April 2002

Well the end of April is fast approaching which also brings the first truck pull of the year for us. If everything goes as planned we will be going to Troy, PA on the 28th for our first pull of the season. While this will be the first pull we have already had a busy couple of months.

February was busy trying to get the truck ready to go to the first car show of the season, the Carquest Motorsports Expo in Syracuse, NY. In preparation for this the front axle was changed to replace the one that broke that ended our season at Walton Fair last year. While this was going on the transmission was taken to the transmission builder to get checked and repaired because the broken axle locked the transmission up. After the axle was in place the truck was taken to get a new paint job. While the paint shop wasn't thrilled with having to push the truck around, they still did it. It went in red and came out a dark blue (Beth has wanted this for a couple of years, but circumstances hadn't allowed it). The change was so dramatic that Paul didn't even recognize the truck when he went to pick it up. After we got the truck home from the paint shop the transmission needed to be put back in place. The end of February the truck was taken to be lettered so that all the sponsors were on for the car show. We weren't sure how they were all going to fit, but in the end they did and the truck looked totally different from last year. After this it was getting the last minute details done before the truck was taken to the car show.

March did not start off the best for the team. Unfortunately the Tuesday before the car show Paul's mom died and we had the funeral the day that the truck was having to be set up for the car show. The truck and most of the display items were taken by Beth's parents to get set in the building so that we could attend the funeral and then we went up to Syracuse to finish setting up the display afterwards. It made for a late night getting home, but the truck was set up and ready for the car show to open Friday night. Friday after we got out of work we headed for the car show in Syracuse for the weekend. It was a long weekend but we made it through it, bad weather and all. In the end we finished 4th out of 212 vehicles. We were very pleased with those results. Last year there were only 135 vehicles and we finished 18th. The one problem that we had at the car show was when the truck was taken in and out the transmission was leaking fluid. This puzzled both us and the transmission builder as to why this was happening. However we couldn't get it fixed before the next weekend for the Binghamton car show.

The following week the truck headed to Binghamton early Thursday morning. Beth's father took the truck to work with him at 5:30 in the morning so that he could take the truck to be set up before we got out of work. We got the truck to the building about 6pm and then had the fun of pushing the truck into the building. This was a slight challenge because the doors were offset a couple of inches and just wide enough to fit the truck in through. We had a slight mishap with the second door. There were too many people telling Paul which way he needed to go, and he listened to the wrong person. (Most of the time it is a good idea for a husband to listen to his wife over someone else, this was one of the times and Paul didn't). So we messed up the fender slightly when it hit the door jam, needless to say the truck had to be pushed back and angled a little differently and then we made it through the doors and into the building. This was accomplished with 2 people pulling on the weight box, and about 8 people pushing on the back of the truck.

Friday night brought the opening of the weekend car show Raceworld 2002, while it is not as large as the Motorsports Expo the truck was exposed to a different set of people. Saturday Sierra competed in the "Future Miss Raceworld" pageant, while she didn't win she was still one of the cutest little girls there. (Obviously we are a little biased in this matter, but hey parents generally are). Sunday afternoon brought the awards ceremony, in which the truck won a trophy for Best of Class. We were obviously pleased with this accomplishment. Then came the fun of tearing down the display and pushing the truck out of the building. This time Paul was listening to the right people when trying to fit the truck through the doors. The truck was loaded and taken home to get ready for pulling season to begin.

The Monday after the car show in Binghamton another glitch was thrown at us. The weather and icy roads at 5am were not a good thing for Paul heading to work. Unfortunately Paul was in an accident and in no shape to work on the truck for a few days. He faired better than the car with only some bruises and strained muscles; the car though has a broken frame, axle, steering line, etc. His racing background came into play though in saving it from being worse than it was. His philosophy of "if the front tire can fit the whole car can", helped when he put the car between two poles without hitting either one. After a few days to recover the fun really began.

We needed to get the transmission leak fixed, and do some work on the engine to hopefully get the truck running better than it was last year. While towards the end of the season last year the truck was running better, we still want to get it running better so that we can do better and represent our sponsors at more pulls. The weather and schedules delayed the truck getting to the transmission builder a little, but as soon as we could the truck was taken over to be fixed. During this time a new set of heads for the engine were ordered and came in and we were also trying to figure out what else we needed. The truck came home from the transmission builder and the work on the engine began. This has been interesting with all the rain we have had lately, we don't have a garage and have to do all the work outside. Therefore at times the progress has been halted due to the weather.

