SLIDER racing. I'm getting an IMCA Southern Sport Modified
Well I guess its time to FINALLY let everyone know what the
BIG news is at SLIDER racing. I'm getting an IMCA Southern Sport Modified!
It’s always been a dream of mine to climb in a race car and make some laps.
Most everyone knows and for those that don't, I have Muscular Dystrophy which
causes weakening of muscles and stiffness in joints. I figured if I was ever
going to be able to make my dream come true, I better do it before I run out
of time. The type of MD I have is slow in progression with no cure and each
year I lose a little more mobility.
I was able to walk without assistance until 1989, when I finally had to
start using crutches. I used crutches until 1995. In '95 I was welding in the
trunk of a very close friend of mines race car and my shirt caught on fire.
With no way to jump right out, I suffered 3rd degree burns on the entire left
side of my rib cage and under my left arm. I was laid up for about a month
while my burns healed. They took! all the skin off of the top of my left leg
to do the skin graph. Since the burn was 3rd degree, the burn itself was never
too painful but the skin graph on my left leg was very painful and slow to
heal. With MD if you don't use it, you lose it. So I lost a lot of strength
during this time. Also since the under side of my left arm was burned, I was
no longer able to use my crutches. I got around then as I do today when I'm
not in one of my wheel chairs, by squatting down and sort of scooting around.
I can still ride 4-wheelers, jet-skis, and of course drive cars and trucks.
My love of racing comes from my dad who also had MD. He street raced when he
was younger and always had a love for cars. My dad and I went to the drag
races and the entire family (my mom and my older sister Kealy) went to the
races together at Abilene Speedway every Saturday night. Abilene Speedway was
paved back then and we would back my dads '65 El Camino up to the back
straight away wall and sit in ! lawn chairs to watch. My dad died in 2002 and
I now have that '65 El Camino.
Finding local dirt track results was next to impossible before I was told
about the forums on a website called WhoWon.com by a friend around 1998. In
'00 WhoWon.com's forum's started requiring name registration, I chose the name
SLIDER. Why the name SLIDER, no good reason but my initials are SLY, so I
guess it evolved from that. After a year or so, I started posting results from
my home track, Heart of Texas Speedway, after the races were over on Friday
night. I just scribbled the top 5 or so from the IMCA Modifieds on the top of
a cigarette pack for a while. I did it then as I do now, for fun and to keep
people informed. I met WFOFAN (Dawn) through WhoWon.com, she had been going to
HOT Speedway longer than I had and she started helping me do results and
write-up each night. After we teamed up, things really started happening.
Tracks started noticing the publicity and advertisement they would! get from
the results that WFOFAN and I posted each week. We started getting posts and
calls from tracks all over Texas wanting us to let them know if we were coming
to their track and that they would leave passes at the gate, in return for us
showing up and posting results and write-ups. Traveling to tracks allowed me
to meet many drivers, crews, race fans, promoters, and racing related business
owners. Meeting, getting to know, and becoming friends with IMCA Champion
Henry Witt Jr was pivotal in going from just doing local Texas racing, to
going basically nationwide. With Henry and his sponsors MidWest MotorSports
and Dick Scott Fords help I was able to attend the 2003 IMCA Super Nationals
in Boone, Iowa. I met and made friends with people from all over the United
States, many of which were fellow WhoWonners.
I started my website SliderRacing.com in '04 to post results, share
pictures, help others find other racing websites on my links page, and to
thank the sponsors of t! he SLIDER Racing t-shirts. The sales of my shirts,
helps pay for my website, traveling to out of town tracks, and the ordering of
next years shirts. To date I’ve sold close to 900 shirts. I have mailed shirts
all over the US even have a few in Iraq, Guam, and Nova Scotia.
This all brings me where I am today. Since I’ve been around racing all my
life, naturally I’ve always wanted to get out on the track in a race car and
make some laps. I figured if I didn't make my move soon, I would never be able
to. So I talked to some close friends and asked what they thought about me
getting behind the wheel and finding sponsors to help my dream come true.
Everyone said if that's your dream, follow it, the worst anyone can say to
helping out is no. With that it took me a few weeks to build up the courage to
make that 1st phone call. With Qwik Chassis already sponsoring my t-shirts, I
thought I would call them 1st and just ask what they thought about my idea of
getting a race car. David! , the owner of Qwik Chassis without hesitation said
he loved the idea and would build me a chassis. He said all he wanted in
return was a Qwik Chassis sticker on the side when I got it done. I could not
believe my ears! I then called Bret Meier at MidWest MotorSports and he said
he would build me a motor no problem. Next was an e-mail to Pat Fagen at Fast
Shafts for a drive shaft. Pat ever the jokester sent back and e-mail the said
HELL NO. My heart sank and after looking at that e-mail for what seemed like
hours, but within minutes Pat sent another e-mail saying he was just kidding
with me and that he would be happy to help me out. Then I talked to Brian
Burson at Bodies by HardBodies and he said he would put a skin on it. Next was
Nannette Heard at QSD Graphics. She said a full graphics deal was no problem.
Danny Deanda at Danz Designs is also helping with the design for the graphics.
Jon Bennett at Moser Engineering is supplying the axles, gears, and
mini-spool. Jeff at TCI has supplied the transmission, torque converter, flex
plate, scatter shield, and starter. Jason Troutman at Town East Ford had the
chassis powder coated. Steve Crane at RCI went all in offering up seat belts,
fuel cell, window net, fire suit, gloves, fuel jugs, and neck brace. Scott
Prohaska is supplying the Ultra-Shield racing seat. Darryl Campbell is helping
with bracing the rear end housing. Matt Drottz and Keith White donated all the
stock suspension pieces that I needed, which was all of them. Matt also hauled
the chassis to the powder coaters for me. Greg and Candice Dinsmore chipped in
with a light weight steering quickener. Steve Smith at Brazos Roofing supplied
all the suspension bushings and ball joints that were needed.
There are still a lot of parts needed to make this a complete race car and if
anyone would like to be a part of this, please get in touch with me.
I hope to have the car close to ready for the Ft.Worth Trade Show/Auction.
Due to my weak ! neck muscles, I'm only planning to hot lap the car and maybe
tag on the back of some heat races and features next year. The seat from
Ultra-Shield has a "Halo" head rest and would protect me from back and side to
side movement. I think the only safe way I could race and protect my neck from
a forward impact would be with a HANS or a LFT Technologies head restraint,
which I simply don't have the money for.
The parts that are being supplied and the car are being to built to win races!
It will be more or less a house car for all involved. I plan to let some of
the top drivers in Texas take the car out and race it. My list of drivers I
want to pilot the car next season is Henry Witt Jr, Sean Jones, Troy Taylor,
Paul White, George White, and a few others. I will also try to see if I can
get retired drivers Roy Ewing and Bill White to make a few laps in the car.
I'm really excited about all of the people helping me make my dreams of
driving a race car possible! I truly t! hank them from the bottom of my heart.
