Today I’d like to talk about one of the most crucial aspects of drag racing; the racecars. I can’t tell you how many times someone has mentioned another racer and I’m unsure if I know them until they tell me which car they drive; all of a sudden I know exactly who they are. The cars are that important because there are times you may not necessarily see the driver, but you know you’ve watched that car winning rounds or races.

If there is one thing that I’ve learned from Mom and Dad, it is how to accumulate some sweet rides. We also don’t discriminate in my family; the total car collection is an assortment of makes, models, years, and colors. The large quantity is enough to make any car dealership envious. Seriously, we have a car hoarding problem. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Let me introduce you to our fleet so you’ll know which ones I’m referencing in future Track Talk posts.

First up we have Dad’s wagon; a blue 1967 Buick Station Wagon which you may recognize as the first car I ever raced. The wagon is a mostly stock car except Mickey Thompson drag radials and a 455 Buick motor. Speaking of which, this ride has been in need of a heart transplant since 2016 when the engine expired at Bristol (Dad was driving, not me, FYI 😂). Dad has his own fabrication shop he works in after his normal full time job, so his own projects get neglected from time to time. No worries though, the wagon is supposed to be back out sometime soon!

In the meantime, Dad has been behind the wheel of what we call “the black car” (super creative bunch we are). It’s a black 1967 Buick Gran Sport that was the first racecar built by my Dad at Hicks Fabrication. This one has a special place in my heart because it’s the first “real racecar” I ever made a pass in, which was about 10 years ago now.

To pilot the black car you have to climb in the roll cage, do a burnout, shift the 350 turbo transmission, and pedal that 455 Buick methanol motor towards the finish line. This is the car that I love to hear rumble, the one I was racing when I met Cody, the one that has my name on the side windows…she’s my number one favorite. 💗

You may be wondering why I had to mention a favorite racecar, well that’s because I have three. Of course if you want to be technical, the next two aren’t strictly racecars; but they are both cars that I race and more importantly, that I’ve won races in.

Lovingly called the “Fireturd” is a black 1995 Pontiac Firebird, which I actually drove to college. Now it resides in Tennessee and gets driven to the events we run up here. It’s stock except for the tires (yep, Mickey Thompson again) and runs about 8.90s in the eighth mile. It’s a good car and we’ve had a lot of good rounds in it.

My newest addition is a silver 1979 Malibu Station Wagon that was given to me by my grandpa in 2018. It’s another basically stock car that tested our patience at first with problem after problem, but now it’s a pretty good car to race. If nothing else, it looks good! This wagon stays in South Carolina for our races out of state.

I bet you’re thinking this post has to be almost over but you have to remember my earlier warning, we have a vehicle addiction. Cody’s collection includes two firebirds and a S-10 truck. The car he’s had the longest is a black 2001 Pontiac Firebird (side note: he’s always called his “the black car” too) which is what most people recognize him driving. He recently bought a red 1995 Pontiac Firebird which is nicknamed the “FireChicken” and it stays in South Carolina. Finally, Cody and Dad have been building a 200 Chevrolet S-10 together which will be his main racecar. I can’t wait for it to be completed and finally revealed but I can tell you already, that thing is sweet!

I hope I didn’t bore you too much with the list of cars, but I wanted you to get an idea of why I will be mentioning different cars while we are at different racetracks. When you decide to chase points series in multiple states, you realize you need multiple cars to make it easier. At least that’s the excuse that we are sticking with. 😉