"The Other Woman" By:AVO 2-20-07

I grew up never hearing or learning one thing about drag racing.I can say that,looking back,the closest I ever got to "high-performance" was my brother's '69 Camaro,that wouldn't start half of the time. There was one exception when I was about 13 years old...I had spent the night with a friend and I was awakened by a sound I'll never forget.Bob Segar put it best...."I woke last night to the sound of thunder". Later that afternoon,I heard the sound again as I got to watch and listen as my friend's father fired up his dragster in the garage.His name was Larry "Moose" Miller,and he made my first official introduction to drag racing.(I'm regret that Moose never knew the first & immediate effect that had on my mind.)
WELL....Things are different now.You couldn't physically keep me away from the track if somebody paid you to do it!! I'm still not an expert on drag racing or race cars...There is,however, one race car that I know top to bottom,front to back & inside and out..... Our 1973 CAMARO,or as I like to call her, the "other woman."
Tony acquired the Camaro from a friend in 1999,he traded a beat up Chevy step-side pick-up for her.The trade was straight up...both vehicles as is and I may never understand what convinced the other guy to make such a trade! Tony drove her on the street for about 6 months,adding performance parts here & there,and occasionally her nasty attitude would provoke a street race.And then...her destiny fell into place.In September of 1999,with quite a bit of convincing from many friends,Tony loaded her up & we ventured to ThunderValley in Noble,OK. We had been to a couple of tracks with some friends,as spectators,but neither of us had even driven down a track before that night....much less,we were not expecting the fact that our lives were about to change forever....I hadn't even had the privilege to drive her on the street and yet,Tony was determined to get me behind the wheel and lead her down a track for the first time. I remember like it was yesterday,(and even as I write this I can still hear the tires spinning for the first 60 ft!!) But once her rubber grabbed hold of the pavement beneath her,we went through the traps at 12.86 @ 96 MPH. It was a feeling like no other!! Tony says he knew from the second he saw the expression on my face as I brought her back to the pits...I WAS HOOKED!! I had the honor of being her pilot for the next 2 years.
Maybe this sounds insane,but I learned early on that the Camaro had an unnatural temperament.She seemed to have a mind of her own,and I believe she knew that she was built to drag race. I sat down in that car knowing absolutely nothing about drag racing,yet in our first season racing, I had learned enough to place me 4th in the No-Electronics points,and earning "Rookie of the Year" for Texhoma Motorplex in 2000. I quit driving her for personal reasons and I stayed out of the driver's seat until 2005 when I made some license passes,intending on driving her into the '06 season. Needless to say,things had changed. SHE had changed. Although I was the first to take her down a track and the first to put her in the 6's, I was also the first to chicken out when her front tires left the track and all I could see was blue sky!!! So,as most of you might know,we hired a driver that year. In 2006 Ken Brumfield strapped in and got her through our first Super-Pro season at WRP.
This season...its Tony's turn to find out what its like,after all he's the one who has spent the most time with her---off the track,that is. He is the one who has poured his blood,sweat,tears,(unmentionable amounts of money) and more time than Clinton spent in office as President into that car!! I can only hope that she'll treat him half as good as he has treated her over the years.So far,I think he's doing an outstanding job of driving.
You see,what you all need to realize is that regardless of who is steering her,she knows her OWN way through the traps. And she loves a good challenge just getting there and because of that I can't help but adore her....Even though for the last 7 years,she's made me "the Other Woman".....
Good Luck To All This Season!!!!
Be Safe...And we'll see you in the staging lanes......
Andrea Oberhauser
Team Oberhauser:
Full Throttle Racing
Anadarko,OK