Opening night at Grays Harbor Grays Harbor Raceway opened the <strong>2020</strong> season <strong>June</strong> 20 with competition in Super Stocks, the Wingless Sprint Series and the PHRA Dwarf Cars. P h o t o s b y S t e v e H e e b JUNE/JULY <strong>2020</strong> I N S I D E 6 T R A C K WWW.INSIDETRACKMAGAZINE.COM
Good in the clutch Shift to Chevy has Youngblood jumpin’ n Steve Heeb With time to reflect during a brief rain delay at Pacific Raceways, Rob Youngblood says he has been racing for probably 30 years. “Maybe more,” the racer from Nampa. Idaho, laughs. When Rob was 18, his father took him to the races at Firebird Raceway. “I liked it a lot,” he reflects of his first visit to the dragstrip in Boise. “I enjoyed the competition and the cars.” Rob’s first chance to race came in 1976, fielding a blue and red Camaro in stock Eliminator. “Trying to run the index was tough without help,” he explains of his early seasons. “Now you can just buy motors and parts. Back then you had to build it all yourself.” Rob raced that Camaro for 11 years before fielding a ’71 Ford Boss 351. “I won the most races in that Ford,” he smiles. “In 1993 I won the TRW championship at Columbus in it.” He raced that dark blue and burgundy Mustang until he crashed it during the 1999 National event in Phoenix. “I was testing out a new clutch trying to get the car and leave harder at the start,” he explains. “It flipped over on its side on one tire then laid over.” The car was totaled, and it appeared Rob’s racing might be as well. “When I crashed the Mustang and lost my electrical contracting business. I didn’t think that financially I could ever race again.” That would change when New Jersey driver Tim Bishop won big at Indy using Rob’s clutches. “He was the No. 1 qualifier in Stock Eliminator, won the class and then won the Eliminator,” Rob recounts. “That was a hell of a weekend.” Rob says Tim called him after the race and told him to be ready for calls about the clutches he was developing. “I started branding my clutches,” Rob says of the boost in business. “I was inspired to go back to the races and talk to the drivers and just witness the people.” With more clients seeking his clutch work, it was like the racing gods were smiling on him. Rob Youngblood of Nampa, Idaho, has been launching his Super Stock Corvette at Dragstrips across the country. “Things just kept coming my way,” he says. “Like I was being pushed back into racing.” Rob built another Boss 351 for his return to competition, but sold it after only a couple seasons. In 2005, Rob switched to Chevy with a ’76 Corvette to run a 10.8 index in Super Stock J. The Vette is powered by a low-compression 350-cid motor put in action by G-Force GF- 2400 clutchless transmission and Billet 8-inch single disc clutch. “I’ve won quite a few point meets in that car,” he says. “And gone to a lot of final rounds.” Rob teamed up with fellow Nampa driver Jeff Kilby after meeting at their home track, Firebird Raceway. Jeff, who was racing a ’73 Duster, recalls seeing Rob’s Corvette pulling serious wheelies. “I said to myself: ‘Man that is such a cool car,’” Jeff says. “Then he asked Steve Heeb me if I wanted to go traveling.” And Rob has certainly done some serious traveling on his racing journey. In addition to Division 6 tracks like Pacific Raceways and Renegade Raceway, he has crossed the country to compete in National events in Topeka, Kan.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Columbus, Ohio; Denver, Colo.; Sonoma, Calif.; Memphis, Tenn.; Baton Rouge, La.; and almost notched a pair of wins in Brainerd, Minn. He’s traveled about as far as one can to race in Florida at Homestead- Miami and the GatorNationals in Gainesville. “Phoenix is one of my favorites,” he says. “There is a lot of bite there.” With all the miles crossing the country, it is a relatively short trek to Pacific Raceways last season that turned out to be quite an adventure for Rob and Jeff. Heading west on I-90, Steve Heeb they were making the climb approaching Ellensburg when the truck had problems. “I thought we’d blown the A/C unit but it turned out it was the radiator,” Rob cringes. “I said don’t stop ’til we get to Ellensburg.” They limped the truck and 26-foot trailer to a shop just out of town, but feared the weekend was spoiled at that point. “The guy found a replacement and had it swapped out in just a few hours,” Rob says of their relief. “That turned out to be a good weekend.” As crew chief, Jeff helps with everything from timing to clutch set-up. “I also help with the car over the winter, fixing the transmission and more,” Jeff says. Rob also thanks Mike Montgomery with Mike’s Automotive in Meridian, Id., who builds his engines, and Carl Downward and Dennis Blackstone who built the car. “Dan Soran also did quite a bit of work,” Rob adds. The help is welcome, as Rob puts more effort into the competition. “I’m trying to prove that you can win with a stick shift,” he says. “It takes more work than the automatics. You have to stay on top of stuff.” He’s stayed on top of his business too. “I ate a lot of peanut butter sandwiches when I started Advanced Clutches in 2006,” he explains. “Now I do custom work for all sorts of racers.” His clutches can be found in Stock, Super Stock, Comp Eliminator, Pro Stock, Motorcycles and more. “Pretty much anything,” Rob calculates. “We build really fast stuff.” Rob also credits the influence of Jim Hughes. “Jim is a really good friend and he’s won a lot of races,” Rob says of the sportsman veteran. “I wanted to do that.” And with his clutch designs, Rob is helping other racers do that as well. “I’m trying to prove that you can win with a stick shift. It takes more work than the automatics. You have to stay on top of stuff.” WWW.INSIDETRACKMAGAZINE.COM I N S I D E 7 T R A C K JUNE/JULY <strong>2020</strong>
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