Right now the truck is in the process of getting put back together with the new heads. The heads and intake are in place. The carburetor and hooking up all of the assorted hoses and other attachments still needs to be done. We also need to change out the rear axle so that the gears will be a matching set to the front, since we changed the gear ratio when we replaced the axle. We are hoping that this will enable the truck to run better.

We have purchased a larger carburetor for the truck but that is going to have to wait until we can get a different camshaft for the truck. We were hoping that we would be able avoid the cost of a new cam, but it is looking like we will have to purchase one. We are going to try out the truck with the changes we have made before we know for sure whether we need to do this or not.

Right now we are in the process of getting the truck back together so that we can go to Troy and try out the truck. We are also helping to plan and put on the Wild Wheel Weekend again in Mt. Upton, NY that is May 10-12 with the trucks running Saturday night. We were unable to have the truck at the last one (in September 2001), but are excited that we will be able to be there this time. These two pulls are the first ones of the season for us and then we have a little break before the season really starts going.

We are planning on trying to run all the pulls that we can with the Central New York Pullers, Inc. and other outlaw pulls as we are able. This year we are an ATPA sportsman class with the club and have a membership through them and a point's fund. These pulls include some in PA and western NY, which have not been offered to us before. Please see the enclosed schedule for more information about where they are. This also means that we will be running in the point's race this season so we really want the truck to be running good. Along with these extra pulls comes added exposure for our team and sponsors. The downside is the added expenses that we are going to be incurring to get to the pulls. We plan on attending as many as finances will permit. If you happen to be in the position where you could help offset some of these costs and want to, please contact us. Any help would be greatly appreciated, however we also understand if you are not in the position to.

We also need to see about setting up the times to display the truck for you, if you have any dates in mind please contact us so that we can put it on the schedule. We also encourage you to check out our new website www.fireandicemotorsports.com if you are able to. We hope to get pictures of the truck up on it soon. We also will be trying to get the pictures done so that we can get them to you as soon as we can. We hope that if you have any questions, comments or concerns that you do not hesitate to contact us.

