lots of small beads. The idea is to hold you in the right position so you’re not sliding around during hard launches and braking.
The canopy is the cover over the driver’s cockpit. It can make getting in and out tighter and changes how the cockpit feels compared to more open cars.
ET slips are the race results paper you get after a drag run. They show the car’s elapsed time (how long it took) and other timing details so you can judge how the run went.
Person
Richard
Richard is the person being talked about who originally said he wanted to do this racing plan. Here, he’s also pushing to get the right drivers into the right cars.
Person
Captain Chaos
Captain Chaos is a nickname for a drag racer. In this conversation, they’re saying someone with that reputation used to race in more than one drag racing class.
They’re talking about a step-by-step path in drag racing. You usually start in a lower class, learn the ropes, and then move up to bigger, more expensive classes as you get better and have more support.
Car
top fuel
Top Fuel is the highest level of drag racing. The cars are specialized dragsters that use nitro fuel and are built to go incredibly fast in a straight line over a short distance.
A “warm up cycle” is a controlled set of runs or operating cycles used to bring the car’s systems up to temperature and stabilize performance. In drag racing, teams use these sessions to learn how the car responds and to dial in the setup before making more serious passes.
South Georgia Motorsports Park is another drag strip location they’re comparing against. The hosts are saying the Pro Stock cars struggled there, which suggests the track was challenging.
Car
Pro Stocker's
Pro Stock is a specific drag racing category. It uses cars built to resemble production models, but they’re heavily modified for racing, and they can struggle if the track conditions aren’t right.
McLeod is a company that makes performance parts for the drivetrain (the parts that send power to the wheels). Here, they’re teaming up to help get those parts to more racers.
The water box is a spot near the start line where the track puts down water to help the tires grip better. It’s meant to make the launch more consistent.
The 1968 Chevrolet Nova is a classic muscle car from the late 1960s. Here it’s being raced in a drag-racing final, showing how popular Novas are for performance builds.
Olin Goacher is the person the car belonged to, and he’s being honored in this episode. The hosts say he also helped develop parts related to the engine’s timing.
Timing blocks are parts that help control when the engine’s ignition happens. In racing, getting that timing right can make the car launch and run better.
“License passes” are the qualifying runs you have to do to be allowed to race at that track. It’s basically the track checking that you can drive safely and properly.
A bracket race is a type of drag race where everyone is matched up using a target time. The winner is the car that gets closest to its own target, not necessarily the one with the biggest power.
“Grading points” are points you earn based on how you do in a race or series. The speaker is talking about trying to earn points by racing in the right class.
“Right to Breathe” sounds like a community program that hosts events where people get checked for breathing problems. The goal is to help people figure out what’s going on and get the right help.
Norwalk is where their next event is planned. They’re also talking about what cars they’ll bring to race there.
Part
front half and a back half
In dragster/drag-racing build language, “front half” and “back half” usually refer to major chassis sections (front and rear) that can be replaced or rebuilt. That kind of modular repair/update is common when teams want to refresh structure, mounting points, and setup for the next competition cycle.
Sepsis is when an infection causes a dangerous reaction throughout the body. The point they’re making is that it can come from different infections, not just pneumonia.
A “Funny Car” is a drag-racing car type with a special body designed for straight-line speed. “Nitro” means it runs on nitromethane fuel, which helps it make huge power for racing.
The Hyundai i30 is a small car made for regular driving, like getting to work or school. It’s meant to be practical and comfortable without being overly large. People may mention it because it’s a common type of car on the road.
NHRA is the big organization behind organized drag racing in the U.S. An “NHRA national event” means a major race that brings top racers and lots of fans.
Bruce Larson is a well-known drag racer mentioned as someone the speaker got to race against. The speaker is saying it was a big deal because he’s respected in the sport.
Person
John Forrest
John Forrest is a famous name in drag racing. The speaker is saying the fans reacted to his car like they would for a top Funny Car driver.
Oil rings are the piston rings designed to control how much engine oil remains on the cylinder wall. They scrape excess oil down while still allowing proper lubrication. If oil ring function is off, you can see higher oil consumption and changes in combustion behavior.
Piston rings have to seal tightly inside the cylinder. If they don’t seal well, combustion gases can slip past and cause problems like lower power and more oil getting burned. “Ring seal” is basically how well that sealing works.
Ring deflection is how much a piston ring flexes away from its intended shape under operating forces. That flexing can reduce sealing contact, increasing blow-by and hurting efficiency. It’s influenced by piston motion, cylinder pressure, and ring design/materials—topics that matter a lot in racing engines.
The piston is the part that moves up and down inside the engine’s cylinder. When the fuel burns, it pushes the piston to create power. How the piston moves can affect how well the rings seal.
The Ford Granada is an older Ford car that was built for everyday driving when it was new. It’s not a modern model you’d typically see today, so it often comes up in stories about the past. If someone mentions “Granada,” they may be talking about the car from that time period.
Total Seal is a brand known for piston ring products used in performance and racing engines. The segment mentions Total Seal’s “trackside tech talk,” tying the discussion to ring technology and installation/usage in real racing contexts. For enthusiasts, the brand name often signals aftermarket ring sets aimed at improving sealing and reducing blow-by.
“Trackside tech talk” refers to technical discussions happening at the racetrack environment. In this segment, it’s used to frame where listeners can hear more about ring technology and engine behavior. It’s a format/topic marker rather than a specific technical component.
Synthetic motor oil is a type of engine oil made to work better than regular oil in hot and cold conditions. It’s often chosen for cars that see harder driving.
A torque converter is a part in an automatic transmission that uses fluid to transfer power from the engine to the gearbox. Performance versions are often used to help the car launch harder and stay in the engine’s best power range.
Company
PowerEdge
PowerEdge is a motorsports-related organization mentioned as partnering on upcoming events. The host is saying Paul Lee is working with their folks for what’s next.
“Jesse converters” is a name used here for a torque-converter supplier. Torque converters are the automatic-transmission part that helps the car launch and transfer power.
Catalytic converters are parts in the exhaust that help clean up the gases coming out of the engine. Some performance exhaust systems use different converter designs to reduce restriction while still meeting emissions rules.
“G sport” sounds like a named product option for emissions hardware. The point being made is that you choose the right version based on your goals and vehicle needs.
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Red Line Oil.
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The number one source of friction in your engine is not what you think.
This is WFO Radio.
Hey everybody, welcome back. WFO Radio is on the air. Get ready for the NHRA JEGS Potomac Nationals.
Our first time up there to Maryland International Raceway. We're going to be the Buds Creek Mechanicsville Maryland area.
I'm flying into Reagan National for the first time since my XM Satellite Radio days up there.
It's going to be great. I'm super excited about this event, but we have got a big show for you.
We're going to double back to the Gerber Collision and Glass NHRA Nationals Route 66 Raceway in Chicago.
We're going to talk to AA Aaron Stanfield going to be on the show seconds from now.
If you're a fan of Pro Stock, you definitely want to share this show because he had one of the greatest single days driving that I can remember.
Through the first three rounds at least, I'm sure he'll bring up the final, but it doesn't matter after your opponent has already gone red.
We'll speak with Aaron Stanfield, but maybe you're a fan of Nitro cars and you just love the Super Fuel and you love 12,000 horsepower and you're like Aaron Stanfield.
He just drives Pro Stock. Well, he just got fitted for a Top Fuel Dragster this past week.
So we're going to talk to Aaron about that. It is going to be great.
Also on the show, Nitro Joe Morrison going to join us at the tail end because he is going to be competing this weekend at the Potomac Nationals, which is kind of cool.
We're going to speak with Nitro Joe as well. And then the story that I am really interested in is this man, Olin Gocher, friend of drag racers everywhere, friend of mine, passed away earlier this year.
And when we were in Chicago, I believe he was they did a celebration of life for Olin at the Texas Motorplex in line with their divisional race and Olin's driver or the man who drives Olin's car, Greg Parson,
went to the celebration of life and then went to the race and won the race.
And that's just so hard to win any race. So we're going to talk about Olin. We're going to talk about Greg. We're going to talk about the race.
He runs Super Street. That's also kind of cool. We're going to get into all of that.
So I ask you to share the show. Let's get the word out as we talk NHRA drag racing.
Now you heard about a couple of our sponsors. I want to mention the fine folks at Jesse Converters, the DPF Xfit brand Jesse.
These guys on board, Matt Latino, Eric Latino, those guys supporting WFO radio and Larisse Motorsports Insurance will tell you more about these guys a little bit later on in the show.
But I'd just like to mention them at the very start. Thank you, Larisse for supporting WFO radio and FTI performance transmissions and torque converters.
Thank you, FTI for being on board with WFO and husseyperformance.net, not just copper gaskets anymore, guys.
Bernie's Speed Shop. Of course, Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School Fogget. If you don't have a can of Fogget in your trailer, you're merely making a huge mistake.
It's a grave error in judgment. I mentioned Bernie's, of course, Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School.
And my main man down there in Fort Worth, Texas, Marvin Rodak and RodaxCoffeeandGrills.com.
We'll tell you more about them a little bit later, but now let's bring on the guy who got the job done in Pro Stock out there at Route 66 Raceway, Mr. Aaron Stanfield.
What's up, AA? How are you?
Good, Joe. Thanks for having me on here.
Super excited. All right. So we were joking in the media center after it was all over.
This is the first win. It had been a minute, as they say, to punch it in the winter circle for elite motorsports, for Aaron Stanfield.
It was like you, I don't want to say put the team on your back, but you did all that you could do as a driver to get this thing into the final round.
Talk a little bit about what did you eat for breakfast that day that your worst light was an 11.
And, you know, I don't think I ate anything for breakfast and I don't think I ate anything for lunch.
Maybe I was just a little hungry, a little hangry, but I definitely, definitely had a day of days behind the wheel for sure.
