South Mountain Raceway – We all have experienced the feeling. The excitement of something different as a new race car enters the pit area. Something that’s not often seen is a new car being driven by a new driver. That was the case on this day as young Daniel Hanley got behind the wheel of the “Lunchbox” hot rod. We have to explain here that the car itself, isn’t really “new,” having a history that goes back to the NHRA US Nationals in Oklahoma City in 1957-58. Restored by Kowalski Customs, it’s a chopped Model T Ford pickup cab sitting atop a Model T frame with a Model A I-beam axle holding up the front and a ‘40 Ford rear out back. It is new in that it was its’ first appearance as “The Lunchbox.”

While this is a car that’s been around awhile, we can’t say the same for Daniel, who drove this car for the first time today. To describe this first experience in his own words, “It was super fun and it was also scary. I’m pretty sure the wheels hopped up a little bit. It’s running a lot better than we expected.” Daniel pretty much summed up the important part of the equation next, “Racing is fun, but being in the shop with those two and learning everything, it’s a lot more fun. That’s what it’s all about. Learning a thing or two and spending time with family. This is awesome!”

Here we have to explain just how much of a family experience that’s in play here and the “those two” Daniel referred to. One prominent and familiar face in his pits is Danielle Stewart, defending Vintage Eliminator champion and Daniel’s aunt. This, of course, makes Danielle’s dad, Mike, his granddad, one half of “those two.” The other half would be Robby (Daniel’s uncle), who owns the car, and is Mike’s nephew. Mike would confirm they have a family tradition of racing and added that his other granddaughter was in attendance and was looking at getting into racing too.

After getting warmed up in time trials, Daniel was prepared for his very first round of eliminations. The car and driver were up to the task and won that first round. I asked Daniel how it felt getting the first round win and he answered, “A little bit of nerves the first time at the line, but I was more nervous to go around this loop [the banked-turn shutdown road at South Mountain] because that was my first time driving it. I didn’t want to stall it and make a fool out of myself or anything like that. Robbie and GD did a really great job. I helped them out a little bit, but they did all the work.”

And what work they did! Robby had bought the car from Rich Venza and prior to racing it, this family of racers had pulled the existing motor out and put the current motor in, thrashing up to 1:30 the day before getting it together. According to Mike, “[We] still have little things that need addressed, but we’re on the right track. It surprised all of us out there. It’s looking good and he’s doing all right.”

The day would end after the second round and a dreaded red light, but as Mike excitedly told me, “A 0.016 reaction time! Only a little red! It [the run] was a success! How can you not be happy about that?” I had to ask Daniel what he thought of his first full-day experience, and his answer was short and to the point, “Addicting. That was really fun.” I’m pretty sure his face probably hurt the next day from smiling so hard. If you get a chance to see the Vintage Eliminators, do yourself a favor and check them out! You’ll most likely get to see Daniel and “The Lunchbox” in action along with his champion aunt Danielle and a whole lot of other great people! You’ll see why this is the most interesting class in drag racing! Be there if you can!

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