News Pieces
Virginia Motorsports Park, Dinwiddie Virginia, August 27, 2010
Last Updated (Wednesday, 01 September 2010 12:08) Written by Derrick Townes Wednesday, 01 September 2010 11:50
The Derrick Townes Pro Mod team headed down to Virginia early Saturday morning the 27th after doing a late night re-assembly of the car. Initially we were going to take the weekend off. The car was in pieces and it would be a semi-thrash to get the car together and get to VMP. But Derrick and the guys being racers...well...we couldn't pass up a chance to race. Everything was finished and the transporter was loaded and rolling somewhere around 3 a.m. With Chris and J.J. splitting the driving duties we got to Dinwiddie in plenty of time. After setting up we did routine service on the car and also hunted down an oil leak that had plagued us for the last 3 or 4 passes. It was difficult to locate because it seemed it would only leak under a load, meaning it would only do so when subjected to the higher pressures of a high-revving motor trying to move the car. And you can't simulate that in the pits. So we set about finding it by just putting wrenches on the motor and tightening nuts and bolts. It worked. We were able to locate the source and correct it.
We would be racing in The Extreme Outlaw Pro Mod class. It would also be our first foray into 1/8th mile racing. We had always raced 1320 feet prior to today so it would be an adventure of sorts. But the car has run the numbers before so we knew it had what it takes. What was to be the first of 3 qualifying passes was scheduled for 3 o'clock. The number of qualifying runs was trimmed to 2 simply from the sheer volume of cars to show up. There were 41 Pro Mods there! That's right, 41 cars trying become one of the 16 car field. And take it from us, those boys were there to race. There were some astounding cars there...plenty of cars with beauty AND brawn. It looked like we would have our hands full just trying to get in. VMP has a curfew of 11 p.m. so there was no way they would be able to give everyone 3 shots and then run through eliminations before the curfew. We had 2 chances to get it right. We went up for our first hit at the scheduled time. The car was fired and as Derrick did the burnout the car immediately went sideways causing him shorten it up. That ended up being an indication of things to come. We missed it on this one. When the light went green Derrick mashed the gas. The car barely moved before generating too much wheel speed and spinning the tires. Not good but not bad either. We knew Chris, armed with just that little bit of information provided by that hit, would figure it out. We serviced the car, checked to see if our oil leak came back (it didn't), and got ready for the 2nd and final qualifier. We went back up around 5 o'clock. It hadn't really cooled off much so we knew we would be trying to get the car down a hot race track. We pulled up to the line and fired the car. This time Derrick did his usual loud, long smoky burnout. "That's more like it" we thought. He staged the car and when the light went green he went. The car looked like it got off the line pretty well but down track it looked to be spinning the tires because the back of the car was wiggling. We thought "Oh, that's just Derrick driving the hell out of the car again". As it turned out the car was just providing yet another opportunity for Derrick to show off his driving skills. As he shifted from first to second the shifter came off. Yes OFF!! So the wiggle came from Derrick trying to steer the car while trying to shift an un-stationary shifter which, by the way, he did! Not only that but he was able to clock an E.T. of 4.14 which put us in the show. Amazing.
Eliminations would begin at 7. We would be facing a guy that Chris is friends with and who he encounters often. So if we didn't beat him Chris would have to listen to him talk trash. As we went to staging the sun was going down and the air was getting cooler. That would mean better air for the blower and a lower track temperature...two things a blown pro mod likes. The car was fired, the burnout completed, and the cars staged. Derrick took off but the car shook the tires and Derrick had to lift. It didn't matter though because the race was over before it began...our opponent red-lighted. On to the second round. The time between rounds during eliminations is usually shorter than the time between rounds during qualifying. So you have to hustle more. It was decided that we needed to change the oil as well as our routine service and as usual we ended up thrashing but as usual we made it. A special thanks goes to Josh, a friend of J.J.'s daughter. He was definitely a big help. We went to the line and it was cooler still. We were looking to knock down a quicker number than our previous run. The car was fired, the burnout was completed, and the car was staged. Derrick hit it when he got the green but we had overpowered the track again. Our opponent made a clean run and eliminated us. Our race was over. All in all not a bad day though. We out-qualified some good cars, we found our oil leak, and as usual we made some new friends and met up with some old ones.
