Racing Schedule

With our wedding date coming down on us quicker than my dragster in the quarter-mile, I thought today was as good as any to compile our sort-of official possibly but maybe not really racing schedule.

 

And after I completed it I thought, boy, what a good blog post this will be! Especially considering I am so busy with wedding and honeymoon plans that I barely know what day it is!

 

 

 

So as I compiled our races I realized that this year will be strongly based off of quality, not quantity. Though we aren't racing this year nearly as much as we have in the past (running a local points program can be nearly every weekend of the summer, ranging from April-September), the races we are choosing are some of the best in the country.

 

I am so excited to be able to go up against some of the best racers around, experience some of the best races around, and see some of the nicest race cars around!

 

So here it is, our tentative schedule for 2014:

 

April

April 25-27 IHRA Division I Pro Am, Richmond Dragway

Richmond, VA

 

May

May 13-18 Spring Fling, Bristol Dragway

Bristol, TN

 June

June 13-15 IHRA Division I Pro Am, Maryland International Raceway

Mechanicsville, MD

 June 28-29 Monster Mopar Weekend, Kil Kare Dragway

Xenia, OH

 
July

July 11-13 IHRA Division I Pro Am, Pittsburgh Raceway Park

New Alexandria, Pa

July 26 Night of Thunder, Quaker City Motorsports Park

Salem, OH

August

August 8-10 Mopar Nationals, National Trail Raceway

Columbus, OH

August 16-17 Curt George Memorial Race, Quaker City Raceway

Salem, OH

August 29-31 Ten Grand Nationals, Summit Motorsports Park

Norwalk, OH

 September

September 12-14 Monster Mopar Weekend, Summit Motorsports Park

Norwalk, OH

 October

**October 10-11 IHRA Tournament of Champions, Memphis International Raceway

Memphis, TN this race is only contingent upon Andy or I qualifying…but probably Andy will.

 October 10-12 Great Pumpkin Race, Quaker City Motorsports Park

Salem, OH if we do not qualify for ToC

 October 23-26 The Million Dollar Drag Race, Montgomery Motorsports Park

Montgomery, AL

 

As these races approach I will be posting fliers for them, and will have plenty of videos and photos from them to share!

 

But, before we can start racing our dragsters, we have to race to the altar to start our lives and first racing season together as a married couple. We have so much to look forward to in these upcoming weeks!

 

 

 

 



A Bump in the Road...

Ok so besides the car-themed blog title, I think that's all I really have in store for any type of car talk on here.

 

It seems as though a funk has come over me these past few days. I have been trying to take this blog seriously (even though I think the only readers are my parents) but I seem to have lost any kind of creativity in my fingertips this week.... I am fresh out of ideas right now.

 

I guess it could be a culmination of things...none of which really fall into one another so well...

 

This is basically a good illustration of how I have been feeling lately. This is a rod that was thrown out of an old engine in my dad's Mustang a few years back. The power being made in the engine was so powerful when the failure occurred this part bent into the U shape you see here, and it was stuck into the track surface.

 

And that's pretty much how I feel...like I've been thrown out of an 800 horsepower engine and stuck. I'm just stuck with a loss of ideas, stuck with a lack of inspiration and stuck with a sorry ass excuse as to why my blog sucked this week.

 

But I'm not one to make excuses...I will be back next week, just like The Terminator.

 

 

 



Getting Ready...

It's hard to believe with the weather the way it is (I still haven't put my winter coat away yet) that some lucky people have actually been racing since February.

 

With the St. Patrick's Classic at Virginia Motorsports Park being the place to be for most bracket racers, the IHRA Pro Am Division 4 races at Pine Valley Raceway, and the Gatornationals national NHRA event this weekend, we figured it was time to start getting the cars ready to race...

 

Cause it's not like we have our wedding coming up in three weeks or anything!

 

So we set wedding projects aside this weekend for one that I much prefer anyway...

 

Here's Andy, draining the oil in my dragster so he can put 9 fresh quarts into the engine.

 

On top of changing the oil we changed the transmission fluid and filter, and put fresh valve springs in the heads.

Here's Andy and his dad changing the valve springs.

 

While they worked I spent most of my time playing practice tree inside the dragster.

All practice tree does is help you work on your reaction time. I'm lucky enough to be able to play right inside the cockpit of the dragster, using a full tree. This is really helpful for me because the reaction time is so crucial to the race, and I take all the practice I can get. The transbrake button I use is the small silver one on the right of the steering wheel.

