NASCAR Speedweeks at Daytona might be over, but Preseason Thunder is just getting under way for the Niles West Auto Club. The national championship drag racing team is preparing to make their run to go back to Indianapolis again to defend their title.
For the new season the club is preparing a 1975 Plymouth Belvidere as a second car. It’s a race against the clock to get the new car running.
“I don’t think it’ll be ready, but we’re trying. We’re putting in a role cage after the rear frame rails are fixed,” club sponsor Tim Richmond said.
They are also working on improving the championship winning 1979 Dodge Aspen. Improvements include additions of an emergency kill switch and an upgraded radiator on the 345 horsepower machine. After about 250 runs for the car, the bearings will be checked as well.
Also for this season, the club is trying to find new sponsors to help pay for expenses for the car. Currently, the club is sponsored by Flat-Out Gaskets, Lee Auto, Strange Engineering, Quick Fuel, Pete’s Porting, and the US ARMY, but the ARMY may not be on the car this season.
Club members are excited for the new season, but are nervous about not taking home another Wally.
“The race season on Friday nights [are] always fun. [I’m] excited to get back to back championships, but we have a new driver that doesn’t have a lot of experience. [It’ll take] a lot of luck,” senior Kyle Morgan said.
“I’m excited to win. When everyone works well together, [we do well],” senior Tag Choi said.
“[A] new driver brings new challenges. The car’s ready, but the driver isn’t,” former driver and member of the class of 2012 John Wheeler said.
In the NHRA world, the Wally is the greatest achievement there is. It’s sought after by many teams, but some come up short.
“You can’t top it, but you do it again. The thing for us, because we have a brand new driver, is it takes about one year for them to get used to the car. This year we hope to practice with the launch time,” Richmond said. “If we get a 2nd place finish at Union Grove, and go to Indy, I’ll be happy.”
To find out more preseason endeavors by the club, go to the Niles West Autos Club’s website.
The first event for the club is on April 26th at Great Lakes Dragaway.
