[Jeff Niceswanger]

These towing stories take me back to one evening, more like early morning, over in Chicago. Somewhere around 1998 or 99,, we switched from local bracket racing to the divisional stuff. I purchased a 1977 Coachman Leprechaun motor home. A whopping 22 foot long. We also purchased a 26 foot Haulmark box trailer ( The one we still have) .The Coachman had been garaged in a barn its entire life, and was in amazingly good shape. But it had a very anemic Ford 460 200 HP / 350 FT LBs TQ engine. So I get the idea I going to make this super duty tow vehicle and " Tim Taylor" it. So I take out the engine and head over to Platinum Engines. Todd Quinn, the owner helps me change pistons, carb, and intake manifold. He had some fun with it, milling the heads and CC'ing them to get a true 10 to one compression. He calls his buddy at Bullit Cams and they come up with a cam grind.It had 4.11 gears and only a 3 speed transmission so the cam they came up with was a little on the aggressive side , but said it would be a great pick for hilly terrain over here in eastern Ohio. I think 224 @ .050 comes to mind ... While we are waiting on push rods to come in, I had a buddy install a huge Dyno Max exhaust system. After we get it built, Todd wants to dyno it, so we do. 357 HP and 505 Ft lbs of torque. We get it all installed in the Motorhome, and to our delight this thing sounds like a Super Comp car.. At 800 rpm it idles with authority.In that little MH, this thing would fly. Took it out for its madden voyage with 10 thousand lbs of car and trailer on the back, and headed over to the West Virginia line to the biggest hills around. It topped those babies at 65 mph!. We're happy as heck, and we turn around and come home....That's when something very ugly reared its ugly head .. BREAKS ! . The old girl had drums all the way around, and stopping that much weight, was not going to be something it was very good at. We towed all over the eastern US in that old rig. The Coachman Hilton we called her. Honestly, its a wonder we weren't killed in it. Many a night I got off work at 5 and brother John and I headed for St louis , or Chicago, or Bristol. 8 and 9 hour tow's .. Travelling all night in that old MH was always good for at least one white knuckle ride. Not only did big semis just blow you right into the rumble strips every time one went around ya, but at least once a trip, we would have one of those " OH SHEEEET" and bout hit someone in the caboose ..
Getting back to my Chicago story. It was 4 or so in the morning, and we are close to getting to the track at Chicago. We have our CB radio on, and are scootin down the interstate when we get into what I wanna call "whoop de do's " . You know, interstate that sets your truck romping back and forth like a hobbie horse. We had been into them before, but these were kind of on the bad side.( For all you Division 3 guys, kind of like the staging lanes at National Trails used to be.. LOL ) I could feel the front end getting light, then as we bottomed out in the lane... having full control again. No big deal, we just ride it out, just like all the times before.. Then the CB lights up ! Hey Bob , says this trucker . and he's almost shouting " HEY BOB,, YOU SEE THAT WESTBOUND CAMPER DOING WHEELIES !! ?? The WHOLE front end comes off the ground .. He's doing WHEELIES !". His buddy comes back and says " The one pulling that real long trailer with that wee little Motorhome ? ..His pal comes back and says " YEA WATCH "! Then as we do a few more pop ups for them they just freak out .Those guys thought they were witnessing the best thing since sliced bead, not knowing we do this **** every weekend all over the country in this crazy thing. Bottom line is, we all do what it takes to race, and sometimes we're just stupid …..