 

If you don't have a full size tree, it's ok! You can still practice on this:

That is the small practice tree you can buy on any drag racing website, or straight from the manufacturer. There are a few different brands, but this one is made by Biondo Racing Products. So while the travel practice tree is nice for the road, it's also nice to take advantage when you're home to hook everything up and play inside the car. Anything to make it feel more real!

 

The cars should be ready to go by Tuesday. I am hoping to have some video footage to post here soon, as well as our personal racing schedule for the year.

 

We may also have some real racing updates to post as early as next weekend! Let's just hope everything goes according to plan, and the weather cooperates of course...

 

All in all, it was a very productive weekend. I have to admit I am really itching to get out there and lay some runs down. I am so eager to see what this season has in store for us!

Life Lessons from the Drag Strip

 

(Photo credit: Rachel Kuskie)

(Pictured: Bristol Dragway, "Thunder Valley," 2013)

 

In my old blog I did a post similar to this. It's unfortunate that I was young and dumb and thought, "no one gives a shit about this blog, screw it," and deleted it into the abyss of the internet. But hey, you live and you learn.

 

And that's what this post is going to be about!

 

Any hobby helps shape who a person is. Whether its building a person to becoming a hardworking, dedicated individual or to become a detail-oriented perfectionist (ironically racing makes you become both of these!), anything a person puts their energy toward will always end up becoming a big part of their heart and soul.The things I have learned from drag racing can be applied to everyday life, and have (thankfully) had a positive influence on who I am today.

 

 Even though any racer can relate to these little "hints" of life, I also think anyone can get something out of them, so here I am to share with you my "Life Lessons from the Drag Strip"

 

5. It's Just You and The Tree

When you're racing, there's always that pesky little guy (or girl!) in the other lane who you're trying to beat. Something we are taught early in drag racing, when you're up on the line, it's just you and the tree. What the other guy does just doesn't matter. The thing about drag racing is even though there is an opponent you're up against, there's only one half of the race you can control and that's yours, so you might as well focus on that reaction time because that can make or break your round right there.

Life lesson:

There's always someone out there trying to mimic you, beat you or be better than you at anything. Just focus on yourself and do the best you can, because that's all you can control. Work hard to be your best!

 

4. Cut A Light and Take the Stripe

Winning a race overall is simple, actually doing it can be the difficult part. An easy way to do it, cut a light and take the stripe: beat the guy on the tree and beat him to the end. If you really got him on the reaction time you'll have enough room to lift and ensure you don't run under your dial. If you can do this, we'll see you in the winner's lane.

Life lesson:

Be as damn near perfect as you can in everything you do. Ensure that you're the best. Stand out by showing how hard you work. It always pays off, maybe not at first, but eventually it will always turn your way.

 

3. Keep Your Head in the Race 

This isn't a problem for everyone, but sometimes it just creeps up on you...or if you're me, more often than you want to admit. You're suited up and ready to go and for some reason your mind starts drifting, whether it's onto how badly you want to win, or maybe you're hungry or you have to pee...and before you know it, bang! You cut a horrible light and you're going home without even standing a chance. It is imperative to stay focused. And I mean focused. We're talking about ten thousandths of a second, here. You don't have time to think about anything else! Keep your head on point, eye on the prize, be in it to win it...and any other competitive cliché I may have missed...just do it (like Nike!) and success will come your way!

Life lesson:

No matter what you're doing, if it's schooling, work, exercise, or any other hobby...keep your head in it. The results are always better when you stay focused, and sometimes they're even better than you imagined they could be! We are all capable of so much if we work hard and keep the end result in mind.

 

2. Run Every Round Like it's the Final

Don't ever sit back on a race. It doesn't matter who you're racing, where you're racing or when you're racing. Never take your head out of it. If you take every round like it's the final, no one can tell you that you didn't try your hardest. Each round takes you onto the next, so each one counts! Keep the intensity going...it won't happen every time, but it will take you to the winner's lane eventually if you can do this.

Life lesson:

Approach all your passions in life to the fullest. If you're going to run, run as hard as you can. If you're going to work, do the extra work to land your dream job (or one that doesn't suck). If you're going to write, proof read that son of a bitch like it's going to be the next New York Times best seller. If you take the "go hard or go home" approach to life, you're bound to be more successful in your endeavors than the average person. If you fail, pick up and go at it even harder.  

