[ponyakr]

there are lots of guys on this site who know most of the very precise tech specs for all things pontiac & are quick 2 point out any errors others mite post. 1 point that many people disagree on is WHEN Jesus was crucified. was it on good friday, as many believe? don't think that term is in the Bible. it did say He was raised the third day. so it seems He couldn't have died any later than thursday. i prefer 2 consider the most important stuff--like--He DID die on the cross for us--He DID go to hell & suffer the punishment for our sins--He DID defeat satan for us--He DID rise again from the dead--He DID walk & talk with people on the earth for 40 days after His resurrection--He DID ascend back 2 heaven, where He ever lives 2 make intercession for us with God--& most important 2 me He WILL come into your life & live in you thru the Holy Spirit IF you'll just ask & receive the benefits of what He's done for you. tech specs(refs):matt 17:23, acts 2:30-32, 1cor 2:8, rom 8:34, 1cor 15:3,4, acts 1:3, rom 10:9-13, john 3:3,16,17.

[ponyakr]

when i came in yesterday, TJ said "i saw the Easter bunny again." there seems 2 be a never ending supply of bunny rabbits that live in the patch of woods along the dirt road leading up 2 our house. we see them often, especially at nite. i've noticed on tv & radio that there are Easter egg hunts & special appearances by the Easter bunny from local churches 2 the white house. our local dragstrip even planned a big hunt at the sat race(but it got rained out). i reckin a rabbit layin chicken or choc-in-plastic eggs ain't much different than a fatman & deer flyin at Christmas time. but as the sayin goes "don't forget the reason for the season"--Jesus arose from the dead, He's alive today, & He'll come into & change your life for the better if you'll let Him!

[ponyakr]

here's TJ's Easter pics

[ponyakr]

march madness continues. the commentators said it was the biggest upset they had ever seen in the history of womens college b-ball! it was definately the best game i can ever remember seeing. baylor was defending champs--had a 32 game win streak, & i suppose the tallest player ever at 6' 8", who the commentators said was probably the best woman player ever. they were 24 point favorites. NOBODY gave louisville a chance 2 win. another 1 of those david & goliath match-ups i've mentioned. but, somehow, the coach talked his players into believing they could defeat the giant! he devised a plan & they worked it 2 perfection. at 1 point they had made 15 of 21 3-point shots--even tho they had averaged less than 6 for the year. & on defense, they held the best player in womens b-ball almost scoreless in the 1st half. emotions ran hi--tempers flared--& it was close at the end--but the underdogs never gave up--& held on for the victory! this game will preach all by itself without me adding a thing. again i say WOW!

[ponyakr]

The Danica Haters thread was interesting to me - tho I've quit cliking on it. I suppose because TJ used to race, I've always liked to see the girls do good in the man's world of racing. But you DH'rs are rude and crude. This gal has and will make millions, is now known worldwide and has, and will, draw in a lot of new racing fans - whether she ever wins a NASCAR race or not. You haters seem to not only think she shouldn't be allowed to drive, but have tried to degrade her to a 2nd-rate hooker, at best. I had to quit reading ya'lls trash talk not long after it started. I personally think that grown men should be ashamed of themselves for publicly badmouthing someone to the degree some of you haters have. But that's just my own personal opinion and I know it ain't even worth 2 cents to some. (So, just save your badmouth rebuttals) Thank God once again that we live in the good old USA, where free speech is still allowed and protected (regardless of how trashy it may be)

[ponyakr]

We used to like Shirley Muldowney. We saw her race in person back in the day (I'll show our pics again.) We enjoyed keeping up with her rivalry with Don Garlits and later Connie Kalitta. She was the 1st woman to make a 5-second pass in 1975; she won lots of Wallys and 3 points titles and even had a movie made of her life. You can see all her stats on her website - quite impressive. How about those Force sisters - Wallys and #1 qualifiers at 300+ mph. - not too shabby. And Erica Enders has shifted a prostocker into the winner's circle. You won't hear me badmouthing any of the ladies who try their hand at racing - I'm all for it! I can still recall a few TJ-haters from the old days (mostly the Chevy dudes she'd beat). They'd talk ugly and sling gravel and wrenches in the pits - but that's ok - TJ still picked up a check most of the time, when the dust had settled.