And yeah, it's been a minute for our team since Indy last year with Erica for us to be in the winter circle.
And I think Las Vegas in 2024 was the last time I was in the winter circle with my car.
So definitely felt good to be back and, you know, hopefully we just continue that progress.
Well, let's, let's talk about that. Like pro stock is one of those classes and you love it.
Your dad loves it in the winter. I love it, but not everybody gets it.
Like, you know, like, oh, why don't they just just go as fast as they were before?
Like, you know, the car's not fast anymore. Aaron, what's wrong?
How do you explain that to people like that you've got it and then you lost it and they've got it and then they've lost it.
The performance advantage is just constantly moving back and forth between two teams that I would say work, you know, work equally as hard.
Yeah, I think you definitely got to take your hat off to the KB guys.
I mean, obviously they've worked, they've worked hard, but our boys have had their head down for a while and working.
And I mean, nobody's exempt to struggling. It doesn't matter how successful you've been.
You know, everybody can go through a period where they struggle and and, you know, I think KB is definitely raised the bar and, you know, made it a little bit harder.
But I think, you know, I certainly can't push on the gas pole any harder. My big toe hurts when I get done racing.
Well, right. There's only so much you can do and it's not in the car. It's at the computer. It's with the tune up. It's testing. It's chassis.
It's situational weather, all of that in play.
It is. We've we've definitely we've been testing a lot and the guys have been working super hard in the engine shop.
I mean, there's a lot of moving parts with a pro stock car, like, like many drag cars, but I mean, they're sensitive little beast.
I mean, they're naturally aspirated engines and it doesn't take much for for something to throw it off.
And, you know, it doesn't come from, you know, a lack of effort or a lack of knowledge.
You know, sometimes sometimes these things happen.
And I mean, you you see it and the best teams out here and and we're not exempt from it.
But I can guarantee you everybody on the team is has been working super hard to, you know, kind of get us out of this rut.
All right, so let's I want to ask you about a bunch of stuff.
The top fuel car, the 2027 rules.
Just smoking your poor dad out of that car on the top of the race track like he was choking.
But let's start off.
I'm trying to bring up the ladder on NHRA.com.
It's not working for me on this given day.
It says no, the pro stock ladder.
But you were on mean from jump.
You know, I think it was you and Hartford first round.
Hartford is 20 something with one of the best runs of the round and you loaded him up.
I talked to him.
He's like, hey, you know, sometimes that's what happens.
You and Matt bring the best out of each other.
We do.
You know, whether it's some start line games being played.
Oh, that's he's getting a text.
Hold on.
I don't hear you yet.
There you go.
Well, now he's gone.
Hartford's interrupting the deal.
Hartford's getting revenge.
All right, go ahead.
You guys bring the best out of each other.
Yeah.
So, you know, sometimes we might play a little start line games and, you know, we always bring, we always have a good, good race.
And, you know, he can't be ashamed to be in 20 on the tree and making a good run.
You know, I've been beaten in the same fashion as, you know, as he got beat in that round.
And, you know, sometimes you just got to shake your opponent's hand and say, you know, good, good run.
And, you know, that's essentially what he told me.
He can't, he wasn't disappointed with that.
We made a nice run and I drove well.
And, and, you know, it just kind of at least set the tone, set the tone for myself on race day.
Yeah, absolutely.
All right.
So then second round, I, like I said, I can't bring up the latter.
So your second round, I believe you were 11.
So like 008 and then 11 in the second round.
Yep.
We had, we had Jagi and the Jagi's obviously always killer driving a race car.
And, you know, he's, he's been super good in the past, past couple of years.
So you definitely know you've got to bring your A game up there.
I think both of us kind of went through a little tire shape that round on it and make a very good run.
I think my car barely made it, you know, made it through that shake zone and his, his took the tire off and, you know, gave us, gave us a round win there.
One of the greatest of all times, Jed Coughlin.
The semi finals though, now that's the special one, right?
Like back to Sonoma a year ago, all of those, the reason that this is happening is for moments like that.
Yes.
So, you know, the old man, he's been tough on me every time we've raced.
He's kicked my butt a few times now.
So, you know, he, he in the second round or first round, he didn't make a very good run.
So we, we change engines and second round, he didn't make a very good run.
So, you know, in my head, I was thinking about, I knew I was on the edge as far as my clutch linkage and, you know, on the tree.
Okay.
So there was a brief thought of, man, maybe I should just dial it back just a little bit.
And then somewhere in the middle of that, I said, Nope, we're, we're going through, we're going straight for the throat here.
And, and, you know, in true fashion, my dad pops off a 008, you know, light and or 007 light makes a nice lap.
And we had a heck of a race and, you know, he broke his engine there at the finish line.
You know, I went through that same exact thing in Chicago two years ago.
So I know that feeling it's not a, it's not a good one.
It doesn't look like much, but when you can't see where you're going at 200 miles an hour, definitely, you know, there's a little bit of a hucker factors.
I would call it that that comes into play.
Yeah, well, he even, you know, was dealing with the smoke and all of that.
But yeah, you're both double low against each other.
Like that's what we pay to see Aaron.
That was incredible.
Father and son battling out both cut down the tree.
Let's just take a second to talk about your dad for a minute because we did the 75 greatest drivers.
We only added 25 drivers.
It's very tough to add just 25 drivers in 25 years.
That's one great driver of years, you know, Erica and Jag and Greg and Jason line and everything.
But I think your dad could be number 76 like he's the five championships, the US nationals.
I think Greg Stanfield like right, you know, that's why you make these lists because there's always going to be someone that's like right on the verge of the list that just doesn't get in.
I don't imagine he cared.
What about it?
I don't, he doesn't.
He does have a level of I don't care for sure.
But you know, in my mind, he's he's a he's a superhero to me, you know, growing up as a kid and watching him.
He's always very quickly been able to do it at a very high level.
You know, and that's something I take pride in.
He's always taught me to be versatile and and, you know, be able to hop in there and expect to be good, you know, in any car very quickly.
So, you know, whether it's Superstock championships or pro stock truck car, he's he's always he's always been in a competitive spot.
He's always been a very good driver.
I mean, you see, you see it all all the time.
He knows when to he knows how to show up when he needs to show up.
So, you know, I definitely I might have learned a thing or two from him.
And he's still got a long way to go and speeding of driving at a high level and whatever you show up in, we'll get into that in a minute.
But then the final round, you're going up against Greg Anderson, Kaby, a lead, another guy that is like one of the greatest, if not the greatest of all time statistically.
And, you know, I can't say I haven't talked to Greg, right, that it was an intimidation victory.
Like he saw your lights and he went up there and his left foot was shaken.
That's not what I'm saying.
But he knew that he had to be on it.
They couldn't be like 40 and, you know, either cheated the clutch or whatever.
Who knows what happened.
But for Greg Anderson to go red against you.
I don't think anybody expected that.
Did you definitely, definitely don't don't expect that.
I mean, again, nobody's exempt for making mistakes.
And of course, the drivers, when you see somebody just, you know, really laying, laying some lights down and it definitely, I wouldn't say it's an intimidation factor.
It's just a matter of, okay, I got to be on my game right here.
And you just, you might push a little bit harder, you know, and it's, I can't stress it enough how easy it is to cheat the clutch pedal in these cars.
I mean, you got to, you got to hold the perfect amount of clutch pressure or pedal on the pressure on the clutch pedal.
And that takes, it takes a, it's, it's a difficult thing to do.
And, you know, some, some days I don't feel like I'm missing the tree any better or, you know, hitting the tree any better or worse.
It just might be a simple, I'm feeling the clutch pedal really well that day.
So, you know, I would, I would chalk it up to maybe you just got a little light on the clutch pedal trying to be good on the tree and, you know, just miss a tree.
Simple as that. And you win the race and you didn't, you said you didn't have a good light, but I think it's because he red light.
I think that kind of was all happening at the same time and, and who knows.
I don't, don't think he, it was because he red lighted. I was, I missed the tree.
But, you know, of course you have a great day of driving and you go and screw it up in the final round.
They decided, man, they decided to, that was your day.
Yep. So it was definitely my day. I mean, things fell my way when I, when they needed to, and I drove well, and we had a good race car.
So that's, it's all, it's all got to come together to win one of these things.
And yeah, I just, you know, another, you know, another 10 light in the final would have been a nice way to chalk off, chalk up the good driving day.
But, you know, maybe we'll have another shot again here, here in Maryland.
Well, we're going to find out about that. But you took a little bit of a break, right?
For those who are thinking about the clutch, here's what I like. If you let go of a trans break button at all or hit a practice tree at all.
Most practice trees have the button. You know that if you push hard, you can slow your reaction time.
And if you get super light on it, you can control your reaction time a little bit like that.
When I think about you doing that with your left foot, it seems, it seems like that would be very challenging to do, especially in our pushing back.
Yep. And the clutch pedal pushes back and, you know, it change how hard it pushes back changes with how much counterweight they have on the clutch or how high you're leaving or, you know, where you have your clutch linkage at.
So it's a, you know, something that's not the pressure as in like what it's pushing back on your foot is not always the same.
You know, whether we're in Las Vegas or at sea level air. So, you know, it's something that's a kind of, you know, a moving, a moving target and, you know, some of my best days are driving.
I can tell I'm, I just have a good feel for how hard to push.
Yes. Well, exactly. Exactly. People are in the chat section.
Congratulations. Congratulations.
I'm congratulating you throughout. I congratulate you as well. Some hard week for NASCAR fans. I'm going to talk a little bit about that later on in the show, guys.
I do want to talk about the Kyle Busch situation that was very, very difficult.
Just talking about the success you've had. Congratulations, Aaron, to you and your team on your win. All of that. But let's move forward.
Get rid of that clutch pedal, man. Let's talk a little bit about top fuel and let's see just some of the click videos that you guys send of you getting fitted.
I know that guy that's there helping you.