 

1. Run Your Own Race

Race how you are comfortable. Do what works for you. There are so many theories out there about bracket racing and what to do to win. So many of us will turn to online tutorials, blogs or even on-track schooling to try to find the secret to success. While some of these things work for some people, they don't work for everyone...if they did, we would have a problem. I went through some tough stages trying different things with racing, and all it really did was stress me out more. When I did what came naturally to me and what felt right to me, even if I didn't win, I was able to put better packages together and feel better about trying again the following week. Every racer is different and we all have what feels right to us.

Life lesson:

Just be you. This is so hard when growing up, sometimes even as an adult. I struggled with that for a long time personally. What I learned was once I became comfortable, hell even proud of who I am, my morals, and where I come from, life became a whole lot easier. Stand your ground, even if you stand alone. Doing what someone else says to do, or being who someone else says to be, doesn't always make it right just because someone told you to do it. Listen to your heart, and stay true to who you are, and you can never go wrong!

 

So there they are. My top 5 pieces of advice that you can take from the track to your everyday life. I hope my insights can help some of you, or even just made you laugh and nod your head. Life can be tough, but finding a passion and a code to live by can make it much easier and a lot more fun!

 

 

 

 Anyone else out there find they have learned something from racing they have applied to their lives? Or maybe vice versa?



4 Decades of Love, Family and Horsepower

Today truly marks 40 years of everything my blog embraces: love, family and horsepower. Why is that, you ask?

 

Today is my mom and dad's 40th wedding anniversary.

 

It's still a lot for me to take in. I can barely imagine how they felt when they sat down this morning with their coffee, news on the television, eating their Sunday breakfast my mom has always made...it was just the same as every other day, but it wasn't. 40 freaking years...who knows what they talked about.

 

They've been through it all...after my dad left the Navy, where he was an airplane mechanic, they truly started from scratch. Accepting help from no one, they lived in crappy houses infested with bees while my parents worked crap jobs to make ends meet. Finally my dad landed a job in the coal mines, a "good" job for back in the 70's while my mother worked at Sears selling appliances, which surprisingly wasn't exactly a woman's job back then. I guess my defiance for girly things and jobs comes from her.

 

Eventually they worked their way up and are now their own business owners, like I mentioned in my second post. I guess my parents never really decided to do anything the easy way, though, considering they got married when my mom was 17 and my dad was 19. Yet here they are...they truly defied all odds and statistics. They are my heroes in every aspect of life and encompass everything I want this blog to be about.

So here they are, wayyy back in the day. Probably around 1972 or so. My mother was about 15 and my dad was around 17 years old. I found this picture a few years ago, and when I showed my parents my dad's first reaction was, "There's my old GTO in the background! I miss that car..," yep, typical gearhead...

 

And on this day 40 years ago in Key West, Florida...

My dad's words of wisdom to Andy about our wedding day: "Do NOT let anyone touch your car. Our friends decorated my car with shoe polish and it baked into the paint in the 100 degree weather. It completely destroyed the paint." And lucky for us all, someone took a photo of his 1971 Monte Carlo in all its "just married" glory.

 

So what cool stuff was happening back in 1974??? Upon doing some research I came up with...nothing, really. A really cool blog I came upon called Car Lust even wrote a post called 1974: It Was A Very Bad Year. According to That Car Guy, the blogs author, 1974 consisted of the Mustang II, really ugly car bumpers, and the original release of the movie Gone in 60 Seconds. I also discovered that the Toyota Corolla was introduced to the car world...

So besides my parents getting married, 1974 sucked.

 

And now, 40 years later Andy and I were lucky enough to have dinner with my parents at a local restaurant, DiSalvo's Station. It's an old converted train station located in Latrobe, Pa.

What marital advice was given to us by a couple who has withstood well...basically everything?

My dad's advice consisted of this:

• Don't go looking for something better. Because it's not out there.
• If you marry each other for the right reasons, nothing else matters.
• During the bad times, you need to go back to why you ended up here in the first place. Remember this right now, and you can get through anything.

My mom's advice:

• If you put each other's happiness before you're own, you'll always be happy.
• If you take actions while thinking about the other's feelings, you'll never be wrong.
• Communicating with each other is important. If you two talk to each other, you'll be just fine.

And on top of all that, my entire life I have seen my parents do nothing but support each other. They work through everything together. Whether it's making my dad sandwiches on race day, or listening to him obsessively talk through a problem, I have always seen my mother stand by my dad's side through everything. And my dad does the same for her. They stick together, through everything in life.

