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 Auburn
Formula Goes West
Yesterday David and Ben drove
several hours up to Gadsden, AL to visit a new friend and potential
sponsor, Mr. Jerry Rhodes. The team first met Jerry when he stopped
by the shop on the day of the LSU game to see the car and purchase
some team shirts. After a while Jerry offered to help the team
out with procuring some exotic materials, namely titanium and
magnesium, as well as aircraft quality titanium fasteners. David
and Ben visited Jerry at his home to discuss details and to tour
Jerry’s backyard drag-racing shop, and what a sight that was.
Jerry’s shop is housed in a
nondescript shed in the nondescript yard of a nondescript house in a
small, peaceful section of northern Alabama. Upon entering the
shop, however, the boys quickly realized that were not talking to
some hot-rodder tinkering around in his garage. They were in a real,
fully equipped race shop: a three room haven complete with a
fabrication area and an unbelievably well-equipped machine shop.
Center-stage was the car itself, a ’63 Corvette Outlaw Pro-Modified
drag car powered by a supercharged 521 cu-in Donovan Hemi. Jerry
built most of the car himself and does all of the maintenance and
repairs. Covering the walls of the shop are pictures of his past
cars and records of his winnings – he’s been racing for 30 years
after all and has won plenty.
David and Ben spent about two hours in that little shop talking with
Jerry about his racing past and about the several careers he’s had,
including his present position as Senior Mechanical System Engineer
at the Chemical Demilitarization Plant in Anniston, AL. They also
talked to Jerry about the team’s need for materials like titanium
and magnesium as well as titanium aircraft fasteners and he agreed
to help them find some of those things.
We look forward to having Jerry back at our shop for the Sponsor
Appreciation Day and perhaps one day he’ll bring his car by. If he
gets to drive ours do we get to drive his?
 more pictures here
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