A couple more videos just you getting fitted. Now this is a very specific deal. Erica.
Erica told me just on a quick chat that it was very different than getting fitted for a pro stock car. So you guys got fitted together.
Seats poured. Tell us what went into all of that and how did it feel being into the cockpit of that car? You were on top dragster, so it's not like open wheel stuff is alien to you.
But what was it like?
Yeah, so I've driven dragsters before, but obviously nothing this fast and nothing this long. There's a lot of fundamental fundamental things about driving them that are very different from anything that I've ever driven.
But getting fitted for it. I mean, all those guys might green and although that whole R&L team, they were super welcoming to both of us and they made the experience really, really easy.
And it was a very informative couple days and, you know, they did a great job pouring the seat. That's the first time I got to do one of the beaded seats where, you know, normally there's a two part liquid that they pour into a plastic bag and it forms around your body.
So if you're not sitting in there just right, you know, you're kind of you're pretty much stuck with what you got. But this is cool. We got to sit in it and they could move the beads around to make sure you're comfortable.
Make sure the seats contact in your body all the way around.
But one thing I will say is, man, them guys make it look easy getting in and out of them because definitely, you know, you're, you're tight, you're definitely really tight in there.
And they sat the body on there and close the canopy and it's, it's definitely long. So, you know, it's, it's going to be a different experience. But, you know, with the help of Tony and Leah, they've, they've already gave us so much information to come up with.
We get to think about it for a while before we get to go and run the car. And they've been super helpful throughout this process. And I look forward to, to learning all about it because it's fresh territory for me.
I think it's great. I'm excited. This is exactly what's supposed to happen. Like a really talented racers racer, multi-generational racer grew up in the sport, just kicking ass and everything he's doing.
You're the kind of guy that deserves a shot at top fuel. Like, is this, is this what you want? Like, is this what you want? Do you not realize you never told me top fuel Joe? That's what I want to do.
But now it's there and it seems like my opinion is that you're realizing like, man, I got a chance to do something. I didn't think I would get to do it.
And I'm going to do it and I'm going to do it well. But you tell me here.
100%. I mean, never my wildest dreams would I would have thought I get gotten the opportunity or get the opportunity to be able to, you know, at a minimum just sit down and get to drive one of these, one of these things.
So yeah, I'm super excited about it. I mean, I think, you know, what do I want with the perfect world would be to be able to race in both of them.
I think everything I've done in my career up until this point would prove that I'm capable of driving, you know, to two different cars at a very high level.
So that would be the perfect world and we'll just see how that pans out. But, you know, I think it's a it's a great opportunity that that I would be a fool not to take advantage of.
And, you know, in my mind, who wouldn't want to go that fast in a race car? I mean, it sounds like a great idea.
If you I don't want to do that, but you get to get yourself one of them 330 mile per hour ET slips.
But I hear what you're saying there between the lines. Richard was on been a couple of years ago when he broke the news that he wanted to do this.
And I always got to say, oh, a lot of people didn't believe him. And I got a lot of text messages. Yeah, right, Joe, Richard's using you to create buzz and he's never going to do that.
And here we are. But part of it was he wanted Erica in a car. Now he wants you in a car and he would love for drivers like yourself to be able to run both.
And it sounds like you just said that you feel like you could handle that running top fuel, running pro stock Captain Chaos did it way back in the day.
I know Richard wants that. And he's got drivers that he thinks can run well in top fuel.
So this is this is a moment to make that case. Like, why is that a good idea?
Well, number one, wouldn't it be just a crazy partner sports history to be able to have a driver win in two different pro categories on the same day?
Something that's never never been accomplished. And and I think it's a, you know, if there's, you know, talent and money and the means to be able to do it, I don't I don't know why, you know, why why we wouldn't be able to pull together and pull
that off. I think it's, you know, I think Eric and I both would would definitely hop all hop all over that opportunity.
You know, because I I do love pro stock and I I'd love to not stop racing pro stock.
So and I do feel like I have some unfinished business in the pro stock category as well.
But that being said, you know, me Joe, I'll drive anything they let me drive as long as it's got four wheels.
That's a fact that you know, in the super stock are in top dragster and whatever whatever.
And I think that and this is what I don't know, maybe it would be good for pro stock for a top fuel driver to want to run pro stock and be like, no man, I love pro stock.
But now Richard's got to get what three cars like what are we doing?
We're now we're not announcing an expansion just yet.
But if you get the bug and what if he really likes it, you know, he's all of a sudden Richard's, you know, come on Richard back to work.
I'm sure it will be difficult not to like it.
I could imagine, but you know, this is still we're at the this was step one of the of the process.
You know, I'm not sure how many runs we're going to get to make, you know, this first test session.
But I mean, it I've been I went through progressions enough to know that, you know, when you hop in something that feels fast to you for the first time, it takes a couple runs to, you know, at least get your money.
It takes your mind to where you know what's going on.
You know, that happened when I first started racing that happened in the pro stock cart.
It takes it takes you a little bit to, you know, get your mind sped up to it and same thing for the promo car.
And this will be, you know, a huge jump here.
So it's going to be a process to to learn and, you know, understand totally what's going on, you know, with the car and what exactly I need to be doing in the driver's seat.
So I'm not I'm not afraid of it.
Definitely respect it and understand that you're getting in something that's a bomb and it can hurt you.
But I'm confident in all the guys working on the car.
I'm confident in the teachers that her and I will have.
And I'm just I'm really looking forward to it.
I'm excited for you as well as well.
I am excited for you like this is what the sport is drag racing.
Like if it's a ladder, we always talk about the ladder and like I'm on the Super Street, man, super excited.
The first rung of that ladder 1090 cars and the top of the ladder is top fuel and anybody that really wants to can climb that ladder of progression and with the right coaching and the right funding desire can do it.
That's what's unique about drag racing.
Let's we'll talk about 2027 rules in the future.
I have a feeling you'll be back multiple times over the course of the season.
Now, when is this test session?
We got the Potomac Nationals this weekend. Super excited.
We're going to do three in a row.
When are you planning on actually getting in this top fuel car?
I think currently our plan is sometime in August and I think both of us are going to go.
We're going to go do it at the same time, you know, and spend a couple of days at the racetrack and probably get as many runs as we can get.
So I don't, you know, I don't think we have a we have we have it planned out that it's going to be in August.
You know, I don't think we've nailed down the dates just yet.
But, you know, we got plenty of time to maybe get some get some warm up cycles in and, you know, and just continue to learn exactly what we need to be doing to drive the car.
That's going to be great.
Now you're going to be great.
All right. What about Maryland International Raceway?
The last first was South Georgia Motorsports Park.
Pro Stocker's kind of had a tough time, but generally the event was a positive one.
I'm hoping that this one can track in the same direction as we are in a new part of the country.
What do you know? Have you been to Maryland International?
I have not.
And what do you expect on the weekend?
I have not been to Maryland.
But if it's anything like South Georgia, I mean, it really seemed like they packed the house at that racetrack.
So, you know, going to some new places, you, you pick up some new fans, some fans that might not travel to some of these, some of the racetracks we go to.
So I'm super pumped up about it.
I've heard, I've heard great things about the racetrack.
I've heard it can be, you know, a track that can, can, you know, put out some fast ETs.
And I'm, I'm, I'm excited, always excited to go race at a new place and see some new fans and, you know, and service, service a new place.
There you go. Me too. Absolutely.
Look at this WFO chat.
He just had to one up my diamond wall.
He says, Joe Lee, you had to go one up, Aaron.
Couldn't let her have the diamond wall.
The biggest one.
What are you doing?
Well, for those that don't know, my wife races as well.
A couple of weeks ago, we got to go to Bell Rose, Louisiana for the sports nationals and, and she picked up a class Wally and Superstock and the old Superstock car that, that my dad raced back in the 90s and one championships with and that I raced to my very first NHRA win as well.
So, yeah, we definitely had to, she got a baby Wally. We had to get a big Wally.
Definitely get a big wall.
The competition.
She should have another shot at some diamond wallies as well.
So it's the car right over your shoulder, right?
It's in that picture right behind you doing the wheels up, right?
Yep.
There it is.
That's the right field machine.
That is amazing.
Now what a competitive family you've got, but you guys drive each other forward and it's great.
Aaron, we'll see you this weekend.
Thanks for making the time on WFO radio.
Thank you for sharing the inside story on your, you know, the top fuel journey.
It's interesting and I know you're going to do very well.
So we'll keep tracking that.
Good luck this weekend.
I do.
Thank you.
Thanks for having me.
Thank you very much.
Congratulations on the win.
Aaron Stamfield with us here on WFO radio pro stock to top fuel to Super Street.
Our next guest, Greg Parson, he drove for Olin Goacher.
Olin was a friend of the drag racers.
Olin passed away earlier this year.
There was a celebration of life held right before a big divisional race.
And Greg wins the race in Olin's car.
There it is.
I'm telling you the story, but how did it all happen?
You're going to have to stick around and we are going to find out.
I'm just super excited to hear about this.
Thank you to Chris Monahan for immediately getting on the order.
Joe, you got to do this.
And we are going to do it.
I do appreciate it greatly.
Before we get to Greg, I just want to thank the folks at Larisse Motor Sports Insurance.
If you're a sportsman racer and you haven't covered your equipment, you really should.
Like there are jokes about insurance, right?
Like, oh, it's boring.
Nobody likes to talk about insurance because nobody wants to consider that you may need
it.
But if you can't afford like I openly acknowledge the day that a giant meteor crashes down on
top of my raising equipment, I don't.
I'm not going to be able to replace it.
I'm not.
That's why I have coverage.
I hope giant meteor is in the coverage.
And I believe that it is, which is what makes Larisse Motor Sports Insurance great.
Call Holden.
Call these guys LarisseMotorsPortsInsurance.com.
Talk a little bit about whether it be your race car, your racing equipment, your truck,
your trailer, all the tools, your golf cart, everything.