[ponyakr]

TJ made these at a race we attended--i reckin shirley liked the fonz!

[ponyakr]

I guess not all girls would make good racers, but it seemed to almost come "natural" for TJ. She learned quick, but that shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone who knew her background. She'd ridden horses from grammar school age - started driving her mom's car at age 15 and her dad and brother were both pilots, so she followed in their footsteps and I was there when she made her solo flight in a small airplane (at age 16!) She went on to get her private pilot's license at age 17 - the minimum age allowed by the FAA. When you've blasted off and landed in a plane many times, it ain't much of a step to blast off in a drag car. She also had seat time in the 68 BB Chevelle and 69 Goat I've mentioned in my story. Plus she drove her 68 Camaro for several years - so the size and shape of the 68 Bird felt right at home to her. As strange as it may sound - it seems to me that it was just a natural progression that the next step for her was to race - and so it was. The rest, as they say, is history.

P.S. I typed these posts for Don and I approve these "girly" messages - TJ

[ponyakr]

i recently posted a pic (i'll show it again) of my 69 goat. i noticed the radio antenna stickin out of the front fender. that don't help the looks of a musclecar at all, does it ? i remember that a lot of cars had the ant. mounted on the rear--looked much better 2 me. so, a ? for you guys who know all things pontiac--could i have ordered my 69 with the ant. on the rear? & what year did ant. in the windshield become available? was also remembering what sounds i pulled in thru that ant. from 69-72. yep, its the same oldies i hear over the pa system at our local car show. the beach boys, jan & dean, ccr, steppinwolf, elvis, motown & many more including, last but definately not least, freddy hart--singin the '71 & '72 cma song of the year & a big #1 hit "Easy Lovin". these oldies & musclecars just naturally go together--can't be seperated really--they were just part of life if you were there! our local show is just 2 weeks away--i'll post some pics.

[ponyakr]

from the goodyear blimp? oooh-that ant. is ugly--ain't it?

[Greg Reid]

I don't mind the antenna on the front myself. I'm pretty sure you could have gotten it on the back if you'd ordered the optional power antenna. The were always on the back as far as I know.
As for the antenna in the glass, I want to say that it was at the earliest, 1970 or '71....but I'm not absolutely positive on that.

[ponyakr]

that probably explains why i didn't order the rear ant.--the power assisted job cost extra & the front 1 was free w/radio. i was only makin $1.50 /hr--ordered only what i thought i had 2 have--2 keep payments a low as possible--& it worked great--pulled in all the oldies i could listen 2. we've got palmetto in the wet places here 2. we also have a lot of what i call louisiana cactus bloomin this time of year(if you don't dig it up or whack it down 1st)--my dad called them thistles--thorny leaves--& they seem 2 grow nearly a foot sometimes overnite. if you let em bloom, they'll come back next spring by the dozens or maybe even hundreds. dad dug em up & burned em every spring. ya'll got any of these pesky varmints in Ga

[Greg Reid]

Believe it or not Don, I live in Palmetto but it doesn't grow anywhere near here that I've ever seen. This town was said to have been named Palmetto in honor of some South Carolina (The Palmetto State) troops that encamped here for a while on their way to the Mexican War.
We got more kinds of weeds here than I can name so we probably have that thistle too. I live out in the woods so it's tough to keep up with 'em all.

[ponyakr]

its a sad day for all the danica haters--she finished 12th her 1st time at martinsville. sorry about that boys! i suppose now they'll say she spun Jr. out on purpose. oh well, nobody's perfect. i say "you go girl".