Until next time…


	Journal - April 2002
	Well the end of April is fast approaching which also brings the first truck pull of the year for us. If everything goes as planned we will be going to Troy, PA on the 28th for our first pull of the season. While this will be the first pull we have already had a busy couple of months. February was busy trying to get the truck ready to go to the first car show of the season, the Carquest Motorsports Expo in Syracuse, NY. In preparation for this the front axle was changed to replace the one that broke that ended our season at Walton Fair last year. While this was going on the transmission was taken to the transmission builder to get checked and repaired because the broken axle locked the transmission up. After the axle was in place the truck was taken to get a new paint job. While the paint shop wasn't thrilled with having to push the truck around, they still did it. It went in red and came out a dark blue (Beth has wanted this for a couple of years, but circumstances hadn't allowed it). The change was so dramatic that Paul didn't even recognize the truck when he went to pick it up. After we got the truck home from the paint shop the transmission needed to be put back in place. The end of February the truck was taken to be lettered so that all the sponsors were on for the car show. We weren't sure how they were all going to fit, but in the end they did and the truck looked totally different from last year. After this it was getting the last minute details done before the truck was taken to the car show. March did not start off the best for the team. Unfortunately the Tuesday before the car show Paul's mom died and we had the funeral the day that the truck was having to be set up for the car show. The truck and most of the display items were taken by Beth's parents to get set in the building so that we could attend the funeral and then we went up to Syracuse to finish setting up the display afterwards. It made for a late night getting home, but the truck was set up and ready for the car show to open Friday night. Friday after we got out of work we headed for the car show in Syracuse for the weekend. It was a long weekend but we made it through it, bad weather and all. In the end we finished 4th out of 212 vehicles. We were very pleased with those results. Last year there were only 135 vehicles and we finished 18th. The one problem that we had at the car show was when the truck was taken in and out the transmission was leaking fluid. This puzzled both us and the transmission builder as to why this was happening. However we couldn't get it fixed before the next weekend for the Binghamton car show. The following week the truck headed to Binghamton early Thursday morning. Beth's father took the truck to work with him at 5:30 in the morning so that he could take the truck to be set up before we got out of work. We got the truck to the building about 6pm and then had the fun of pushing the truck into the building. This was a slight challenge because the doors were offset a couple of inches and just wide enough to fit the truck in through. We had a slight mishap with the second door. There were too many people telling Paul which way he needed to go, and he listened to the wrong person. (Most of the time it is a good idea for a husband to listen to his wife over someone else, this was one of the times and Paul didn't). So we messed up the fender slightly when it hit the door jam, needless to say the truck had to be pushed back and angled a little differently and then we made it through the doors and into the building. This was accomplished with 2 people pulling on the weight box, and about 8 people pushing on the back of the truck. Friday night brought the opening of the weekend car show Raceworld 2002, while it is not as large as the Motorsports Expo the truck was exposed to a different set of people. Saturday Sierra competed in the "Future Miss Raceworld" pageant, while she didn't win she was still one of the cutest little girls there. (Obviously we are a little biased in this matter, but hey parents generally are). Sunday afternoon brought the awards ceremony, in which the truck won a trophy for Best of Class. We were obviously pleased with this accomplishment. Then came the fun of tearing down the display and pushing the truck out of the building. This time Paul was listening to the right people when trying to fit the truck through the doors. The truck was loaded and taken home to get ready for pulling season to begin. The Monday after the car show in Binghamton another glitch was thrown at us. The weather and icy roads at 5am were not a good thing for Paul heading to work. Unfortunately Paul was in an accident and in no shape to work on the truck for a few days. He faired better than the car with only some bruises and strained muscles; the car though has a broken frame, axle, steering line, etc. His racing background came into play though in saving it from being worse than it was. His philosophy of "if the front tire can fit the whole car can", helped when he put the car between two poles without hitting either one. After a few days to recover the fun really began. We needed to get the transmission leak fixed, and do some work on the engine to hopefully get the truck running better than it was last year. While towards the end of the season last year the truck was running better, we still want to get it running better so that we can do better and represent our sponsors at more pulls. The weather and schedules delayed the truck getting to the transmission builder a little, but as soon as we could the truck was taken over to be fixed. During this time a new set of heads for the engine were ordered and came in and we were also trying to figure out what else we needed. The truck came home from the transmission builder and the work on the engine began. This has been interesting with all the rain we have had lately, we don't have a garage and have to do all the work outside. Therefore at times the progress has been halted due to the weather. Right now the truck is in the process of getting put back together with the new heads. The heads and intake are in place. The carburetor and hooking up all of the assorted hoses and other attachments still needs to be done. We also need to change out the rear axle so that the gears will be a matching set to the front, since we changed the gear ratio when we replaced the axle. We are hoping that this will enable the truck to run better. We have purchased a larger carburetor for the truck but that is going to have to wait until we can get a different camshaft for the truck. We were hoping that we would be able avoid the cost of a new cam, but it is looking like we will have to purchase one. We are going to try out the truck with the changes we have made before we know for sure whether we need to do this or not. Right now we are in the process of getting the truck back together so that we can go to Troy and try out the truck. We are also helping to plan and put on the Wild Wheel Weekend again in Mt. Upton, NY that is May 10-12 with the trucks running Saturday night. We were unable to have the truck at the last one (in September 2001), but are excited that we will be able to be there this time. These two pulls are the first ones of the season for us and then we have a little break before the season really starts going. We are planning on trying to run all the pulls that we can with the Central New York Pullers, Inc. and other outlaw pulls as we are able. This year we are an ATPA sportsman class with the club and have a membership through them and a point's fund. These pulls include some in PA and western NY, which have not been offered to us before. Please see the enclosed schedule for more information about where they are. This also means that we will be running in the point's race this season so we really want the truck to be running good. Along with these extra pulls comes added exposure for our team and sponsors. The downside is the added expenses that we are going to be incurring to get to the pulls. We plan on attending as many as finances will permit. If you happen to be in the position where you could help offset some of these costs and want to, please contact us. Any help would be greatly appreciated, however we also understand if you are not in the position to. We also need to see about setting up the times to display the truck for you, if you have any dates in mind please contact us so that we can put it on the schedule. We also encourage you to check out our new website www.fireandicemotorsports.com if you are able to. We hope to get pictures of the truck up on it soon. We also will be trying to get the pictures done so that we can get them to you as soon as we can. We hope that if you have any questions, comments or concerns that you do not hesitate to contact us. Until next time…