Sat, 21 Aug 2010, 07:16 AM That's Just Not Normal

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Murray Hebert

The world of drag racing is full of people who have done things a little differently, and over the years I have seen most of them. This particular group of drivers includes, but is not limited to, Tommy Ivo who made a name for himself with a four-engine dragster. It also includes Connie Swingle who had a wheelstander, and while that may not sound unusual, the fact that it did backwards wheelstands may be just a bit out of the ordinary. Then there was the ever-popular "Michigan Madman," E. J. Potter, and when it comes to E.J. I really don't even know where to start. Maybe with his Allison aircraft-powered 1958 Plymouth, or maybe with his V-8 powered motorcycle, or, well, you get the idea. The list would also include the Vulcan Shuttle, a vehicle that defies description, the three-engine Chevrolet Nova wheelstander, the rocket-powered go cart, the chain-driven Funny Car and the four-door Maverick Pro Stocker. And the strangest thing about those vehicles is the fact that I loved all of them. At the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd last week I found another car to add to my list of interesting vehicles, the 1971 Chevrolet Vega of Murray Hebert.

Murray Hebert

Murray Hebert's Vega runs in Super Gas and it has since he first raced the car almost twenty years ago. "I basically built the car from scratch," he said. "I had help from Dan and Tim Vogt in Regina, Saskatchewan and my brother, Duck Hebert. I had the car and drove it on the street for a few years before I finally decided to make it a race car." After building the car and happily racing it for a long while Murray decided that he wanted to do something different, something unique, and so he did. "A few years ago I put a supercharger on it and an Enderle injector. The throttle runs on air solenoids and a highly sophisticated timing system and I've been running it like that ever since." So picture this, a 1971 Chevrolet Vega with a 350 cubic inch engine and a supercharger running in Super Gas. Now you know why I love it. "There really aren't too many cars like this in the class," he said in a classic understatement. And when I asked him what the other 9.90 drivers think about his creation, Murray just smiled and said, "They think I'm nuts." Hey, everyone's entitled to their opinion.

Murray, who now lives in Brainerd, came down to BIR to race about seventeen years ago and, basically, never left. "I came down here and won the divisional race, fell in love with the place and got married. It changed my whole life." Today, along with his wife, Deisy, and two children, Murray Jr. who is seventeen and just got his driver's license, and daughter Donika who is two, Murray says that he still enjoys everything about drag racing. "Yeah, I've been doing this for a long time, racing the same guys and trying to beat the same people and I love it." He also loves the challenge of racing such a unique car. "A few years ago it needed an engine rebuild and I thought that was the right time to make the switch. I always wanted to run a blown car on alcohol and now I do." He got a block from Dart, some new rods and a Mooneyham supercharger, the Enderle injector and the rest is history. "The car could go a lot faster than 9.90, all out it will go 7.90 at 182 mph, but I'd have to make some changes to it, so I just run in Super Gas. It comes off the line hard, goes back to an idle, and then the timing system comes in for four seconds and then just hold on because you're going for a real ride. I just hope it doesn't blow the tires off. It's hard to get a car like this to run 9.90, it's up, it's down, the weather changes and it throws you a curve ball but I think I've got enough data on it now to make it work consistently. The car is only certified for 8.50 and it can't really handle all the power. If I had more money I'd step it up."

As if running a car with an unusual combination didn't present enough problems, Murray said that the economy and his family life have made racing a little tougher. "I'm in the heating and air conditioning business and I do new construction, so you can imagine that business is really quiet right now. The folks here at Brainerd treat me really nice and I do a lot of work for them, but it's quiet all over. Plus, having a two year old takes up a lot of time so I just don't get out as much as I used to. I used to run on a fairly regular basis but I've scaled back a bit lately." Besides the engine combination Murray's car gets a lot of attention because of the name and the flashy yellow color. "In 1991 a tow truck company in Saskatoon painted our car in exchange for sponsorship and the color has stuck ever since. I like the name 'Tricky' and that's how everyone knows us. Nobody says 'Here comes Murray' they all say 'Here comes Tricky.' Even the announcers do it that way." Yes we do, Murray, I mean, Tricky.

While he doesn't think that a lot of other drivers will switch to his combination, Murray does think that you may see some drivers update their cars in the near future. "Drag racers are always trying to improve, so I think you'll start to see some turbo-chargers in this class. And I have to say that this supercharger is really easy on parts, I mean, I hardly ever run it really hard. I think I hit 7,000 rpm's once and that was on a burnout that got out of hand." And while success has been fleeting for Murray, he is bound and determined to make it work. "Oh I'm committed to this and I like the challenge. The people in this class are really good and I'm going to keep at it. The way I look at it you have a fifty-fifty chance every time you go to the line." He then added that he plans to stay with his trusty, or should I say tricky, Vega unless one thing happens. "If I hit the lottery I may step up. I play every day and have for seventeen years since I came to Brainerd." The odds may not be fifty-fifty there, but as Murray said, you can't win if you don't play.

Murray Hebert may never attain the national prominence that Tommy Ivo, E.J. Potter and the others did, but in his world he is just as unique and well known. "It's been a good life and I still enjoy it as much as I ever did." Even when he lost in the first round at Brainerd Murray still had a big smile on his face. "There's always another race." That may be true, but there will always be just one Murray Hebert, and drag racing is better for it.

Murray added that he would like to thank everyone who has helped him on his journey. "Special thanks to the Vogt brothers and my brothers Duck and Brian. Also thanks to George's Auto Body in Brainerd for making me look so good." His crew, which includes "Fuzz" Brad Rehberger & DJ Homquist have been helping him for over ten years. "And the new owners of Brainerd International Raceway, Jed and Christi Copham have been a great help, with their phenomenal facility that I use for my tune and test track. The power and the tune-up in the car are the work of legendary engine specialist, Jack Wheeler and Gary Schmitt of Wheeler Racing Engines in Blaine, Minnesota and the unbreakable Powerglide Transmission is the work of Brent Tyler at TCI in Ashland, Mississippi." And last but not least, Murray wants to thank his wife Deisy for all of her support.

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