Super Chevy Weekend, Maple Grove Raceway, Mohnton Pa., July 16-17-18, 2010
Last Updated (Monday, 26 July 2010 22:47) Written by Derrick Townes Monday, 26 July 2010 19:13
The Derrick Townes Motorsports hauler pulled into Maple Grove Raceway late Thursday night after a day spent putting the motor back into the car,
loading the truck and trailer with all the things needed for a race weekend. We geared up for the three day event and since this was a local race for Derrick, we aimed to put our best forward, not only for his friends and family that would attend the two day race but for potential sponsors and guests as well. Among the supporters were Derrick's father Moses, who attends most of his races, Cornelius Griffin, or Griff, as he prefers to be called, his lovely wife Kim and his friends Carlos and Carl. We also welcomed Dale, a marketing professional who hails from Alabama, into the pits.
The car was unloaded Friday morning but it was far from ready. This would be the first race with the new clutch set-up. It was decided that the converter would be replaced with a 2 disc clutch for a variety of reasons. One of which is that Chris is very adept at tuning a clutch car. He has tuned a car to a 5.92 second run. A lot of the magic in making a car go is done inside the bell housing right there in that clutch. All the power in the world is useless if you can’t put it down on the track. Another upside is that it’s a lot cleaner. A torque converter uses fluid and whenever the transmission has to be serviced, be it under normal or thrash conditions, the fluid gets everywhere. It can turn the pit into an ice rink…very slippery and smelly. In changing the car over we encountered some unforeseen obstacles. We knew we would need a different drive shaft and bell housing and we also knew we would have to re-configure the transmission. What we did not know was that our mid-plate (integral to holding the rear of the motor and mating the motor to the transmission) was not going to work. This was not something fixed by a quick trip to the local auto parts store as this is a highly specialized component car; everything must fit just right to work properly. We went to work putting the clutch in the car so that we could be ready for a shakedown run scheduled for 2 o’clock. We patiently awaited the arrival of the UPS truck to deliver a part needed for the completion of the switch and guess what…WRONG PART! Luckily, Bryon, a first rate motor man/fabricator, was able to make the necessary modifications. In goes the clutch, on goes the can, and in goes the transmission. We button the car up and we were getting ready to warm it up when we discovered that the starter would not engage. It used to be a running joke it would be more efficient to put the transmission in with Velcro because it was in and out so much with the converter. We thought having the clutch in the car would make jokes about velcro a thing of the past. We had not considered that the bigger flywheel needed for the clutch changes the position the starter. It needs to be in to engage it therefore requiring another dance with it. So we undid the Velcro once again and pulled everything apart. We were rescued by Bryon who did an excellent job of assessing the problem then executing the tasks to put us on the starting line for the qualifying round. We pulled to the staging lanes early in the evening to make our first run with the clutch. As luck would have it this would also be the first round of qualifying and the first run for the day. That’s how it usually goes in drag racing, baptism by fire…just jump in with both feet. Unfortunately, the car did not get down the track and Derrick ended up coasting to a 13.002 at 88 mph. We towed the car back and put the car to bed for the evening. The rest of that night was spent socializing with club members, old friends and getting to know new ones. And as an added treat our racing partner Fifi Montrond brought live lobsters as he hails from the New England area. Fifi and his guys are a mainstay on the Northeast Outlaw circuit and are a great bunch of guys.
