Ron's son Dale was racing with us again this weekend. The random ladder paired him up against his Dad first round both days. I enjoyed talking to him and getting to know him a little.

Dale was driving Ron's '66 Dart high school car. Ron has finished the drivetrain and interior. He just needs to finish up the body work.





The second car they brought is Kay's 4 speed '61 Valiant that Ron bought from Bob Stepp many years ago. Ron restored this beauty and let Andrew Shank drive it. Kay will race if she is needed, but prefers to support racing operations from places not behind the wheel.



The track announcer was having a heck of a time trying to keep up with who was driving what. He kept saying Andrew "Hamby" was driving the Valiant and called the '66 Dart a Valiant. He really liked the Slant 6's and did a great job announcing for us.

I took some poor videos of the races Saturday. I'll see if Cookie can help me put 'em on YouTube... Actually, I think Cookie just watches and copies stuff from YouTube... I don't think he can help me with nuthin' technical...

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Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Yep... Ron Hamby is having a very good season... He hasn't lost a round yet...

I thought people might be wondering how it is that Ron has been able to win so many Championships and now have a "perfect" season so far...

So I snuck up on his car when Ron had his back turned and got some secret spy shots of the Bamboozler parts he uses.

Feast your eyes on the car that has taken Ron to so many championships and has thus far this season been unbeatable.

Look real close up under the hood and in the cockpit to see if you can pick out the secret Bamboozler stuff he uses to be so successful... I'll give you a few minutes... Let me know when you're done... Take your time... It'll come to ya....






Did you find the secret weapons you were looking for...?

Me neither... So I went pokin' around a little more and just kept my eyes open for anything that looked suspicious or might give me a clue to his success...

It was late Saturday after the racing was done and we were packing up... I was getting a couple shots of Rick and Ron with their trophies.... When I spotted what I believe is one of Ron's "Secret Weapons"!!

Look back behind Ron in this photo and tell me what you see...



Yep! I found it!! Behind every great man...

But anyone that knows or has ever met Ron and Kay Hamby and seen them in action at the track or just in every day life know what a great team they are... So that isn't all that much of a secret...

Then I was going through the photos on Rick's camera to post all this stuff and found the photos Rick took Friday night... When I saw this photo it all made sense to me...

Ron's got a dialed in race car with some good equipment and years of experience...

He has a wonderful, supportive wife that is always by his side...

And he has something else as well...



Ron isn't smiling and saying that he's #1...

Congratulations on two more wins Ron.

(I know Ron would be happy to share with anyone what the secret is to his success. Just ask him. )

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Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Just got back home. Made the tow with not problems, except for fuel mileage.
Off to bed.

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Charrlie_S
65 Valiant 100 2dr post 170 turbo
66 Valiant Signet 170 nitrous
64 Valiant Signet
64 Valiant 4dr 170
64 Valiant 4dr 225

The photo of Ryan and Andrew with their hands on their foreheads stood for the fact that they were 1st round losers! I had my hand on my forehead as well but I was taking the pictures!

Great commentary Rob!

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2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

We got called up for the first round and all got lined up... When there was an oil down... So we had plenty of time to stand around in the heat and bench race.

I had time to take some more photos...

First up was Jack Everhardt Jr. in his '76 Duster against Norm Foster in his '69 Dart. Jack won with a 11.21 to Norm's 8.34


Next up was Tim Charapich in his '83 D100 against Andrew Shank in Ron & Kay Hamby's '61 4 speed Valiant. Andrew won with is 11.24 to Tim's 14.37


Third pairing was Mark Charapich in his '60 Valiant 4 door against Brian Droschak in his '67 Dart 4 door in the Battle of the More Doors!
Brian beat Mark running a 8.53 to Mark's 11.87



Fourth pair up was Greg Ondayko in "Ruster" versus Ryan Covalt in Whitney's '74 Duster that they drove from Pennsylvania. I don't think Ryan has ever been to a race where he didn't drive to the track, often from a good haul away. One time he did tow a car to the track... He towed Seymour's Valiant to Clay City, KY behind his '72 Dart 4 speed... And raced the Dart!
Greg beat Ryan running a 7.69 to Ryan's 12.09. I saw Ryan and Andrew Shank under the dash of the Duster Saturday night tweaking things so the A/C would work well for Whitney and the kids on the drive back to PA.



Fifth pairing was a couple of the original Slant 6 racers from when this series started back in 1997 and earlier. Gary Bruner and Charlie Schmid. Gary ran a 12.95 in his stock '64 Valiant to beat Charlie in his '66 Valiant "Charlie's Angel" on nitrous that went 8.55. Charlie handed Gary the win with a redlight.



Sixth pair was Father/Son Ron and Dale Hamby in '66 Darts. I pulled Dale aside and asked if he felt pressured to let his Dad win in their first round pairings both days... He assured me that he would love to be the guy that put his Dad on the trailer and would love it even more driving his Dad's car from high school. Ron won with a 7.74 to Dale's 12.48.



Last set in round 1 was Rick Covalt in his beautiful blue '65 Valiant against the 2015 Rookie of the Year Jack Everhardt III in his '88 D100. Rick won with a 8.55 to Jack's 11.17.

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Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Winner and Runner Up on Friday:
Ron Hamby and Greg Ondayko.




Winner and Runner Up on Saturday:
Ron Hamby and Rick Covalt.





I made my way around pestering people:




Some good Bench Racing:

Norm and Bryan Foster with "The Jacks" Everhardt.


Staging Lane Comraderies:




Just 'cuz I thought Tim's truck wuz cool.

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Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Mater! Thanks for all the pics and the write up. Very Nice.

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66 Lil' Red Piggie Valiant (Mater Crusher) - Thanks Zilla!!!!! 72 Demon (Number 1 Son's)

Thank you all for a wonderful day of racing and socializing with our Slanted family. Congratulations to all who raced. Special thank yous to: the Hambys for hosting us all, and to Kay and the Brunner Ladies for feeding everyone.
We all had a wonderful time, Mark says hopefully him or Tim will eventually win a round, I say you never know it might be me that wins a round
Regenia

Have to offer my thanks to everyone. Great to be a part of such a wonderful group of people (The Slanted Family). You guys are the best and I had a great time both days. Hope everyone stays well and see you again soon.

Rob now we remember how bad we have been missing your live race commentary. Great race report!!!!!!

Kay and I would like to thank everyone that came to Wilkesboro. It was hot, hot, hot, but it is so nice to be able to spend time with so many of our slant six friends at one event.

Thanks to Phil and Pat for beings such great hosts to us each time we come to their track. You are awesome people.

Ron and Kay Hamby

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62 Val, 66 Dart, 16 Ram 2500 Mega

Wow, sounds like a wonderful race weekend. Sorry I could not be there. Congrats to all the participants, old and new. I hope to see a bunch of you at Knoxville in a few weeks!

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Thanks for the writeup and photo coverage Rob,

Welcome back.

Congratsx2 Ron.


Greg

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http://www.youtube.com/hyperpack