Wednesday, 12 June, 1996
Hallet, Oklahoma
It was a bright, hot afternoon in the thriving metropolis of Hallet, Oklahoma. Well, I suppose it was. It was definitely bright and hot at the Hallet Motor Racing Circuit. The SHO's temp gauge showed that it was in the 90s, but the asphalt and humidity made it feel closer to 110F. An ideal racing day. :-)
I arrived at Hallett around 1:00PM, thanks to Oklahoma's wonderful 75MPH
turnpikes, and despite their current state of construction/repair, finding
a few of the drivers already there. The first of our SHOTimes group I
found was Don Mallinson and his crew, busily unpacking and baking under
the hot Oklahoma sun.
I introduced myself to Don and was introduced to his other two team members, D. (sorry; I forgot his first name) Smith and Mike Benet. Mike, who, according to Don, has the talent and the desire to make it into professional racing, would be driving this course. Don gave me the low-down on which cars to watch, then took off with a track attendant to check out the track.
Apparently, at this time, Don's team was in second place in their class, with a Spirit R/T nipping at their heels. The first place car, a seriously modified Impala SS (lightened from ~4800 lbs to the weight of an SHO, with a 383CID Lingenfelter-prepped 400+ hp engine, among other things) is considered to be so far out in front that he's almost a lock to win the class unless he wrecks the beast. Don said that he spun out at Blackhawk Farms and still won the event.
While the other Impalas were fairly well back, Don still thinks they may have a shot when they get to the drag racing tracks. The Impala may be a boat, but it can still get up and go in a straight line...
I then went about looking at the cars and snapping pictures
(I have more, but that roll hasn't been developed yet). This one is the
BMW M1/6, a Taurus rental which the guys are racing in place of
their grenaded M6. It doesn't count, since you can't switch cars, but they're
doing it for fun.
This one was an interesting vehicle. It's a rather fast Mazda RX/7. The bumper
sticker has a picture of a Wankel rotor and the text "Pistons? We don't
need no stinkin' pistons!" Also at the track were the Swiss guys (below, right)
with the prepped GMC Safari mini van. From what we were told, they do
this every year: they send over money to have an auto prepped, race it
in the One Lap, then import it into Switzerland to sell it. These guys are
crazy, wearing black attire today. :-)
Around 2PM, Gary Morrell (that's Gary by the rear door) and his crew
(Ned and Jim, one of whom is Gary's brother) arrived (that's also
Gary in the action picture at the top). Ain't them some bitchin' wheels
and brakes? :-) Gary's team is doing well, in the top half of the field.
Considering the competiton, that's not bad at all. As Don said, the primary
rule of the One Lap is that there ain't any rules.
Jason Brown showed up about the same time as Gary did (that's his white SHO between Gary's black one and my silver '95), though neither Jason nor I are crazy enough to go through the race ourselves. Or is it just that we don't have the money to do so? :-)
Mike, driving Don's car, was the first to run. Don thinks very highly of Mike's driving skills, and, after watching him lap the SHO, I'm inclined to agree. Although he didn't manage to gain much (if any) on the Impala, he did manage to fend off the Spirit R/T and solidify their hold on second in class. Nice job of driving, Mike!
Gary ran later in the race, and turned in a decent time, considering the
fact that the guy in the 'Vette convertible in front of him spun out
once (twice?) and nearly lost it again...but Gary looked good doing it,
and isn't style at least as important as substance? :-) And, man, aren't
those some bitchin' wheels and brakes on Gary's SHO? :-)
Alas, all good things must come to an end...Don and his crew got packed
quickly and high-tailed it off towards the next event (Memphis, TN),
soon followed by Gary and his crew. Gary and Don (and all of their
team members) are really nice guys, with lots of interesting info
to share, and it was a real pleasure meeting them. It was also
good to meet Jason; I hope we can get some sort of meeting together
out here at Hallett to put more faces to names.
And here are pics of some cars. Hey, how did those
Team Mountaineer
drivers get into the pictures? :-)
If you get the chance to see any of the One Lap events, definitely get out there and support our brethren. It's well worth your time, even if you do get par-broiled like I did.
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