The sun rose on day 2 of the event. There would be two more qualifying attempts today. We went through our normal set-up and prepared the car while interacting with friends and guests. We towed to the staging lanes for the first run of the day (2nd round of qualifying). We fired the car; Derrick did his burnout, staged the car, and made an attempt at a pass. Unfortunately, this pass resulted in another aborted run as his ET was 8.691@120. Back in the pits we readied the car for the last round of qualifying. We were qualified in the 6th position. It had been a busy day so far and none of us had taken the time to eat. That’s where Derrick’s girlfriend Kim, proves her worth. Besides being a lovely, smart professional woman she is excellent in food preparation and cooking. She was being helped by her sister Sophia and he friend Elvina so we were well cared for. Again the car was serviced and readied for the third and last round of qualifying. We towed up to the lanes without a baseline for our clutch setup yet. We knew it wouldn’t be long before we had it though. Derrick’s next run would serve to drive that point home. The car was fired, the burnout was completed, and the car was staged. Derrick launched the car and headed down the track on what seemed to be a full pass under power…as he reached the top end (approx. The 1000’ mark) the car started spinning the tires. It made a slight move left followed by a HUGE move right. We can tell you that a move such as that car made at that point in the race track and at that kind of speed is off the charts on what is acceptable to keep the car off the wall or off of its roof. The luck and downright SKILL that Derrick used in saving the car is inestimable. Another driver with less skill or a less cool demeanor would have crashed. At 220 mph things happen very fast. A driver has to be aware of everything going on around him…listening to the motor, looking out the windshield around that blower, seat-of-the-pants feel of the car, etc. More than can be conveyed in just this writing. Derrick felt and heard his race car do something he knew it shouldn’t have been doing, anticipated what was coming and took the appropriate action to save the car. In this case that entailed lifting his foot off the throttle and getting the ‘chutes' out. As the ‘chutes deployed they pulled the car straight. And, believe me, that car was VERY sideways. Even going across the finish line sideways we ended up qualifying fourth at 6.561@222.22mph. It was a masterful job of driving by Derrick Townes. The bad news was that we would have to race our buddy Fifi in the first round. As the sun set, the car was put to bed and we spent another evening engaging with our friends.
Race day was extremely hot but we were used to it since we had been braving the sweltering heat since we arrived. First round did not begin until one o’clock so we spent the morning servicing the car and just getting ready in general. We towed to staging just after 12, we pulled to the line, burnouts complete, cars staged. As the cars motored down the track Fifi’s car made a hard move to the right and towards Derrick’s lane. As Derrick lifted to avoid him the blower popped. The guys at the line didn’t know it at the time. We thought he just lifted. Well, what would race day be without at least one thrash. We won the round by virtue of Fifi crossing the centerline. We hustled back to the pits to see what needed to perform routine maintenance. We took the blower off (no easy task when you’re under time constraints) and Bryon assessed the damage. He concluded that the blower was unusable. The next question was answered before it was even asked. Fifi Montrond, the gentleman that he is, not only offered us his blower but his parts and his team services as well. We all set to work taking Fifi’s blower off so we could put it on Derrick’s car for the first round. As was said before, these are highly specialized component cars and therefore the parts are not made to be interchangeable. There would have to be much work done just to get it to work on our car. You know, there are benefits to having a person the size of Griff in your pits. The blower is a heavy item and has to be manhandled when you’re thrashing. There’s no time to be delicate or deliberate. You still have to be careful but you have to be fast. Griff’s size and strength proved itself valuable in that capacity. But make no mistake, along with being a potential sponsor who’s no stranger to a hostile(read: pressurized) environment like a thrash and he showed us that not only could he work on a car but he could work on the car with a lot of other guys hurrying around doing the same thing…a LOT of other guys. The true beauty of that is when they join our operation; we have the ancillary benefit of a guy who is qualified to be a full-on crew member. We made the call and were there for the next round. We would be racing the No. 1 qualifier. The cars lined up and staged for the run. As the light went green Derrick got the Holeshot and pulled out to an early lead. But it wasn’t to be…his opponent was able to drive around him and take the win
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to Derrick’s
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. A pretty respectable number considering that blower was not built for that engine and there was no time to make sure it would work with our motor. This was not a victory on the track but we were victorious. We suffered a catastrophic parts failure that would send most teams packing. Not us. Not only did we acquire the parts but we made them work with the help of Fifi, his guys, Griff and James Montana. Kudos to those guys. We spent the rest of the evening tearing the car down for a motor rebuild. It was taken out of the car and hoisted into the back of Derrick’s pickup truck. Again, made easier by Griff’s strength. We ate thanks not only to Kim and Sophia, but Kim Griffin as well. This was her first experience in a professional race environment and when she was asked about it she said simply “exciting”. We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Our new friends from Alabama made it clear that they were participant’s not just guests. They will always be welcome whenever they choose to show up. One other thing...we were joined in the pits by a true media professional, Phil who is working in conjunction with Derrick and the team to promote us as a whole. The quality of his ability through his years of experience and professional equipment far exceeds anything we could produce. He is a definite plus. Work was completed, rigs were packed up and good-byes were said. All in all a great weekend. As usual we made some new friends and hung out with old ones.