 

My parents have taught me that getting through the tough times makes the good times that much sweeter. And I truly hope Andy and I can have a marriage as successful and loving as theirs.

 

So, this post is for you, mom and dad. Congratulations on 40 years.

Here's to another 40 more. I love you.

 

It's All About Andy

Since the last post let you all know a little about me, now I think it's time to make a post all about Andy. He is, in almost every sense of the word, my better half. He is definitely without a doubt the better racer between the two of us. That's ok for me though, because all I can do is learn and get better from him!

 

While in high school Andy went to tech school for welding where he graduated as "student of the year." He started working young, at age 16, for his dad in his machine shop. Following graduation he chose to forego college to continue learning his dad's business. From ages 20-22 he was the shop foreman at his father's shop before moving into his own shop which he currently runs.

 

Like me, Andy has been around racing nearly his entire life. He went from going to the races with his dad at age 9 to behind the steering wheel at 16. Right into a Top class car...

 

This is his first race car. A 1970 Duster powered with a 408 ci Mopar engine. It ran 10.00's at 130 around mph. Unfortunately the engine blew in this car and the "blue Duster" (you will see why it's called that in a second!) was no more after a mere 15 passes down the track.

 

Onto the "black Duster"

Also a 1970 Duster, Andy technically raced this car before the "blue Duster" because it wasn't completed yet. A 360 ci engine was in this car, running 11.00's at about 120 mph.

 

Neither of the Dusters lasted very long, Andy's desire to go quicker and win races drove him into running a 1932 Bantam Altered. This was the car he got his first event win in. Following his season in the altered, he moved into his car that would bring him his most success yet.

 

The 2006 Undercover Dragster.

This dragster was purchased brand new by Andy's dad. It's had various engines in it from a 528 lowdeck, 493 cubic inch engine and lastly the 540 (which I am currently piloting). It's et's (elapsed time) have ranged from 8.20's at 165mph to 7.55 at 177mph.

 

Andy has had tons of success in The Shark. His bigger wins consist of winning an Iron Man trophy in 2008 during the Iron Man classic at Pittsburgh Raceway and qualifying for bracket finals in the top 5 every year since getting this car.

 

 These are just a few of his plaques (that he didn't give to his dad) from daily wins and points finishes, as well as his coveted Iron Man.

 

After 7 years of running the Undercover, it was time to move on...



Here is Andy's 2013 Undercover Dragster. Also purchased brand new and built to his desires and specs, this car is equipped with the same powerplant that is currently in the 2006 Undercover. So essentially we are now racing identical cars.

 

Though Andy hasn't had any official wins in this car yet, he took a runner up in his first race ever and was lucky enough to win the "best engineered open bodied car" at this past year's bracket finals.

 

 

So that's Andy...his racing career is off to a great start and I know it will only continue to grow! I can only hope that someday I can say I am as good as he is.

 

But if I can't...at least I get to say I'm with one of the best around ;)



What You Know About Me?

So now that how I started racing was explained...I guess I should catch you all up on how I got to where I am now!

 

As I mentioned before, I started racing at age 20. At the time I was attending the University of Pittsburgh. I have since graduated from there magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Writing. With that degree I have done...nothing! I am currently taking business classes to pursue a job managing my own small business some day. I feel it is something I was kind of "destined" to do seeing as my dad, brother and future father-in-law all own their own businesses. Hopefully soon I will be blogging about my business plans rather than just racing!

 

But since racing and family is all I have right now...here goes nothing.

 

 

This is my first race car I ran an entire season in:

This is my 1976 Chevy Corvette. It was a project car bought by my dad for me when I was around 16 years old. Since we got it we rebuilt basically every inch of this car, including building it a 383 cubic inch racing engine for it. This was the car that I learned the fundamentals of engine building and racing in. It is 100% street legal and ran 12.20's at around 115 mph in the quarter. I raced it in Street class at Pittsburgh Raceway Park in 2010 and ended up in a sorry ass 20th place. I did end up in a final the last day of points and red lit in the final, so I made a progress, it was just slow. I guess foot braking wasn't exactly my thing.

 

Though the Corvette and I didn't have the greatest racing success together, I still have her. And ironically since I quit foot braking and racing in street, I'm actually pretty decent at hitting the tree now.

