Check here often for updates through the season on how the Fire & Ice Motor-Sports team is doing.
2005 Season
September 7, 2005
Wow, where did the summer go, it seems like it was just yesterday
that we were getting ready for the pulling season, and now the points
season is over with. Since the last update we have been busy and the
timing of the pulls did not allow for us to get an update done before
this, we offer our sincere apologies. After breaking the Joker at the
Buck Motorsports Park in Lancaster, PA we had to get the truck fixed
and back together for the next pull. In addition to the rear yoke &
universal joint and the front axle we also discovered that the driver's
side lockout hub was shattered. When it broke it did it good, of course
it could also have been worse at least it wasn't the engine. We are
happy to report though we made it through the rest of the season without
breaking anything else. The only real problem we encountered with the
truck was when we had to take out weight (due to differences in scales);
we experienced problems with the truck bouncing, which makes a good
run difficult to obtain.
After Lancaster the next pull was at the Syracuse Nationals July 15,
2005 in Syracuse, NY. Overall things went well, the mud made things
a little interesting but it did not stop the pull from occurring. This
was the maiden voyage for the Joker with the red headlights working;
it definitely makes an impression with the red lights flashing coming
down the track. Paul said he looked out into the grandstand and just
saw flash bulbs going off as the truck went down the track. (For our
results please see the enclosed results sheet). After Syracuse we had
a couple of weeks to get ready for our three-day weekend of Boonville
and two days out to Holley. July 29, 2005 we went to Boonville to start
our three day weekend, our biggest concern was whether the axles were
going to hold up to the three days of pulling. We made it through Boonville
okay, much better than one of our club members, whose truck caught on
fire at the end of his run in the pull off. Luckily we have to have
a fire extinguisher in the truck and he got the fire put out as soon
as he was out of the cab. After we got done pulling Friday night we
decided to drive out to Holley. We finally arrived about 1:30am and
got things set for the night and managed to get a little sleep before
pulling began on Saturday. Unfortunately Saturday brought a disappointing
run for the Joker team. The first truck down the track July 30, 2005
is the one that won. As the class went on the track just got worse and
the Joker was towards the end of the class. It was just luck of the
draw on Saturday. Sunday was just the opposite though at Holley. The
track got better as the class went on and Paul was first puller with
the Joker. We left happy though, Sunday we had the best run we have
ever had on that track, and luck was with us, we came through the weekend
without breaking anything.
Our trip to Horseheads, NY August 5, 2005 is not one we will forget
anytime soon. We meet up with friend with a stock truck on Route 17
at the rest area outside of Owego. We pull into the parking area and
see the wheels on his trailer axles bowing out. He decided to try and
make it to the pull anyway so we put him in between our two vehicles
so we can watch and see if it was getting worse. We get outside of Elmira
and all of a sudden see smoke and smell burning rubber. We were concerned
with Chris's trailer and having problems, but it ends up being our trailer
with the Joker on it that blows a tire. Luckily unlike the last time
we blew a tire, this time we had a spare. Beth's brother Bill says that
NASCAR doesn't have anything on the Joker team when it comes to changing
tires. We had the generator started, the lugs being loosened while the
trailer was getting jacked up and the spare being unhooked, got the
tire changed, and everything put away and back on the road in 5 minutes.
We then proceeded on to the pull. Once there we got the trucks ready
to pull, and Bill & Chris did a temporary fix on his trailer to
get it and the truck home. We all made it home safely about 12:30 am,
while we didn't have a pull with the Joker we had to get up and go help
run the truck pull at the Otsego County Fair on Saturday. Sunday we
were trying to see if the set of pulling tires one of the other club
members lent us would fit the truck, however we didn't have any rims
big enough to work, and the rims they were on were the wrong bolt pattern
for our axles. It was a nice jester, but they just wouldn't work.
Monday August 8, 2005 took us to Honesdale, PA. Here we had to wonder
whether the pull was even going to happen. On the way it started to
rain a little then it stopped so we thought it was going to be okay.
Then about half an hour before it was supposed to start it started to
rain again. We finally got done pulling about 10:30pm in the rain. It
was a disappointing night for us, for the first time this season we
didn't even get passed the 200-foot mark. The truck was bouncing since
we had to take out weight and the front end was just too light with
the track conditions. August 9, 2005 took us to Whitneyville, PA and
for the first time since we have been going there we made it through
without anything bad happening to the truck. We were also luck that
the rain the night before did not turn the pits into a mud-pit like
two years ago. The only bad thing was getting home about 1am and Paul
having to be to work at 3:30am, luckily he slept on the way home.
