SHANE STACK

PHOTO: JAMES SISK

n addition to the points chase itself, there’ s something about running on a radial that Stack really enjoys.“ I’ m a radial guy,” professes Stack, who ran on slicks back in his ORSCA days for a short time in Limited Street and hated it.“ Radials last longer, too, and are faster. My car drives better on‘ em, and yeah, it takes a special kind of track to make them work, but with today’ s prep, that’ s not a problem anymore. Sure, slicks are more forgiving and you can get down more, but you can’ t get but ten runs on a pair and they drive like garbage.”

For radial-tire aficionados, there are no events more highly coveted than DXP’ s No Mercy and Lights Out races. When 2018 rolled around, Stack loaded up and headed down to SGMP for the ninth iteration of the latter.

“ We hadn’ t made any changes prior to the race other than freshening up the motor, but were mostly just nervous about the track because people were having so many problems getting down,” Stack shares of how his Lights Out 9 weekend got started, and how he had decided to skip testing and just wait until the race itself began.

In the first round of Limited Drag Radial qualifying, his Thrillbilly Monte Carlo put down a 4.289 at 181.54.“ I thought I was superhuman for the second qualifier,” laughs Stack,“ and we tried to do too much. The tires spun and told me I wasn’ t.” He slipped down into the No. 4 spot temporarily, but turned the wick up and improved by going both quicker and faster to the tune of a 4.177 at 183.34 pass in the third qualifier. Stack wound up second overall once the standings had been finalized, just. 013 seconds behind the leader, Scott Husted.

When eliminations began, Stack officially kicked off the first big race of the season.“ The sun was out, it was really hot, and I was worried about the track,” Stack confesses.“ So, we put in the tuneup from the. 28 run in hopes

DEDICATION DEFINED

Stack has dedicated his life to racing his prized Monte Carlo, ultimately seeing the fruits of his labor in the form of the inaugural Limited Drag Radial championship and a season-opening win at Lights Out 9.“ I have no kids, no wife... that car is me- it’ s my life,” he says.

it would do that again.” Stack was quicker on the tree, and his 4.299 at 180.28 mph pass easily put him through to round two. Next, the Alabama racer went head to head with Justin Martin, and once again, it was Stack who turned on the win light in his lane thanks to a 4.196 at 183.15. Stack’ s consistency showed in round three, as his 4.190 at 182.80 sent Robert Cox back to his pits to pack up.

A fairly close race in the semifinals didn’ t bother Stack one bit. Although Bill Futch went 4.416 at 171.60, Stack stayed calm, kept his foot in it, and pushed his Monte Carlo through the beams in 4.176 at 183.69 to take the win. In the finals, the No. 8 qualified driver, Terry Parks, was the man who would challenge Stack. Similar reaction times meant the men were evenly paired as they left the line, but Stack’ s top-end charge

was relentless and his 4.175 at 180.52 pass was a winning one over Parks’ s 5.532-second, 105.62 mph effort.

“ It wasn’ t very dramatic. Everything went as planned and life was good,” laughs Stack, who was pleased as punch to have managed a back-to-back win after his prior success in LDR at No Mercy 8.“ After all the struggles in the past, to have this car turned around was great.” The validation of his consistent wins and everything clicking into place, especially in competitive, 32-car fields at the toughest races on the planet, ensured Stack would be smiling for a long time to come.

Now that he’ s on top once again and the stress of the past is solidly behind him, Stack is focusing on the future ahead.“ I plan to keep winning!” he jokes. Although his car is a fairly mild build compared to some of the other radial cars out there, Stack doesn’ t have major plans.“ It’ s a stock floor to behind the driver, stock firewall, carpet, no double frame rail … I wanted to double frame rail it during the offseason and make it into more of a race car, but after the success we’ ve

had, Chris and I agreed we’ ll just freshen the motor and get back to LDR. I don’ t want to be lost for another 10 years!”

Stack finds motivation in the difficulties, though, and his determination and drive to do well is truly inspiring.“ My whole life is invested in racing. I have no kids, no wife … that car is me – it’ s my life,” asserts the die-hard radial racer.“ It gets frustrating, sure, but when you want to quit, the car will hang a carrot out there … and then I’ ll have a good month, and it’ s fun again, and then when you get ready to grab that carrot, it snatches it back.”

No matter what the Thrillbilly promises, or takes away, Stack’ s devoted to making a go of it with his unique ride. He’ s overcome many obstacles throughout his racing career, from having no inspiration at home and having to find other avenues for learning, to staying level-headed despite countless setbacks at the track while focusing on the allure of success. Stack’ s patience has been well-rewarded, and it can be attributed to his“ never say die” attitude and incredible love for the sport. DI