For Norwood resident Billy Boyd, this June’s Friday the 13th was a lucky day. Boyd set a national speed record in his ’69 Camaro at a race meet in Denver.
Boyd has been wrenching on muscle cars and racing hot rods his whole life, but he said he hadn’t set a record since 1997, until this summer. What surprised him wasn’t reaching the quarter-mile mark in 8.95 seconds at a speed of 150.14 mph — it was that he did it in June. Typically, said Boyd, records are set by February or March. In June, the hotter temperatures mean the engine doesn’t perform as well.
“If you want to set a record, you usually do it in the winter. After that, there’s no good air left. It’s ‘ratty air,’” said Boyd. “When air is dense and cold when it comes into the carburetor, you can put more fuel in there.”
Boyd had to duplicate his run within a one-percent margin of his speed, which he did, in order for his record to stand. After that, the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) judges tore apart his car to make sure that it hadn’t been illegally modified from its specifications in the Super Stock A category, which it hadn’t.
His record-setting run earned him a spot at the Nationals, held this weekend at the Vandermere Speedway in Denver. The Nationals are mostly pro racers, said Boyd, but he still dominated the Super Stock A class.
“I whopped my class there,” laughed Boyd. “It’s a big event.”
Boyd won one such National event, back in 1965 in Dallas/Fort Worth, but he was eliminated this summer by a four-time world champion, in the “top eliminator” round.
“He beat me by twelve-thousandths of a second,” said Boyd. “It was a good battle.”
Despite his eventual elimination, winning his class meant that Boyd received a Wally, the NHRA trophy that for car racers is the equivalent of an Oscar.
“There are guys that race their whole lives and never get one of these,” said Boyd. “Two times out (this summer) and two wins. It was great for me, and I’m grateful.”
Stock car racing is a precision sport, for the mechanically-inclined speed demon. Racers slice fractions of seconds off their time by nudging the highest performance possible out of their engines. Racing old cars like the ’69 Camaro (the crown jewel of General Motors during the muscle car era, said Boyd) means that the engines have to be of specific sizes and weights, and can’t be radically modified like the dragsters made today.
Boyd said he likes the challenge of making an engine perform at its peak within the parameters. He grew up in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and his dad was a drag racer and a mechanic.
“I worked in his shop my whole life,” said Boyd. “It was a blessing for me. My father was my hero.”
Boyd moved to the area 36 years ago, and stayed in his father’s career track, working as a mechanic and racer. He hadn’t raced much recently, because a couple of years ago another car collided with him and totaled the trailer carrying his Camaro. Boyd carefully rebuilt the car, and returned to the race circuit by setting the new speed record.
Winning a stock car race isn’t just a matter of meticulous mechanics and flawless wrenching. It’s also about being a great driver.  Boyd’s class, unlike some other classes, uses a stick shift. Instead of trying to watch the tachometer, he wired a light to indicate the split-second opportunity to shift gears for the optimal performance.
“There’s a place it wants to be shifted, and you’ve got to be right on time,” said Boyd.
Winning, said Boyd, isn’t just driving and mechanics — it’s also a mindset.
“You just have to show up, participate and have pure motive,” he said. “There’s something divine about it. I’ve been blessed.”
~ D. Dion