Thu, 2 Oct 2008, 09:08 PM I've Found The True Sportsman Racer

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2008 Auto Imagery, Inc.

George Gallimore

At any given NHRA event, national or divisional, there are hundreds of racers in attendance. Among that group are those who race for a living, the touring professional racer. He or she is the person who gets a lot of attention, has people asking for their autograph and who makes the big bucks. OK, so maybe he makes a moderate living. Then there are the racers who compete in the Lucas Oil series, and that includes races from the Top Alcohol Dragster class all the way down to the Super Street category. Some of these drivers, like Frank Manzo and Jay Payne, or even young Sean O'Bannon, have the resources that enable them to do it on a level that separates them from their fellow competitors. No disrespect meant to anyone, but it's a fact. And then there is the new breed of sportsman racer, the one who races for a living. Among that group are the David Rampy's and Dan Fletcher's of the world. And then there is the group that makes up the majority of the racers at any event, and those are the men and women who race for the pure enjoyment of it. The ones who like to share their time with their fellow racers and families. The people who have raced for years and, even if they haven't won they still enjoy every aspect of the sport. These are the true sportsman racers, and George Gallimore is such a racer.

George has been racing for the better part of thirty years. “I started out years ago with a roadster that I got back in the early eighties. My first real race car was an old 33 Willys,” he said. “I don’t remember exactly when that was but I do know that I bought it on the day that Elvis died.” For a guy who grew up in Memphis you would think that would be a red letter day, but, like he said, George couldn’t remember the exact date. After that he ran an altered and eventually a rear-engined dragster in Super Comp. But all of those cars are a far cry from his current ride, which is one of the quickest and fastest cars in Competition Eliminator. So just what was the motivation to step up to such a ride? “Danny Townsend’s old roadster was my real motivation,” George said. “I used to love that car and I always told myself that if I could I would run a car like that some day.” He then laughed and said, “I guess I should be careful what I wish for, huh?”

George Gallimore

George has been running in the A/A class for over eighteen years and he switched over to the planetary type transmission for a very obvious reason. "I got tired of all the work on the other car," he said. "That car was hard on parts and this is a lot easier to run." His current car is an A/AP car and it runs in the 6.80 range. In fact, at the recent Midsouth Nationals in Memphis he recorded his best times with the car, a solid 6.804 in qualifying. "When it runs like that it's a thing of beauty. That occasional, hard to find good run makes all the work really worth while. If you can get it out of that low gear shake it's a real fun car to drive. But it's the tire shake that can get you. The rear suspension really helps and that makes it drive really well and it smoothes out the bumps in the track. Actually, if I get out of the car, walk around it and nothing's hanging off it that's a good run." That may be an overstatement but you get the point, and that is running one of these cars is a real challenge. One of the reasons why his car runs so well is the engine that he gets from Steve Schmidt. "Steve has always given me good power. This engine is a little bigger than a Pro Stock engine and it makes a lot of power." A beautifully prepared chassis and body from Mike Spitzer doesn't hurt, either. "I have some good help at the track, Scott Snodgrass is my main guy, he only works part time so if he's off he can go with me. And here in town it's not a problem getting help. I have my other friend, Cleve Stewart, helping out this weekend. He's a Memphis police officer and it's nice to have someone like that on your side."

Like most of the sportsman racers across the country, George tries to work his racing schedule around his work schedule. "I have a lot of fun racing but I only get to come out a few times a year because of my job." George's job is not the usual one, either, at least not for people who race in Competition Eliminator. "I'm a radiologist and I work for a big group here in town. We cover several hospitals in the Memphis area. It's pretty much turned into a 7 to 5 or 7 to 10 PM job, fifty or sixty hours a week with a few weekends thrown in every now and then. It keeps me pretty busy and that's why I don't get to race as much as I would like to." George went to medical school at the University of Tennessee in Memphis and he did his radiology residency in Memphis, too. Following that he did an MRI fellowship at Baylor in Dallas. And if that wasn't enough, George also did five years of post-medical school training. "You would think that after all of that, running an A/A car would be easy," he said. "But this can be a real challenge, too. My old radiology professor used to say that radiology is the second most exciting profession in the world behind race car driving. And at least with this the only person at risk is myself." Oh those wild and wacky radiology professors!!

Since there aren't a lot of people in the country running cars in the A/AP class, George says that the fraternity is a very close knit one. "That's one of the nice things about running one of these. Anyone who knows anything about this class realizes that you have to be a pretty decent driver or you wouldn't even get in one. It's kind of like instant respect. Even if you don't know the person and you know they drive a car like this you respect them immediately. And when you get to talk to them you realize that we're all pretty much alike...hard-headed." George added that he is always willing to help other drivers in the class. "I look for guys who are more lost than I am," he said. "But I haven't found many of them." George knows that you can have fun with a car like his but you're probably not going to win many races. "David Eaton has had about as much success as anyone with one of these. But I know that if I wanted to get serious about winning races I'd have to change classes. But I do it for the fun. My work is serious enough that I don't need to be too serious in my racing. I'm a true sportsman, because we never win anything so you have to enjoy it." And anyone who gets to watch George race has to enjoy it, too. It's people like him and the other pure sportsman racers out there who make this a great sport, whether you participate or watch. Thanks, George.