PHOTO: IAN TOCHER
PARTY IN THE PITS
TOP SECRET RECIPES
CAMP STANLEY’ S“ WORLD’ S BEST ULTIMATE MARGARITAS”
1. Start with a double shot of good tequila. Stanley recommends Patrón Añejo, of course. 2. Add a double shot of Grand Marnier liqueur. 3. Add a splash of Patrón Citronge triple sec 4. Add a splash of“ good ol’ reliable orange juice.”
5. Quarter a“ real lime from the grocery store”, then split that in half, squeeze one wedge and drop it into the mix. 6. Add a third of a cup of Baja Bob’ s Triple
Citrus Sugar-Free Margarita Mix. 7. Pour everything into a shaker with ice, shake it up really well, and then pour into another big glass over ice. Camp says:“ Then just sit back and watch‘ em run.”
SCOTTY G. GUADAGNO’ S“ RECIPE FOR A GOOD TIME”
1. Go to the liquor store. 2. Buy a case of Captain Morgan. 3. Open bottle, drink booze. Scotty G. says:“ You get a discount when you buy‘ em by the case!”
DINA PARISE’ S“ NITRO PINEAPPLE”
1. Cut fresh pineapple into chunks. 2. Soak the pineapple in vodka, let it sit for a week. 3. To serve, pour vodka over ice and top with the infused pineapple. Dina says:“ It’ s like eating the worm at the bottom of the tequila, only better!”
MARK MICKE’ S“ BRAIN FREEZE – THE PRO MOD OF DRINKS”
1. Start with six( 6) Minute Maid frozen lemonade cups. 2. Add 2 gallons of water. 3. Add a fifth of rum. 4. Add a fifth of gin. 5. Add a fifth of vodka. 6. Add a fifth of blue Curaçao. 7. Add a handle of tequila. Mark says:“ Use the cheap shit, because once they’ re hammered one they won’ t even care.”
JASON“ POOCH” RUECKERT’ S“ BOOOOOOOOSCH”
1. Crack a Busch Light. 2. Stay away from Mark Micke’ s Brain Freeze. Pooch says:“ Get one of those foam fists to hold your beer.”
MARK“ WOODY” WOODRUFF’ S“ CALL IT A DAY”
1. Open a Bud Light or Bud Select. 2. Done. Woody says:“ That’ s it. Just crack a Bud and call it a day.”
SCOTT PALMER’ S“ CHEAP DATE”
1. Grab a Long Island iced tea or a Keystone Light Scott says:“ Just not at the same time!”
TOMMY DELAGO’ S“ EASY JACK AND COKE”
1. Grab a red cup, fill it to the top with ice. 2. Fill it 2 / 3 full of Jack Daniel’ s 3. Add about an inch or an inch and a half of Coke. Tommy says:“ Stir it with your finger, twice. That’ s the important part.”
April 2017 forgotten to do something. Andrew just pushed our pit car up against the door and let it sit there for a while,” Parise reminisced of the hilarious punishment.
Recently, her good friend and starter at Virginia Motorsports Park, Jeff Bowling, passed away. Rather than focus on the heartache, Parise remembered the good times they shared together.“ We were hanging out at VMP, and my husband had on brand-new shoes, brand-new pants, and a brand-new shirt. Jeff took him for a ride on a four-wheeler … it had rained a few days back and they went out and got stuck literally up to their chests in the mud. Andrew came back and I was like‘ Are you kidding?! You can strip outside but you’ re not coming in this motor home like that!’ and strip he did, all the way down to his tighty-whities!”
Meanwhile, back in Margaritaville, Mark Micke serves up some pretty legit margaritas of his own. Owner of famed M & M Transmissions and driver of Jason Carter’ s 3-second, twin-turbo’ 78 Malibu, Micke’ s locked in a few championships and carries that same caliber of quality when it comes to having a good time.
Truth be told, racing’ s become more of a business for Micke over the years, so enjoying his rare moments of downtime is more important than ever.“ It’ s not as fun as it used to be, because we have sponsors we need to deliver for and customers we need to keep happy, but I wouldn’ t trade it for anything,” noted Micke.“ Now, my paycheck revolves around racing, so at the end of the day, I really need a drink.”
A few years back, Micke purchased a margarita machine. When he mixes up his favorite“ Brain Freeze” concoction, the party really gets going.“ We were at South Georgia Motorsports Park, and Pooch [ Jason Rueckert ] got so drunk that he fell down on the starting line – and it wasn’ t because he was stuck to the track! They were giving some kind of award and he was just hugging and kissing everyone. He even gave a speech and had no clue what he was saying,” laughed Micke, quick to call out his friend for having too much of a good time.
Pooch remembers that day( well, at least a little of it) all too well and now stays away from Micke’ s mayhem.“ Those things will fucking destroy you,”
O CAPTAIN“ Scotty G” Guadagno takes the“ race hard, play hard” mantra to a new level. His trailer is stocked with not only the best parts to compete in Outlaw Drag Radial, but also multiple liquor cabinets- especially one for his beloved Captain Morgan rum.
he confessed about the diabolical drinks.“ There was something about Donald [ Long ] having a little kid dressed up in a duck costume and supposedly I traumatized the kid. I don’ t know what I did, but it must not have been that horrible because I didn’ t go to jail.”
When he’ s not making bad decisions that lead to great stories later, Pooch is busy balancing his job as the big man on campus for VP Racing Fuels or driving his sweet Cutlass.“ I’ ve tried to become more of a serious racer and not just the party guy, but it doesn’ t always seem to work in my favor,” he joked.“ Being around the cars and trying to get stuff done with a hangover is freakin’ horrible. That’ s the hard part, trying to be responsible and still race but to have fun.” The key, he’ s found, is easy – just be responsibly irresponsible.
When it comes to rain delays, though, anything is fair game. Pooch usually has a handle of Captain Morgan in the cabinet along with a quart of moonshine and a cooler completely dedicated to Busch Light specially reserved for just such an occasion. A few years back, Pooch was at US 141 Motorsports Park for a grudge race, and it got rained out on Friday.“ We started drinking. A guy from Kentucky brought some blackberry moonshine, and, well, I don’ t remember that night,” he confessed. His girlfriend, Kyla Lachat, tried to get him to go to bed, but he just wouldn’ t.“ I woke up in the front seat of my pick-up with no shoes on and mud up to my knees. I’ ll never drink that moonshine ever again.”
While Pooch is out loving on anyone who happens to get too close, Mark“ Woody” Woodruff is more of a low-key partier who laughs a lot and likes to keep things mellow. Driving his infamous, big block-powered and twin-turbo Radial vs the World’ 10 Corvette, Woody wants to have a little fun while he’ s out setting records and winning races.“ The drive to be the best is what pushes us, but we’ ve developed a great friendship with a lot of the people we race with, and it’ s basically become a traveling-circus-type thing – it’ s all just one big family at the races,” said Woody.
In his pits, a huge 70” flat screen television is mounted to the side of his trailer and is constantly streaming anything from UFC fights to other rac-
DragIllustrated. com | Drag Illustrated | 81