Nostalgia

On Wednesday night, February 15th, when the magic begins on the Hallowed Freedom Hall dirt, I will turn 36. In my 36 years, I have seen thousands of trips down the 300 ft all across the country, at county fairs, speedways, you name it. I've seen it.

I have been going to pulls all of my 36 years, and tracing the sport from those beginnings to where it is today, has sure been one of the greatest things i've had the pleasure in my life to do, but in talking about all this, I have to admit a couple of things: For Starters, The two wheel drive class was, is, and forever will be the closest one to my heart, I love smoke, and I love the raw horsepower of the modifieds, and the raw power and unpredictability of the alky supers and lights, but they just don't get me like the twos do.

I remember where i was, I remember when it happened, the day i realized that the two's would be it for me. I remember my first trip to"Pull Town" USA, Bowling Green Ohio, In the late 80s, what i saw in the pits that year, made me realize that these 2 wheeled machines would have profound effects on me. I remember thinking, "Yep, I want one of those".

I think the thing that struck me, as a fan of NHRA funny cars, was how similar these were to the floppers that i loved during that era, the flip tops, the headers, the similar starting techniques, but most of all, the variety, that was the kicker, There were pickups, vans, Panel Wagons, Station Wagons, Thunderbirds,C-cabs, corvettes, jeeps, willy's, and even a purple porsche.

In that sea of beautiful paint and various body combinations there were some that I had to see closer. The aforementioned "Floyds Toy" porsche driven by Indiana's Floyd Hylton struck me as interesting because not only was it purple, but it was also a porsche, and I have long been a fan of the ones you don't see too many of. Another was the classic ford taurus station wagon "Florida Cracker" campaigned by Winter Park Florida's chris holdorf. The woman in the bikini on the side of the that wagon was an instant winner for this 13 year old boy. Holdorf also campaigned an aerostar van body that as i write this is still thriving on the state level in the badger state


Another scan of the pits gave you other thrills, The spike, and Jack Daniels S-10s, The Irish Trucks out of Wisconsin, Iowan Ray Carpenters fine "Sundance Kid", Kenny Lamonts El Camino "Midnight Express" out of illinois. , the tough running black GMC "stitches" with Jim Lyons driving, and that red one from Georgia called the Bad Dawg, the list went on and on, and the dreamlike state that i was in has remained. I was a fan for life. I still get that feeling today, when i arrive at a venue, and see these machines roll out of their trailers....talk about kid in a candy store.

So what is my point to all of this? I love where we are, but i miss where we were. I miss the days when you were never suprised at the latest creation to come out of a trailer, and that got me to thinking about something. How about a class. A class for the old ones, a class where the trucks of those days can live again. NHRA has successfully breathed life into many Nostalgia Classes, as have nascar, and other circle track series. I say, why not pulling?

I am sure that 25 years later, many of the trucks i mentioned have long been forgotten, and parted out, never to grace the track again, but what of the ones in barns, and behind shops all across the country that served their purpose, and were then parked due to the rising costs associated with out sport. I say, lets find them, fix them up, and bring them back to life.

So as the wheels for a nostalgia class got to turning, I tried to do my homework, and with the help of both pulling legends, and current stars, I have come up with a framework that i feel would be the basis for this class.

Engines-In my early teens, the Rodeck, and the Arias motor were the cats meow in our class, but 20 years later, the KB hemi has solidified itself as the champion. Given this, and the fact that i would hope this class could be less cut throat and more economical for folks who just want to have fun, I propose a cubic inch limit of 500. We don't want it to be too costly. and we want an even playing field.

Body-To promote the images of my youth, I would encourage, ANY type of vehicle, both all steel, or fiberglass, who knows, maybe that porsche is still out there. I would say the year of the make would need to be previous to 1999.

Supercharger-given the fact that the 14:71 high helix has been the gold standard, I see no reason to change it.

