Hello race fans! Tommy Tjet here with latest news from the Dragon’s Tail. On this rather cold day, let’s check in with Aurora…

(Aurora) Hi Tommy. It has been rather quiet here at the Dragon’s Tail. The locals are still preparing the road for the grueling event.  Snow has rolled in which is slowing progress down a little. The local news has some pictures of the local town having some of the last warm weather fun.

Pool side party

The last grass cutting of the year

Who is that resting by the falls?

Last dip in the lagoon

cooling off

Fall weather is great for flying kites

dune buggy club goes for one last spin

Many of the support groups have already rolled in. Two shipments of tires from an event sponsor Super Tires have rolled in. Several barrels of  Habby’s Lube Oil are lining the paddocks.  Also, Jim’s Custom Rod Shop has set up tents to display some of their vehicles. Looks like the ViaSue timing system is just about complete. “Speedy” Van Doren should be down shortly after it’s completion to test out the course. Everything is proceeding smoothly here at the Dragon’s Tail. It’s rather quiet at the moment, but it won’t  be for long. Back to you Tommy.

(Tommy)There you have it race fans. Build it and they will come. Surprising how quickly this event is coming together since it’s announcement last month. Group Scarboro should be commended for their hard work and determination. And the clock is ticking down

It was a peaceful day in the park

The playground was busy with activity

Plenty to eat in the park

The volunteer brass band ready to break into their Beach Boys medley

Sweet ’38 Ford leading the pack!

It was a peaceful day in the park. The joggers were passing by. The children were having fun on the play ground. There were delicious Hot dogs and Ice cream to be enjoyed.

And then, just as the brass band was about to break into their Beach Boys medley, there came a rumbling, a thunderous noise that even drowned out the tuba.

A caravan of trucks led by a sweet ’38 Ford custom delivery van with the ”Jim’s Custom Rod Shop” logo plastered on the side roared past the park. The trucks dropped off 11 specialty bodies as prizes for The Dragon’s Tail Road Rally.

When the folks at the filling station saw the red, white and blue truck they first thought it was a campaign truck since it was election day. But then they remembered that they had seen that logo recently…just last week, Super Tires!

Yes, Super Tires sent another delivery! But this was no ordinary delivery van. This was the V.I.P. Truck driven by Sandy, the Super Tires promoter of the year for 2014. All great slot tire manufactures need a nice and pleasant leader to run the show.

We had received word from one of our race sponsors, Super Tires that a shipment set out on

The van was spotted up in the hills.

the road early in the week and was due in town by week’s end.  The driver must have been burning up some Super Tire rubber on the highway because by hump day it was reported that a large van with the red, white and blue Super Tires logo was reported to be seen up in the hills!

The van rolled into town full of great treats for drivers

And sure enough, the van rolled into town late last night filled to the brim with great treats for proxy racers!  When getting your cars ready for the proxy, be sure to visit the sponsor’s page for all of your racing needs!

We were presently surprised when a 1 Stop Slot Shop panel truck rolled down Main Street today.

When preparing your ride for the Road Rally be sure to visit our sponsors page to stock up on the needed parts!

They heard the uncommon sound of a big truck pull into town

The people on the sidewalk heard a rumbling of a big truck pull into town…

As the air brakes  sounded their heads turned to see the semi labeled “JAG Hobbies”.

The truck must be filled with good things!

The First shipment of prizes for the Dragon’s Tail Road Rally Race has arrived!

  Aurora on the scene!

Hello Race Fans!! Tommy T-jet here with The Dragon Tail news. Cool weather is starting to roll in which the horsepower junkies love. It is great all the rumors have been true and The Dragon Tail is progressing into a glorious event. We have Aurora back to help out with on the scene action. How are we doing down there Aurora?

(Aurora) More like up here Tommy. Very cool at these high altitudes. Lots of activity going on.

(Tommy) What do we have going on?

(Aurora) Lots of track preparation. They seem to be getting a timing system set-up right now. Banners are being hung, and we already have some of the Sponsor trucks rolling in. From here I can see Jag Hobbies and One Stop Slot Shop trucks. Both have always been big parts suppliers for the racing venues.

