2009 Pro Comp Season In Full Swing

The 2009 Pro Comp season is in full swing with two out of the four scheduled events being completed. The East Coast Pro Comp Association (ECPCA) was formed in November of 2008 by Dana Hard (Boogie Man) of Custom Automotive in Weymouth, MA. Dana had worked directly with Joe Lombardo (track manager of New England Dragway) to put together a Pro Comp program for this year. During the 2008 season, there were low car counts, very little side-by-side drag racing along with numerous oil downs from the Pro Comp competitors. The class was dead as of last November. Jon Wall now drives Dana Hard's Boogie Man 1934 Ford for the 2009 Pro Comp season. In September 2008, Dana Hard earned his first ever 6 sec./ 200 mph pass in the Boogie Man. May 16, 2009 Test Session Epping, NH. Two test runs: 7.537 @ 145.89 mph and 7.338 @ 187.13 mph After the early morning engine warm up we made the change from the old Lenco transmission that absolutely gaves us fits last year to the brand new Lenco transmission that was ordered in early spring. The engine was refired and the difference in performance, just on the jack stands, was like night and day. Very firm shifts, just the way the old Lenco used to perform. Very soft lanch on each run. Using the new Crower clutch set up for the first time. Shut it off just after the 2-3 gear change on the 1st run, ran it to the finish line on the 2nd run. We were very lucky to get any runs at all today due to the damp atmosphere and damp track conditions. Paul Conlon at the wheel of the Boston Monkey. Testing was very tricky with damp track conditions experienced during the month of May. May 29, 2009 Test Session (Epping, NH.) One test run: 8.004 @ 116.81 mph Two test runs were attempted today, with the first run having the monkey shut off by the chief starter on the starting line with a suspected oil leak. The funny car was towed back to the pit area, side panels, belly pan and engine diaper was removed but no oil leak was detected, even with the engine running. Towed the funny car back to the staging lanes and made my one and only run late the day. Even though the track surface was damp due to all of the recent rain and high water table, it was a decent run up until the 2-3 gear change. The new Lenco transmission has high shift pressures (55 lbs. of pull on both the 1-2 and 2-3 gear change) just caused the rear end of the monkey to go sideways. The safety safari guys located at the first turnoff after the finish line were even backing up when the monkey got funky. Paul Conlon warms up the monkey's Hemi. June 11, 2009 Funny Cars Under The Stars (Epping, NH.) The first Pro Comp event of the season starts off with 13 cars line up in the staging lanes for qualifying. We finally have had some dry weather which translates into some great track conditions for tonight. The 1st qualifying session featured the first time this year that the monkey was able to get a hold of Epping's quarter mile and the result was his first 6 sec./ 200 mph time slip. A 6.72 in the 2nd qualifying session is very typical for his Pro Comp performance. The 1st round was a match up against long time Pro Comp competitor Don Johnson in his "Going Bannanas" blown alcohol rear engine dragster. Don had broke a connecting rod on his burnout and chose to continue on down track to the first turnoff in the shutdown area. This was going to be a single run into the 2nd roundfor the monkey, and of course, always one to show off for the fans, ran a 6.76 @ 200 mph. 1st qualifying session 6.901 @202.21 mph 2nd qualifying session 6.727 @205.60 mph 1st round 6.76 @ 200.95 mph Def. Opponent Broke 2nd round 6.304 @ 198.52 Def. 6.759 @ 195.31 mph July 11, 2009 Night Of Thrills (Epping, NH.) Today started out with a cracked fuel tank that was leaking banana flavored alcohol during the engine warm up. We tried to repair the crack, which was located on the welded seam on the bottom of the 10 gallon aluminum fuel tank, by applying some JB Weld to it. Well, the repair held long enough (2 qualifying passes) for us to get the Boston Monkey qualified into the Pro Comp field but as we were preparing for the 1st round the fuel tank crack had expanded and was now leaking worse than it was at the begining of the day. With very little time and really no good way to fix it properly, we had to report to the pit control guys that the monkey was broke and that we would not be able to compete in the 1st round as scheduled. The "Good, Bad & the Ugly" blown alcohol altered was inserted into the Pro Comp field as an alternate due to the monkey's breakage. 1st qualifying session 6.814 @ 205.54 mph 2nd qualifying session 6.803 @ 203.92 mph August 8, 2009 Jet Cars Under The Stars (Epping, NH.) The cracked aluminum fuel tank has been weld repaired since the last Pro Comp event. During the 1st qualifying session, the monkey was lined up in the left lane and had to follow a clean up on the starting line from somebody's puke tank. Upon the launch the monkey made an immediate move right on out to the centerline. For the 2nd qualifying session the monkey was lined up in the right lane and upon the launch he was headed right towards the wall which resulted in a pedal of the throttle to help bring him back into the groove. The pass netted a 6.96 which was far shy of the record 6.53 bump spot. 1st qualifying session 15.271 @ 49.77 mph 2nd qualifying session 6.964 @ 199.43 mph September 12-13, 2009 North American Nationals (Epping, NH.) 1st Round 7.169 @ 200.56 mph Def. Opponent Broke 2nd Round 6.37 @ 215.51 mph Def. 13.428 @ 65.02 mph