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FEATURE INTERVIEWS:
Larry Callahan’s 2nd Quarter Pro-Touring Update:
With Tom Farrington!
It’s once again is the quarterly Pro-Touring Update, Presented by Ron Francis Wiring, and normally starring Mr. Larry Callahan! BUT, Due to unforeseen circumstances we have a special guest host, Mr. Tom Farrington!
Tom has been on the show before way back in Episode #62 and a quick search of the internet returns many other interviews and articles ever since then. He and his wife Debbie are mainstays at Pro-Touring tracks and has a vast knowledge of the ins and outs of racing and attending these events. We asked Tom to give this quarter’s update due to his high lack of participation in events. Basically, Tom’s in the know!
I first met Tom back in 2010 at the SEMA Show as I was looking for someone to drive me to the Optima Invitational and I happened to ask the one other competitor with a 6’6 Chevelle. He gave me a ride to the track and we have been friends ever since. Tom is all about Pro-Touring and is a well known face around Optima, UMI, and Good Guys racing events. Debbie is very into the scene as well and the two together make a great power couple with a lot of racing knowledge.
Tom is a fellow Chevelle owner with a history of racing and making changes over the years so it was natural to start talking about technical aspects of racing upgrades to the platform. Tom pointed out that his Chevelle is a great all around car but with the work he put into the chassis and suspension it can handle either family functions or drop into monster mode for all out racing at the track. The advancements in suspension technology, frame geometry, and powertrain programming make a great combination to handle amazingly and produce very useable power directly to the track. He did admit that current racing a bit of an “arms race” where those with the best toys on their car generally win if they have the driving skills to go with it.
I asked Tom about some of the events he plans to attend this year and he likes to run at the Good Guys locations as well as the UMI tracks. Recently I had an incident where I missed a pre-registration where there had never been a pre-reg ever before. Tom said they were changing the rules to try and limit the field to the serious competitors. After all of the cost of prepping the car, traveling to the events, and paying for jacked up lodging prices, it was not fun to give up track time to people who were not serious and just knocking over cones to be funny. He said the field size is also being limited but tracks might be open to people that may have had a last minute change so make sure to contact the event hosts to see what may be possible. In addition, he pointed out that Good Guys has now REMOVED the “no rider” rule, but will not officially time runs (for competition) unless it’s a driver-only lap.
You can follow Tom and Debbie at Instagram.com/Tommy_Comfort or on the socials at Facebook.com/tom.farrington
As always, autocross and Pro-Touring events are featured at Pro-Touring.com
Thanks Tom!
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We’re proud to say that this segment is sponsored by the fantastic muscle car and hot rod wiring supply company, Ron Francis Wiring, and we’re very appreciative that they are our show sponsor! Thanks, Ron Francis!
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Upcoming Racing Events:
UMI Motorsports Park events:
2024
Muscle On The Mountain June 13th – 15th Registration Opens: January 31st 2024
Autocross Challenge July 25th – 27th Registration Opens: February 16th 2024 UMI Motorsports Park
King Of The Mountain Event: August 22nd – 24th Application Open: February 1st – March 31st Invitation Only UMI Motorsports Park
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No Limit “Music City Mayhem” Shootout
May 17-19, 2024
Lebanon, TN | Nashville Superspeedway
Duel In Dover
June 7-9, 2024
Dover, DE
Optima Batteries “Duel in Des Moines” Shootout
July 5-7, 2024
Des Moines, IA
Forgeline “Buckeye” Shootout
July 12-14, 2024
Columbus, OH
Wilwood Disc Brakes “West Coast” Shootout
August 23-25, 2024
Pleasanton, CA
This interview sponsored by our pals at National Parts Depot – your premier source for muscle car restoration parts!
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Emily Kibbe – High School Class of 2024!
Be sure to stay all the way to the end on this one…..because our favorite firstborn kid is just about to graduate from high school. Emily will be attending Drake University this fall to study education and minor in music. Her birth was the big reason I knew I needed to find a new way to do life to achieve all of the dreams we wanted to attempt…and TMCP was one of the outcomes of that. Long story short, if you dig these shows, you have her to thank. Congrats, Em!
