Sometime back there was an idea for a Y-Block Hall of Fame to honor those who have paved the way for us to follow and try to improve upon. That would be a great thing for the posterity of our favorite engine and its heros. As daunting a task as that might be, I hope someone will eventually start that project.
But what about our current Y-Block enthusiasts, especially the ones who are waving the Y-Block banner today at tracks across the nation? I just thought it would be fun to mention a few for any of our Y-Block community who might not otherwise know about them.
Yehaabill said something today that started me thinking. He mentioned a few racers who are currently trying to give the Y-Block the reputation it deserves. What I hope to do with this thread is to share some names and a little about them for the enjoyment of all readers. In addition, please feel free to add names and efforts of those who you know something about.
With no particular order of success or fame:
1. Harry Hutton, here is a guy who very successfully campaigns a 312 automatic in a 1960 Mercury that he struggles to keep under 4000lbs. With a weather station in one hand and a notebook of past performance information in the other, he is one of the most consistent drag racers in the business. He is many-time winner of the Y-Block Shootout and has very successfully competed in national associations for junior stocks and classic muscle cars.
2. Dennis Leeking, with a name like that he must be a plumber (he is!). This guy runs a 1955 Ford pickup with a warmed 239, running three twos and three on the tree. His consistency and Christmas tree smarts puts fear in the best of them while searching for the 17s.
3. Michael Henaults, although he is only 70 miles away, neither Tim nor I have been to his shop or have had the opportunity to watch him race, but time after time he blows away the scrubs with great torque coming out of the corners of the Central California dirt tracks. He runs basically stock 312s in a narrowed and sectioned 1960 Comet.
4. Jerry Christenson, he has been one of our biggest Y-Block performance leaders. He don't do computers, so he doesn't know what is going on here unless someone tells him. Most everyone knows of his success with the Blackbird ('56 fiberglass T-Bird) drag car, but others might not know of his long- running articles in Y-Block Magazine, moral assistance in the Engine Master's Challenge, and being a player in the success of Bob Lindsay's current record-holding Y-Block dragster.
5. John "The Hoosier Hurricane" Feistritzer, he is so well known to all the "F" code crowd by running his stock, supercharged '57 Ford for as long as I can remember. With all of his drag racing and Y-Block experience, he is just as quick to share his well-earned knowledge as Ted Eaton or John Mummert.
Please feel free to comment on a name (it would take a book to do any of them justice), post a couple of your own, or just say thanks to those who put their time, energy (and money) on the line for us on most weekends.
Charlie Burns Laton, Ca (South of Fresno)
BurnsRacing981@gmail.com