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Walker Secures WCHRA Pro Street Championship with Runner-Up Finish

(9-29-09) BAKERSFIELD, CA - Under a boiling hot California sun, Randy Walker did this weekend what he’s done so many times in 2009: pilot the Walker Racing Group ’74 El Camino into the finals.

In qualifying, Walker’s 6.350 was second only to Rod Burbage’s stunning 6.254 in his blown ’58 Corvette. Burbage would fall to Tim Henry in the semi-finals, setting up an all-nitrous showdown for the event win.

After locking up the West Coast Hot Rod Association Pro Street championship with his semi-final round win over Bob Bunker, Jr., Walker got the jump on Henry off the line in the finals, but tire shake at half track allowed the fuel-injected Firebird to drive around for the win.

“We definitely wanted to go out with a bang and get another win to go with the championship,” Walker said. “That would have just been the icing on the cake. Unfortunately, we just had a little too much clutch and it shook when it went into third gear. The track was a little tricky due to the heat we’ve seen all weekend, but overall we can’t complain and I’m thrilled to end the WCHRA season with my first championship in eight years.”

“Across two Pro Street associations, there have been a total of twelve races up to this point. Out of those twelve, we’ve been to eight final rounds and won six races, and now have a championship to show for it,” Walker continued. “I’ve set and reset my own personal best ET and speed numerous times and we’ve come close to setting a series record. I owe it all to the awesome team we’ve assembled that dedicate themselves to this operation week in and week out, most notably my brother and crew chief Duane and our team consultant Charles Carpenter.”

With just two points races left in the Pacific Street Car Association’s Pro Street championship chase, Walker maintains a small lead over Clint Hairston atop the standings.

“With the way the car is running, we feel confident heading to both Vegas and Fontana,” Walker said. “Both are really good tracks and we should be seeing some cooler weather as we head into autumn. If we can put it all together we should see this El Camino dip into the 6.20s on a regular basis and maybe make some records fall.”

That type of performance is exactly what Walker and the rest of the Walker Racing Group are hoping to see before heading into the biggest race of the year, the season-ending PSCA Chris Alston’s Chassisworks Street Car Super Nationals in Las Vegas at the end of November.

Walker Racing Group would like to extend a special thanks to RC Construction Services in Fontana, CA, Walker Tucson Properties, Charles Carpenter, Derrick Lamb & Lamb Components, Lenco, Goodyear Tires, Joch at True Carbon Components, and Inland Driveline.

Walker Racing Group is actively seeking primary sponsorship for 2010. For more information, please visit www.walkerracinggroup.com.

Photo Courtesy Steven Bunker / QuarterMileDesigns.com

Walker Rides Another Win & Another Career Best into WCHRA West Coast Finals

(9-24-09) BAKERSFIELD, CA - Randy Walker’s dream season got that much sweeter this past weekend in Fontana, CA.

Walker ran through the field from the pole position to claim his fourth PSCA Pro Street win in five consecutive final round appearances this season and now looks to carry that success over into this weekend’s West Coast Hot Rod SCE Gaskets West Coast Finals in Bakersfield.

Walker piloted the Walker Autoworks ’74 El Camino - a full size car that was once street-driven - to an incredible 6.269 elapsed time at over 222 MPH during the final round of qualifying to put himself into the number one qualifying position heading into Sunday’s eliminations. The run was another career best and the quickest in PSCA history for a nitrous-assisted machine.

“That run was simply incredible” said an amazed Walker. “My brother, Duane, and our consultant Charles Carpenter have this car running at an unbelievable level. It was over 100 degrees during the day and it was still very warm when we made that pass.”

From there, Walker looked to move through the Pro Street field, but also had an ulterior motive.

“We wanted to run quick enough to backup the 6.26 and secure the record,” Walker said. “Charles and Duane went to work and instead of putting in a safe and reliable setup, we were going for it in round one.”

