However, he recalls early experiments with a Dana 60 rear axle that resulted in two damaged pinion gears and then actually breaking the back half of it off. Now, they run a Moser nine-inch Ford rearend with much more reliability.
“It was challenging on the engine to find something that would create the horsepower, and when you create the horsepower, what about the transmissions we started burning up? And then the rearends we started breaking? Finally, we’ve just found a good combination to get the truck down the track,” Donalson says. “Perseverance is the word for this team.”
Palmer agrees, emphasizing “a lot of races are won at the shop. He credits Donalson and Stuckey for all the long hours they put in beside him getting ready before each event. “A lot
of times we’re out there at two or three o’clock in the morning getting things changed, trying to make a race,” he says. “But it’s been fun. Sometimes challenging, but it’s been fun.”
“We’re the first real successful two-wheel-drive truck,” he continues. “This class started out as all four-wheel-drive and there are a couple of others that have two-wheel-drive trucks that have done okay, but right now we have the fastest. There are others that claim they’re the fastest, but they’re not in the same category; they’re not totin’ the same weight we are.”
In addition to Suncoast, Donalson credits AirWerks, the Borg Warner company that builds the team’s turbos, for much of their success. “We’ve been where nobody else has gone so far, but without those two heavy hitter sponsors, we might be just another ordinary team,” he says.
And Palmer recognizes that success begets success. Other companies, potential sponsors, are more willing to listen to proposals now. “We’ve even had people come to us and ask how they could help us, so it’s been good and we’re looking forward to 2007,” he says.
Team Green plans to defend its DHRA Pro Street title next year, but much to their disappointment, the class may never see another nine-second pass. Apparently, DHRA officials are planning to impose a 10.50-seconds index in order to level the playing field for more teams. It’s a move Palmer doesn’t really want to see, but one he understands if it’s for the good of the class.
“Nobody that likes heads up racing wants that, but we’re willing to be team players and go for that index and cooperate with it,” he says. “But ideally we’re like most people who like heads-up racing: run whatcha’ brung, come get ya’ some. That’s what the spectators want to see and you’ve got to keep the spectators on their feet and happy if you want to grow the sport.”
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