TEAM INFORMATION:
Driver - Nick Poloson
Driver Bio - The Sundown Fuel altered team from Bulverde, TX consists of Car owner Tom Wood, his wife Maria, and Driver and crew Nick Poloson and his wife Debbie. In 2007, the team had additional help from our friend J.T. Heslink. Tom and Nick have been drag racing for all of their adult life. Tom has always had a passion for MOPAR’s, and ran a series of wedge powered door cars and a front motored dragster, before building his first rear engine dragster powered by an alcohol injected 440. He progressed from running bracket races to a long running participation with the Mid-America 7.90 association. Tom kept refining his wedge combination, running faster and faster, to participate in IHRA Top Dragster, as well as Quick 8 competitions.
Nick started racing his street car in High School, and built his first race car as soon as he graduated from college..also a MOPAR, a small block ‘68 Barracuda that went through about 10 different engines and drive trains, as it evolved into a 440 powered Super Pro bracket bomber. Nick then built and raced a series of Chevy powered super gas and super comp cars, and his wife, Debbie, also licensed for S/G and S/C. They went racing every weekend, running both NHRA events and big money bracket races, and had good success. After moving to Texas from Louisiana, Nick started getting involved with the alcohol funny car class, and drove several cars for owners, and then in the mid 90’s got his own NHRA Top-Alcohol Dragster, partnered with Charles Marquez, of “Urban Flyer” fame. Tom Wood was our crew chief and tuning consultant on this car.
Tom and Nick have been friends for almost 20 years, and have always helped each other on all their race cars. When Tom spent 2005 helping another OFAA member at the races, he said, “ I want to build an altered to run with this association. It seems to be the most fun we can have at a race track today!” So he took basically the engine combination from his last dragster, bought the chassis for the altered, and put together the “Sundown” OFAA. Tom is an excellent driver, but he asked Nick to drive the altered, so he could concentrate on his real passion, tuning a motor combination that’s “challenging”; i.e. a blown fuel Hemi to competitive times and speeds. The blown fuel Hemi is new for the Sundown team in 2015, and we’re looking forward to an exciting year.
Nick also has the pleasure to drive another unique car, and that’s the 1969 Top Fuel Car of Floyd Head, from San Antonio, TX. This car is probably the best example of a “survivor” from the glory days of front-motored Top Fuel racing that exists. This was Floyd’s 15th Top Fuel Dragster, and was the culmination of all the technology available at that point. It’s a Frank Huzar RCD chassis, Tom Hanna full body, original paint from George Cerny’s “paint shop to the stars”, with a 392 Hemi. Since 1970 is when rear-motored dragsters took over, Floyd decided to just not go racing anymore, and just covered the car in the garage. There it stayed, in ready-to-run condition, until the mid 90’s when Floyd and Nick took advantage of the nostalgia craze, and put fresh tires on it, put nitro in it, and started doing the cacklefests and making 1/8 mile exhibition runs. We’ve also taken it to Bakersfield, Bowling Green, and Phoenix over the past few years.
Crew - Tom and Maria Wood, Jack Heslink,
Jeff Erwin, Lisa Martin & Danielle Williams
Sponsors - Pro-Care Automotive
Special Thanks - Greg Hubbell Race Cars, Dennis Piranio
Contact Info - Racer790@aol.com
CAR SPECIFICATIONS:
Body Style - 1948 Fiat Topolino
Engine - 467 KB block / Alan Johnson heads
Trans - 2 Speed B&J / Crowerglide 3 disc clutch
Horsepower - Not Enough
Chassis - 128" 2003 ABJ