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as planned for the team but they were still able to get around Jay Syverston with a 6.474. “We missed the clutch call on that one,” Walker admitted. “But my crew was able to determine what the problem was and we put it all together in the quarterfinals and made another nice pass.”

That pass was against veteran west coast Pro Mod pilot John Scialpi and his Whoppado ’57 Chevy. Scialpi’s 6.601 was far behind Walker’s 6.339 as the team regained their form and looked to keep the consistency going into the later rounds.

Once again, a tricky clutch bit the team in the semi-final round, but as a result of being the number one qualifier, the team was on a bye run and still picked up the victory and headed to their fourth consecutive final round.

There they would meet 2008 Pro Street champion John Mihovetz and his turbocharged Mercury Cougar. Walker took the starting line advantage and powered through for the win, posting a 6.477 as Mihovetz shook the tires early and was forced to lift.

A humble Walker was elated in the winner’s circle, but remained focused on the upcoming races scheduled for the Walker Autoworks team.

“We’re going to enjoy this, but not for too long,” said the Palm Desert, CA native. “We’ve got a full slate of races ahead of us to round out the season, and we’ve got a shot at two championships. We’re going to remain focused and continue to work on keeping this thing in the low 6.30s consistently.”

Walker extended his points lead over Clint Hairston in the Hughes Performance Pro Street points championship with just two races remaining, the biggest of them being the season-ending Chris Alston’s Chassisworks Street Car Super Nationals V held at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on November 19-22.

Next up for the team is the WCHRA World Finals at iconic Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield. Walker also holds the points lead over Hairston in the WCHRA.

“Clint has been finding his combination lately, but like us has struggled to find his consistency a little bit,” Walker admitted. “We’re both in the same boat: we can run fast but need to do it more consistently. I think it will come down to a battle of who can get that consistency first.”

If Walker is able to hang on and secure either championship, it will be his first since 2001. If he is able to claim both titles in the same year, it will be unprecedented, and will surely go down as one of the most dominant seasons in Pro Street history.

Walker Racing Group would like to extend a special thanks to RC Construction Services in Fontana, CA, Walker Tucson Properties, Charles Carpenter, Derrick Lamb & Lamb Components, Lenco, Goodyear Tires, Joch at True Carbon Components, and Inland Driveline.

Walker Racing Group is actively seeking primary sponsorship for 2010. For more information, please visit www.walkerracinggroup.com.

Randy Walker Continues To Terrorize PSCA Pro Street

(9-22-09) Fontana, CA - It’s been a dream season so far for the Walker Autoworks Pro Street El Camino. With 4 straight final round appearances, which have netted 3 wins and huge points lead heading into last weekends PSCA Accufab West Coast Shootout in Fontana, California. Can the team carry on with this torrid pace and lock in Randy’s first Championship since 2001?? Randy is confident and the competitors know the stealthy looking El Camino is on a mission!!

During first round qualifying, Randy knew winning wasn’t going to be an easy task as the PSCA Pro Street racers have all stepped up their programs as the 2009 season progresses… Walker lined up next to Tim Henry and the shootout was officially on!! This was no ordinary qualifying round; it was a battle of the two top PSCA nitrous cars. Walker left first and led for about 1310 feet only to have Henry nip him at the end and take the provisional poll. A 6.373 for Henry and 6.390 for Walker with a margin of victory of .0008 and this was only the start. In round two Henry did not improve but Charles Carpenter & Duane Walker took the data from round one and improved to a 6.357 and took over the number 1 spot. In the third and final session, Henry came out first and blasted a 6.354 to retake the number one position, but Walker loomed toward the back of the lanes ready to see what the Fontana race track could handle. The outside temps hovered around the century mark most of the day so what these guys were doing was simply amazing. When the El Camino left the starting line you just knew the pass was going to be special, 1.010 sixty foot time, 4.085 to the eighth, and a 6.269/222.22 run to earn the top qualifying position and re-cord the quickest nitrous Pro Street pass in PSCA history!! Now if he could back it up during the first round of eliminations, a new PSCA ET record!!

