[Elarson]

Running the 5.87/250.37 mph lap in the Boss Bird at Norwalk was a dream come true for us. We had wanted to showcase that (with the right parts) the Pontiac engine could run safely and well, even with the violence of nitromethane. Being the first (and so far, only) Pontiac drag race engine to break 250 mph was a thrill that can never be matched. As you are all aware, running nitromethane is a pretty stout financial undertaking and, quite frankly, we found ourselves in a position where the funds to continue to run an excellent program at a high level just weren’t there.

The Boss Bird has been sold and is going to a private collector’s museum in Minnesota; where it will be preserved as an important part of racing history.
We need to thank all of the Pontiac faithful who supported and cheered our efforts. We took a lot of pride in pushing the Pontiac envelope to the extreme.

What comes next? I’m going in a slightly new direction….starting to build a 2nd generation Firebird for road racing (open track days and maybe Ultimate Street Car Challenge). Thanks to HO428 (from this board) for sharing his knowledge. Mike will be building the real-Pontiac engine that I need and as always, we’ll succeed together.

I’ll be keeping my NHRA licenses current and everyone on our team have indicated an interest in helping others with their programs. As those of you who know Arnie Beswick might guess, he is already talking to us about future possibilities.

On to the next Pontiac chapter!

Eric

[b-man]

Awesome.

Best of luck with your future racing endeavors.

Bart

[455firebird1969]

Congrats, that’s good news! That it will be preserved in history.

[PAUL K]

Congratulations guys! Thanks for all you have done and shared along the way. Best of luck!

[Bill Eveland]

Thanks for the memories, it was great meeting you and watching your pass at Cordova years ago. And good luck with your future endeavors

[Mr Anonymous]

Jerry Garcia said it best: What a long strange trip its been...

It has been awesome to be a part of history, my son and I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to help a brutha out.

Rumor has it that the team is setting its sights on a new challenge, be the first to run 20s in the 1/4 with a BMW Isetta.

[Chief of the 60's]

To never make a pass again

[Dragncar]

I am really happy for you guys. I wish it were still blasting down the track flying the PONTIAC flag for all to see.
Maybe it will again someday. Hey, I can hope.
At least it has been resolved for you guys. Thanks again for all you and your team have done for Pontiac,s and openly sharing your knowledge with the rest of us.
Best of luck in your new endeavor. Sounds like a lot of fun. Our hobby is not cheap but its a blast.

[Elarson]

Originally Posted by Chief of the 60's

To never make a pass again

We had various tire-kickers talking to us. Some had ideas of changing the engine to a hemi or changing the body to something else. One guy in particular had big plans of putting his son behind the wheel....who had never been down the dragstrip in anything!!!!!!!! (that would have had a horrible ending)

Of course, we had searched for a Pontiac diehard to jump in, but had no takers.

Being preserved as-is in a collection turned out to be the least bad outcome.

Eric

[Jim Robertson]

Congrats on the sale on your creation...a one of a kind BEAST! Thank you kindly for taking the Pontiac faithfuls along for the ride of our lives. And Thank you for all the tech info and advice you have shared. Looking forward to the next update from you and the team. Hardcore!

[JLMounce]

Glad to see it will at least be preserved. I'm anxious to see what you come up with on the road racing venture!

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by Elarson

We had various tire-kickers talking to us. Some had ideas of changing the engine to a hemi or changing the body to something else. One guy in particular had big plans of putting his son behind the wheel....who had never been down the dragstrip in anything!!!!!!!! (that would have had a horrible ending)

Of course, we had searched for a Pontiac diehard to jump in, but had no takers.

Being preserved as-is in a collection turned out to be the least bad outcome.

Eric

At least I'll have the memories of that thing echoing off the bleachers at Norwalk.

Yes, I can still hear it.

[RUDOLFSSON]

Good luck with your next chapter.. You have my great admiration & respect for all the wrenching and achievements !!

I'll always remember at Norwalk few years back talking with Paul Spotts pitted far far away and the Boss Bird coming our way SCREAMING and then going by WAY WAY too fast and we looking @ each other... that's NOT right and fearing the worst..
He jumps on his scooter full throttle to help.. luckily none injured and the Boss Bird lived on to set records.


Kris.

[Old Goat Racer]

Yep. When the "BOSS BIRD" fired up at Norwalk, you knew what it was ! No matter where you were in the pits.

[sdbob]

Congratulations. Yes can hear the thunder of the Boss Bird.Thank you guys for the memories. Wise move not selling to inexperience.