 

That winter my dad and I got this:

This is my old 1978 Camaro. It is a chassis car, meaning it is a "bare bones" car: role cage, seat, steering wheel, all fiberglass body to keep it light,etc. It was powered with a 434 smallblock Chevy engine and a 400 turbo transmission. In this car I used a transbrake to leave the line. It holds the car in place until you release the transbrake button, which is how you get your reaction time, versus just hitting the gas pedal in footbrake classes. I raced this car in Modified during the 2011 season, where it ran 9.20's at 145 mph. I did not run points this season as I wanted to adjust to going so much quicker in a car, along with all the other safety precautions that you need to take being in a faster car.

 

During the 2012 season, I raced the same car. That year I chose to run Top class. Top class consists of the quickest cars at the track, and they use electronics to get their reaction times. It is intense, and I love it. And it is where I met Andy. This year I chose to run points, to really see how I stacked up against the competition. I ended up in 8th place, which I felt was a strong finish to my first year out there. I would post a photo of my plaque, but my name was spelled wrong and it was never corrected. Yes...that sounds about right for my life.

 

That winter I spent with Andy, and during that time he asked me to drive his old dragster because he was getting a new one. Since my Camaro was sold, I said yes.

So, this is what I'm in now. The 2006 Undercover dragster. It has the 540 cubic inch Mopar engine I mentioned before, and it runs 7.60's at 175 mph. It is FAST. And so fun. Last season was a big learning curve for me. I had a lot of ups and downs with it. Unfortunately I didn't qualify for the bracket finals team in points, I ended up one place out. I needed to finish in the top 16. On the brighter side, I got to watch Andy race, and I learned so much from him and had such a great time seeing him do well and that made it all worth it to me!

 

So here I am now:

  Photo credit Brittany Lee Photography

 

Ready to get married and venture into a new racing season full of new races, new race tracks, and hopefully some successes along the way. I've been racing for a good while now, and I feel like it's time for me to really step up and make something happen this year. My dad joked that maybe once my last name changes I'll have better luck, but I think he might be right. Because I plan on making my own luck this year.

 

 

   





It's all in the Family

I don't think it would be fair to jump into talking about Andy and I without acknowledging the people who got us into drag racing to begin with, our dads.

Drag racing is one of those things where 90% of us start because our families are involved in it. We grew up going to the races with our dads, but some grow going with their entire family. Sometimes racing can be an all-out family affair, where they all work together to help their driver, or maybe even they all race their own cars. One of the things that's cool about local race tracks is you can literally see generations of families and their passion for racing. We all grow up together.

Oddly enough, Andy and I never crossed paths until we ended up racing in the same class. Race tracks are big places...

However we managed to have a lot of things in common even before we met.

Both of our dads are small business owners. This had a huge impact on our upbringing. I know personally, you get to see just how hard your parents work to make ends meet. Knowing what both of our dads sacrificed to work for themselves always made me feel the deepest respect and love for them both.

My dad has had his business, Kuskie Automotive for over 30 years. It's your typical small town auto repair shop, where he also builds his racing engines and works on the race cars. My dad started racing at age 17 when he was still in the Navy, and began bracket racing at Keystone Raceway when he moved back to Pennsylvania. He had a good bit of success with his old Firebird back in the 70's but took a hiatus to raise my brother's and I. When he made his comeback in the late 90's, racing was a whole new game.

This is my dad's 1991 Mustang. It currently has a 532 cubic inch Ford engine in it, running 9.10's at about 147mph in the quarter mile.

This is his newest addition, a 2007 S&W dragster powered with a 434 smallbock Chevy engine. It runs 8.20's at about 160 mph in the quarter mile.

Andy's dad has had his own business, HardMetal Tooling for over 13 years. They are a small business that primarily grinds preformed carbide pieces using various machinery. He has been involved in racing for nearly as long as my dad, and made his comeback also in the 90's.

This is Jim's 1970 Challenger called "The Bismarck." It's power plant consists of a 528 cubic inch Hemi. Yep that's right, it has a Hemi. Like the mustang it also runs 9.20's at around 147mph.

 

 

And this is the newest addition to the family. The 1970 Challenger pro mod. After 7 years in the making this car was completed in October 2013. It is currently powered with 528 lowdeck, which will change sometime in the future. The maiden voyage has yet to be made in this car, but I will be updating on that in the near future!

 

So that's the men who brought us into racing. We race all the time to make them proud. I felt they deserved a post all their own to begin things. Being that racing is such a family oriented sport, starting with our families just felt right.