Drawbar Height. 28 inches, as that is what it was then.

Wheelbase-I would keep that pretty much the same as it is today.

Fuel System and Ignition would need to be standardized. Again, to keep the playing field level.

Rear-End, Planetary Combos could be a mixture of the the eras, much like they are now.

Safety-Of course all vehicles would need to comply with all modern day safety conveniences, but most of them are close to what they were then, with the killswitch, and on board fire suppresion systems.

So there it is. My basic idea. And who knows, I might never get the opportunity to revisit those golden era days again, but i have to wonder. How many of you reading this would not jump at the chance to see some of the old legends come out to play? I know i would, and if any promoter or sanctioning body ever picks up on this idea, I promise, I will buy the first admission ticket...as long as it's attached to a hot pit band.

Special thanks to those who let me pick their brains on this, including Mike Stowe, Jeremy Nelson, Mark Austin, John Mumma, Jared Nelson, Jordan Nelson, and Dale Nelson. This article has really given me a feel for how far we've come, but you never know, you might see a throwback at a county fair near you one day soon. Who knows, I may be driving it.

Thanks for reading this
-Jeremy Krieger

Hurry Up......And Wait!

Hello Everyone, Sorry it's been a while since we've written. Well as I write this, The house is completely finished which is the good news. The bad news is that we're still working on getting prepared to close on it. We're hoping to be in it by October 30th. We are sooooo excited about the opportunity of making our home in this wonderful place. We have received lots of compliments from the builders and contractors on our decisions within the house. It shows well and has a lot of charm already and doesn't have any furniture in it. I have been busy keeping the yard watered, and trying to prevent the weeds from overtaking it. We still go over everyday to check in on things and just take them in. We are sure blessed to be in this position and couldn't have done it without the help of family. I have put together some pictures which will give you an idea of where it's at now. We will be sure to post more as we get more. If you're not busy Halloween Weekend, c'mon over, we'll put ya to work.

God Bless...

J

Bradley in the shower

Bradley hiding in his "closet a bee"



Front View with completed Landscape and Mailbox


Kitchen Floor

Daddy, Bradley and Whiffer pose with the new laundry

Kitchen

A view of the kitchen

Sky Pencils and Azaleas

Landscaping in front of our porch

Bradley models the new shrubbery

The Swanky New Mailbox!

Here is the New Refridgerator

Here is the coolest washer and dryer i've ever seen.

I am actually excited to do laundry!

My Two Favorite People Cheesing on their porch.

Here is the house on the day it was landscaped!

Before Landscaping

Wondering how much longer it will be???

As we head towards September, I get more and more excited about the thought of moving into our new house. It seems like forever. We moved out of our old home November 21st, so I guess it has been a long road.

Bradley has really grown up in these last 9 months that we've beeen with my parents. He's not a little baby anymore, that's for sure. We began just finished 4 weeks of potty training and I'm so glad we started. It's been fun since the toilets were installed in the house. Bradley has used them several times. Since he's still learning how to "hold it" we've been glad to have the opportunity to get him on the potty there to practice. We've been worried that moving and potty training at the same time would not be a good idea. He's doing excellent though and I think will keep it up even after we do move in! I sure hope so, cause I don't want to have him mess up brand new carpet! This week, he even became the first one to "do #2" on the Master Bathroom Potty! His Daddy was very proud! Isn't it funny how the potty can take over your life in these beginning stages. =)

Bradley has been in awe of this entire process though. He knows exactly which room is his. He knows where the Kitchen is, where Mommy & Daddy's room is. He totally understands that the men are building his house. He has said several times now that he is "VERY EXCITED" about his house. He loves to run around in the wide open rooms the best. He also talks about bringing all of his toys over to the house. Very sweet.

I've already been looking over my kitchen and planning where everything will go. At this point, it will seem like all of our stuff is brand new since everything has been in storage for so long. It will be super nice to see all of our old stuff!