Special thanks to Kim, Griff, Carlos, Carl, Kim, Elvina and Sophia.
July 7, 2010…Maryland International Raceway, Budds Creek Md.
Last Updated (Tuesday, 30 November 1999 00:00) Written by Derrick Townes Thursday, 15 July 2010 19:21
It was an extremely hot and sweltering day as Derrick Townes Motorsports pulled into the track for the War on Wheels II. As we were preparing the car for the race we all had a feeling of high expectations for the best of results. Chris seemed to have a handle on a good baseline tune-up and the car seemed to be working well. After setting up we proceeded to make a shakedown run with Derrick clicking it off somewhere around half track. The car was towed back and the crew worked at cooling the car because the first round of qualifying was coming up fast. Derrick’s first attempt at qualifying yielded a 9 second pass on a hot and greasy track. With the information acquired on that run Chris would have to make a few adjustments on the tune-up. Just past 8 o’clock the team pulled to the line for the second round of qualifying. With the air and track temperature cooling down and the team’s assessment of our car versus the rest of the competition we were confidently hopeful of Derrick’s first ever No. 1 qualifying position. With the burnout complete and the car staged Derrick blasted down the track to a 6.477 @223.21 to secure his FIRST POLE POSITION!! Needless to say Derrick and the team were happy but we weren’t quite satisfied. We knew there was still a race to win. By virtue of our #1 qualifier status we had our choice of when to race and lane choice. We would be the last pair out. As we towed the car to the staging lanes for first round it became evident that our opponent wasn’t going to be able to answer the call thereby awarding us a first round bye. However we knew that we had to make a full pull so that we could maintain lane choice. And that is exactly what Derrick did as he ran down the ¼ mile at 6.417 @223.80. Good enough for lane choice in the second round and definitely a move in the right direction. As the car was towed to the trailer J.J. noted with much concern that we had a bad fluid leak on the car. It turned out to be oil. Thankfully it wasn’t due to any type of engine or parts failure but we knew we were going to have to scramble to get the car ready for the second round because the clock was ticking toward MIR’s curfew and they would be pushing to beat it. Luckily for us we had extra help in the pits in the form of crew chief Chris’s brother, Dwayne. The extra hands proved to be extremely helpful because we were also utilizing a new cooling technique on our transmission that was occupying a lot of Brian’s time. The next round came and we were able to make it up in time. Derrick and the team decided to keep running the right lane. The car was staged, the pass was made with Derrick Townes taking the win! The car ran well… This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Again, definitely moving in the right direction. To our surprise, though, it wasn’t good enough to get us lane choice in the final round. We knew we would have to step it up. After preparing the car for the finals we towed to the staging lanes just after 11:00 p.m. Our competitor chose the right lane so we would be running the left lane for only the second time that day. The cars were started and Derrick pulled through the burnout box. Just as he went to do his burnout the car stalled. The team scrambled to re-fire the car. The car was started and we were told to do a short burnout. Just as before the car stalled before the burnout. By that time it was too late to make the run as the other car was staged and sent down the track, handing them the win. Our guys figured out what was wrong right there on the starting line and fixed it. We asked if we could make the pass anyway and were told we could. Burnout, pre-stage, stage…GREEN! Derrick drove the car to the day’s best time for the whole track… This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ! Included in that run were great incremental numbers…1.01 60’… This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it at the 1/8th. Good enough for the win since our opponent didn’t even make it down the track. A disappointing loss but the team came away with much to feel good about. Derrick’s first no.1, low e.t., top speed, good calls by the crew chief Chris, great work by Brian, Bryon, Dwayne and J.J. Plus we made a few new friends. We’re looking forward to the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod race at Maple Grove in Reading Pa. We hope to see everybody out there!
