Race Results




I will be posting race results for the 1998 season and beyond so check back often.
Our first race is April 5th at the IVWA Springnationals.

The Terminator is recieving a few updates for the 1998 season the first of which is a rebuild of the engine. Evidence of some bearing flakes in our Oberg filter dictated that we tear down the motor and inspect it. We will be replacing the main and rod bearings and changing the oil pump to a 30mm one with a Gene Berg oil pressure relief cover and will be adding an adjustment screw to the back oil pressure spring. This should give us a constant 80 to 100 pounds of oil pressure. We are also adding a set of Gene Berg triple valve springs in hopes of gaining more rpm thru the lights without valve float. In the clutch area we are going to try a hydraulic clutch to enable us to use a solenoid for launch control. maybe this will help our reaction times also.

March 22nd
Well, the rebuild is not going well. We had to find another engine case due to our original case needing too much line bore (.060) for us to re-use. Low finances are also slowing the project with the unexpected expenses not helping. We may not make the April 5th race at Farmington,NC,but if the car is not ready we will have no choice but to wait.

July 7th
Ok, so it is July and we are still not on the track. We did complete the engine rebuild and we increased the compression ratio to 14.3 to 1 so we should have a few more horsepower to maybe get us into the 7 second range. The current problem (a never ending part of racing!)is the hydraulic clutch setup we are trying to install. The CNC master cylinder was mounted on the firewall and it just was not stiff enough to keep from flexing when the pedal is pushed so it is back to Mark Pusley's shop for some reinforcment. Maybe if all goes well we will be ready by Manassas on Labor Day.

October 12th
It is Monday the day after the IVWA World Finals at Farmington,NC. The Terminator finally hit the track for the first time this season and it wasn't pretty. Clutch problems were the order of the day. The first pass the clutch would not release and I bent the clutch pedal from my trying to push it thru the firewall. We later found out that the throwout bearing had come loose and was hanging on the input shaft. No wonder the clutch would not release! A word to the wise always use the clips that have the loops on the ends not the stock ones I used and also run a piece of safety wire thru them and around the throwout. After getting a new throwout bearing and clips and bending back the clutch pedal it felt better but not perfect. The problem seems to be not enough travel from the pedal. The tab is mounted high on the pedal unlike a stock cable setup or a cnc pedal. Results were not much better as the car bogged at the line and again was hard to shift. ET was only a 10.23 this from a car that had always ran low 8 sec ET's. So it is back to the drawing board for the clutch setup and hopefully we will be ready next season at the beginning instead of the end!

January 1999
Well, it is 1999 and time for a new season. During the winter the Terminator was converted back to the old reliable cable actuated clutch. At least I know it worked the whole 1997 season. The first race was at the IVWA Springnationals April,17 and it might be my last race with IVWA. Due to a rule for their Super Stock class I was not able to use my line lock because it was not on my front brakes, of course, I do not have front brakes only rear ones like a lot of VW drag cars. When I asked what the difference was the tech director could not answer, because he did not write the rules. To make a long story short I unhooked my line lock and without any pre-load on the trans I broke an axle. Maybe it would have happened anyway, but I think it is an unfair rule. Luckly I had a set of used Gene Berg axles in the garage and fixed the trans the next week.

May 14th
It is Friday, May 14 before the Larry's Off Road Nationals in Xenia.OH. I am at our local track for test and tune to make sure the trans is ok. The car launches great off the line - no problems, but is popping and snapping down the track. The car is lean but I don't have the right size jets to change to. The car runs a 9.14 et, better, but still not where it was. Sunday, May 16, we unload the car at Larry's and go with a 160 main and 200 airs and go to the line. The car does a 2ft wheelie and a 1.67 60ft time and runs a 8.41 et. Now thats more like it!!! It was starting to get really hot and the next pass netted a 8.53. Then a pushrod tube seal split and we had to thrash and take the rocker arm off to replace it. We made it to the line just before time trials were over and ran a 8.50. At least it was consistant. Finally, eliminations started and we set our dial at a 8.49 to be safe. The car we ran dialed an 8.89 and when I saw him slow off the line that MONKEY WAS FINALLY OFF MY BACK!!!!! A FIRST ROUND WIN!!!!! The joy was short lived as I spun off the line in round 2 and slowed to a 8.82 and went down to defeat. But hey, that's racing.

June 13th
Our next stop was at the Super Jam at Maple Grove Raceway in Pennslyvania. It was a long haul, 10 hours, but this is one of the fastest tracks in the country and Walt Miles always puts on a great event. The car ran an 8.52 off the trailer and I followed that pass up with an 8.45. Not too bad for an overcast day. The next time trial was an 8.53 so I decided to dial at an 8.50 for eliminations. Well, I must have been keyed up cause I had a 3.95? redlight and my day was over. No buy backs here so I packed up and watched until it started raining then made the long trip home. Lack of funds kept me from racing anymore in 1999. There's always next year.

