★ 13TH ANNUAL SPORTSMAN SPECIAL ISSUE ★
championship ( 1998 ), I had not won a national event . There were three of us in Division 3 that had 400 points , just divisionally . It was crazy , but it was fun . That first national event win was so hard to get , but I finally got it in Dallas in 1999 .
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Did that change things for you , finally getting that national event trophy ?
BB : It really didn ’ t . But I was racing the same people and the same car divisionally and having success . It was like , “ Why can ’ t I win a national ?” I ’ m kind of going through that right now with Pro Stock , but it just takes being in the right place at the right time , and it ’ ll happen . That ’ s true for anybody . If you have good equipment , good help , and just keep going , it ’ ll happen . That first win in Dallas let me know that I could do it . I ’ ve been very fortunate , because it isn ’ t easy . I worked my way up from that 1971 Nova to being able to win a Pro Stock world championship , but there are still a lot of classes I want to win in – and that ’ s pretty much any class we show up to race .
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How has racing been a positive in your life ?
BB : Everything in racing has been way more positive than negative . I ’ ve had some negatives , but the positives are the family that you gain , the people you meet .
WHILE RANDI LYN HAS PRIMARILY RACED IN STOCK THROUGHOUT HER DRAG RACING CAREER , SHE STARTED OUT IN THE JR . DRAGSTER RANKS .
RL : I think racing is a positive in every way . It ’ s a motivation to be more fit , to eat better , to stay mentally focused . That carries over to everything in life ; being able to do that at the track is just a starting point .
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Has there ever been a time when you wanted to pursue something else , maybe give up racing ?
BB : I ’ ve retired twice , but you miss it . You miss the family aspect here at the track , you miss the people , but you really miss getting in the car , making good runs , and being competitive . The day I can ’ t be competitive is the day I need to do something else . I don ’ t feel like I ’ m there yet – I haven ’ t won the last two years , but I feel like we ’ re capable , and I ’ m still showing up every weekend .
RL : I think it goes in spurts for every racer , where you have a rough patch . It ’ s been three years since I ’ ve won a national event . I won a divisional a couple years ago , but that seems like forever ago . You get to be like , “ Gosh , is it ever going to happen again ?” I ’ m sure it will , I hope it will , but it ’ s a matter of the stars aligning . Even in rough patches , you don ’ t really want to quit . It ’ s like , “ I have to get better ,” or , “ I have to get my car fixed .” You want that opportunity to do better .
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Let ’ s talk about racing together all these years – it ’ s enjoyable , surely , but is it ever a challenge ?
BB : It ’ s never trying . Randi Lyn wants everything perfect , and I understand that . She ’ s very good at this , and she helps me a lot . I like to think I help her some , but she probably helps me more than I help her . I think we ’ ll continue to race until we both decide we ’ ve had enough , but I don ’ t ever see that happening . We love to be together , and everything we do , we do it together . It ’ s great .
RL : I feel like even though we ’ re always together , we always have other people around , so when it ’ s just me and Bo , it ’ s a nice break . It ’ s like , “ Now we get to do something together .” I like doing most things with Bo , and if he ’ s not there , it ’ s like , “ Oh , I have to call Bo and tell him ,” and vice versa . I love everything about doing this together , and I couldn ’ t imagine doing it separate . I like that we are always working together for one common goal , whether it ’ s him winning a race , me winning a race , working towards a championship – whatever the common goal is at that moment , it ’ s better to do it with somebody else . You have somebody to get excited with and to talk about the challenges along the way . I love all of that .
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This year , you ’ ve had the opportunity to race one another in Super Comp . What ’ s that been like ?
BB : It was awesome . I live for that stuff , and I live for her to shine and go out there and want to rip my throat out . There are probably a lot of times in life she wants to do that . Her and I had actually raced a lot against each other in Stock and other classes , and I would always somehow squeeze out a win even though she would make very good runs . It wasn ’ t like she would fall apart .
[ This year ] she ’ s had her game on .
104 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 183