And most importantly, they don't have all the exemptions that some of the other companies
have exemptions like, oh, where was it parked?
Oh, sorry.
You're not covered.
Where were you at?
Oh, sorry.
Was there race fuel in there?
Oh, no.
Yeah.
Sorry.
Can you imagine?
I can't imagine.
I'd freak out.
I would be very upset.
Be very upset.
Was it on the lift?
Sorry.
Oh, yeah, that look.
Word number 5010
Yeah, you missed it.
You're not covered.
And I can't even begin to deal with that.
That's why I went to LarisseMotorsPortsInsurance.com for Project Pontiac and I am covered.
Thank you, Larisse.
If you have any questions, obviously you can reach out to me.
You can reach out to those guys as we continue along.
All right.
Greg Parsons going to join us after this on WFO.
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So, here comes your super street final round.
And rolling into the water box on the left side is going to be Ray Todd out of Belleville,
Texas.
68 Chevy Nova.
And the other side, Greg Parson.
The car owned by the late Olin Goacher.
We celebrated his life last night.
Olin helped to develop the timing blocks and it's so much for the motor flags here.
Greg trying to turn on one more win light.
Put this car in the winner's circle.
I'm sure that would mean more than just about anything to Greg.
It sure would mean just about more than anything to Ray, too.
The Nova's on the starting line.
Again, all finalists should be in the lanes.
All finalists should be in the lanes.
Green lights appear.
Ray Todd comes off the stop first.
There should be a great drag race.
Greg is closing in and the win light goes to Greg Parson.
What an unbelievable story.
We celebrate the life of Olin Goacher last night who met so much to so many people here
at Texas Motorplex for his contributions to the track, his contributions to the sport
of drag racing, and Greg Parson puts sluggo in the winner's circle.
What an unbelievable story.
Congrats to Greg, Judy, Olin.
I know you're watching down, buddy.
Congrats to you as well.
First monahan on the call, NHRA.TV, and he joins us now, Mr. Greg Parson.
Greg, welcome to WFO Radio.
What is it like watching that final round, knowing what you went through on that race weekend?
Well, I was looking at the reaction time.
I wish I had a little bit of reaction time for everybody to see.
26, man.
Was it 26?
What are you doing?
That was the worst one of the weekend.
The win light came on.
That's what counts.
All right.
So Olin is a friend to all of us, but my audience probably doesn't know Olin.
We got to talk about this guy.
Olin, a great person at the Motorplex.
Olin hanging out with me and Rick Green from Drag Race Central.
Just talk a little bit about sluggo the car and how you, as I understand it,
Olin owned the car and you drove the car.
Like, how did that relationship come together?
How did you meet Olin Goacher?
Well, I met him through a mutual friend, Craig Anderson, way back in 2004.
I guess Craig's brother-in-law had been driving the car that season and something came up
and the race at Rusk was happening and Nacho couldn't come and drive the car.
So my buddy Craig called me and said, hey, the car is there.
The interface page has come dry.
So, you know, my wife and I had a super street car, but we hadn't raced in about six years.
So I was familiar with it.
We don't race at all now.
We've been racing for years.
So, but I went down and ran that race.
So I ended up winning it and Olin said, well, you know, there's another race in a couple of months.
Once you see about driving that one too, you know, so in the meantime, I guess my license had expired or something.
So we had to go back to Rusk and get my make some license passes and that was during a bracket race.
And Olin said, well, this is the end of the bracket race.
We're here.
So I won that race too.
So Olin's like, this is like me kind of meant to be.
So you just take it like it's yours, you know.
So started out just driving and then I started working on it and wrenching changing things on it.
And the last, I guess, 22 years, I've replaced you about everything on it, you know.
But so I think we're more of a partner, you know, last several years on the car.
But he's just a super great guy and always want to help people.
And that's how he wound up with the car.
You know, he wanted to, he wanted his nephew Jason to have some racing experience.
So that's how he wound up with the car.
And it just kind of evolved from that.
So amazing.
And you got your diamond Wally right next to you.
You know, I've been making a big deal about these diamond Wally's since last year.
And I'm really happy that everyone is responding to them.
What does it mean to win one to get on the board for the diamond Wally's?
Like diamond Wally winner, you are one.
Yeah, I wanted one.
I mean, I wanted one, but, you know, the honest, my heart is what needed.
I didn't get the car ready for the no problem races on purpose.
So that would give me an excuse not to go.
And I'd already called Judy for the Dallas double and said, Hey, I'm not coming.
I had the car loaded.
I had the truck gas up.
I had the, I had the ass in the cooler.
I had everything ready.
And I called her Wednesday and said, I'm not coming.
And then I was moping around the house, you know, Wednesday and Thursday.
And my wife was like, just get your butt in that truck and go to the racetrack.
So that's what we, that's what we did.
So anyway, the risks turned out pretty well.
So I get it.
It's not the same, but I had a health scare with my mother and she, you know,
almost passed this happening right around the same time.
I think we got word that all in past while I was in the hospital,
I don't recall the exact date, but it'd be easy to figure it out.
And racing is like a million miles away.
Like even right now, like the idea of myself racing my car, it's like,
I don't even want to deal with it.
And so I can't even imagine it's like, you're an Orleans car together.
You're working on it.
You've had this great success.
And now you got to go out there.
You went to the celebration of life at the Texas motorplex in the champions club.
I saw photographs, but you know, what can you share?
Like how great was that?
And then to, to motivate yourself to get in the car like that.
There's a lot of emotion.
I don't know if people understand, but there's a lot of emotion to
strapping yourself into a race car and going out there.
Walk us through.
For sure.
Yeah.
You know, I told, told my wife, I said, I just wouldn't win first round.
I don't want to go to the celebration of life and already be eliminated from
the race, you know, and I said, uh, I want to win first round.
And we managed that.
And then suddenly rolled around and we got a couple of red lights.
And the next thing you know, when we're in the, we're in the third round,
I'll go windows saying now, you know, so we just kept rolling in the joy keys.
Racers for Christ kept telling me one more round and my wife has kept telling
me of my day, you know, so the next thing you know, we're in the finals.
And I always kid it over.
We've raced, you know, for 20 something years and we've been lucky.
We've won four division championships and nine division races, about a couple
of national events.
So we've won a race or two, but, uh, I kept telling him every time I lost a
close round.
I said, why don't you get that override button up in the tire and make my
win mark.
Come on.
He always laughs and say, you know, I couldn't do that if there was one.
But, you know, I, like I told my wife, I said, I'll make you the same day for
a special day.
You know, so anyway, I think I had a little help that day if you know what
it means.
I do.
I do.
I hope so.
That's what I, you know, I want to be true.
I want, uh, that to be the case and look at all and what a great photograph we
got.
All right.
Before we, uh, before we came on, you know, Greg and I were talking a little
bit because Greg and I had never really met each other prior to this.
It just happened to, you know, when Chris Monahan, thank you, Chris, uh, who
will be with us on the announced team this year reached out to me.
I was like, oh, this is perfect.
Like this is the perfect story.
You've really done something major, but we have never spoken.
You started to reveal some great stories about all.
And so I know all.
And just as someone who is always very nice to me, all in and Judy, I know he
worked as a race director years for years.
He was the, the back computer, uh, for division four, like putting in all the,
um, tech card information and making sure all the, like people don't realize
there's a lot of work, like real labor that goes into data entry work,
not exciting work, but all in did it and Judy all that stuff.
But he had many contributions to the sport of drag racing.
One that I just learned about Chris mentioned it was the blocks, the blocks
that everybody for whatever reason calls cones, which I don't like, but that's
not me.
They're blocks.
Uh, all in had something to do with the blocks.
What do you know?
He told me it was his idea and he worked with a, another guy and that they came
up with the phone blocks with the risk lectures on, you know, which is better
than the, you know, the mirrors and the lights that were trying to shine across
there.
And he just gave that to Bob Brockmire as far as I know.
Uh, just gave it to him to help us forward.
Yes.
He's kind of guy he was.
He wrote, uh, you know, they use those anti computers and stuff in HRA still,
he still does and he was fluent in programs for that.
He, I think he wrote all the programs for the ladders and the qualified sheets
and he did all that and just gave it to him.
You know, he, he always just wanted to help us forward and help people.
It's, you know, just kind of guy he was wrote the programs.
And so like that tells us a little something.
I can't write a program like back in the day.
He is thinking about drag racing, loving drag racing, getting involved in drag
racing and writing programs, figuring out the next thing and just like delivering
it as far as I understand, um, to make things better.
That, that is his legacy.
That's what he did.
Yep.
You know, he started out, you know, acquaintance and moved kind of good friends
and then, you know, maybe a mentor and like a father figure, a grandfather figure
to my kids, you know, my, my son Scott was always going to the races with him
and him and you, oh, and he's a banner back and forth in a motor home
and traveled across country.
You know, I was telling him how much money and diesel fuel he spent driving
across the country, taking me drag racing and stuff and go back in the day.
So he's really a great guy.
And would go to all the draw drag racing association of women events and, you know,
charitably minded, like donate his time, go there on his own dime to help
out draw, which is a truly great organization within NHRA.
Um, but that is, you know, a satellite organization.
However, you want to call it that helps racers that are NHRA members that are
injured, et cetera, um, or even beyond.
But that was a true passion of his and he and Judy legends of the Texas motorplex.
But you had told me a funny story though.
Kindness to a fault.
How could that be?
How could that be?
Yeah.
Well, you know, we had an AC unit on the trailer that wasn't that great.
So he went and bought a new AC unit and had input on the trailer at the
format trailer and, uh, I broke down and went bought a big 9,000 watt generator.
And, uh, our first race, there's gonna be no problem.
You know, Southern Louisiana.
It's about his height.
He's down there.
You know, so I'm on the way down with the truck and the trailer.
