As strange as it seems, I did it in September 2000 at the U.S. Zippo Grand Prix race at Watkins Glen. It was Saturday night and I was talking with my good friend Mike Schuler, President of Zippo Lighters, about a car they were going to sponsor in Sundays 3 hour Endurance race. It was a vintage Chevy powered Spice Prototype car (200 mph ). He said the race starts a 10:00 Sunday morning. So I said I would be there at 9:00 and put their logo on the car. Well..........I got there at 8:50 and the cars were on the grid! The race started at 9:00!! We ran to the car, got there just the command was given to start the engines. Very disappointed we walked back to the pits! Then, Mike looked at me, with eyes bugging out and said, "you know, this is a 3 hour race and there are two manditory pit stops for fueling and a driver change." ( two drivers required in endurance racing). What do you think? Well, we practiced putting the graphics on the car, how Mike would hold the mask and so on, then talked to the Pit Marshals. They did not know what to say! Finally they said, no one can go over the wall until the car is fueled! So we had just the time when the driver change is made. ( it does not take them long!) First stop, one side done ( yes a few rinkles and bubbles, but at 200mph, who cares!) The last stop, the other side was on! The Race Announcer was going crazy, we had a huge audience. As it turned out, believe it or not, the car won!!! In Victory Circle, Mike told crowd "this is a new strategy for Zippo, we wait to see who is in the lead, then we letter the car". I wish we had someone with a video camera there! Another true story from the "World Famous Vickio Signs"
[ November 01, 2003, 10:20 AM: Message edited by: Tony Vickio ]
Posted by James Donahue (Member # 3624) on :
That and Doug's "bomb island" story are part of what makes this place unbeatable.
But I have to admit, when I first read the title, I thought of somebody hanging out the car window, trying to deal with all the wind. Maybe I'm just too redneck.
Posted by Terry Baird (Member # 3495) on :
That is too funny Tony. Are you at the Glen often? Drop me a line next time you're going to be there. I've got an old boss who used to tell us to drop in when he's racing.
Posted by Jeff Ogden (Member # 3184) on :
I had to put a sponsor's name on a alcohol dragster at the Gatornationals one year. It was a little painted thing. I started it in the pits, but they called their class, so they had to go to the staging area...they said to hop in the pickup they towed the car with. So I went with the crew, and every time they stopped I hopped out and painted some more, all the way up to the final staging lanes, where I put on the last little bit. Then they ran the car (and won that matchup), and I rode down the track with them waving at the crowd...hey, THEY were waving at us !.BTW the driver was Daryl Gwynn, who later went on to win the Top Fuel class a few years later.I still laugh when I think about it... Posted by Kissymatina (Member # 2028) on :
Only you Tony.
Terry, Tony's shop is only a few minutes from the track. If you're a racing nut, you've got to include a tour of his shop in your trip to the Glen. It's like a museum in there. And, Tony's a real sweetheart to boot.
Posted by Joe Rees (Member # 211) on :
quote:"this is a new strategy for Zippo, we wait to see who is in the lead, then we letter the car".
God thats rich! My belly hurts.
Posted by Tony Vickio (Member # 2265) on :
Awwwwwwwww Kissy!!! Too nice!
Terry, stop by anytime! I am at all the events, I drive the Pace Car at some and give VIP Pace Car Rides at all the events. If I get up your way I look you up!
Posted by Tony Vickio (Member # 2265) on :
Hey Jeff, that had to be a Blast!! Daryl was a great driver until his unfortunate accident! I have never been to a Top Fuel event, but I will make it to one soon! Don't you wish you had someone with you with a camera during times like that! Did you have ear plugs???? or do you read lips now!
Posted by Jeff Ogden (Member # 3184) on :
Tony...
There is nothing I can think of that is more nerve shattering, than to be sitting on the ground trying to paint something small that is only a foot off the ground to begin with, and have a race crew fire up a top fuel engine not 6 feet behind you for a little test. You can hear this thing over in the next county, and if you were deaf , you could feel the vibration as it totally scrambles all your dna......sheeesh!
Posted by Ray Rheaume (Member # 3794) on :
Laffing like mad here, Tony. Great.
Not sure if this one counts, but a couple of years ago I had something similar happen.
I got to the local track and found that a good friend had passed on during the week, Shirley Keyser. Although I had never done any work for her husband Butch in the past, they were long time friends and always a lot of fun in the campground over the years.
Between practice runs in the pit area, I caught up with Butch as he was heading to the scales.
Butch and I just looked at each other in passing... I said "What can I do?" He said "I got her a new hood."
That was all that was said.
The car came in off the track, I pulled the hood off, leaned it up against his trailer and painted "Shirley" across the hood freehand, dotting the letter "I" with a rose. 10 minutes later the car went back onto the track to qualify.
At the end of the night, Shirley's name led the way to the finish line on the 4th of July, and as all the photos were taken in victory lane, her friends and family gathered around the hood.
To slip the job in during the practice runs was cool, but standing on the tower watching victory lane was, by far, the high point of many years involved with racing. A day I will never forget.
Shirley's day. Rapid
Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
haven't "lettered" a car while it was racing but I have done the same thing at jetski races.. intentionally, however. Standing in the water next to a factory-built rocket, on the starting line, trying to lay down last minute sponsor logos before they light up the tree.
Makes quite the spectacle and is one of the best ways I can find to shamelessly promote my business. The announcers always hype it up!
Posted by David Axton (Member # 4043) on :
I race D.I.R.T. Modifieds here in the northeast. A few years ago I unloaded my car at a track pure white, and lettered in in like 25minutes. It was a simple job, (seems like when you do your own stuff you dont have time to go crazy) but there was a crowd of 50 people watching. Was good for business. Although I turn down 90% of racing customers. We racers are the cheapest people on the planet.
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You can hear this thing over in the next county, and if you were deaf , you could feel the vibration as it totally scrambles all your dna......sheeesh!
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