A regular feature we will have at AIR COOLED DRAG RACING
MAGAZINE is our Driver Spotlight. There are many great people around
the country involved in VW drag racing and this is your chance to
meet some racers you may not otherwise get the chance to.
In our first installment we talk to Texas Volkswagen Drag Racing
Association (TVWDRA) member Carl Nolen. He has been very helpful to
me since starting this website, providing me with information about
the TVWDRA and their events. Currently, Carl is leading the TVWDRA
in points after 2 races. Carl was born on March 3, 1955 in Dallas,
Texas and today still lives in Dallas. He
has worked as a mechanic since 1975, which included 18 years at
Central Volkswagen in Richardson, Texas and currently works for
Massey Cadillac. On May 13, 1980 he was married to Joni and they
have two children, Karen (24) and Raymond (22).
AIR COOLED DRAG RACING MAGAZINE: How did you get interested or
involved in drag racing.
CARL NOLEN: A school friend and his dad took me out to Green Valley
Raceway in 1967. I was 12 at the time and drag racing made a huge
impact that day on me. What if I had gone to a dirt track race that
day? Hummm. My Mom was responsible for my interest in VW's. Mom
purchased a 1965 Bug in 1970 when I was 15 which was my first car to
drive. I had been going to the drags to watch since that first day
in 1967 and in 1972, I went to Dallas International Motor Speedway
(closed in 1973) to
watch the NHRA World Finals. There were several VW drag cars out
there that day. Inch Pincher, Lightning Bug, Gene Berg and Lyle
Cherry. Up until that day I wanted a Camaro with a four speed. I'm
not sure what happened to me that day, but I looked over at Mom's
Bug and thought I could do what those guys were doing to their drag
bugs. About a year later, I had turned Mom's Bug into a
hotrod 40 horse monster.
ACDRM: How many years have you been racing?
CN: Made a few passes at Green Valley in 1975-76 in a 1965 Hot
Street V-Dub. I was hit by a drunk driver in that car and it was
totaled. I bought a 1963 Bug to replace it and drove that car as a
Hot VW on the street until 1979. Made it into a full drag car over
the next few years. That car made its first pass at Texas Raceway in
the fall of 1984 in the first VW Eliminator in this area. Been
racing ever since. I guess 30 years or so.
ACDRM: How many drag cars have you owned?
CN: Two. The 1963 Bug that I drive now and a Drag Buggy I bought for
my son a few years ago.
ACDRM: What is your favorite part of drag racing?
CN: Enjoying the time with all my racing buddies at the track.
Ninety-nine percent of the VW racers at the track are very good
friends. We normally give each other the thumbs up right as we are
pulling into the water box. Good sportsmanship.
ACDRM: What is your favorite track to race at?
CN: Texas Raceway of course.
ACDRM: Who is your favorite person to race?
CN: Actually have several; John Henslin, Ricky Marshall, Rick Tarter
and my absolute toughest opponent is without a doubt - Bubba
Clifton. All five of us have a very similar records and we have
dominated VW racing here for a long time. No bragging, just facts.
ACDRM: What are some of your most memorable moments and career
highs?
CN: Securing sponsorship with Knight's Foreign Auto Parts in 1988.
Two weeks later, I made my first final against Scotty McManis at the
Spring Bug-In at the Texas Motorplex and lost. About a month later
in June of 1988, I won my first race Summer Bug-In at Texas Raceway.
The funny thing about my first win, everyone I raced broke. Talk
about luck! I have actually lost count how many finals I have been
in. I lost count past 35 and probably have been in 40 finals and won
28 or so.
ACDRM: What are some of your least memorable moments or career lows?
CN: Race car falling off the trailer. Somehow my securing cable came
off while driving in downtown Ennis (Texas Motorplex) after a
rainout at the Bug-In in the fall of 1989. Slid off the trailer
taking off from a red light and caught the front end and bent it up.
Had to cut it off and replace it with a fiberglass front end. In the
final of the Fall Bug-In in 1999, I had my opponent covered. At
about the 1000 foot mark, something severe happens to the drive
train and the car all of a sudden goes sideways left, then right,
and then I push the clutch in and it goes straight. I coast to the
finish line looking over my shoulder for my opponent. The motor is
blown and my
opponent passes me right at the finish line. Bummer, blown motor and
lost the race too. Welded crank had broke in two. My lowest of lows
is losing my best friend and sponsor to a car crash on Labor Day
weekend in 2002. LeeRoy Blackwood, owner of Knight's Foreign Auto
Parts, died in a car crash at the age of 53. They were my sponsor
for 15 years even though they were just a mom and
pop parts store. Terry Blackwood tried to keep the store open but
closed it in the summer of 2003, too much without LeeRoy. At this
time, I do not plan on changing the look of my car. I will run their
logo on my door to honor them for the many good years together.
People around here know my car as the "Knight's" car. They really do
not know I drive it. That's really they way it should be to push a
sponsor on your car. People identify with the car, not really the
driver so to speak.
ACDRM: How long have you been involved in the TVWDRA?
CN: The TVWDRA started in 1987. The very beginning of that movement
started that fall day in 1984 in the VW Eliminator at Texas Raceway.
I have been their from the very beginning. Rick Tarter and I are the
only ones still racing from the first 1984 race.
ACDRM: What are your goal for the 2006 racing season?
CN: Finish the nitrous install on my car and go fast. This year, I'm
not really interested in winning. Just want to have fun with nitrous
and haul ass.
ACDRM: What would your advice to a beginning drag
racer be?
CN: Try and not get too caught up in winning and losing. Start out
in a moderate car and work your way up to speed. Too many people
waste too much time building their "dream" car and before you know
it, 10 years has passed by. Put something together and go to the
track and have fun. Listen to the old timers, they will save you
money with advice on how not to break stuff. There were not hardly
any old timers when I started and I broke a lot of stuff.
CAR PROFILE
• Car (Year/Type): 1963 VW Bug
Model beetle
Engine Size CC 2165
Case as21 mag
Crank bugpack 78
Rods bugpack 5.352
Cam SLR nitrous cam
94 mm Wiseco pistons, Mahle cylinders
Heads 44x37 superflow
Carbs 48 ida
Nitrous Shot 50-75
Gear Box Type type 1
Ring / Pinion 3.88
1st Gear 3.75
2cd Gear 2.25
3rd Gear 1.65
4th Gear 1.32
• Best ET 1/4: 10.54 at 122 mph the Texas Motorplex;
Best ET 1/8: 6.58 at 102 Redline Raceway
• Crew: For many years, my wife Joni. But I
guess I have been doing this too long now. Just
me, my son, and teamates Gary Calvert and Troy Goodwin. |