March 2000
Well another new season is here and I decided to start early for a change.Over the winter Warren Skaggs had helped me rebuild my engine and I was anxious to try it out. We made the trip to Darlington, SC for a new race the North South Shootout put on by chassis builder Kevin Shull. It sounded like a good event at a great track, but it was another 10 hour drive. At least this time we had somone to stay with as Greg's brother in law Matt, lives 2 miles from the track. We unloaded the Terminator and it turned a 8.35 first pass. That was one of fastest times we ever ran. The air was real good, about 900 feet corrected.The second pass was even better 8.23!! The third time trial was a little slower 8.33, but still respectable with my first .500 light!! Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes! We went into eliminations with an 8.27 dial and I beat my opposition by .068. Another good light .510, could this be my day?? My joy was short lived when I had a comotose .802 in the second round and got beat by a dune buggy!! Oh well, on to the Larry's Off Road race in June.

June 4th
The Terminator ran good at it's last outing and I was looking for more of the same at this years Larry's Off Road Nationals. Unfortunately, disaster struck on the first time trial. I guess I did not let the engine warm up enough before lauching the car and about mid-track one of oil lines blew off and by the time I noticed it the engine locked up. This was one of my worst days racing. All our hard work over the winter down the drain. It would take me a long time to recover from this one...

June 2001
Well it's been a long off season. My crank had to be turned to .030, it's about at the end of it's racing days. I was given a new set of rods by Keith's Auto Parts in Cledenin, WV. Keith and Vic Dawson, have been into VW's forever and still hold the B/Dragster record in Hot VW's. I have a lot of my machine work done there and they have helped me a lot. Warren Skaggs once again helped me rebuild my engine. Without his knowledge and expertise my car would not run half as good as it does. We finally have the car ready just in time for the Larry's Off Road Nationals. I'm beginning to think this race is bad luck as it seems that every time I'm here something bad happens. It's a nice day and my cousins have came down from Dayton to watch me race. On the first time run the Terminator runs a 8.30, not bad for the first pass since the rebuild. The next run is even better 8.21!! the car is running great. The next pass the car falls off running an 8.54, something is not right and when I get back to the pits I find out the problem. It seems like I forgot to locktite the manifold nuts and BOTH sides had come loose!! I'm thinking it's lucky it was just time trials. I dial an 8.20 for first round and a .633 reaction coupled with some wheelspin costs me a win. Oh well, I decide to buy back in, the car is running good and you never know what can happen. The next round is better I'm still not great on reaction .626 but I run an 8.261 on an 8.25 dial and win the second round. So far so good, on to the third round. I finally get a half way decent reaction .533 and the car is again consistant, 8.266 on a 8.245 dial, another round win!! Now I'm in round four - semi finals, unfamilar territory for me and the Terminator!! My opponent has a .345 red light and I push the car hard to check my dial and run an 8.231 on an 8.24 - better dial a little lower for the next round. I am in round five THE FINAL ROUND!!! I dial an 8.23, my opponent dials 8.37, I'm snoozing with a .634 and the car starts running rough, oh well, runner up is not too shabby, then I look at the win light and it is on in MY LANE!!! the other guy broke out and the Terminator T-3 gets it's first WIN. Sometimes I thought it would never happen, but it just did. Those of you that race know how hard it is to go 5 or 6 rounds to get a win. Now I can mark off one of the goals I set for Z Bros. racing and the Terminator T-3!!

June 2006
I know it has been a loooong time since I have updated my site, so here are a few highlights of the past few years. In 20002 I won the Michigan Bug Out despite problems with my battery all day. I beat my buddy Dave Wagner in the final when he broke out. In 2003 I not only won the Punch Buggy race in Acto, NJ, but also won the first SEVWA Pro Class season championship. The Acto race was especially cool because my buddy Warren Skaggs also won in Super Pro making it a WVa sweep!! In 2004 I won the North vs South Shootout in Darlington, SC and finished 3rd in points in the SEVWA Pro Class. In 2005 I hit a dry spell and only managed a runner up finish at the North vs South losing to my buddy Tay in the final. So far 2006 has not started out very well. I went to the SEVWA race in Georgia and lost first round to Marty Salerno in his Fastback. I bought back in and lost again! twice in one race! The next race was Farmington in NC and I won the first round over my buddy Larry Tucker (fellow WVa racer)when he broke out but my day was done with another broken rocker arm (time to switch to a forged Pro series set of rockers). The next race was the North vs South in Rockingham which was rained out, bummer. A long drive for nothing. Next up was Larry's Off Road in Xenia, OH the car was running good with the new Autocraft Pro series rockers (thanks Mike) but the track was in rough shape. The left lane had bald spots and every time I ran that side the car went straight up and to the left heading for the guardrail (see the photo gallery). So guess what lane I was in for 1st round - you guessed it the left lane. It was still a close race with me running a 7.86 on a 7.78 dial but my opponet ran a 8.25 on a 8.17 dial .06 difference at the stripe!


Contact me at: t_3racer@hotmail.com


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This page last updated on June 23, 2002.