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Thanks, Just being able to hear Smokey talk about making Lexan valve covers so he could see what happened with valve float and then saying what the heck and doing it with a lexan oil pan and seeing the oil flailing around in the pan and making a tray. To hear him go through the thought process.
Kind of like Garlits putting mirrors on his T/F to see the exhaust coming out of the pipes to see how the motor was running.
Wow, just imagine if we could get all the (prior) contributors to this thread into a room and just let the stories flow.
tyunick wrote:Why the shop was demolished?
It was pure and simple what he wanted. He was good buddies with Don Garlits and had seen just how much time, money and effort it took to run that museum. He was also a very secure guy and figured his accomplishments and contributions would stand on their own. So, he left explicit instructions on exactly how the property was to be sold. He said "Don't make no @#@%^% shrine!"Why is his book profane, redundant, enormous...? He formed Carbon Press to be sure his book was done exactly the way he wanted. He wanted you to feel as if you were sitting on the porch talking. So he repeats himself, uses bad language and Smokey-isms, talks a good deal more sex than is usually found in a racing book, and speaks plainly of Bill Clinton, the Frances and our local politicians. That was Smokey.
Cheating? He didn't feel he cheated. He was a master of reading between the lines. If it plainly said do not do X, he didn't. But if Y wasn't mentioned, he felt it was fair game.
As Smokey's daughter, it makes my day to see you all remember him and some of his contributions. Please don't let me stop you!
Thanks for stopping by! I sure would have loved to be around to hear your dad & Garlits shooting the breeze with each other..
Smokey's legacy pops up in places where you don't expect it..I raced SCCA Improved Touring cars in the 1990s, and one of the first rules in the IT Specs was "..if a modification is not specifically allowed, it is disallowed.."
I smiled, and thought of your dad.
Smokey really liked Mickey Thompson. They were good buddies and respected each others' abilities.
Smokey did very much enjoy mind games and watching their fallout.
Should any of y'all attempt a sign liberation I would hope to be invited to watch!
Grassroots- what would it cost me to sponsor a nod to Smokey Yunick creativity award at the Challenge?
tyunick wrote:Grassroots- what would it cost me to sponsor a nod to Smokey Yunick creativity award at the Challenge?
I LOVE this idea.
Trish,
I'll make sure to invite you to the "sign liberation" we may need to get you a black suit and ski-mask though!
I'll look into the award sponsorship idea. It does sound perfect!
Joe
tyunick wrote:Grassroots- what would it cost me to sponsor a nod to Smokey Yunick creativity award at the Challenge?
An award for rule bendin'?
I just ordered the book. As a teen I (surprisingly) worked up the nerve to call his shop because I wanted to ask a couple questions about his his (in)famous turbo/homogenizer engine. I was shocked when they said, "Oh, you want to talk to Smokey, here he is..." I nearly died.
Doesn't have to be rule bending, just the coolest thing that nobody else thought of. Like spinning the engine in the reverse direction at Indy.
What a great concept for an award.
The sucker 'vette would have been a shoe-in for an award like that. For 2008, I think one of the turbo AWD sleepers (Tracer or Mirage) would have been my pick.
Great read - since it was plain Smokey wrote it.
I think an award for the challenge is more then appropriate.
The stories we get to hear from the old timers and the stuf they pulled of is problem one of the best things about motor sports, they weren't rule breakers they were the reason we have somany rules today lol. In some ways I'm glad I picked the SRX7 class because we are very limited to what we can do to the cars(if it doesent say you can do it , you cant so don't try) but part of me has the Smokey frame of mind trying to figure out if theres any little advantage i can find but failing tech isn't something I want to know how it feels.
DILYSI Dave wrote:tyunick wrote:Grassroots- what would it cost me to sponsor a nod to Smokey Yunick creativity award at the Challenge?
I LOVE this idea.
+1. the Nelson Family needs another award. 
