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How long have you been drag racing?
I have been drag racing since I was 15 years old on the Street
How did you get your start? My friends and I would sneak
my brothers 67 396 SS/RS Camaro out and race our other friends until I
ripped a spring perch off of it and had to call a wrecker! Can you say
busted big time. I finally had a car when I was 18 that I took to the
track and grudge raced to get extra money. I could never go fast
enough so I kept buying cars and fixing them to go fast. Then I was
re-selling them for a profit to finally get to where I could enter an
actual car I could enter into an organized race. That was of course
when outlaw 10.5 was only a dream and the tires were true 10.0 inch
wide tires. Well I made it a couple of rounds and my rear end broke.
My father was building a 1964 four door rambler and he did not want to
drive it so I ended up driving it. We went to Memphis for the big
street car shout out and we ran 9.75 but we blew the motor up. I had
no car and sold my old motor and bought an all aluminum 632 with 4
systems on it from a local pro-mod racer named Gordy Foust. So my dad
had a car and I had a motor so we combined forces and went on a big
tear with basically only one guy who could out run us and that was
Steve Kirk Jr. We met in the finals so much that at one point no one
but us two would show up at the race and we had to start racing best
two out of three and we had big battles. He would win then I would win
and we kept going back and forth until some other competitors showed
up. But to say the least that is where I started and I have been
hooked ever since.
What’s been the biggest challenge to your racing program this season?
Compared to last season? The largest challenge for our
racing program has definitely been financial. As many of my
competitors will have to admit, we have done the most with the least.
We can win any race, it is just having the funds to get there
sometimes limits us to racing as much as we want. I have had to eat
only PB & Jelly for weeks on end and all the way to the track and
back.
What would you consider your biggest accomplishments as a racer?
I don’t think there is any one thing that I can say is the greatest
accomplishment as a racer. I mean I guess in outlaw 10.5 one year at
Brainerd drag strip I won 9 out of 11 races. I always thought that was
total domination because the only two loses where due to parts
breakage. I like to think that just my intimidation factor and all the
rules seem to be written to try to slow me down. I am most proud of
the ability that we have to out race competitors that have a lot more
resources than I have at my disposal. To me that is my greatest
accomplishment.
What’s gotten you hooked on the Mustang drag racing scene?
The main thing that has hooked me is that the Mustang drag racing is a
lot more professional than at our local races and the state of the art
facilities we get to go to. The reason that I quit racing outlaw 10.5
was the purses were much smaller than that of the Mustang races. Also
I saw how slow they were going in Pro-50, and there was much more of a
chance of landing a sponsor.
What are your plans for the future? I plan to continue
racing in Pro 5.0 and hope to race in some Pro series events.
What changes, if any, do you feel the sanctioning bodies need to make
in order for our sport to prosper? They need to let the
racers race for free! I mean I know that they are making money off of
all those T-shirts and memberships and other things that they should
be able to get sponsors to foot the bill for the racers and their
crews to get in for free. You have to drive half way across the
country to get there anyway so why should racers have to pay an entry
fee? They need to definitely quit having races that overlap with each
other’s sanctioning bodies. The payment structure should also be paid
out further back and even get something just for qualifying. As it is
right now if you do not win then you have lost money. If you make it
to the finals and get second place you may break even. I know the
money is there, it just needs to be applied correctly.
Who are your biggest friends (or enemies) at the track? I
like to think that I get along with about everybody so I don’t feel
like I have any enemies. My enemy is the guy in the other lane that I
need to put on the trailer, after that round we are friends again.
Who do you fear having to see at the starting line? Why?
There is no one that I fear in Pro 5.0. I feel that I can out race any
of them.
Anyone you’d like to thank, wives you HAVE to thank, other things not
mentioned you feel are important? I would like to thank Wes
Jenkins, Chris Stevens, and all the people at STEP-CON Construction. I
would have never been able to even compete in pro 5.0 without the help
of Wes Jenkins. He has been my best friend since as long as I can
remember and he believed in my ability to race at this level before
anyone knew my name. When I needed to finish that first turbo motor he
put me over the top. I have a special thank you for Fred Markley for
getting my new car initially started. He really helped at the right
time. I would have missed this upcoming year without him. I also owe a
special thanks to J. R. Granatelli and all the people at Granatelli
Motorsports. Joey helped build the last car that was totaled out.
Without his help I would have missed a whole year of racing. Jeff,
Kenny, and all the people at Southern Gear And Transmissions for all
their help and support. I would like to thank Danny Bytnar and
Eric
Mangum of Lake Pointe Tube Chassis for building me a car so safe that
I could walk away and still be with my family and friends. I’d also
like to thank AutoTrader.com, Lenco Transmissions, ProCharger, Harry Hruska
and
everyone at Precision Turbo And Engine, Mike and Stephanie Bradford
with Reliable Sanitation, Cooper Lake Chevron, Steve Petty and
Doug
Patton for building me such a good engine. All the guys at Cooper Lake
Automotive for covering for me when I am gone racing. My crew chief
Jimmy Meacham without his help we would not have been able to do so
well, and my crew Jimmy Graham, Stephen (Pinky) Meagher,
Steve
Meagher. My Wife, Susan gets big thanks for putting up with me and
letting me go racing whenever and for as long as I want without
bitching she is a godsend. My father, Bill Rimmer Sr. My mother,
Shirley Rimmer, my stepmother Ramona Rimmer, and my brothers, John
and Robert Rimmer for letting me race and helping me so much with all
of your support. There are 2 other people that gave me invaluable help
in the technical aspect of my racing program they are not well known
in Pro 5.0 but in other racing organizations they are well known thank
you Tom Pierson and Jeff Pearly.
