Wilbur leads graybeards
Some 40 years ago, Don Wilbur left some things undone in his drag racing career. So he’s decided to take care of that unfinished business.
With a front-motored dragster that bears the name, “Unfinished Business,” Wilbur and his crew of mostly “60-somethings,” are having fun making up for lost time at Spokane Raceway Park’s Nitro Extravaganza.
“Wayne Massie and I ran fuel cars in the ‘60s and quit in 1968 holding a national record in Junior Fuel. We retired at the time to go into other racing,” Wilbur said.
The idea to build a Nostalgia Class front-motored dragster came about last October. The car is designed to run Good Guys, Jr. Fuel or NHRA Top Eliminator classes, but in Spokane they are taking an outside shot to qualify for SRP’s Alcohol Dragster class.
Veteran driver Ron Prior has clicked off 7.20-second elapsed times on a regular basis all year at Spokane, Seattle and Woodburn. Those runs came despite Prior’s absence from the cockpit for some 20 years.
Besides Prior, Wilbur has gathered a talented bunch to take care of “Unfinished Business.” Dick Flynn is one of the original pioneers in Spokane racing.
“He’s the man who invented nitrous oxide for automotive use back in the ‘50s. He’s our professor,” Wilbur said.
Other graybeards on the crew include Butch Riley, Dick Helderbrand, Dave Wilbur and Stan Cantor. Young Dustin Reichel breaks the old mold as does Scott Wilbur, Don’s son.
“And Nancy handles all of us,” Wilbur said of his wife.
•Three-time Spokane Top Fuel champ Craig Smith is back again for what in recent years has been the only time he’s able to wheel his fire-belching dragster down the quarter-mile.
Despite a lack of time at the wheel, Smith hasn’t lost much of his ability, running a 5.31 ET on Friday night to qualify second.
“I haven’t done a lot of racing,” said Smith who won three straight times here from 2001 thru 2003. “I’ve been laying back only because of money.”
It can cost Smith upward of $35,000 for a weekend of NHRA racing.
Idaho 200
As the only former champion in today’s NAPA Idaho 200 field, Tom Sweatman has struggled here to repeat the title he won in 2000.
During Saturday’s late-afternoon practice session, racers throughout the pits were trying to duplicate the conditions they will find on what will surely be a hot day.
One of Sweatman’s car owners, Mike Barrett, was constantly adjusting the panhard bar, a device that controls how the car handles through the corners.
“Hopefully, it’s better – a lot better,” said the Cosmopolis, Wash., driver, who is one of few who have won both the Idaho and Montana 200s.
Sweatman and his crew are challenged by essentially having to prepare their car for three separate races. Running all three days, Sweatman has had to run three separate sets of tires. Then the crew has had to set up the car to weigh 2,900 pounds Friday for the INSSA race, 2,850 in Saturday’s Late Model Challenge event and 2,950 for today’s 200.
“We haven’t had a lot of luck,” Sweatman said following the half-hour practice. “Maybe the dumber you are, the better off you are.”