[Hal Copple]

last fall, at the huge Charlotte AutoFair, at the Speedway. Hot, had driven up from SC for the event, parked at the Olthoff's Superformance display. Thousands of folks admired my and other SPF's there. At the end of the day, cimbed in, strapped on all five points of the Simpson, and with probably a hundred people standing around to watch it actually start up, cranked the engine.

All the "winter" gas had boiled out of the carb, and flooded the engine. It would not start! I cranked and cranked while they all watched, then Dennis Olthoff leaned over and whispered to me "hold the throttle all the way down to air it out".

So i did, in a few more turns it fired up with black smoke out the pipes, then it leaned out, and i motored away.

I had forgotten that a flooded engine from a boiled carb needs air to get the raw gas out of the cylinders.

There have been many moments i have let the Great Stroker down.

Like the time.....