He and Judy are already there in a motor home and, uh, he called me and said,
Hey, you got that big new generator notion.
I said, yeah, I'm going to be cool all weekend in that trailer.
You know, and they go, well, he said, uh, another racer is generator or his
motor home broke down and he's going to have to pull out and go home.
If, uh, they can't, they can't nobody get that generator going.
So I, I kind of told him that he could use your new generator.
So I said, okay, I wasn't happy about it.
But, uh, the whole weekend long, I got, they parked, you know, four or five
trailers down.
I got to watch them all in the cool over there in their unit with my gin.
And I was sweating over there in that trailer.
But that's the way he was.
He was one of the help, help people race and all he wanted to do, you know.
And who was that racer?
Was that, you told me before, was it Brinkley?
Yeah, it was Shannon Brinkley.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Shannon, do you know this story?
Do you know the story?
You got to give Greg some AC, man.
You want a little AC, not a lot, just a little or some fireworks.
You can make it good.
He gave me some fireworks.
So yeah, it worked out.
It all worked out.
All right.
So someone is asking about the car.
Um, is that a 78 Nova that you're driving?
77.
77.
Yeah.
I saw 145 miles an hour for super street.
It's been 149 has been changed, but thanks a little tail.
It goes usually 147, 148 in that range.
What does it weigh?
3100 pounds.
A little over 3100 with me in it.
Okay.
All right.
All right.
Super street category that I can run occasionally every once in a while when I'm not working
for an HRA, you know, at the beginning of the year, the end of the year.
I love it.
I love the class because the cars are heavy and unmolested and there's no carbon fiber
and you get all these crazy shapes of cars, trucks and full size and, and all that.
What about you?
Talk to people and explain why super street is cool.
I like it cause, you know, you got to make a better run than your opponent, but you got
to dial your car and you got to read the weather and read the track and you got to know your
combination.
That's, that's the challenge to me is the dialing on the car.
You know, that's, that's what I really enjoy.
You seem to set up fast in that final.
Yeah.
The wind was crazy.
It was like 12 mile an hour across tail.
It was like 90 degrees and it was 120 degrees.
And then it was 88 mile an hour.
Then it was 12 mile an hour.
And sometimes it was 22 mile an hour.
It was pretty challenging.
Wow.
So it was just like a sure we could get there.
Well, make sure we can be under 90 in other words, you know, yeah.
Yeah.
And you, you won by not getting there though, which I think is interesting.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It worked out.
Yeah.
And I thought when we left, we left by the same.
So I thought I could take the stripe with it, you know,
but I was trying to take it as little as I could, you know,
but anyway, all the windlight came on.
That's what matters.
Yeah.
Well, I didn't, I didn't, you know, it was double breakout.
So I was looking at the windlight on the wall over there on my right side.
And I didn't, I didn't see it come on.
And I'm like, I can't have just lost this damn final, you know,
and so I always get the return road.
I'm, you know, flying of return road to get to that little lady at the ET booth.
See whether she's just jumping up and down or not.
And sure enough, she, she was jumping up and down.
So I knew I wanted to end, but I didn't know till I got up there to her.
So let's go, let's go into that because, you know, wanting to win the race on
this weekend at the celebration of life, you almost didn't race like all of that.
Right.
But now like you did it.
You did it.
Like you tell me about that moment once you realized that like you delivered.
That's impossible.
People, hopefully friends, family, audience.
Winning once is really hard.
It's impossible.
But winning the race that you want to win, like not like the U.S.
Nationals, they have that every year.
Greg only had one chance to do this.
It's like one in a million that he was able to do it, to deliver,
to close this circuit.
It just doesn't happen that way.
So Greg, like after you, you did it, like how did you respond internally?
I was trying like a baby.
It's pretty emotional.
I told my wife, it would have been devastating not to win that final.
You know, the runner up is, you ought to be thankful for runner up,
but runner up is such a big let down.
You know, I think I've got five runner up.
I can tell you, you every runner up I've got, I've got five for sure.
And I can tell you, I can still see them all in my mind.
If I've done this and I've done that, you know, runner up is terrible.
No, anybody tell you any difference.
It's bad.
I'm glad to hear you say it.
Well, I was emotional for sure.
I was trying, you know, you know, friends and fellow racers are coming up,
give me a, you know, it was, it was a special place for me.
Well, he was a special person and he let me, let me check the car.
I don't know that anybody knows that.
I was trying to get grading points for a couple of years ago because maybe I was
able to run Project Pontiac at the Gator Nationals.
They ended up not having Super Street at the Gator Nationals since then,
but it was the year that I ran Bo and Randy Lynn's Dragster.
And so I was able to get a grading point in Super Street.
We were going to run the car, but then something happened to the car
and it didn't work out.
And so I didn't get the race.
But what a nice person.
Like what a nice man.
And if everyone could be a little more like Olin and that's why I wanted to have you on,
but I just couldn't figure the right way to just start talking about this very deep
emotional situation until you win the race.
Great job, Greg.
And I thank you for doing that and congratulations.
And thanks to Chris Monahan for immediately bringing it to my attention and
Warren Evans on the call and everybody who streams it.
Like to me, it's so important that we stream all these races now because that
little bit of history would not have been possible to share it.
We would have told the story, but people wouldn't have been able to see it.
And now it's permanent.
It's like part of history and that makes it so much better.
Is there anything else you want to say about Olin?
Go ahead.
That's the best part of it.
Winning that race was everybody.
So we could do stuff like this and people could remember him and know a little bit about him.
You know, that's, that's what, that was my biggest concern was wanting him to be remembered.
You know, he's, like I said, he was just a truly great person, very given and always kind
to everybody.
You know, any, like I told you earlier, he would, we'd be driving to the races
and he'd be worried about, he'd be telling stories.
If you knew Olin, you knew he was a great storyteller.
He lived so many crazy things in his life, but he would say, you know, back in 1997,
so-and-so came to the tire, one of the rerun, and I didn't give it to him because of this
and this and he said it, it hurt him in that, in their championship running for that season.
I wish I could have made a different call on that.
He just, he was worried about stuff like that happened 20 something years ago.
You know, that's just kind of how he was.
He just wanted to help people.
Wanted to help people, wanted to get it right.
Wanted to do right by people and here, you know, decades later still carrying with him
the mistake that maybe he made or maybe he didn't make.
You know, like who knows, but that's, that's amazing.
Greg, thank you very much for coming on this show.
I texted Greg, like, you know, he dropped everything to come on this show and I really
appreciate it, Greg.
And thank you so much for going out there and getting the job done.
All right.
Thanks for having me.
Thank you very much.
We'll see you out there.
Greg Parson with us here on WFO radio.
Just a tremendous story.
All in Goature and wife, Judy legends of the Texas motorplex.
These are the kind of people that are behind the scenes working at the NHRA that, you know,
honestly, when I get, when I see people post negative stuff, those are the people I think
about.
Like, you know, I know everyone is directing anything negative at, you know, whoever gets
the biggest paycheck.
But when you say negative things, you're really talking about people like this, like the hardworking
people that are giving their time and work in late and punching in numbers to a computer
somewhere.
And you don't realize that you're insulting their work.
And this person was such a nice person.
Such a great guy.
And so, oh, and you got the win, baby.
You got the win.
All right.
When we come back, Nitro Joe Morrison is going to be racing this weekend.
Like that was a, you know, all of a sudden Nitro Joe going to be racing this weekend,
which I'm very excited about.
We're going to talk all about it.
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We'll be back with Nitro Joe after this.
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All right.
Joining us now, Nitro Joe Morrison, a late ad to the show.
A late ad because he's going to be in the race, Nitro Joe.
What's going on?
What's up, Joe?
It's great to see you, man.
It's great to be back.
Likewise.
You're running this weekend.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Excited.
It got the call from the Hershouser Racing guys in Nitro Funny Car.
And they said, hey, let's go to MIR.
And I love that place.
I mean, I've raced there a bunch of times at Roy Smiller's place, often in Nostalgia Funny Car.
As a matter of fact, lined up with Gary Pritchett there a couple of times with the Bunny Burquette Memorial event in the fall.
I've raced Funny Car chaos there.
So excited to be going to MIR.
Excited to be back in a Nitro car.
You know, it's as a part-time guy, you know, it's tough to kind of manage everything.
And I'd like to be out full-time, quite honestly, as most people know, but that is a tough deal.
There's only a handful of opportunities to do that and, you know, plenty of deserving people out there driving.
But yeah, glad to be back.
You know, I was hoping to be out earlier this year, as a matter of fact.
I did two other races this year outside of the NHRA.
But excited to have a shot here and run the first NHRA event at MIR.
All right, so tell me about Hershau's erasing, because we've had Mark on the show and Super Rick Segg.
First of all, like, all you got to do, Joe, is you got to sell that baby grand piano in your bag.
You've sold all that fancy stuff you've got in your house, which is not really your house.
That's right. That is a virtual background because you don't want to look at the wall behind me because there's nothing to look at.
You're going to come up with a more impoverished and need of sponsorship background, though, Joe.
I can do that.
Well, either that or I'll go down in the basement where all my trophies from all the nostalgia wins.
I go line them up somewhere, but I've never done that, right?
I've never put together a room that, you know, kids and all the other stuff going on with life that I don't have a room dedicated in my house to that.
That's one of my bucket list things.
Got all these pictures and trophies and all this other stuff that would make a great background.
It's sitting in my basement collecting dust.
So from Joe to Joe and every single person out there who is involved in the drag racing community, everyone must have a broadcast location.
You must have a broadcast location, a place where from which you have a quasi interesting background, you got to have a broadcast location.
So you notice I don't have trophies that I won because I haven't won any trophies.
I got one way over there.
But you have got something that you want.
You should definitely have the spot with the best internet access with a little light and a broadcast location from where you do your broadcast.
You'll get invited on more shows.
That's a fact.
