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Miller Hi-Speed Head Accomplishments
The Great Race
The Great Race consists of a 14 day run
across the country along a predetermined course
with every departure, turn, speed change, pit
stop, and arrival strictly choreographed...right
down to the second. Every second off per leg results
in a penalty which will net a score for each stage-
low score wins. The Great Race '05 was a grueling
two weeks trying our skills, endurance, dedication,
team work, and machine. But, what better way to
see this beautiful country of ours than by combining
one's love for antique cars, friendships, competition,
and patriotism. For Sam and I, though, the Great
Race is more than a fantastic journey...it is
somewhat an obsession. Countless all-nighters
and thousands of hours and dollars have been spent
over the years fabricating, preparing, and altering
my speedster to be the ideal rally machine for
us to compete with. My speedster will continue
to be modified for many years, but one component
that is settled on is the Miller Hi-Speed Head.
Images Courtesy, Rally Partners,
Inc.
Sam Goeppinger and I, Greg Cunningham, had prepared
for the '05 rally very well. Yet, it was an absolute
surprise when we saw how well we would do...let
alone win the championship. But, just like the
record set at Bonneville with your head; we couldn't
have done it without the help of some good friends.
Images Courtesy, Rally Partners,
Inc.
The day prior to the start of the GR in front
of the capital building in D.C., we compteted
in what is called the Trophy Run. We won this
day of competition, but more importantly found
some fuel delivery problems. Although it kept
me out in the parking lot for a few hours to repair
the situation, we were able to fix it before the
stakes grew the following day. The 100 vintage
automobiles were sent on their way for the first
stage of competition for a short run on Stage
1. Stage 2 and 3 were remarkable displays of our
capabilities. Scoring a 2 seconds and 3 seconds
respectively, we took the lead after stage 2 and
never let go of it. Although we didn't win a stage
for a while, our consistent low scores increased
our lead virtually every day. however, on stage
7 we thought we were going to lose it all due
to an engine failure. While "on the clock"
my car began to shudder quite a bit. I told my
navigator, Sam, we had to pull off and check it
out. He is well equipped to handle unexpected
time-loss, so we were hoping to find/fix the problem
quickly and make the time up before the next check-point.
Unfortunatley, when I let my foot off the accelerator
the engine quickly came to a stop. "Oh-no",
we both said. After pulling off to the side I
quickly jumped out to inspect the car.
"OH-NO!", I yelled. I had immediately
spotted the issue. The lower bolt holding the
oil return tube to the side of the block had come
out! After pumping out all the oil, we knew the
engine was toast. While waiting for the "sweep
truck" to pick us up we were trying to stay
positive. But, that was really hard when the SPEED
Channel camera crew showed up. After Sam ran them
off I got to work pulling the valve-cover off
to inspect my pride and joy. All appeared well,
so I told Sam, "At least it didn't ruin the
head."
The truck took us to the lunch stop where we
found some of our friends conferring to figure
out what had happened to our car. After telling
them,
they immediately offered us whatever help we needed.
That is one special aspect of the Great Race...everybody
is willing to help. Even your competitors want
to see you on the road. Larry Campbell offered
us his spare engine, and Ron Kelley offered his
expertise in the head swap. Knowing it was going
to be a late night, Sam and I slept in the truck
on the way to the hotel. Once arriving, we ate
the biggest meal we had seen over
a week so to be fueled up to get the engine swap
done. With the help of a few friends (Donny Fite,
Naomi Schnell, and, of course, Ron Kelley) we
wrapped it up at about 6 in the morning...just
in time for a shower and coffee before the start
of stage 8. Even after our all-nighter, we increased
our
lead some more the following stage. Thankfully,
there were no more big surprises for us. We managed
to make it to the day off where we could rest
and perform the usual maintanance on the Model
A. The next few days went pretty well. Yet, we
were scared a little as we had our two worst scored
days just prior to the last day finishing in Tacoma.
But, with an overall lead of 20 seconds, we had
the best sleep for the entire race that night.
All we really had to do was rally clean and not
make any big mistakes. We did. Not only doing
good enough, but very well- winning the final
stage.
The two weeks built up to a finish that we will
never forget. As we were about to be announced
crossing the finish line as the 2005 Great Race
Grand Champions, Sam said to me, "Greg, I
know you've been fantasicing about this for 8
years." "Yes. I have", I responded.
And with thousands of spectators cheering, confetti
flying, and champagne spraying it was even greater
than my fantasy had led me to hope for. The ceremonial
finish and awards presentation that night made
us feel like celebrities. Then it was back to
reality when Larry called us early the next morning
to help load the trailer before heading back to
Oklahoma.
Images Courtesy, Rally Partners,
Inc.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
OR TO ORDER YOUR HI-SPEED HEAD KIT
CALL US TODAY
Phone: (805) 647-2766
Fax: (805) 647-7578
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