March 19, 2004 - Marcus, Carolyn and Melissa were at the track for test and tune.  It was the first time out for the little Nova this year.  

March 25, 2004 - Marcus participated in the Glen Oaks High School Car Show.  He was one of 6 team mates that had cars at the show.  Several other members came out to support the school. 

March 28, 2004 - Marcus, Carolyn and Melissa traveled to Hattiesburg, MS to race in Edmund Hall's Baby Pro-Mod race.  Marcus was to compete in the 6.0 sec. class, but due to the lateness of the race, he had to leave.   The little Nova made some impressive low 6 second time trials before heading back to Baton Rouge.  

June 12, 2004 - Marcus and family returned home to Shreveport, LA to participate in a bracket race with the team.  The team was invited up for a friendly get together and a little racing.  Marcus is just a little short of bringing out his new engine in the little Nova.  Maybe by the next time we go up there it will be complete. 

July 14, 2004 - The new engine was started up today.  From all reports, it is one fine piece of machinery and sounds very powerful.

July 21, 2004 - Marcus, Carolyn and Melissa took the new motor and the reworked car to the track for testing.  No Problem Raceway Park surface was not its normal good hooking best shape on this Weds. night, but after three attempts, Marcus got down the track in 8.88 sec. @ 152 MPH.  The car was all over the track, but it was the first 8 second pass for Marcus! 
This is a totally new combination, with many untested parts, and this was the first time out.  A few problems had to be solved, MSD problems kept the RPM below 5000 RPM on the first two passes.  There was a secondary float problem that would not let the car accelerate past the 1/8 mile, coupled with fuel regulator setting being slightly low.  After all of these problems were corrected, the power was ready to be put to the track. 
Marcus expects the car to run much lower into the eights.  With track surface temps. well over one hundred degrees and the ambient temp. at 96 degrees, with humidity of 70%, I would say 8.88 sec. was very good for the first time out.   Video of Marcus Testing (Very Long Download over telephone line - Not Recommended.  Cable, DSL or T1 line Recommended.)

August 7, 2004 - Marcus attended the team picnic, without his family which was a first, but the car ran very well.  Marcus laid down some mid 8.70 sec. passes before returning the car to the trailer.  He really was lost without his pit crew and crew chief, Melissa and Carolyn.

August 23, 2004 - Marcus and Charles Edwards, owner of Youngblood's Camaro, have agreed on a Match Race at the Louisiana Drag Classic.  This should be a great race.  Marcus is running in the 8.70 range and Youngblood has just installed his new 555 BBC and it has run back to back 8.82 sec. @ 149.9 MPH. 

September 3, 2004 - The momentum for the Match Race is really building.  Marcus has been working on the Nova daily and is trying to extract every ounce of horsepower out of his motor.  He has been tweaking the chassis to get the 60' times down and tuning up everything.  Good Luck Marcus! 

September 4, 2004 - Marcus was really ready for the Match Race, but it did not take place.  The threat of rain did not allow time for the race to take place.  Marcus lost in the first round of Super Pro when he broke out.  Marcus was very happy because the car ran quicker than it had run to date.

October 16, 2004 - Marcus traveled to his hometown or Shreveport, LA to attend the Sat. Bracket Races at Red River Raceway.  The little black Nova was taking advantage of the "good" air at the track and was making some real power, so much so that Marcus was looking to take some of the power to the rear wheels away.  Marcus lost in the first round, but was real happy with the times (8.60's).   

December 11, 2004 - Marcus attended the Christmas Drag Race at No Problem Raceway Park.  Moses Bryant and Frank "Lawman" Datcher came down from Shreveport, LA to attend as spectators.  Marcus came off the trailer with his best ever time, after some schooling by Moses and Lawman, and ran a 8.50 @ 159 MPH!  According to Moses, the car carried the wheels beyond the 60' lights and smoothly set the wheels down on its way to the 8.50 pass.  Marcus had said earlier, "If I can get into the 8.50's and run 157 MPH, I will put it on the trailer and go home, because I would be so happy"!  Well, he decided to stick around for eliminations and was driving good enough to win three rounds before losing in the 4th round. 
Marcus, Moses and Lawman went over to Marcus' home to talk and exchange racing stories (lies).  Houston, Skip and Willie stopped by to help Marcus celebrate his new plateau in racing.  The air was one factor.  It was really good out there today.  Low temps. and very low humidity with high pressure.  This is the type weather we only get about 2-3 months of the year in Louisiana, and the tracks close down for part of that.  The other factors was the starting line RPM was raised and his shift point was raised.  These two factors allow the engine to make more power and result in lower times.

March 4, 2005 - Marcus attended test and tune at the Super Chevy Show.  Things were not going well for many of the BMRT racers today.  Marcus' starter went out first.  Then he broke a push rod and a bolt on his rocker assembly.  This resulted in the cam getting scratched.  All of these factors made Marcus decide not to race any more this weekend.  The good news is, he has all of the parts necessary to make the repairs.  He will take the car home and try to determine what made the parts fail.  Marcus has always looked at failure detection to try to improve reliability of his engines and parts. 

March 23, 2005 - Marcus has purchased a new Pace, 28 ft., trailer.  He is really happy with his new toy and is anxious to get on the road with it. 
Marcus has had a lot of trouble trying to remove his ATI Super Damper from the crank.  After fighting with it for some time, he took the car to Pro-Fab and Sonny heated the inner ring of the damper and removed it.  Marcus will be able to inspect the cam and fix the top part of the motor.

May 11, 2005 - Marcus tested at No Problem Raceway Park.  Due to rain just before the track opened, there was not much traction and Marcus could not get in a full pass in two attempts.  The engine ran very well.

May 14, 2005 - Marcus attended the Battle on the Bayou at Louisiana Raceway and helped out at the gate with the tickets, releases and the kids. 

July 15, 2005 - Mrs. Lillian Thompson, Carolyn Bowie's mother, passed away last night at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital.  Mrs. Thompson was 70 years old.  Carolyn and her mother were very close.  Carolyn has 9 brothers and sisters and Mrs. Thompson's mother and father are still living.  The racing team sends their sympathy to the Thompson and Bowie families.  Mrs. Thompson's wake will be Tuesday and the internment will be Weds.

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