Like if this guy's got a great broadcast location, his background is awesome.
I don't care what he's even saying.
Look at this guy.
He looks great.
It's my little tip for you.
All right.
What about right to breathe?
You got a bunch of stuff going on.
Like it's cool when you get the call, you come in hot.
We do.
And we've already had right to breathe out at Charlotte again, which was a very successful event for us screened a ton of people and really making impacts in people's lives.
Every time we do a screening event, there's always a handful of people that come up and say, Hey, you know, we saw you a couple of years ago.
And boy, I'll tell you what, our breathing so much better now that we knew there's something going on and we could take action about it, whether it's asthma or COPD.
And our next event with right to breathe will be in Norwalk.
The question will be, am I driving one car in Norwalk or am I going to do like I did at Maple Grove last year and drive two cars, drive the nitrofonic car and the top alcohol dragster remains to be seen.
That car is just about done.
The dragster, the Tom Pickett Racing top alcohol dragster was sent out to Richie Crampton and got a front half and a back half and all kinds of updates.
And I'll be heading up there to finish some last minute things in the driver compartment that I need to take care of next week, actually.
And then that car will be out.
So, you know, excited to have that car back out in NHRA competition as well.
But with right to breathe, really, we're set for Norwalk.
There's probably going to be one or two others in between as well as Dallas.
We are confirmed going back to Dallas with right to breathe as well.
So, you know, and something, Joe, that that is top of mind of most people and something that I really want to bring attention to is this tragedy with with Kyle Busch, you know, Kyle had pneumonia that progressed into sepsis.
So sepsis is caused can be caused by a number of different infections.
It's not just pneumonia that can cause sepsis.
But 41 years old, man, you know, wife and two kids and an amazing NASCAR Cup career.
And, you know, and he's no longer with us because he, you know, I don't I'm not a doctor.
You guys know that I'm just I like to say I'm just the dumb race car driver, right?
But the truth is, you got to take your lung health seriously and with right to breathe.
I just want people to know that if you have a situation where you've got pneumonia, you have to take it seriously.
Because, you know, it can progress into things that can be ultimately fatal.
So that's that's one message I want to make sure we.
Well, I'm glad I'm glad you brought that up.
And people are cheering for you in our chat section.
And, you know, AJ and I will be cheering for you.
Joe says, Monica, you got a fan base out there and people want to see you do well.
And dog says, please tell Nitro Joe, I said good luck.
I was going to end the show off on this topic and I don't know that you know this and it's come up twice, right?
I almost lost my mother earlier this year due to a septic infection.
And when you got when you have an infection, it sepsis attacks other parts of your body.
And she had resulted in a perforated ulcer, which is a hole in her stomach, which, you know, her stomach contents leaked into her abdomen.
She needed life saving surgery and she did.
And she's home now, right?
She's home.
She made it.
But she didn't know she had a septic infection.
And so and this is delicate.
It's delicate.
But I think we got to learn from every example and it's uncomfortable.
And what you just said and you went there and I want to go there and let's go there, right?
It's not about blame.
It's about moving forward.
The natural instinct for me and probably for you every other real hardworking, you know, I like to think I'm a go getter, right?
My dad motivated me like to power through it to get through to try.
But sometimes that's not the right thing to do.
Yes.
Sometimes that's not the right thing to do.
Kyle Busch was seeking medical assistance.
He seek we heard him on audio needing a shot.
And so the go getter person is probably not going to pull themselves out of the game.
We know Ronnie lot like they cut his finger off, man, you know, like the competitor is probably not.
I think the people around the super go getter alpha, the guy is not going to not drive because he's got a cold.
I got a cold, you know, it's cold.
It's nothing.
No, it's not.
Maybe it's not nothing.
And we got to relearn.
I think I think all of us need to learn that.
And maybe this is going to be Kyle Busch's legacy.
Maybe this is going to happen with me and my mother like what dog licking you can cause a septic infection.
Yeah, you might have a septic infection.
You don't even know about you don't even know it.
Yeah.
And you're there trying to power through it while the septic infection is attacking your body and killing you and you don't even know it.
And you don't even know it.
Yeah.
And that's that's a scary thing, you know, and and that thought.
But you're right, Joe, you hit the nail on the head, right?
All of us that are driven and that have big goals and big dreams.
We know it's a fight and you get up and you fight every day.
You know, and and and you're right, Joe, it isn't about blame.
It's about it's about moving forward and what do we learn and I hope that there are people that that learn from this.
I'm going to point out a couple of good examples.
I don't know if you guys remember if you remember a couple of years back, really hot in Pomona.
And Justin Ashley was in a in the game.
I believe it was the final round.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
And he exhaustion into heat stroke and he got out of the car and thank God he did because that could be deadly too.
Right.
So Justin made a smart choice.
I remember Clay Millican in New England having inner ear problems.
I think it was.
I don't remember exactly what it was.
Many, many vertigo if Clay, Clay, if you're out there watching like the exact diagnosis.
But what mattered was, wow, that you remember that by the way.
And Austin Prok got in the car for him.
Right.
Fuel driver giving up his seat, like giving it up like, oh my God, I'll never get back in there ever again.
But it was the right thing.
It's the right thing to do it.
And and those guys are here to continue competing and continue to be, you know, in my mind, they're good examples of
what's great about NHRA drag racing.
Right.
So hopefully this, this whole tragic, tragic situation with, with Kyle Bush will, will serve as a lesson.
And maybe it'll keep a couple of people here on this planet longer.
And, you know, again, near and dear to my heart because of, because of the respiratory connection.
And, and, and Joe, I'm glad I know when I saw you in North Carolina there and you were still kind of in the thick of it, but things were on the upswing, which is good.
So I'm glad to hear that your, your mom is, is, is back, back at home where she belongs and back at home.
We're not, you know, we're not back, back yet.
This is a person that drove and did everything that she wanted to do whenever she wanted to do it at any time, you know, and we're not there yet, but we're getting there.
And a lot of it luck.
Like she, she fought in the very difficult things like what happened with Kyle.
Like I don't want to compare, certainly not, but sepsis leads to near death.
Right.
And in his case death, I, I, I felt guilty.
I felt guilt, still feel guilt for not identifying it.
But how could I know?
How could I know?
Like, what do I know?
I don't know anything.
Like I should, I should have forced her.
I should have forced her to the hospital much earlier on, like, Hey man.
And I think that's, if I'm going to try to tell people something like what do you do?
Like your friend is not going to volunteer to go to the doctor probably because we have taught ourselves that if you do that, you're, you're, you're taking yourself out of the game.
You know, you know, you're probably not going to do.
So it's your close friend's responsibility to get up in your face and say, Hey,
and say, Hey, yeah, you know what, take this, take this seriously because you're right.
It's like, you know, what do you mean you didn't push through?
Come on now.
Right.
I mean, it's, it's almost a badge of honor to, to practically destroy yourself in the pursuit of your, your dreams and goals.
It is.
It's a badge of honor to destroy yourself.
And, you know, and, you know, I am a card carrying member of that club.
You know, and the people, all my friends and people around me know I keep an absolutely insane schedule.
I just, just because I'm not on the NHRA tour full time doesn't mean I'm not working at this full time.
And, and, you know, I mean, hell, perfect example.
I was up working on stuff till 2 30 in the morning.
I was up at six o'clock.
I was at an in-person meeting at seven.
Right.
You know, and, and, and this whole tragedy has happened.
And here I am in this day and I'm thinking, you know, the hell am I doing to myself?
Right.
So at the end of the day, and, and, and I like to say my brother from another mother, Rocky Perone, good friend, great nostalgia racer.
I mean, he's responsible, largely responsible for a lot of the gasser movement.
He had a part in that too.
But Rocky always says it's about the friendships and the memories.
And that's really what it's all about when it comes down to it.
Yeah, we all want to win.
Yeah, we all hate to lose.
You know, as a race car driver, what I want to do, be in as many cars as I possibly can.
I don't care if I'm driving a VW or, or, or a top fuel drags or nitro funny car.
Get me on the track.
I want to race.
I want to compete.
I want to win.
But at the end of the day, it's the racing community is really a big family, somewhat dysfunctional family at times, but a big family.
We're all family out here and, and, and we need to look out for each other.
And so hopefully, like I said before, and like you pointed out, this will be the legacy here will be, Hey, you know what, let's take care of the people better.
Let's, let's, you know, let's make sure that, that we don't let something go to a point where it's, it's gotten beyond the point of no return.
Well, it's just that simple and I hope.
Okay.
Now we have an example, something wild out of nowhere, shocking takes down a young man.
Now we have our example of crazy stuff happening the next time we're sick.
Like, should I, I power through this?
Should I maybe not go to the doctor?
Like maybe I should just go to the doctor or, you know, and he did.
He saw a doctor.
Like that's the thing.
He's somebody doctor.
I don't know exactly the details.
And so I'm, and that's your right.
That's where we can't speculate.
Right.
I mean, you know, it's possible that there's all kinds of possibilities who knows and not our business.
No, we've got to take our second to learn as best as we can from the situation as best as we can.
The family will really results.
My opinion is that when they get to the bottom of whatever the exact details are, they will probably want to share it with others so that something can be learned.
That seems to be the racer mentality, regardless of whether you go fast in a straight line or you turn left or right.
Like you want people to learn that are dedicated to safety mantra.
Like what was it that broke on the car?
Like how do we make it better?
How do we fix it?
Everybody gets to learn from it.
I think that extends to personal health as well.
Joe, thank you very much.
Is there anything else you want to say to the WFO universe?
I know you're going to be at the fan fest.
Yes, sir.
I 30 to 6 30.
It's called the barn at new market and it's it's in the area.
This is a inaugural event.
So the fan fest in South Georgia was actually really nice.
Well attended.
We're starting from scratch.
The track on the other hand is not this is a facility that's got a rich legacy.
I've never been there, Joe.