With a strong 12 car field to navigate through, the Walker team started with Canadian Jay Syvertson and his blown ’38 Chevy. Jay got to the track late and did not make a previous run, so Randy had no clue what to expect and the thoughts of backing up the national record seemed first and foremost. Syvertson gave it his all (As his motor expired through the traps) Walker 6.474 was good enough for the round win, but the record now was a thing of the past. Pro Mod legend John Scialpi was up next with his newly constructed converter driven, blown hemi 1957 Chevy sporting the familiar turquoise and white factory paint scheme. Scialpi made his quickest and fastest run of the weekend (6.601/214.38) but it was no match for the Carpenter tuned El Camino as once again, Walker with quick enough to flirt with the Pro Street record (6.339) In the semi’s, Randy had a ladder bye, a reward for being the number 1 qualifier. The team did not have the run they was expecting and had to lift after only a 100 feet. Charles and Duane needed to go back to computer and figure out what went wrong as current PSCA champion John Mihovetz had lane choice in the final round..

On the other side of the Pro Street ladder, John Mihovetz had to battle in all three rounds… PSCA new-comer Billy DaWood took a huge holeshot advantage in round 1 and it took the Mihovetz the entire 1320 to finally pass Billy’s ProCharged Mustang at the stripe. Round 2 was looking about the same as Mike Maggio in his MagCo Drilling sponsored Corvette left on John by over a tenth but had to lift as the car drifted toward the centerline. The semi’s was a classic battle as Tim Henry had lane choice by running a very quick 6.383 in the previous round. John finally left the line first, Henry made up the time by sixty foot, but after that it was all Mihovetz as the mod motored Cougar posted the high MPH of the event and advanced to the final 6.416 to a 6.639

The finals ended up being anti-climatic as Walker took a slight starting line lead and the Cougar got a little crazy down low and Mihovetz had to lift. This was Walker’s 4th PSCA win in 6 events and now has a complete strangle hold on the championship points lead as the PSCA gets ready for their next event in Las Vegas October 16-18 with the 3rd Annual Mickey Thompson Tires Fall Nationals.

The Walker Autoworks Team is ready to take on the world later on this year in the highly anticipated Street Car Super Nationals held in Las Vegas November 19-22. All the pieces are in place to challenge the best of the west, the beasts from the east and finally get a PSCA racer the title and the twenty grand 1st place cash!!!


Story from PSCA
Photo by Steven Bunker

Walker Looks to Carry Momentum into PSCA Pro Street Homestretch

 

(9-18-09) FONTANA, CA - With just three races remaining in Pacific Street Car Association’s 2009 season, Randy Walker and the Walker Racing Group are looking to carry the momentum from a win and a runner-up at the two most recent events into this weekend’s Accufab West Coast Shootout at Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, CA.

 

At the last race, the Chris Alston’s Chassisworks Labor Day Nationals in Las Vegas, Walker had the most consistent car on the grounds, qualifying on the pole with a stout 6.339 at over 220 MPH in his big ’74 El Camino.

 

“Putting up numbers in the low 6.30s in those conditions was a big thing for us,” said Walker. “It was brutally hot all weekend, and the density altitude hovered in the 5000 ft. range all weekend. Charles (Carpenter) and my brother Duane had the tune-up dialed in.”

 

Once qualifying was over and eliminations began, Walker’s car got even better. His 6.323 elapsed time and career-best 221.85 MPH speed was more than enough to propel him to round two as Eric Deroche was unable to make the call.

 

With the PSCA Pro Street ET record within reach, the Walker Racing Group team turned to tuner Charles Carpenter to make the necessary adjustments to grab the record and all-important bonus points.

