wild willie's spirit live's on at the chrr

it sured seemed as though wild willie was looking down from heaven and having a good time. on sat when the winged express was warming the hides the car went sideways during the burnout just like the old days it was awesome and the stands went wild

 

Yes Mr.Borsch was riding with Mike Boyd on that pass ! It took some fast thinking by both drivers , word has it that Randy Bradford was laughing so hard ,he fogged his visor. That was truly the wildest fuel altered pass in recent history and I'm sure some photogs got some great shots of it, at least the ones that didn't flee in sheer terror !When the tree did come down , Bradford was out on the "Wing" about 2 lengths at half track, but a wheelstanding charge at the 1000' must have had Willie and Mike both smiling.Both ran 7.27s and some change. Fuel Altereds Forever !!

 

That pass was worth every penny spent to go out there!!! Mike said the fans pay for a show and they got one! That whole crew are great people, and Randy has such a huge smile as they head back to the pits...he's having a ball!

 

My family and I were in the stands at half track , Ron Capps and his entourage were "Fence Crows" for the nfc qual. runs and stuck around to watch the alterds.His body language was one of disbelief , shaking his head with his hands to his temples and a look of sheer amusement/terror at the same time. Better than the "Big Show" Cappsy ? Does Mike Boyd wear Levis?

 

Ahhhh..Wild Willie Borsch...one of the top characters and best shoes of all time. A quote from an interview made after his driving days has always stuck with me and makes me grin every time I recall it.

I think Willie was responding to a question about his hand always being on the top of the door skin while all hell was breaking loose leaving the starting line, the car going every way but straight, his foot planted and his apparent lack of concern. Toward the end of his reply Willie said that he was told to always shut down the car if he smelled lemons. The reason he gave was that the engine & all sub assemblies was always final cleaned with lemon dish washing detergent and when you smelled lemons the engine was coming apart.

 

Video?????????????????

 

If you look at videos of the 2008 CHRR meet, Boyd does the same thing except the run was a single. Even did the left lane to right lane thing.

John

 

Here's two pictures from the Funny Car Board.

http://classicfunnycarboard.com/CFB/index.php?topic=16077.150

http://www.speedzonemagazine.com/zones/nostzone/10/chhr/chrr_extras_photos_2010.htm

 

Willie attends every CHRR and March Meet....
here he is...in his urn....ashes smiling away with a hint to nitro...

 

Anyone who missed Willy make a pass is forever lacking. He ran one time here at Tri-City Dragway in northern Michigan. I went down to the wire wheel area to get a look at the car. They were lashing the valves on the Express and Willy was asleep sitting in the car. He was a narcoleptic and would fall asleep just about anywhere and under any conditions. They buttoned up the engine, woke Willy up, and proceeded to tow the car to the fire up area. A matter of a couple of minutes (at most) later he unleashed that beast and proceeded to use all of his lane (and a bit of the other) bringing the entire crowd to it's feet cheering wildly.
He had steely blue eyes that looked like he had made a pact with the devil. I would imagine any competitor that looked him in the eye would have already lost any pending race and following through would only be a formality.

Frank

 

utube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnyKhowyxFc

 

I didn't get to go the reunion this year, but if you are looking for fuel altered video, the best I have ever seen is on Mad Fabricators society volume three. It was from HRR in 2005 I believe, and was shot from the line. The car in the left lane must have covered almost a half mile of that quarter by the time all was said and done, and who ever was driving it never lifted, period. The car on the tower side went relatively straight, but at half track goes into the previously mentioned "smelling lemon" mode, ( read rjaustins421's post above) and starts blowing sparks of internal parts some fifty feet into the air above the bleachers... I hadn't seen that view of a altered fueler run since I was a little kid in the back of ElCamino waiting to push off our families .

 

Does anyone know what Mike Boyd does for "day" employment? Also what is his professional driving history.

John

 

The pics were impressive all on their own but that video is amazing to see how far he drove sideways. What driving skills!

 

i was one of the fence crows standing by capps on the run from boyd. gas on! somebody asked capps if he wanted to drive one, he said hell no!

 

Wild Willy was smiling the only thing missing was a hand on the body

 

not sure about his day job, but mike has been around nitro for quite some time. he used to run his own front engine top fueler(nitro warrior, i believe) and is the son of jim boyd of red turkey top fueler fame. very nice people...

 

Awsome... This is drag racing, 1/2 mile in the 1/4, well at least in the burn out box.....

 

I love it, thanks for posting. One of those days I want to see that car in person

 

that is an awesome pic!

 

Saw it live on Bang-Shift and It was incredible!!!

 

I have loved the winged express since the first time i saw it. It just takes your breath away and puts a never ending smile on your face. How lucky is wild willie that he still gets to travel with it. Mike boyd does an awesome job piloting that thing. Hope they keep it up for many more years to come.
Gasser Girl

 

everytime i see the car i go and say hi to moucie, and i buy a tee shirt. anything i can do to keep it going, before i left bakersfield sat. nite, i asked him if he will be at bowling green again, his answer was until im dead! dam i have alot of his shirts!

 

He was focused, ice water in his veins, but soft-spoken, not the wild man one might think...but if you made an excuse why you lost to him (well, the blower went away at 1000 ft, or something equally lame), he just looked at you like "you guys lose enough to make up better excuses...

 

I saw that at just about half track. Some real good driving skills.

 

Reminds me of sitting at half track for the GG Marchmeet 2004 and seeing the Winged Express lift the front wheels about 6 inches at full speed. Everyone going crazy with excitement.

 

Boyd is the man. Talked to him for a while at one CHRR, he was gracious and open. He explained how for the first few years, he was fixated on Low ETs. He wanted a clean, fast run every time which is not always the case with a F/A. This guy is a racer first, not a showman. It took him a while to really understand that the car, history and Willie weren't just about a fast clean run, but how much of a show it was. As he got used to the car and understood it better, he was able to stay in it and control it when it does those things AAs do. He still wants a good run and can sure put a good number down. He doesn't pitch or upset the car on purpose, but has the mastery and the heuveos to handle it when it's being cranky.

I would proudly hang a poster of that shot!

 

Remember when you could buy the original cross up shot of Willy that would cover the whole wall in the back of the magazines ? That car is always a blast to watch !

 

I wish I could have been there to see that!!!

 

I had a great weekend.....at CHRR.........saw the Winged Express Pointed right at me, as Bradford Fiat was right in front of my crew, .... along the wire fence....."the place to be".....if you have not fenced it ....you never went to the drags back in the day......"that is a fact".............because early bleachers were always small and usually had rotting wood and carpernter bees everywhere....say it ain't so............and don't forget.........they were a lot closer to the tracks than today.

How about the rail dragster that rolled up the wall and righted it self. Suppossedly was going to the museum after one "LAST" pass.............I had a bad feeling when they said just one more pass........

Also got Jungle Pam's Autographs.....Jungle Jims 8X10's....she is real nice .......and was in the right place at the right time........caught Leah Leduc walking thru the pits with her fire suit, she was crowned champion for N/FC by points and still had the CHRR race to finish. I had a pen and she ink'd her Photo....said it was the first autograph after her championship was claimed.