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by sdbob

Congratulations. Yes can hear the thunder of the Boss Bird.Thank you guys for the memories. Wise move not selling to inexperience.

My buddy's kid never drove any race car before in his life.

1st pass in his father's blown/injected Hemi powered 1933 Willys was a 5.13 (1/8th).

Now he goes 4.60's

Never underestimate a rookie. They have "No Fear".

[Sirrotica]

My wife and I spent more than a few hours in, and around the crew, and around the car over the years since the Grocery Getter was sold. Even before the funny car, I talked to Mike and Eric at VMS, and Jim Butlers race down in TN.

Before the funny car was done, they displayed it at the POCI event in Charleston WV, I helped them push it back in the trailer when they were packing it up after the show. The guys answered my questions about their race cars. Being I come from a dirt oval track background, I was trying to get an idea of what it took to have a top tier Pontiac drag car, and what maintenance it took to keep it there. I probably asked Mike some dumb questions, but he still answered them.

I have to say from my experience around all types of race cars and pit crews, The guys on the Boss Bird/Grocery Getter team, (Bag Boys) are some of the nicest, down to earth crews I've come across. I think I'll miss talking to Jerry (their tuner) a lot, Same deal, I knew almost zero about nitromethane as a fuel, Jerry answered all my novice questions, and gave me a lot of basics about running it as a racing fuel.

Dave and his son, same deal, nicest bunch of down to earth people you could ever hope to meet. Top notch, high class, bunch of racers.

The whole operation was a joy to be around, I will miss their presence at Norwalk for sure.

Maybe you guys can take time off this year to take me up on the offer to attend the Sprint car races this year. Eric has expressed his curiosity to see some cars that raced around corners, instead of just in a straight line.............

[mgarblik]

Appreciate the kind words. This is a difficult thread to post to without going off a hundred different directions. There are literally hundreds of Pontiac people who helped us succeed with our two cars. It's always hard to list them because important people are always missed, and may feel slighted. But I can safely say it took many trailblazers before us and and will take many after to keep pushing the Pontiac engine to never before seen heights. We did our little part. Arnie Beswick is the only man I will call out tonight individually. He gave us our big break, introduced us to so many important people who were in a position to help us. When you travel with Arnie, you get a whole new appreciation for his accomplishments, without a full time crew, without a 18 wheeler and a full shop on wheels, without a toter home, without food or sleep. Digging used piston rings out of the trash desperately trying to find enough usable parts at 3:00 AM to make your match race at 10:00AM. Making the most out of almost nothing. Arnie was the inspiration and mentor of how to put the best car possible on the track every time, on time. Of course his interest and treatment of the race fans is legendary. We watched him closely and tried to mirror his operation. (except for the parts issues!). As Eric mentioned, it cost allot to go nitro racing, but once we started the build, there was no turning back. Our Tuner Jerry Newman, was incredibly conservative. He knew we were running on our last dime and all the engine parts were one-off. He never took any crazy chances with the engine and that's why .2-.3 seconds was still out there for someone to go after. Think about that, Jerry has been racing nitro for 50 years and he was confident the car had a 5.50 something potential.
We had the car on the open market for 15 months and I made dozens of phone calls to select people I felt had the operation, know how, driver, and funds to take the car and go places we never dreamed of. But in the end, it just didn't happen. I honestly believe it wasn't the buy in cost. We had the car priced at 20% of what it would cost just to buy the parts to build the car.
I have made my peace with it going to a museum. Would rather have had someone here take it and keep it on the track either on nitro or alcohol. But it's good to know it won't end up on fire or into a guardrail, or worse yet, someone get hurt in it. Thanks to everyone on PY for the support of the car and I am so glad a good number had a chance to see and hear it run in person. Very special car for sure.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Many Thanks to Eric and Mike for re-birthing the Boss Bird.
There are some wicked badazz Pontiac race cars out there these days.
Boss Bird is The Most wickedest/baddest one of them ALL.

the price was a bargain for that car
Wish i could have spared the money and spoken for it.
Damnd rip-off lottery tickets !

Congrats to the New Owner !
Just hope we don't see it on a TV auction any time soon.
If we do, we do. Main thing is the car stays safe until someone else is brave enough to race it again. In 5 years there may be 550cid Quad-Turbo Pontiac engines running 300 mph without self-destruct fuel.

I do hope it makes a comeback someday
Alpha/Omega T/A

[johnta1]

Which museum is it going to?