About me and my passion for cars

My love of cars surely comes from my dad's genes (God rest his soul). He always told stories about street racing in high school and watching drag racing at Great Bend KS, the birthplace of the NHRA. But by the time I came along he was a self-employed cattle man working 60 hours a week and no longer had time for a car hobby. We never talked much about cars during my youth and didn't do any "car stuff" together. But like most of us, something clicked when I watched Smokey and the Bandit in '77. It took some convincing to finally talk Dad into letting me buy a '77 400 4 speed TA at age 17, since he remembered how he drove at that age. He finally agreed and even helped me find one a couple hours away and he and my mom drove there to pick it up (it was a school day, ya know). I sat nervously on the porch that night waiting for him to pull into the driveway with my dream car, and I'll never forget the look on his face when he finally got there. It was a combination of "man that was fun" and "you'd better not drive this thing like I used to". I paid for it myself working at a tire shop through high school & college (and using the tire shop after hours to tinker with it). I totalled it in 1984 but the dream to have another one never died. The dream came true in 2004, 20 years later to the month!

My first car

'73 Plymouth Satellite, handed down to me from my big brother in 1980 after he drove the snot out of it. It only had a 318 motor but I got the most out of it as I dreamed of having a '77 Bandit TA.

Car I wish I still had

Finally got my dream car as a 17-year old in 1981 (see story above). It was a '77 Black TA with 400, 4-speed and T-Tops. It wasn't an SE but I didnt care at the time, and I'd love to still have it.

My dream car

My current Dual Carb '77 SE, only as a "true" Bandit with a stock engine compartment & shaker hood scoop, plus all the stripes and the bird on the hood. It's nice knowing that this dream will come true someday, possibly with a little help from Restore-A-Musclecar! (Currently saving my pennies.....)

Car clubs I’m in

POCI
KC Arrowheads chapter of POCI
Trans Am chapter of POCI, but it may be dormant, haven't heard from them in awhile
Bandit Trans Am Club (new & old)
National Firebird & Trans Am Club (NAFTAC)
Kansas City Pontiac Motorsports Club (KCPMC) - mostly an online club at http://kcpmc.proboards44.com/
Bandit Runners Club?????

Favorites

• Type of racing: NHRA (Topeka KS), Local Drags - KCIR (KC MO), NASCAR (Kansas Speedway), Dirt (Lakeside Speedway, KC KS)
• Driver: NHRA - Brandon Bernstein, Gary Scelzi, Greg Anderson; NASCAR - Clint Bowyer (home town Kansas boy)
• Driving song: "East Bound & Down" of course, though a couple AC/DC tunes are a close 2nd and 3rd.
• Car movie: SATB - What other car movie is there?
• Car book: My '77 TA Owners Manual
• Car magazine: High Performance Pontiac & Pontiac Enthusiast, can't decide which is better. Any All-Pontiac magazine is good with me.
• Car game: Driving my TA like a maniac and listening to my kids scream in the back seat.

— Profile last updated: Mar 8, 2008