Though I want to be with you, be with you night and day…
Nothing changes on New Years’ Day
That familiar refrain from U2 turned out to be prophetic as Drag City’s first race of the 1986 season started with a first: the all-stock Trans Am fleet roared out of the paddock to race on New Years’ Day! This had never been done before, and it may not become a tradition since, due to the holiday, attendance was far less than the track management was hoping for. However, that made it great for those who were there, since they dealt with easier parking and minimal crowds and got to see some pretty cool action!
Since the T/A fleet is very small, consisting of only 12 cars, these races are always fast and furious, although this one got off to a stunted start as the car that made the very first run of the day, the #56 AMX of the Donahue team, required a few repairs beforehand, including a tire change, and replacement front axle, and a fix to a broken front pin. Once all that was taken care of things really got going. Both Cougars were eliminated in the first round, but as the competition took out competiors, even the AMCs and the Chryslers fell by the wayside, leaving the “Final Battle” between Jim Hall’s #1 Camaro and Stan Stanford’s #26 Firebird, the oldest, most battle hardened car of the entire fleet. Stanford was once a mainstay of the sports car series before the Trans Am race was created as a separate event, removing the powerful T/A style cars from the Sports and Sports Racing series, where his familiar red and white hog was known as “Carzilla.” Needless to say, this is a prime example of the Pontiac that gave their famous “Firebird Trans Am” its name! “Captain Nemo” Stanford is a crowd favorite due to his tenacity, which as you can see, paid off: he takes home his 3rd tournament trophy in as many years!
So, “nothing changes on New Year’s Day”… Which actually got me thinking: the same car has one this race 3 times running! That’s impressive, but its bad for business; the spectators want variety and if the same hero keeps winning, a retirement may be “suggested” by the management. It may be time for some new blood in this fleet, and perhaps it also time for “Captain Nemo” to ride into the sunset towing a trailer full of racing trophies!
So overall it was a “subtle” beginning for the 1986 racing season, but hey, it was New Year’s Day; there’s a lot more action to come race fans, so stay tuned!
Hopefully Captain Nemo can still run some exhibition races to show off his skills as a crowd favorite!
Yeah, it seems crummy to boot a competitor for being TOO good, but this car is mopping the floor with the rest of the fleet! We gotta change it up at some point!