I'm super excited to go.
Oh, wow.
I didn't realize you've never been.
I never been.
I love the place for a lot of reasons.
You it gives Maple Grove vibes where it's out in the middle of nowhere where you're
in, you know, you can you can one of the roads and I've been towing in and you get behind
an Amish buggy or something like it's it's cool out in the middle of the country.
The racing surface is great.
You know, the facility is very well run.
I've always I've always gotten along with with Roy Smiller, the owner, and I just I
just think it's it's one of these.
This one can be a real gem on the NHRA tour.
Yeah, you could, you know, like any track that's been around, you know, do you want
more grandstands there?
Probably there's there is there things they can do to improve it, of course, but overall
I think I think it's it's I like to compare Roy Smiller and the way he does things to
among the better facilities you'll think of, right?
The families like the bandamirs and the Baters and and that sort of thing.
I hope I'm not overselling it, but we're going to find out this weekend.
No pressure Roy.
Here, Joe, Roy Smiller used to come to the Moroso five day bracket race for many years.
He's a bracket racer himself, a very successful one.
I can't diagnose people, but I like to buy their race cars.
I can tell someone with an obsessive compulsive vibe when I see their race car.
And Roy Smiller was croming and painting things that couldn't be seen on his car decades ago.
So I'm sure he has a tremendous attention to detail and the fan experience.
And and we think about you mentioned Maple Grove, you know, Maple Grove went to the
I side and you know, it's all green now and at least it's alive.
And that's what matters the most.
But that place became what we know it as because of decades and decades of NHRA national event,
national event promotion going there and the cornerstone of having an NHRA national event.
So now Maryland and South Georgia and US 131 and Rockingham, they are going to have that opportunity
that you don't just become a beloved super track from one night to the next.
You become a beloved super track by building a legacy.
And so now these new tracks are going to get an opportunity.
And if we keep going back to Maryland in 10 years, all those little things that might be a new sensor annoying,
they'll get fixed and they'll be better than ever before.
I remember getting stuck in traffic at the Gator Nationals in like 1983.
Right.
And you don't get the traffic in Gainesville now is nothing compared to what it once was.
They figured out and they work it out and they improve it and it'll get better and better.
So this is the the first chapter of a new story.
It's exciting.
So I'm going to go on the record and say because you mentioned US 131.
Yeah.
Having raced there at the Northern Nationals in the Frantic Ford,
Nostalgia Nitro Funny Car, a car that I actually my buddy Rocky's car that I got to match race against Bruce Larson a bunch of times.
And Bruce is an amazing guy and I'm honored to have been able to race against a legend like Bruce.
But at US 131 in a nostalgia car, you would have thought I was John Forrest.
The fans out there are spectacular.
So here's my prediction.
I want to say that Saturday of the US 131 race.
There is a very good chance that will sell out the very first year.
Wow.
That's my prediction.
I hope.
I hope.
And well, and that's another thing that we're all learning that as much as this is a television sport and we are doing a show to people around the world.
And we've got listeners in Australia in the Middle East and England right now.
There are people that only go to a drag race if it's in their local community.
There were so many people at South Georgia Motorsports Park that had never seen big show Nitro cars.
They I just not say because they did not drive to Atlanta and they did not drive to Gainesville, but they'll drive 20 minutes.
Yeah, they'll drive 20 minutes.
And so I fully expect that to be the case in Maryland and in Martin, Michigan and even in Rockingham like people from the area.
You don't need that many.
You don't need that many to all of a sudden fill the place with first timers.
And that's what match racing did that we don't have so much anymore.
And you'd know it through the nostalgia scene.
Match racing was like a sample is like free samples like this is what it's like.
Yeah, you're seeing to imagine what it's like to see 20.
Wow, I gotta go to a national event.
It's great.
It's going to be great.
So I'm excited for you.
I'll see you at the fan fest.
Thank you for jumping on the show last minute.
Joe did not make the artwork because he was booked 10 minutes before the show.
But thank you.
Thank you for doing a show and thank you for this guy.
Go get him.
Go get him.
Nitro Joe Morrison with us here on WFL radio.
And that's what the show is all about, guys, like it's it's chaotic.
And we don't know what's going to happen every week and every show we plan.
But sometimes right very last second.
Oh, I should have asked Nitro Joe about where I should get some food.
But then again, I don't want to take the life to drag show topic.
But yes, I have no idea where I'm staying.
I have no idea where I'm eating.
I have no idea the situation I'm getting into.
I have nothing.
I do know that I'm flying in Reagan National.
And as I land, I'll be able to fly past the Washington Monument.
And I'll be able to look down at the reflecting pool and I will see the Lincoln Memorial.
It's one of my favorite like fly ends, assuming we take that over the Potomac track that I get.
And I lived in Arlington, Virginia for a couple of years when I worked at XM satellite radio.
And driving into the district, you know, every day was really spectacular and getting to know the capital.
And there are people who have never been to the capital.
You know, we stay away from politics and all that stuff on the show because I, you know, I don't want to go there, right?
Because someone will make something negative at some point with the capital of the United States of America.
We just had Memorial Day.
There are people who have never been to the capital, who haven't seen the capital, who don't know from the capital.
There are people that I've engaged with.
I've talked to that don't want to go to the capital because they associate it with some sort of negativity.
Based around that other stuff I was mentioning moments ago.
You got to, you to get rid of that.
It's the history of the United States of America.
You go in there and you look at the Lincoln Memorial and you stare up and it's quiet.
You think, you know, you think, you just think about all that happened.
All that went down.
You know, last night, Tom Hanks on History Channel, like a new 20 part modern up to the minute World War II documentary.
And like they're, they're spelling it all out again.
And I've seen every World War II documentary that has been served up, but if you're a 15 year old kid or a 20 year old kid or 25 year old person,
maybe you haven't watched all those grainy old World that War apocalypse documentaries.
And you're looking for something that's new and it's in 4K and it's colorized perfectly and all that.
Maybe this is going to be their first time they kind of think about those things.
Like the life that we live didn't just happen by accident kind of stuff that none of it's an accident that it was all earned and fought for and bled for and all of that.
I know Memorial Day was yesterday.
I'm a little over my skis, but you get the point and flying into DC and having an event.
So the Potomac Nationals, I'll share a little insight with you that are may not be supposed to share, but I will.
The Potomac Nationals, right?
Like the Potomac River and all that we think about that that is a region.
The Capitol Nationals.
Like I wonder why don't we call it the Capitol Nationals?
Well, it's about two hours south, hour and 50 minutes, hour and 40 minutes to drive something like that.
And it's the local region, Mechanicsville, Maryland.
They are the ones that are inviting us in for the fan fest.
They are the ones like Joliet, Illinois.
We go to Joliet.
We don't go to Chicago.
But if I'm going to tell somebody you should come to Chicago, so they know like what region of the country we're talking about, right?
What region of the San Francisco 49ers don't play in San Francisco, but it's a region.
And the idea that we have a race within the shadow of the Capitol of the greatest country in the world, the United States of America, to me, that's cool.
And I know not everyone is flying into Reagan, but I'm flying into Reagan.
And I love flying into Reagan.
Like it's all right there.
And Washington DC is just great.
You know, you put on any show where people are attacking each other about their very minor differences.
Washington DC, it'll make you think that it's full of the worst people in the world.
But that's not the case.
Great food, great restaurants, great things to do, beautiful monuments, our country, the symbol of the United States of America.
And yeah, you know, you don't like somebody, it'll change.
But anyway, I'm excited.
I'm excited to be going.
All right, final comments in the comments section.
What do you guys have to say?
While I tell you at this event, Fan Fest Thursday, 5.30 to 6.30, I expect every one of you to be there.
Who's going?
Let me know who's going out there to this event.
We need, we need to sell this thing out.
You know, Joe is saying that Martin, Michigan will be sold out on Saturday.
It better be.
I've been there once, Martin, Michigan.
It was really nice.
I saw Dominic Lagana run for 59, 1320.
That was the last 1320 foot run that I saw.
And I remember thinking to myself, you know, not that much more.
All the hubbub that everyone is like, I was excited.
I'm going to watch.
Here it is.
Is it that much better?
I watched.
It's not that much better.
But that's just me.
Friday, total seal trackside tech talk.
Guys, if you're going to the race, your Lucas oil series racer, you want to learn about ring seal,
the total seal trackside tech talk.
Got to be there.
11 a.m.
Approximately and then Saturday 11 30.
They're going to have the experts there.
I'm going to drop into the chat section right now.
A YouTube link as we get ready to conclude this show.
Steve Johnson joined us on the hidden horse power podcast.
Steve Johnson.
Look.
He's a little zany.
He's a character.
Steve Johnson told us the story about how Dale Earnhardt explained to him how to be in the collectibles business.
Unbelievable.
Steve Johnson, of course, we talked about ring seal and why it's important and the piston and the speed of the piston and ring deflection and oil rings and Keith Jones did a great job.
You'll learn so much.
But for you drag racing fans out there, Steve Johnson talks about being a kid in Granada Hills, California.
You know, who else lives in Granada Hills, California?
Oh, yeah, that's right.
Snake and like deifying snake and riding his bike and seeing snake fixing his garage door and being like, wow, he's like, he's a regular human.
So many great stories with Steve Johnson.
Steve Johnson has been in the drag racing scene for 40 years, tells the story of how he wanted to go to English town and lost his means of getting the bike there.
So he shipped the bike there in a crate and raced out of a crate.
That's determination.
And so check out that YouTube video.
It's got a couple of hundred views on there.
It's on the total seal hidden horse power page.
But you don't have to like Steve Johnson, guys.
You don't have to like Steve Johnson to like this one.
And if you don't like Steve Johnson, I bet you like him afterwards.
And if you don't care one way or another, who the guest is, you just want to learn about ring seal and the technology behind these engines.
You're going to get that too.