DT Motorsports gets ready for the MIR Mountain Motor Nationals May 14th and 15th.
Last Updated (Wednesday, 12 May 2010 17:41) Written by Derrick Townes Wednesday, 12 May 2010 17:26
(5-12-2010) Laverock, PA – Derrick Townes and Team prepare to race the NEOPMA Pro Mod event this weekend at MIR in Budds Creek MD.
After removing the engine and transmission, the team went thru the entire assembly having the converter checked and transmissions checked, and are putting everything back together. They hope all issues are resolved and are ready to compete against some of the fastest Pro Mods in the country.
“DT Motorsports is looking forward to racing the Mountain Motor Nationals featuring the Pro Mods of the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association. We had a lot of fun at VMP two weeks ago, and we are ready for the challenge and resume a run for the championship. There are many great teams that race the NEOPMA series and there will be many fast cars out there, so the DT Motorsports Team will have to step it up to be competitive”, says Derrick Townes.
Derrick is fourth in points going into this event.
See you in Maryland. Event info http://www.mirdrag.com/v2/news/2010/100419-01.htm
You can visit NEOPMA website at http://www.neoutlawpromods.com/
ABOUT THE NORTHEAST OUTLAW PRO MOD ASSOCIATION
Based in Huntington, NY, the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association is the nation’s premier event for legal quarter-mile Pro Mod drag racing. The professional categories featured in the NEOPMA are Extreme Nitrous, and Extreme Blower/Turbo, the quickest legal doorslammer class in all of drag racing. The 2010 NEOPMA Tour consists of 10 events run throughout the east coast.
DT Motorsports driver Derrick Townes advances to the 2nd round and loses to Dina Parise as the team struggled with converter issues.
Last Updated (Thursday, 06 May 2010 19:57) Written by Derrick Townes Thursday, 06 May 2010 18:42
(5-3-2010) Laverock, PA – Derrick Townes arrived at Virginia Motorsports Park Thursday April 29th to do some testing prior to the NEOPM May 1st race. With a freshened motor and the pro mod on a diet it was time to get a baseline tune up and prepare for the tough competition May 1st.
After making several test shots Thursday and Friday, the car was not responding as expected. The crew prepped the car for qualifying Saturday and on the first qualifying attempt, the Trans brake didn’t hold and Derrick rolled the beams and did not get a time. After preparing the car and fixing the Trans brake issue, Derrick made a pass in the 2nd round of qualifying needing to run better than a 6.458 to get into the 8 car field. Derrick lined up and ran a 6.439 to get into the field and qualified number 8, bumping Pete Farber from the field.
Derrick faced number one qualifier Andrew Parise in the first round. Derrick chased down Andrew mid track as Andrew started to have problems and slowed to a 7.704 at 128.15 to Derricks winning 6.478 at 220.55.
In the 2nd round Derrick face another Parise, Andrews’s wife Dina who qualified number five. It was a great race and Dina edged Derrick 6.26 at 228.00 to a losing 6.478.
I was a great weekend of racing; the team figured out that the converter was bad causing the car to not run to potential, and Derrick and team left VMP number 4 in points going into the next point’s event at Maryland International Raceway May 14th and 15th at Budds Creek Maryland.
See you at the races.....
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