[ponyakr]

those guys blowed my ship plum out of the water. somebody started a thread about 60 vs 80 lb oil pumps & solid lifters if i remember correctly. i chimed in with what i use 2 run--tho most disagreed with my set up. others got in the game with their thoughts on the subject & the debate seemed 2 be goin great--you know--1 of those eat popcorn & enjoy the show sessions. then i went away for a while 2 watch some b-ball & when i got back & started 2 catch up on the thread--well--have ya'll ever played 1 of the old timey pin ball machines? if you pick it up any or slap the side of it 2 hard it will stop & the words TILT--GAME OVER will appear. you have 2 put more money in it 2 keep playing. thats where the expression "my mind went tilt" came from. the stuff those guys were talkin about went so far over my head, it might as well have been in outer space. maybe thats why some of the racin guys called me the village idiot. but be that as it may, this has inspired me 2 write a whole new series of posts 2 the ongoing saga of "where i came from". i can see already i'll be swimmin upstream, while most will be flyin by me down stream on their new jet ski. but i think it'll be lots of fun--at least for me anyway. maybe some of you guys will also get a chuckle or 2 out of it. not gonna rush it--just add a little as it comes 2 me. :

[cuz68]

Originally Posted by ponyakr

its a sad day for all the danica haters--she finished 12th her 1st time at martinsville. sorry about that boys! i suppose now they'll say she spun Jr. out on purpose. oh well, nobody's perfect. i say "you go girl".

I was happy for her also Read what i wrote.

[ponyakr]

it wasn't a bad weekend for the girls--they did better than most of the boys! no wins, but 2 girls in the semi-finals of funny, courtney got ru, erica got ru in prostock, & brittany(sp?) got her 1st round win in top fuel. that ain't even half bad ya'll!

[ponyakr]

i've been thinkin on what to call my new series of posts. for many on this site, they'd call it "what not to do". in my 1st series "how to win more races"--some came on imediately disagreeing with what i said & saying that just the opposite of what i said was true. if you really want 2 get the most out of this series, & you haven't already done so, you need 2 go back & read that series 1st--that way you'll better understand where i'm comin from. i could call it "low buck bracket racing"-- or how about "cheap thrills"--or "po-boy racin"--or TJ just said "redneck racin". that reminds me--i just watched a couple of episodes of duck dynasty. if your not familiar with it--watch a couple--it'll help you 2 better understand me--except for the beards--i ain't a whole lot different from them. they live less than 50 miles from me, in a town near our local drag strip. we're sorta like mountain people, but we just got hills instead of mountains & most of us don't make moonshine.----i've got it "hillbilly hot rods"---no? oh well, i'll thank on it some more & git back 2 ya'll later. any ideas?

[ponyakr]

in my ongoing search for just the rite name for my new series, i've come up with a few more--"bracket racin fur dummies"--"that won't work, will it?"--"you did what?"--"you can't be serious!"--"do it cheap"--"whatever works, do it!"--"budget bracket racin"--"basic bracket racin"--"low dough racin"--"bare bones racin"--"underdog racin"--"cheap way racin"--"budget bracket builds"--"junkyard bracket building"--"bracket building basics"--"footbraker bracket building basics"--"thats what i did"--"thats how i did it"--"it worked for me"--"rite or wrong"--"just bolt it together"--"will that work?"--"whatever works"----hey, any of these strike yore fancy? if not--any suggestions?

[ponyakr]

ever thought about what you'd do if you won millions in the lottery or suddenly had millions 2 spend for whatever reason? i guess most, if not all, of us have. you may wonder what that has 2 do with my story. well, you may have noticed that many of my possible names use the words cheap or budget. that ain't cause i want it 2 be--thats just where i came from--have never had millions & most of the time not even 1000's. but instead of givin up on racin, i decided 2 do the best i could with what i had. that reminds me of a term i heard in army basic training--they called it the field expedient method. they explained it this way "even if you don't have the rite equipment or weapons--use what you have & figure out a way 2 get the job done anyway". that sorta describes most of my racin story--never had plenty of $ 2 buy the best of everything--had 2 make do or do without--not the ideal situation--but 2 me much better than givin up! yes, i would have prefered 2 have had mega-bucks 2 spend on racin--but that ain't the way it was. my story would be a lot different with more $ available for the best stuff i needed all the time--but, as they say it is what it is