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OLD TIMERS ROCK!!! 
1946 International & 1969 Grant King car that Jerry Sr Drove

Well Thanks to Bear & My Wife Amy we are up and running with our new website and we hope that you enjoy reading our weekly updates.

What can you expect on the website? The FACTS of what is happening with Brooke Tatnell and TLC Racing not rumors, serious and up to date results and stories OKAY maybe not to serious on the stories. Emma’s diary is intended to keep her family and friends updated in both Australia and America without having a phone super glued to her ear like her Grandad.

Since Hannagan & I will not be racing together much this year I will not have him to point the finger at if things go wrong....SO, what does this mean? I am on the lookout for new victim to target and within the first week of the website being up and running I already have one.

Let’s get things straight here before we start I am a sarcastic b’ser and I enjoy the fact that people are still desperate enough for bathroom entertainment. Again, if you do not like what I write about, or you think I am lame do yourself a favor and visit www.chickenlegs.com for all your boring reading material which has about as much meat and juice as Hannagan’s legs. As you can tell I received an email from a website junkie who shows he has as much class as Courtney Love after a big bender. It really is simple not all fans like Brooke Tatnell and especially the officials when I don’t agree with them. In fact, most days my wife does not like me and most days I don’t even know if I like myself. If you want to attack me that’s fine but don’t ever say anything negative about my Family.

Some people have asked what is needed to be ready for the first race.
So here is the run down of last week. Barry and Joe arrived on Tuesday with the rig at our house around 7pm and the trailer well lets just say it is a little classier than my open trailer idea. Then the thrashing started with the help of Toby, Dale, Kev, Baz and Joe. We unloaded the cars and started the process of putting them together. Barry had the Cool Chassis that Trevor raced at the AUST Titles less both front and rear ends in the trailer along with three spare frames. After getting things unloaded and all in place at around 9pm we decided to put a new frame together as the spares were powder coated and the assembled one was not. Since we are representing Cool Chassis and Flamecrusher Race Wear I wanted the cars to be painted and looking trick.

After stripping the first car we started to build the new car. Barry’s car was built to suit the WSS weight rule which is 1500lbs with driver. So we were looking at trying to loose as much weight off the car as possible. To everyone there that is saying put the driver on a diet STICK IT! I enjoy my excess maternity weight plus Auntie Noanies taco pie is to good to stop eating. Besides, Steve Kinser and Schatz are no fly weights and they are not bad racers I guess!
After running your own race team for many years you accumulate bits and bobs so I had plenty of tie bolts to replace the steel bolts throughout the car and we worked until 2am before closing the doors. On Wednesday we started about 7am and working until 4am the next morning. I slept until 6am back out the door and at this point from the engine back was complete.

The reason it has taken so long to build the new car, As compared to when you are one the road and you need to build one overnight is we were waiting for parts and we were using old parts which needed to be dismantled, cleaned, checked, greased and reassembled then fitted the way I like things done. Every driver or mechanic likes things done in a personal way and I do things different to most. We also needed spares even knowing they were going to be replaced after the weekend. On Wednesday night David Craft arrived in good old Forest Lake he is planning on spending the summer and gaining some experience. The poor kid is stuck with me but at least he will learn a lot. Now that does not mean it’s the correct way but it will be an experience.

Thursday was “COOL DAY” as John Cooley drove up from Des Moines to visit and brought his buddy with him. John’s buddy knows a thing or two about race cars and has worked with a guy that I tried to mold myself around (wolfie). It was like a kid in a candy store for both Amy & I when Bob Trostle walks into the shop. Thursday was not the most productive day as we were waiting for parts but seeing a guy like Bob walk in and shoot the breeze and listen to his stories really boosts your pride and moral to think that this legend took time out to come and visit. What was also neat is that we showed him Amy’s Dad’s old race car that is in our back pasture. Bob related a story that Jerry Sr did not agree with roll cages as they would stiffen the chassis to much so he put valve springs in between the roll bar and the bolt on roll cage. Thursday we packed up around 10pm so I could clean up the shop. I am a clean freak inspired from hanging around Sammy Swindell so even with thrashing to get things done it was killing me to see the mess in the shop. I don’t even think Em’s had this big of a mess opening her Christmas presents. I now understand when Amy complains when the odd sock is on the floor I DID SAY SOCK not JOCKS!!!
When the tools are not put away my blood pressure rises like a Kinser fan when Sammy passes him on the last lap.

Friday the front ends arrived and we finished up the car and loaded the few spares we have into the hauler then at 10pm realized the decals for the hood were in Newton Iowa.
For three hours we tried to fit a decaled hood from the old car to the new which was not fitting correctly as the dash was to high for the decals to line up and also clear the airbox.
At this point we had not worked on the shocks and I have never used VRP gas shocks before so we had no starting point. I looked at the sky and asked ole GT for some help as I did not feel the team was ready to go to Knoxville. Overnight the sky opened up enough to cancel opening night. This gave us another week to get TLC organized. Can you see the trend?? AUST Titles which was to be run when we returned home to the USA and it was RAINED OUT? 

If you’re a law enforcement officer skip the next paragraph that way we can plead as ignorant and dumb as Hannagan as we know nothing.

On Saturday morning we started the race car down the street to check for leaks and all was OK. Amy had a tear in her eye as it reminded her of being a little girl starting her Dad’s car down the same road. Our shop is the same one that Amy’s Dad raced out of toward the end of his career and she felt both our Dad’s were looking down as proud as punch. That was great then she told me she could see both of them standing there with “woodies” having conversations about the 60’s and telling us we were doing things all wrong. So GREAT now when I walk into the shop I have this picture in my head of two legends standing there with woodies and this is almost as bad as having to look at Hannagan’s legs.

I am not sure my Dad is wrestling crocs with Steve Irwin or giving Brocky advice
on how to get around Bathurst faster or what but it looks like he has forgotten to turn the hose off upstairs as this weekend is looking like another washout.

See I told you that I would not blame Randy for everything.

See you next week (hopefully)

Stop by our trailer Saturday night at Knoxville we have t-shirts on sale from Australia.

1946 International & 1969 Grant King car that Jerry Sr Drove