And you're going to get it at the track, both Friday and Saturday, total seal trackside tech talk.
All right, let's see what you guys got to say.
What up?
Can't make the NHRA, but should be racing some BMX this weekend.
Repping the WFO family.
Thank you, Antdog.
Appreciate that.
Always repping.
That's it.
Always selling.
Always closing.
Monica says great show today.
It's just a very educational place to go and see.
You know, I don't want to attack, but I like it.
I like to attack people.
If you don't know history, where you've been.
You don't know where you're going.
Things could happen again.
And you don't know about it.
Like, what are they doing?
It's like, oh, man, this happened before.
The Smithsonian's you pay for them.
Go take advantage.
You already paid.
You might as well go look.
This is the symbol like you think about the Greek Acropolis and all those ruins and,
you know, Rome.
Well, what do you think we're living in right now?
This is our room.
This is our Greece.
This is the United States of America.
We're about to have 250 years.
Go appreciate it.
Go see it.
Go feel it.
I've got some really great stories.
Me and my little nephew riding a bird scooter.
Nine o'clock at night on New Year's Eve in front of the Capitol.
You know, he's five and we're on the bird scooter just zooming around.
Nobody.
There's nobody there.
We're in front of the Capitol.
We're alone and we're standing there.
And we're gray.
Look up at the Capitol and we're looking at it.
And all of a sudden from the from like a bush out of a bush, here comes Capitol Police.
Hi, guys.
Hello, Capitol Police.
What are you guys up to?
Showing the little nephew the greatness of America.
Would you take our photo?
Sure enough.
Got a photo low light was like iPhone 10.
It's gonna turn out for those of the breaks.
Great show today.
Joe, and thanks for not getting too crazy today.
Two hours plus takes me out of my nap.
Yeah, no, no, we're about done.
We're about done.
I got to work on my list.
45 minutes from my house to the Texas Motorplex.
And I've been going since 97 frisky.
Nitro Joe is a great guy.
I live half an hour from Martin planning on being there.
Better be there.
The roads leading to the keystones are narrow and curved.
I wouldn't want to drive a big rig through there.
And yet they did back in the day when we used to go there.
But now we're going to Maryland.
That makes me a little sad, but not that sad.
I'm handling it.
Good show once again.
Thanks for only talking about drag racing.
Yeah, right?
No, no, we we we talked a little about Kyle Bush.
I'm so glad that Nitro Joe brought it up because that one's rocking me.
It is rocking me.
As related to the story with my ma, you know, ma.
Here today, gone the next.
All of those things are time here is short.
So you might as well have great coffee.
Yeah, I got to get the road.
Exxpond and this is the best transition I could do.
Right. Might as well have great coffee.
Look, this guy, Marvin Rodak, Marvin is about to be in his eighties.
And speaking of lives well lived, he is an inspiration to me like ringing
every drop of greatness out of life, just every drop that you possibly can.
He's been a pilot.
He's done all these amazing things flown over the capital, capital.
Showed me great photographs.
But what did what is his passion, right?
He loves roasting brilliant coffee.
Brilliant coffee.
And we connected years ago at the start of the WFO radio universe,
the Big Bang, that was the formation of the WFO radio universe when we created
this show and all the people who have been a part of it over the years.
And Marvin and Frank Atlanta, Holly and others have been part of the show.
Coffee, great coffee.
So if you want some great coffee, call Marvin 817-924-6821.
I say that number so fast for our audio only people, but you can find it online.
Rodex coffee and grills.com 817-924-6821.
Call Marvin, he does it old school like you got to call him.
Rodex. Hey, Marvin, WFO listener here wants some coffee.
Oh, OK, and then you get into it.
What do you like? want?
Where from? What are you thinking?
Do you want your head to explode?
Metaphorically speaking.
That's why Marvin is so great.
Thank you, Marvin.
And I mentioned, Frank and Lana Holly's Lana's birthday.
That's what I saw. Happy birthday.
They've been with me for a long time, too.
Why are they such a great sponsor?
Well, they give you guys the option to learn
what Aaron Stanfield already knows and what Greg Parson already knows.
And what Nitro Joe knows and what I know a little bit that drag racing is super fun.
It's a wonderful experience that anyone that gets to do it is lucky
to be able to do it. Not everybody has it.
We've all thrown and caught a football.
It's OK. All right.
It's not driving a drag racing car, but to get to drive a drag race car.
You got to buy one.
Unless you go to Frank Holly's and they have the dragster adventure.
You just show up, you and your friends.
You drive dragsters for a day, spend time with Frank.
Great experience, great experience.
Thanks to Frank and Lana and everybody who supports WFO radio
and all of our friends like Red Line, Synthetic Motor Oil.
Thank you, Mark.
Thank you, Red Line for being on board with WFO.
We appreciate you greatly.
Thanks to FTI performance, transmissions and torque converters.
These guys, Paul Lee is in the news.
That's right. Paul Lee is bringing on the folks at PowerEdge
for their upcoming events.
Read that right off of NHRA.com.
You know, not all the events are NHRA events,
but NHRA is posting the Paul Lee news anyway.
Why? Because it's Paul is one of our faves.
Love it. Thanks to Total Seal, of course.
Thanks to Larisse Motorsports Insurance.
You know, the Jesse converters people.
Eric Latino, supporting WFO radio and Matt Latino.
These are catalytic converters.
They got all kinds of different catalytic converters.
Over the road trucks, replacement DPFX of it.
You want performance.
That's the G sport that just all depends on what you need,
what you're looking for.
And then finally, our Patreon listener base.
You know, the Patreons have been treated recently to some great shows.
Kyle Bates, crew chief for Elite Motorsports, goes out there,
goes up against Michael Heiner and at South Georgia Motorsports Park.
Whoops.
Some comes on the show and Heiner, who does the show.
Does a full interview with Kyle Bates.
I learned all these great things about Kyle.
If you like pro stock, I don't think there's any better place.
Jolie Sanfield, you want to see Jolie, she's been on there.
I asked Heiner, it's like, hey, should we put that show out for the public?
And he's like, no, man, that is for people who already support WFO behind the scenes.
It's not for anything else than people who are already in the WFO universe.
I found that to be great and I appreciate Michael Heiner for doing it.
If you want to see the show on PowerTube TV, you certainly can.
You can download it on Apple, Roku,
PowerTube TV and watch the show like in television format.
And also, we don't always promote our gear.
We don't. We don't always promote it.
Why? Because it's not always on sale.
But when it's discounted, like you can get this cool retro Miami
Hollywood Speedway t-shirt and rep what was the greatest single track
in the history of all tracks.
Just ask Darryl Gwynn, Miami Hollywood Speedway.
I think that shirt is 16 bucks and all the WFO stuff is discounted.
Got myself a mug, all that you can get yourself a life's a drag shirt.
They're all discounted.
I think it's like 16 bucks for the one sided shirts.
But I don't promote it unless it's on sale, because I don't want you to spend
money at retail, but on sale price, it would be great for you guys to get the
shirts and wear them and tell people, yeah, this show is not bad.
Could be better, but it's not bad.
And that's pretty much all I got.
Final comments.
Let's see if anybody's got anything else to say before we bounce up on out of here.
I do want to thank Greg Parsons for coming on the show.
That was very late in the going.
I love the ignition show as well, says Keith.
He says, support the sponsors.
Oh, it's Leah's birthday as well.
Happy birthday, Leah.
Way to go.
There was no ignition show because we had Memorial Day holiday this week,
but next week we'll be back.
The Indy 500 was great, great finish.
Feel bad for the kid, but, you know, those are the breaks.
He seemed to have a good attitude about it.
Daniel Suarez wins the Coke 600.
I, I ripped formula one for ruining the greatest single day in racing with the
Grand Prix of Monaco, which is next weekend.
I, you know, are we going to pay attention less because it is not part of our
big greatest weekend in racing?
Or are they geniuses because now they don't have to share time with the
Indy 500 and Coke 600.
They're all alone.
I don't know.
Let's see.
Thanks for a great show.
WFO is the first step in a buildup to my NHRA Nitro fix.
You know, I'm going to be on the pip podcast tomorrow.
Four o'clock Eastern time, one o'clock, but it's those guys job to promote it.
But that'll be my first guest appearance on with them.
And so I'm excited.
I have not spoken with them, so we'll see how it goes.
But yes, I like being a guest on other people's shows.
That's why I jump on life's drag all the time.
I've been a Kyle fan since his first race.
I was devastated.
Can't wait for Brexen to move up.
I was not a Kyle Bush fan.
Like I am not a Kyle Bush fan.
In fact, I was a harsh Kyle Bush critic, but that doesn't mean anything right now.
He delivered for the sport.
He had a family.
The racing community is devastated.
I'm devastated.
I'm having a difficult time with it, but we're going racing this weekend.
Hope to see you guys there.
WFO.
About this episode
Hosts kick off with NHRA weekend hype, then shift into Pro Stock-to-Top Fuel talk as Aaron Stanfield describes getting fitted for a Top Fuel Dragster and what it takes to punch it in the winter circle. The conversation turns technical—Pro Stock sensitivity, clutch/trans-brake timing, and reaction-time control—before a detailed, emotional tribute to Olin Gotcher. Greg Parson recounts how Olin’s car and legacy carried on, including a divisional win and behind-the-scenes race-office work.
Aaron Stanfield joins WFO Radio after winning Pro Stock in Chicago. Stanfield will talk about his stellar reaction times and his recent experience in the cockpit of a Top Fuel Dragster. Stanfield will be getting his Top Fuel license later this year with Elite Motorsports. Greg Parson will stop by to celebrate the life of Olan Gotcher, who passed away earlier this year. Gotcher was a beloved person in the drag racing community who owned the car Greg drives. What better way to celebrate, than to win? Parson will tell his story. WFO Joe Castello will preview the Inaugural JEGS Potomac Nationals this weekend at Maryland International Raceway
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