Five students from the South Georgia Motorsports Park Roy Hill's Drag Racing School shared their experience with Torco's CompetitionPlus.com. We found out behind every aspiring drag racer is an interesting story to tell.

Five students and five stories about why they chose the Roy Hill Drag Racing Experience

 

MIKE & MIKE LAWRENCE, Cincinnati, OH –

 

Eighteen years ago, when Mike Lawrence, Sr., first expressed the interest to drive a race car, his mother passed on the edict to, “Take him somewhere where there’s good equipment and teach him the right way to drive.”

This past week the torch was passed to another generation. 

Mike, Jr. had only two weeks worth of experience on his Department of Motor Vehicles driver’s license when his grandfather bought him a spot in the Roy Hill Driving School. His father came along just to see his son’s reaction to the experience.

“I did fairly well, but I got my share of chewings,” confided the proud parent, thinking back to his experience 18 years earlier. “I was only one run away from my Pro Stock license when the engine broke in the car.” 

The elder Lawrence didn’t let the misfortune bring him down as he went on to record a successful career racing in the NHRA’s Competition eliminator.

“I never had to walk the quarter-mile, though,” Lawrence added,  looking back on his son’s experience. 

The sixteen-year old aspiring Lawrence felt the sting of Roy Hill’s chastising abilities on the second day of the course; being subjected to walk to the finish line in order to fully comprehend where the finish line was. Two hours later, as he sat on the top end watching student after student make quarter-mile run, Mike, Jr., knew exactly where the finish line was.

The third-generation Lawrence earned his licensed on the very next run with an 8.74 elapsed time at 154 miles per hour run. 

“The experience can be intimidating to someone who’s never raced before,” admitted Mike, Jr. “The speed really gets to you at first and once you strap in you become very aware of the safety requirements. There’s a lot you have to process really quick in a short amount of time.

“I really feel a person needs to have some experience coming in here to get the full amount [of experience] the school has to offer.” 

Mike, Jr. has plans to further his drag racing career and become the third consecutive generation of his family to drag race. He’s got the head start to make the opportunity become reality.

 

KIM MARJAMA, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. –

 

The callers on the other end of the phone know her simply as “Pro Jack Kim.”

Kim Marjama, who learned the family’s car lift business from her father, can relay a name change to the customers. She’s now “Super Comp Kim.” 

“Roy had been on me a while about coming through the school,” Marjama said, breaking into a laugh. “I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Besides, every class that passed and I wasn’t in it, he yelled at me.”

Marjama wouldn’t call Hill a dog, but she figured attending his school would cease the barking. 

“I am so glad I came, now,” Marjama beamed, having successfully completed the course. “This class taught me real quick this stuff is not as easy as it looks. I have gained a lot more respect for people who drive cars like these.”

Marjama earned an award over the course to which she’d just as soon pass on. On her first run during Tuesday’s class, an abundance of pollen on the racing surface showed her the edge of the envelope. 

“I didn’t realize it was as bad as it was,” Marjama said. “I thought I had gotten a little sideways and I just let off. Once I got back, I realized I had gone much further.”

Marjama pointed out the experience took a few passes to block out, but she did just that en route to earning her Super Comp license with a handful of 8.8-second runs. 

What does she plan to do from this point forward?

“Practice and go to plenty of test and tune events,” Marjama said. “I think I’m going to pursue driving a race car now. I’ve definitely got the bug now.”

 

 

STEVE PERKINS, Corinth, Miss.
 

Steve Perkins had been out of racing for 30 years when he decided to attend Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School. The desire had been on what he labeled as his “bucket list” of things to accomplish before life ended, or in his words, "before I kicked the bucket.". 

Perkins aspired to be a professional drag racer as a teenager; the combination of love and later a family never allowed the dream to become reality. He was a man who clearly had his priorities in order but the competitive nature never passed.

“I have a bass boat and I used to tournament fish,” Perkins said. “I had a fast boat and really enjoyed getting out there and scooting from time to time.”

The past year Perkins lost both of his parents. 

“You kind of reflect on life,” Perkins admitted. “I kept asking myself whether there was something I hadn’t done in life that I needed to do.”

Perkins did what any upstanding drag racing aficionado would have done, he traded his Harley-Davidson for a late-model Chevrolet Malibu bracket racing machine.  

“I was going to go back and do a little racing,” Perkins said. “I wanted to keep my mind challenged. My mom had Alzheimer’s and my dad worked every day with us at our machine shop. This is something I wanted to do when I was young. I called Roy and asked him if I was too old to do this. Thankfully I wasn’t.”

Perkins said he left with more knowledge than he entered with. He also left with a Top Sportsman license as well. 

“I bought a proven car,” Perkins said. “But, I couldn’t do a burnout. After the time with Roy, I now know how to do it. I needed this experience.”

Perkins had a leg up on the class because he hadn’t heard the stories of Hill’s drill instructor disposition. 

“He’s somewhat like a drill instructor but he didn’t make me do push-ups,” Perkins said. “Roy chewed everyone out but that’s what it takes sometimes. He builds a pattern into your driving routine that will make you a better one. In the end, the attention to detail he drills into you makes this experience a winner.”

 

 

ERIC GULLETT – Chattanooga, Tenn.

 

If Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School had a license for the driver with the most heart, aspiring fast bracket racer Eric Gullett would have scored low elapsed time with no doubt. The Chattanooga, Tennessee-based Gullet was the only student to bring his personal car to the class.

The novice Gullett was prepared to advance well-beyond the entry level status as his car was an all-steel 1969 Camaro with a big block Chevrolet engine and a Lenco transmission. Yes, you read correctly, a Lenco transmission. 

The most experienced drivers can struggle with the complexity of the Lenco transmission, but Gullett was determined to succeed.

“It’s been an experience,” Gullet said, as he sat dejected after parts failure ended his day. “This car is like a Heinz 57 of cars. It has a little bit of everything inside of it. Some of it was set up okay and other parts weren’t.” 

Gullett studied the lessons from Hill to learn the proper procedure for a burnout, a task he passed after a few tries. He struggled with the launch and the run but not due to a lack of talent. Gullett was going through the motions correctly but the equipment just didn’t follow his lead.

“All I could do was the best I could and hope that gained my license,” Gullett said. “The whole experience was tough because I’d never driven this car before. I had never driven a car on the strip and from what I’ve heard; my combination is very tough to master.” 

Gullet just tried to rationalize the experience.

“Basically, you just find the toughest task and knock it out first,” Gullet said.

 

 

CARL GILBERT – Milton, Fla.
 

Carl Gilbert came to Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School out of necessity. The Milton, Florida-based businessman has a blown, 2,000-horsepower Pro Modified Mustang and no experience in driving a clutch car.

“I wanted to learn how to drive and maintain a clutch car,” Gilbert said. “I certainly learned more than I knew coming into the class.”

Gilbert has the beautiful blue Mustang formerly driven by Joey Moore, which has since been painted red for the 2008 season. He’ll assume the driving chores soon.

“Just learning how to use the clutch was a big success,” said Gilbert, who has experience racing automatic Outlaw 10.5-tire cars.

The soft-spoken Gilbert was one of the few students who managed to complete the complex Pro Stock course in only two days.

“You’re going to get the yelling and the screaming,” Gilbert admitted. ‘Just learn from what you do and don’t take it personal, because it’s not personal.”