 

With their quarterfinal round opponent, Gary Soulages, also unable to make the call due to parts breakage, Carpenter instructed Walker to make a half-track hit and click it off so they could gather the necessary data for the semi-finals but not risk any parts failure.

 

“You have to be careful in those types of conditions,” said Carpenter, referring to the high density altitude. “I knew it was on the edge, but I thought we had a little wiggle room in the tune up to get the car accelerating harder and get that record.”

 

Unfortunately, Carpenter and the rest of the team went over-center with the setup and burned four pistons in the semi-final round, one in which they had a ladder bye to the finals from being the number one qualifier. Walker’s El Camino fell off the pace to a 6.347 at only 206 MPH.

 

“It had great short numbers and to the eighth-mile,” said Walker. “But it just didn’t live all the way to the quarter-mile. The numbers show us that if it had made it, it would have definitely dipped into the 6.20s.”

 

With just a little over an hour to get the engine repaired and make the call for the finals, the entire Walker Racing Group went to work at a furious pace and were able to get everything bolted back together just in time for a final round matchup with Clint Hairston and his tough turbo-powered GTO. Hairston, who had been struggling all weekend, found his combination and grabbed the ET record in the semi-finals with a 6.284 blast.

 

In the finals, both drivers left with nearly identical reaction times but Walker’s 6.392 wasn’t enough for Hairston’s 6.322 at almost 230 MPH. The race was the quickest side-by-side matchup in PSCA Pro Street history.

 

“We wanted to get the win and get a record, but we still had an incredible weekend,” Walker said. “Clint said he was staring at the RC Construction Services decal on my door all the way down the track, but he just drove around right at the stripe. We ran extremely well and have a lot to build on from that race. We just want to keep running as consistently as we have all year, and hopefully that will translate into a championship at the end of the season.”

 

Walker still holds a 120 point lead over Hairston atop the Hughes Performance Pro Street points standings going into this weekend’s event. All the work Walker and crew have put in to improve their program in 2009 is in preparation for the biggest event of the year, the Chris Alston’s Chassisworks Street Car Super Nationals V held at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on November 19-22.

 

Walker Racing Group would like to extend a special thanks to RC Construction Services in Fontana, CA, Walker Tucson Properties, Charles Carpenter, Derrick Lamb & Lamb Components, Lenco, Goodyear Tires, Joch at True Carbon Components, and Inland Driveline.

 

Walker extends PSCA Pro Street points lead with win, career best performance in Vegas

 

(7-10-09) PALM DESERT, CA - The only match for the searing hot temperatures at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway June 19-20 was the Pacific Street Car Association’s hottest Pro Street driver, Randy Walker.

 

As he’s already done several times this season, Walker used a series of blistering mid 6.30 passes and double-oh reaction times to lay claim to the PSCA MagnaFuel Summer Nationals Pro Street crown under the lights in Vegas.

 

After struggling with ring & pinion and clutch issues during qualifying, Walker and his flat-black ’74 El Camino ended up in the fourth qualifying position with a solid 6.460, 217.74 MPH effort.

 

“The car has been running so well lately that the problems we were running into in qualifying really caught us off guard,” Walker said. “Luckily we were able to still land somewhere up near the top of the field, and I had complete faith in our team to get the problems sorted out before eliminations.”

 

Crew Chief Duane Walker and team consultant Charles Carpenter went to work to resolve the problems, but the clutch issues again cropped up in the first round of eliminations and luckily Walker’s off-pace 6.459 was enough to hold off Richard Klann’s 7.101 elapsed time.

 

Round two would bring about a tough matchup with Bob Griffith’s blown Viper, but this time around Carpenter and Duane Walker had found the problems plaguing the clutch, and Walker’s much more on-pace 6.364 was too much for Griffith’s game 6.398. It also marked the first time the team has eclipsed the 220 MPH barrier, posting a career-best 220.19 MPH speed on the scoreboard.

 

“I know this team has been shooting for that number for a long