Coolest award evar would be a little piece of the Smokey legacy, like a drill bit used in his shop, a framed copy of a pic of Smokey leaning over the fender of some car, or a copy of the book with a personalized Challenge sig from Trish.
I met Trish at the Challenge and really enjoyed getting some of the behind-the-scenes tidbits about the scaled-down Chevelle, the Camaro, etc. That conversation was what made that year's Challenge go to eleven.
It's not about cheating. It's about thinking differently than someone else, giving it your best shot and testing it out. You know it when you see it. The Nelson's bug, the motorcycle engine attempt, maybe even the Zamboni of legend.
Since Smokey's book came out, I've been to a pretty good variety of car events. The Challenge was one of the most fun. It would be fun to be able to be a part.
tyunick wrote:It's not about cheating. It's about thinking differently than someone else, giving it your best shot and testing it out. You know it when you see it. The Nelson's bug, the motorcycle engine attempt, maybe even the Zamboni of legend.
Since Smokey's book came out, I've been to a pretty good variety of car events. The Challenge was one of the most fun. It would be fun to be able to be a part.
This is what the Award needs to be. Creative and not breaking the rules as written. Smokey was a thinker. I can see him sitting and hearing the wheels turning on "what if we"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dont follow the herd, Think of how things can be done for a better result.
i really need to go get the book from the libiry now and read the bloody thing....you bastards....but to due that i need a bloody card to get the book....sigh..... something else to read....and i should get the secrets for autocross as long as i am at it to read.......arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Autocross Secrets, now there is a loaded topic. Basics maybe but you dont expect the all the secrets do you????
ty, Trish.. Its perfect, please pursue this for your self, in your Dad's name! and for your self.
I try to live up to my Dads rep all the time. I do okay.. im sure you do too. but its still fun, these guys are a generation all to them selves. Macho, NO PC, bastards. And we loved em for it!
tyunick wrote:It's not about cheating. It's about thinking differently than someone else, giving it your best shot and testing it out. You know it when you see it. The Nelson's bug, the motorcycle engine attempt, maybe even the Zamboni of legend.
Since Smokey's book came out, I've been to a pretty good variety of car events. The Challenge was one of the most fun. It would be fun to be able to be a part.
Trish, start here:
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/200x-classifieds/
Of course, if you don't wish to build a car yourself, just set up a tent at the meet and try to sell more books. 
People would love it that you're there.
EDIT: Almost forgot...a lot of the guys with vintage NASCAR cars are running them at road racing events because NASCAR doesn't have a vintage program yet. Surely some of those folks would remember Smokey, and would like to have the book, eh?
Just picked it up yesterday and couldn't put it down. It's a must read for this crowd.
The B-17 stories are incredible too. They were just young kids flying those big planes during the war.
placed an order for the book today. Ordered from the carbon press website...
Want the $ to go to the right ppl.
Trish, start here:http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/200x-classifieds/
Of course, if you don't wish to build a car yourself, just set up a tent at the meet and try to sell more books.
Thanks for the suggestions on where to sell books. The vintage market has always been good for us.
It's hard to remember the book was originally published in 2001. I find even now, after living with the text for 10 years that I can pick it up and find something different that speaks to me on that day.
I'm thinking I'll pass on being an actual participant, this apple fell way too far from that tree. And of course, anything I were to offer would be subject to who knows what scrutiny! But be there, I shall. Looking forward to it already.
Trish any advantage for you guys for me to order it direct off your site instead of elsewhere? I've been a long time Smokey fan (for a youngin) and I don't know how I missed this.
Ordered from Carbon Press just now.
Thanks very much Trish, I've heard great things about the book but never had a change to read it.
Shawn
Guess I oughtn't say this but... always check Amazon first. Right now their price is cover price; $24.95, but sometimes they discount it. If you're in the Daytona area you can pick it up at my office and save shipping.
Don't just order it, read it! If you need a place to start, Albert the Alleygator or Ocelot are good ones. The Little Car That Could...But Didn't is his chapter on the Chevelles.
