: What things did you try that failed miserably? Would this go back to the old radial dilemma?
TP: I never really tried anything that failed miserably. I usually think things through pretty thoroughly before I do anything and I’ve been lucky enough [takes big breath] not to have had any big failures like that.
: What do you break?
TP: Because I’ve got a nitrous loader, I go through pistons. We freshen up the tranny about every fifty runs and we tear the motor down at 50 passes, too. Other than general maintenance and whatnot we don’t tear a lot of stuff up. We’ve run the same converter for four years.
: Who do you thank for helping? What'd they do?
TP: PTC [torque converters], for one. They make a product that you can’t break. It’s reliable and the fastest on the market.. Steve Johnson at Induction Solutions for his nitrous savvy. Brodix, of course, for their heads, blocks, and all their help. BMR makes outstanding suspension products. Until the BMR stuff came out, we used to run a stock torque arm, which would inevitably twist or rip after one pass and change the pinion angle. We owe a lot to Big Boy (Greg Stephens) at Suncoast Cabinets, the guy who pays for everything. CSU (Carburetion Solutions Unlimited) for their products. And my wife Jeannie, for putting up with all my bullshit.
: Considering the suspension and the tire limitations, how much farther can you go?
TP: Well, that’s just a product of bein’ in the right place at the right time. I think these cars, especially turbo cars, can go really fast—we do a 1.19-second 60-footer--and I think they’re capable of running 7.20s. I think you’ll see that happen within a year. It’s just bein’ at the right place at the right time with the weather and surface conditions, but it’s mainly the drag strip, which goes hand-in-hand with weather.
: What don’t you like about all this?
TP: I think the cars are too heavy for the speeds we’re runnin’.
: Because of the trap speed?
TP: Yeah. They don’t want to stop in the space allotted for the eighth. They just bounce off everything they hit and when you lock the brakes up, they go even faster.
: What do you do to prep the front of the car?
TP: Our front end is limited to basically one inch of travel and the struts are as tight as they’ll go so really there’s nothing, we don’t rely on the front end too much. The tubular control arms are in there for the weight issue. We just try to get it as light as we can and put the weight where we want it in car, of course. We put the ballast in front of the rear wheels.
: Any other secrets you want to give away?
TP: The truth is dedication and hard work.