If it don't have wheel's, it ain't a sport... Episode #17 PRI show-Indy
by Phil Veldheer

As a refresher, the PRI Show is the Performance Racing Industry show and it is three days of fun for yours truly. I get to see many long time friends and make many new ones. The breakfast speaker this year was NASCAR champion car owner Robert Yates. It was real fun to hear Robert give his life story. Robert was the son of a baptist preacher with 6 sisters and 2 brothers in his family. He was a good mechanic and his father was one of his best salesman as he would send many of his members of his 3,000 strong congregation. He was fixing bull dozers for a living in the mid dollar and hour job. He went to work for Holman-Moody and was making 4 bucks an hour fitting all the engine bearings for all the racing Ford engines. He had his own 57 chevy that he could rebuild anything on it and had to many times. Also inducted in the racing hall of fame was Vic Edelbrock . his son, Vic Edelbrock Jr. gave a wonderful talk about his father racing midgets in California. He had a Ford flathead and he beat all the Offy's for the first time as he was one of the pioneers in using Nitro in race cars. The first night they used 10 percent, and the second night he used 30 percent, and all the drivers were wondering what those blue flames were coming out of the headers.

In photo 17A we see the winner of the SEMA's show grand prize winner, John Spar of B&M Racing and Performance Products with his new Pro Bandit shifter It is designed for powerglides using standard or reverse valve bodies. The gate-type mechanism includes a reverse lock-out and neutral safety switch.

In photo 17B we see Mr. Gaskets two people you'll see at all Major NHRA drag race events and many more smaller events, on the left is Steve Tanzi and the right is Shawn Umphries. They were both very proud to show the latest from Mallory. It was the new Hyfire VIIS-Sportsman Ignition. It has 2 separate RPM Limiters, a single stage retard,automatic start retard, top-mounted digital control panel for easy data entry, dual microprocessors-no chips needed, rpm limiter, 550 volts to the coil. and it can be upgraded. It will fit any 4 to 12 even fire engine.

In photo 17C we see just a few of the many items that AUTOMETER took to the show. These are there new Carbon fiber series gauges. It is an addition to the Ultra-Lite series. This series has a real carbon fiber dial along with a silver bezel and pointer. They have all sizes of tachs and gauges in this new series.

In photo 17D we see Greg and Maryann Moser of Moser Engineering. Moser Engineering is a growing company. They featured many new items this year. Greg is holding his new 9" Ford rear end with thru-bolt design to give the case increased strength and decreased ring gear deflection common in most aluminum case designs. This company has EVERYTHING you'll need for your rear end setup. Plus one thing I've learned over the years, NO ONE CAN GET THE PARTS TO YOU FASTER THAN MOSER.

In photo 17 E we see ARP's Pat Mintey holding the latest from his huge fastener company. ARP is another company that continues to put out new products year after year. Pat is holding the "pro" series Wave-Loc bolt. It is the "baddest" bolt in town. It has a tensile strength of about 220,000 psi, and is capable of more than 12,000 lbs. clamping force. WOW.

In Photo 17F we see the latest from Mickey Thompson Tires. It is the M/T new dragster front runner. It is being held by Jerry Francis on the left and Brian Downard on the right. Mickey Thompson is one of the most aggressive companies in the tire and racing tire business. They are always adding 5 to 10 new products per year. Plus their products work.

Photo 17G shows Kirk Peters of Goodridge with all the latest in braided hoses. Goodridge is the dominant player in NASCAR and are making great inroads in all other forms of motorsports. Goodridge was featuring their latest products including the Electroless Nickel fittings. It has a nice satin finish without the stainless steel's cost or weight. Plus it has a stronger corrosion and fade resistance.

Questions, comments, ideas, please e-mail me at 455@i2k.com
Phil Veldheer Racing
Holland MI USA
78 Cutlass 10.39, 87 442 10.83-87, 442 11.68

For technical specs on Phil's cars, check out his page in the 442.com Virtual Car Show.