Bath, NY was August 17, 2005, this track was a bad track for everyone
that night in our club. The winning distance was only 269 feet, and
for a modified truck club this is not good. The Joker ended up bouncing
yet again because of having to take off 140 lbs of weight. We are not
sure what we are going to be able to change to try and remedy this problem,
but it is hopefully going to be worked out before next year. The trip
home was interesting due to a vibration in the suburban. We discovered
Thursday afternoon the housing of the transmission was cracked and the
transfer case and transmission were only being held together with two
bolts, it is supposed to be four. We are just thankful that we made
it home from Bath okay and did not get stranded on the side of the road.
However this made us rethink who was going to make it to the last two
points pulls.
For the first time since they were born Sierra and Samantha were unable
to attend a pull that we had the Joker at. Frankfort was August 20,
2005 and it was a little weird with only half the team there. We made
it through the pull without any problems and knew that the only way
we could loose 8th place in points was to not go to the last pull at
Greenwich the following Sunday. This was just not an option and Paul,
Fred and Beth loaded up into the cab of the truck to take the Joker
to Greenwich August 28, 2005. This was our first time to the Washington
County Fair and it didn't go to bad. We had the opportunity to run in
their super stock class, but due to the order the classes were run we
did not run the Joker in it. We did not want to chance breaking the
truck with it being the last points pull for our club. We managed to
finish the year 8th place in points, while we didn't win any pulls we
made every pull and this year that consistency will be rewarded.
There are a couple of outlaw pulls left, however with the rising gas
and diesel prices it is looking very unlikely that we will try to go
to any of them with the truck. We are going to start working on changes
for next year to try and get the Joker more competitive. Once again
we would like to thank you for your support this pulling season, and
hope to see you again next year. Any questions or concerns please let
us know.
June 15, 2005
The pulling season for The Joker has officially started. There has been a lot of work done on the truck since coming home from the car show. This includes putting in the splitter for the transfer case, two new shifters in the cab for the transfer case, the newly rebuilt carburetor, rebuilt drive shafts and guards and cross-member supports for the transfer cases. We finally got the truck back together in time for the truck to go through tech on June 4 in Mt. Upton. We did not run the truck at Wild Wheels Weekend though; we had quite a scare when we just ran the truck up our dirt road and thought we broke the front axles. Luckily we didn't, we did find out however that the lockout hubs for the four-wheel drive were not engaging properly. That is what was making it appear like the axles were broke. The hubs got changed so we knew that they would work properly at the first points pull at The Buck Motorsports Park.
This past weekend we made the long and hot trip to Lancaster, PA for the first points pull with The Central New York Pullers, Inc. Going in to the pull we were tied for first with the other trucks that came to Mt. Upton to go through tech. After Saturday night we are now in 8th place. The Joker was sounding strong and for the first time since we have been running the truck there was actually wheel speed. Mud was flying off the back tires and it was coming down the track looking good. Then all of a sudden sparks flew from under the back of the truck and then the front and the truck stopped, The Joker was broke. We are not sure what happened first whether the front universal joint in the rear drive shaft broke, which caused the yoke on the back of the transfer case to break or if the yoke went first. However once the rear drive shaft was not in place there was too much torque for the front axles to handle and the passenger side front axle broke. This is the damage that we know of without having everything tore apart yet; hopefully this is the extent of it.
We now have almost a month before the next points pull in Syracuse
to get the truck fixed. We are trying to decide whether to change the
just the broken axle or the whole front axle assembly. We will also
have to fix the rear drive shaft & yoke on the transfer case. The
good that came out of this is we know that the guards do their job of
holding parts when they break. We also know that the carburetor being
rebuilt makes a big difference on how the truck runs and with the splitter
we know that we actually can get wheel speed. Now comes the hard part
of getting this increased torque and power to keep from breaking stuff
on the truck. That is all the news we have for now. Until next time…
April 5, 2005
Spring is here which means pulling season is right around the corner.
Over the winter The Joker pulling truck was repainted and had new lettering
put on for the 2005 season. The truck has already been to one event
this year; we went back to the Carquest Motorsports Expo. in Syracuse,
NY March 11-13, 2005. The car show went well a lot of people stopped
to look at the truck; inquire about our sponsors and take schedules
for the 2005 season. The Joker finished 4th overall this year.
Now that the car show is over work has begun to finish getting the
truck ready for the pulling season. We have experienced a little difficulty
in finding the last couple of parts needed for the transfer case splitter
project. However we hope that we finally have them all, now it is just
finishing it up so that we can put it in the truck. We are hoping that
the increased gearing will help us to be more competitive in the 2005
season. We have a few other minor details that need to be taken care
of, putting in the new gauges and repainting the hitches. If it had
to the truck could be pulled right now, we are hoping to get the other
stuff done though. The truck needs to be ready by the first Saturday
in June so it can go through tech. The first points pull is June 11th
in Lancaster, PA at the Buck Motorsports Park. A copy of the schedule
is enclosed for you. If you know when you would like your display done,
please let us know so that we can put it on the schedule.
That is about all for now from The Joker Pulling team, once we go to
the first pull in June we will let you know how we did. Until then…
Thanks for your support,
2002 Season