(Tommy) Any race teams there yet?

(Aurora) No. A little early for that. The only pre-race activity allowed will be a short warm up and the qualifying runs. So, we probably won’t see any teams until closer to January. Track surface looks great. I was talking to “Speedy” Van Doren and he had some advice for the Teams.

(Tommy) What would that be, Aurora? With the track record, I am sure the teams will be listening.

(Aurora) He said that many of the teams are used to preparing for short curvy tracks, but this has another technical difference. With the elevation changes, there are also several humps or bumps in the track. Many racers will try to get their cars as low as possible for handling in the corners. However, they won’t provide enough front clearance for those humps. Many cars will bottom out on the humps, or try to drive too fast to clear them that they wind up losing control in the next corner. So, many of the teams are testing these issues on their own track.

(Tommy) Sounds like some good information for the Teams. Do you have anything else for us?

(Aurora) Here is some local press information for the event.

https://dragonstailtrack.wordpress.com/

(Aurora) Look! They are already getting the start/finish banner going up.

Great stuff Aurora. Stay posted race fans. Still quite some time before the race begins, but lots of preparation needs to be done. Looks like they are really at work on the Dragon’s Tail.

Tommy T-jet here. The rumors are true. We have confirmation from one of the Flying Dutchmen crew at the Skunkwerks at the Freeman Field Raceway. Here is a short view of the Q&A session we had with “Speedy” Van Doren, son of the great “Captain”.

Q: (Tommy) There are rumors abound that there will a race at the Dragon Tail this year. Any news on that?

A: (Speedy) Great possibility. I was approached by a gentlemen known as “Junkabilly” from the Scarborough crew located in southern Indiana about the Carrera Panamericana. He was wanting to enter a team in the race. However, I had to disappoint him the news that there would once again not be a race.

Q: No race! I thought the rumors were true. Why no race?

A: Hold on! Let me finish. The Carrera Panamericana will not be held. This was a great venue with some big name teams involved. However, with the big crash at Le Mans has led to some big safety concerns. It just was no longer feasible to safely hold the event. Also Porsche has taken over much of the qualifying track here at home. However, Mr. “Junkabilly” has his hands on a proposed site. Many know it as the Dragon’s Tail. It is a small challenging route through Tennessee and North Carolina.

Q: So what is the possibility that this event will be held?

A: Very good. He has asked for my support in the logistics of the event, and he will provide the track and try attract some sponsors.

Q: What type of cars will be running?

A: This will be a pretty open event. The rules are being sorted out right now. The Dragon’s tail is a very twisty route, so horsepower won’t be a big factor. Handling will be the big factor here.

Q: What teams will be running?

A: Mr. “Junkabilly” has that info. I think it will be several big name teams and several locals from the hills. I would be more worried about the locals dominating the event though. They have run that strip of road before, and know it well. It is currently being repaved though, so that may throw them off a little.

Q: When will the event be held?

A: Well, it may be pretty soon. Teams will need to hurry to get prepared. Tentative timing is looking like January. No definite date has been set yet. Rules are being run by some competition scrutineers at the moment. We are trying to make this event as open as possible yet maintain as fair a playing field as possible. Not easy. It will definitely be a fun event for the spectators.

Tommy t-jet here. It has been a while since I have last broadcast here. The great Carrera Panamericana race will once again not be held. Organizers have still not been able to find a safe route through the torcherous badlands of Mexico since much of the last track was destroyed. However, there is great news. There is a rumor that a new venue has been proposed and with support of the previous organizers. An influential individual in Southern Indiana known as “Junkabilly” has brought forth a possible site for a new event. It is known as The Dragon’s Tail. The Dragon’s Tail is a winding road with 318 curves in 11 miles known to surprise even the most experienced of drivers. It is located in eastern TN and finishes in the mountains of NC. There are also other stretches that may be added. The nearby remote Cherohala Skyway has 60 miles of scenic mountain highway. The area also has the Moonshiner 28, Devil’s Triangle, The Diamond Back, Six Gap of North Georgia, and the Snake. With names like this, it is no surprise that racer’s will be drawn in. Not much else is known at this point, but I will surely keep you updated as information unfolds.