How have you handled being out of
racing due to your unfortunate accident with the late Steve Grebeck?
It has been very hard for me to not be able to race in pro 5.0
this year. I have missed all the people and the good racing. Luckily
for me Shane Barber let me drive his car for a while to help me stay
in the right frame of mind about racing. This helped me to see that my
driving skills had not diminished due to the wreck. The wreck was by
far one of the worst days of my life. Not only did I lose the car, but
I lost something that is irreplaceable, a friend and competitor.
What went through your mind right after
that accident? First thing that went through my mind while I
was upside down was to get the hell out of that car. Then all I could
think about looking at the outside of the car was that I will be out
of racing for years unless someone helped me out financially.
When I didn't see Steve walking towards me I wondered if he was ok or
not. I was hoping he was not injured but I didn't know. All the
ambulances were around the scene so I stayed away. I don't like seeing
people get hurt or that are hurting.
What have you been doing since the
accident? Spending time with my wife, and I have been riding
a lot of Motocross on my CR 250. I’ve also been playing Racquetball
when not working overtime to try to make some extra money.
Do you ever think about things like
that when you get behind the wheel? And, is there anything else
that the sanctioning bodies could do to make things safer for the
faster racers? Thinking about wrecks and what could or
couldn't happen to you is not good to dwell on. It is certainly not
good for your confidence so I don't think about anything but getting
to the other end and hitting my shifts. The sanctioning bodies are
doing a lot. The only thing I can see is that they need to tell
someone who drives crazy for more than 1 or 2 runs to either fix their
car or lift sooner, but that would be hard to do at the level we race.
I feel that the better the tracks are we go to the better safety they
seem to have.
What do you think about the NMRA's new
entrant support program? Is it too little, too late? I
really like the idea of it and I am joining it. I do wish that it had
come earlier, but I am grateful for it in any event.
What helps to keep you fresh on the
drag racing scene? How do you keep your edge, even when things aren't
going your way in terms of the performance of the car? It is
very hard to do and I think requires a great amount of focus on the
task at hand. I mean anyone can be motivated when they are winning or
running well, it's when you are losing or running poorly when you need
to work extra hard to find the problem and fix it. That is where the
true commitment to racing is. I see people who have a lot of money and
want a fast car build one and spend all this money and then only race
a couple of times because they have bad luck or just can't figure it
out. Then they have a fire sale or worse they let it sit for a year
maybe two. It takes a special breed to get up for a race at all times
no matter what. I have been the under dog and won and I have been the
favorite and lost, but I am always ready to race at any time and will
do what ever it takes to get there and try to compete.
What's your plan for the upcoming
season? Are you going to race your own car, or drive for someone? In
which sanctioning body? Or both? Yes I am definitely
planning on racing this year. I hope to be able to compete at all the
NMRA events and the FUN FORD events that don't overlap with the NMRA.
However, I will miss the first events of these two sanctioning bodies.
I also hope to race in some Pro events and very few NMCA events. I
will be racing my own car again and hopefully it will be fast.
Do you have any suggestions for someone
starting out in the heads-up racing scene? How do you manage to be so
dedicated to racing while living a normal life? The number
one thing that I would suggest is to take into consideration the
sacrifice that you are willing to do and be honest with yourself.
Don't think that it is easy on you or your family. Make sure that your
wife/husband girlfriend/boyfriend are going to be able to handle you
not being home at night and gone on the weekends, basically not having
time for anything else. Be very honest and when you make your decision
to do it, make a plan to attend a couple of races in a row and then
maybe re-evaluate if it is enjoyable enough for the sacrifice. My life is not very normal. My race car
decides if my wife and I can go out to eat or not on a weekend
depending on what I have to buy for the race car. I don't think that
is normal. I know that I sacrifice too much, but I cannot help myself.
I love racing so much that I can't stop. I am like a drug addict. I
will go without just about anything if it means that I can go racing.
The dedication is a state of mind that not many people have. I really
don't know how I do it but I just do.
Do you think Pro 5.0 has a future with
any of the sanctioning bodies? Where do you see Ford Heads-Up Racing
in 5 years? We've noticed some dwindling car counts
from all the races except WFC, and even that one had less than 10 cars
last year. That is a hard question to answer that is very
dependent on the rules. If they can stay the same with the body rules
for five years it will grow, but if they keep this change the rules
every year then I don't think the class will survive. If the rules
stay the same I believe that in five years we could possibly see 16
car fields by the end of that time provided that they
put up some more money. The higher the pay days the higher number of
cars there will be, WFC is the proof in that.
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