So, here are the latest pictures. There are some more that are missing, but my camera did not load all of the photos onto the computer correctly, so I'll try again soon to get the rest on here.

Bradley checking out his room!

The Guest Bedroom in the back of the house.

The front bedroom. Maybe a nursery someday???

Looking down the staircase.

The Garage steps leading into the kitchen.

Check out our Garage Door Lights!

Bradley loves the hardwood floor in the kitchen. I love the dark chocolate color!

Ding Dong! Yep, the doorbell works now too!

My beautiful kitchen!

Love the sink with the pullout faucet.

Bradley and our fireplace.

Hey, look ,they put air vents in!

Daddy is showing off the nice carpet about to be installed.

Mama in the Master Bedroom checking out the carpet.

Bradley, chillin' on the staircase.

I love how the bookcase turned out. And right next to it is Bradley's room.

This is the best face ever. It was his "mad face" but it looks more like a "kissy face" to me.

He rolled around on the carpet forever.

Bradley loves the carpet in his House-A-Bee!

Newly installed lock on the front door.

And all of the bedroom door knobs are on now too.

Not much left now...

It's been a while... but look what we've got!

What a wonderful few weeks. Since 7/23 a lot has been going on! Lots has been finished on the inside and the outside too! In fact the only things that seem to be missing on the outside are the grass, trees, shrubs, lighting and a mailbox! There may be a few other things on the outside, but it sure looks really good these days!

There is still a lot going on the inside. Most recently, the upstairs & downstairs Master Bathroom floors and the Laundry Room floor has been put in place. The appliances have started being put in place. I have a feeling that the kitchen hardwood floor will be coming very soon.

We have to meet with the landscapers this week and also the "mirror and bathroom towel bar" person. We get to put two treens in the front yard and get to pick out some shrubs for the front too. The front lawn will be sodded and the back yard will be seeded.

I'm just so pleased with all the little details and how they are coming together. That's not to say that this whole "building the house" process has been without bumps in the road. We found out yesterday that they put the wrong kind of toilets in! An not to mention the kitchen cabinets are 6" shorter than we expected them to be... It's all still beautiful in my opinion and can I say this any louder:

"WE CAN'T WAIT TO GET MOVED IN IT!"

Bradley loves garages.

And he especially loves running around in his brand new garage!

Check this video out!

Bradley sitting in front of his newly poured garage floor!

Daddy and Bradley on the newly poured front porch!

Hmmm, looks like the stairs are being worked on.

This picture taken through the window by the front door.

Locked out and taking pictures from the first floor window.

(Notice the glare.)

I can see that our doors have been hung in the room though!

Not only do we have a front porch, but also a walkway!

No driveway... yet!

The finished look of the staircase steps.

The kitchen pantry.

Look! We have a driveway!

No more rocks...

The stone is now set around the fireplace!

We've got pretty stairs!

81 degrees is a little warm for my taste...

The cabinets and sinks have been installed in the Master Bathroom.

The cabinets and sink have been installed in the upstairs bathroom.

Bradley's room's dormer.

The panels are ready to be painted.

We've got A/C!

We got our Garage Door! Look at the little windows at the top...

Here's the wash tub in the laundry room!

One side of the kitchen.

Our Dishwasher has been installed!

The 0ther side of the kitchen.

Look Grammy, the stockings will be hung by the chimney with care!

We have bathroom faucets upstairs & downstairs!

The shower fixtures are installed in the Master Bathroom shower.

Daddy & Bradley walking down the stairs.

The staining of the rails has begun!

Bradley and my Mom waving from the loft.

Hmmm, what's down there?

Also, please note that the shutters are now the correct color - Dark Blue!

Bradley really likes his front porch.

And now that we have rails, Mama will let him play on it!

We now have railing on the front porch!

Our beautiful bookcase in the upstairs loft!

Next on the list... a handrail?

Also next on the list... Installing lighting???