Willie's Page One                                                     Home

                                                         Members Profile

The El Camino Man also owns a mean Grocery Getter Malibu Station Wagon which runs in Non-Electronics and Comp. Street Class, and has had 11.86 @ 117 MPH.  There is a SBC with Trick Flow Heads under the hood and puts out over 400 HP. 

5/25/01 - Owen Birkett drove Willie's Wagon to a 2nd place finish in Comp. Street class at State Capitol Dragway.  In the process the wagon made it's quickest trip down the 1/4 mile ever.  They ran an 11.86!  Willie said he is really pleased with the little wagon. Owen did a fine job of driving, given the fact that he had never driven this vehicle before.  

6/23/01 - Willie has assumed the drivers chores for the Wagon.  This is a welcome change.  We know he will get much more satisfaction out of driving than sitting on the sidelines watching the car.  Good Luck to Willie in the drivers seat.  Now you can cut your own good lights and drive the top end!  

 Jeremy with big El Camino B. O.                         Willie and Son Jeremy
                                                                          With El Camino

8/18/01 - Willie has taken delivery of a new 377 cu. in. stroker motor, built by Steve Nicole.  This motor will be dropped into the Wagon and Willie hopes to get it down into the low 11 second range.  The motor should be very strong.  The Dart Sportsman heads on this motor are the same one's that when placed on a 2940 lb SBC 360 cu. in. Camaro, that had run a best ET of 11.45 Sec. 

10/21/01 - Willie recently made an 11.36 sec. pass @ 121 MPH with the new motor!  Now the wagon weighs in at 3190 lbs. and Big Willie weighs in at 300 lbs.  Do you know what kind of HP that motor is producing to run 11.36 @121 MPH?  That's approximately 425 HP (using the speed).  The wagon had many interested on lookers after that pass.  This is not your normal station wagon!  All it can do is get better.  

10/28/01 - Willie was selected to be a member of the Board of Directors.

1/31/02 - The El Camino, with a new motor, did not fair too well at the first Test & Tune of the year at State Capitol Dragway.  The motor expired early in time trials.  The motor is being rebuilt by Eddie Graham, a local engine builder, and should be ready shortly for the first race of the season.  
Willie's Wagon has electrical problems.  After getting rid of the bad module in  the Mallory Comp 9000 distributor, Houston was finally able to get it started.  Many electrical problems have surfaced, from bad switches and loose wires, to poor grounds and it will not start again.  A complete rewire of the engine compartment and under the dash is in order.  Many people have tried to get this one ready and it has baffled many of the team members and other mechanics.  

2/15/02 - Willie was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday after suffering from 4 sleepless nights, where he would almost pass out when he tried to lay down.  Willie finally went to the doctor and was diagnosed with "Congestive Heart Failure".  He is being treated at The Summit Hospital in Baton Rouge, Rm # 223.  Several members of the team have visited with Willie and he is doing well.  The doctors have not decided on a course of treatment, other than to get the weight down.  Willie was over 300 lbs. at one time (Let's see, at a reduction of ET of .01 sec. for every 10 lbs. we remove from the car, if Willie could lose 100 lbs., that would be a free tenth!).   Our prayers go out to Willie and we will be praying for a speedy recovery.  

2/16/02 - Willie is out of the hospital and is doing very well.  He has been advised to take it easy, no racing for at least a week, and get back into the swing of things slowly.  The Drs. have decided to try to combat the condition with diet and other methods.  Our prayers are with Willie for a complete recovery. 

3/8/02 - Willie was at the track (with the Drs. permission).  He had the car delivered and the driver, Jeremy Beathley, met him at the track.  Willie only watched as Jeremy drove the wagon all night.  

3/13/02 - During the mid-week test & tune at State Capitol Dragway, the wagon lost all brakes at the end of a 120 MPH pass and ran off the end of the track.  Jeremy Beathley avoided almost all obstacles but chose a small tree over a house and came to rest with some damage to the front and side of the car.  Jeremy was not hurt.  Willie was calm through all of the action.   The wagon will be retired from the track while a new wagon is being made ready.  The master cylinder system failed. 

4/7/02 - Willie took the El Camino to New Iberia, LA to participate in Scout-O-Rama.
 

4/15/02 - The wagon is almost ready for Memphis.  Willie has installed the latest breaking system available, the hood and rear door panel have been fixed and a number of other changes were made to make the car safer, lighter and quicker. 

4/28/02 - Willie's Wagon won Runner-Up in the Trophy Class at the Memphis Tri-State Racers 1st Annual Bracket ShotOut.  Willie was so happy he was completely out of control after the winning round (see photo).  Paul Collins drove the wagon perfect all day.  Congratulations Willie and Paul!
 

5/14/02 - Willie Beathley was voted in by the Board of Directors as Treasurer of Bracket Masters Racing Team.  This change was made to put the finances into a computerized system so that better control of the teams money will be possible and taxes will be handled smoothly.  

Willie, as chairperson of the Programs Committee pushed through a resolution to purchase a Jr. Dragster for the team.  The team purchased a Jr. Dragster on May 20, 2002.  Willie will spearhead recruiting children to drive the Jr. Dragster.  He will also be in charge of the BMRT Jr. Dragster Scholarship Program.  

6/23/02 - Willie's Wagon, with Jeremy Beathley driving, attended the BMRT Annual Picnic at State Capitol Dragway.  When the race was called at the end of the first round, Jeremy was still in competition having won on a beautiful display of top end driving.  The race will be completed on July 27, 2002.  

7/20/02 - Willie has installed a new 383 SBC in the El Camino, getting ready for Super Chevy in September, and it is really strong.  Jeremy will drive the El Camino, as it is his favorite race car.  A major effort was made to fine tune everything about the motor and it seems to be running smooth.  John Collins, Stephanie, Jeremy, Willie and Skip, worked on setting the carb., timing and valves, after the initial startup.  Now all that is needed is a trip to the track for some track tuning.  

8/12/02 - The El Camino ran time trials at, Edmund Hall's Baby Pro-Mod, 1/8th mile event at No Problem Raceway Park.  The best time was a very respectable 8.01 sec. easy pass.  The motor had more but Willie did not stress the new combination.  This was the first time running on the 400 Pro Tree for Willie.  Quite an experience!

9/22/02 - Willie/Jeremy Win At Super Chevy Show!!  Jeremy Beathley claimed his first major event win at the Houston Super Chevy Show at Houston Raceway Park.  Driving the "Mr. Willie" station wagon in the Street/DOT class, Jeremy won the first place trophy and $$$$, with much more in contingency payouts.  Congratulations Willie and Jeremy!  We will be looking forward to the full story, with photographs, in Super Chevy Magazine in the November issue.
Jeremy speeds down HRP strip!  SCS Award Presentation

10/13/02 - Willie drove the Mr. Willie Station Wagon to a win in the 1st round of the Team Challenge Race.  Willie lined up with team mate Mark Washington.  After all day of talking about what the other one would do, they finally faced off.  Willie cut a .525 light, caught Mark around the 1/8 mile cone and played with Mark all the way down the track for the win.  Willie was so happy that he didn't come back for round 2.

10/19/02 - Willie was elected Vice President by unanimous vote.  Congratulations Willie!