Margaret Davis Tops Two Lists in L A Marathon! She wins her division AND is the oldest runner in the race.

Margaret "Mahgy" Davis knows how to run a marathon. With her running partner and youngest daughter Colleen Heublein, they have run well over a dozen marathons and many half marathons since Mahgy began her running career at the age of 79. Although each race is a challenge, this past L A Marathon proved to be one of the toughest of her running career. Most people would assume that her age, 86, would be the issue. Usually people at that age are just trying to get to the bathroom in time, not looking for the finish line 26 miles, 385 yards away! While training for the Pasadena Marathon earlier this year, Mahgy suffered a severe shoulder injury which sidelined her training for several weeks. It also caused her to miss the Pasadena race. With the L A Marathon only two months away, they began training with their focus on the L A race which would be held on Memorial Day. Given the type of injury she had suffered, it was very painful to train. But with encouragement from Colleen and her family, she logged her training miles and was ready to go. In addition, Mahgy's granddaughter, Kristy Roblee and her husband Mike decided to run the race with her. Kristy had also been training very diligently and felt that she was in good condition to race. Mike, on the other hand, hadn't had time to train because of his work schedule, but was going to run anyway.

On race day, Mahgy and Colleen kept on their pace until Mahgy had a problem with one of her feet. They had to make a short pit stop but got under way again and finished well. They hadn't run their best time but ran fast enough to win. Mike ran a great race and finished in 4 hours and 30 minutes! It was a great time considering his lack of training. What am I saying, it was a great time even WITH training! Kristy's race turned out to be a nightmare. The night before the race, she came down with the stomach flu and all that goes (and I emphasise goes!) with it. She decided to run, even though sick and dehydrated. As she began the race, the medicine she had taken earlier that morning began to upset her stomach. I'm sure you can fill in the blanks on what happened next over the 26 miles of the race! But Kristy kept pushing, and would you believe, finished only 20 minutes behind Mahgy and Colleen! What a day!

There is one final note. Mahgy would be the first one to tell you that Colleen is a huge part of her success. Rarely does she even get mentioned when all the marathon stories begin. Colleen has run a very big race of her own, having been a cancer survivor since 1999 and told that she'd probably never run any marathons but could live a productive life. After the race on Memorial Day, SHE drove them back to the house from L A, hauled their bags out of the trunk of the car and took them into the house, and looked as though she could run another 26 miles if she had to! Colleen, YOU are a champion! The family thanks you for keeping Mahgy on track and getting her to the finish line over these past several years! We love you!


...waiting for their arrival.

VICTORY! And all in one piece!

Kristy and Mahgy....warriors.

Colleen, Mahgy and Kristy. Way to Go!!!!

These young kids can't keep up with the old folk....

Uncle Bill tending to some leg cramps. You

earned a little "TLC" Mahgy!

Dane checkin' in on Mom; Mom and Dad doing

a little rubbing on their daughter.

Colleen gets a little attention also. Great Job!

Mike gets a foot massage from his mother-in-law,

Debbie. (aka, the "D" in Dalcorp)

Some of the great grand kids with Mahgy. You guys

have know idea how high the bar has been raised!

Colleen with two of her grandchildren, Kassady

and Dillon.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Colleen givin' Mom a little squeeze...don't tell us

where! :)

Dalcorp goes back to school. Career day at Bradoaks a special time with some very special kids.

For the second year in a row, Dalcorp Racing and Erica Nocita were invited to Bradoaks Elementary School to participate in their career day activities. We always enjoy bringing the sport of drag racing out to the kids, especially the Bradoaks kids. As always, the three groups that came to visit Erica were polite, asked great questions and were very enthusiastic. Oh yeah, and the teachers were great, too! Thank you all for letting us be a part of this special day.


Erica's ready to meet the first class with her
Good Neighbor Pharmacy/BG Oil Chevelle.

Erica explains how her CROW Safety Equipment
keeps her safe and secure while she's in the car.

There wasn't a lack of enthusiasm with any

of the classes. We're talkin' energy here!!!

When it was time to listen, it was eyes front and

quiet.

One of the things the kids love to do the most

is try on Erica's driving suit and helmet.

...looks like a perfect fit!

....maybe in a few years!

Erica had writer's cramp by the end of the morning

but it was all good!

Dalcorp Crew Chief Pat Selders back on course...the golf course, that is.

It was another great turnout for the annual Don Montgomery Memorial Golf Tournament at Azusa Greens. Coming out of retirement for the special occasion was Dalcorp's own crew chief and head fabricator, Pat Selders. Joining "Pato" were ringers Keith Brown of KB Construction, Marv Good and Bill "Willie" Heublein. The 12 under par that the team put up was a good score, but not enough to take top honors. It was a good day for a great cause. Way to go, guys!


The late Don Montgomery.

The main man, Andy Montgomery with mom

"JoJo" and wife Corran. It is a family affair to

say the least!

Joanne Montgomery and her sister enjoying the

morning.

Marv and Pato ready to do battle....

"KB" Keith Brown...one of the "hired guns."

From left to right, Pato, KB, Marv, and Willie.

They put on quite a show....

Andy Montgomery (in the orange shirt..I think

that's orange) and his wrecking crew.

Monrovia Days Parade. "Your Town, USA"

It was a beautiful Thursday night in Monrovia on the 14th day of May when the annual "Monrovia Days Parade" began heading up Myrtle Avenue. With the street lined with families and friends of the city, entry after entry made their way through town enjoying the celebration. With the new library opening on Saturday, May 16th, the focus of the parade was on all the people who had helped bring this beautiful new addition to the city. Dalcorp had the privilege of driving one of the library's best friends, Louise Robertson, up the fabled route. It was a beautiful evening in a beautiful city.

Long time friend of Monrovia and "Iris Award
Winner" Donna Baker cruised the route in a
pretty cool BMW.

Louise practicing her "parade wave."

I know you're not suppose to talk on the phone
or text while driving. What about taking pictures?

Dalcorp takes to the Sky. Kimberly Nocita makes first solo jump towards certification.

Kimberly has always loved center stage. It's usually acting in a play, performing in musical theater or playing a recital. This time, however, center stage moved up a little...to 12,500 feet! Not many people know, that deep down inside, Kimberly is an adrenalin junky. After making a few tandem skydiving jumps over the past few years, it was time for Kim to take a leap of faith, or should I say, start her journey towards getting her certification in skydiving. So about a week ago it was out to Perris Valley to start the process which included 6 to 7 hours of classroom instruction, 2 wind tunnel sessions and her first jump. As you would imagine, your instructor plays a major role in your training, and Kim was so fortunate to be assigned Pat McGowan as her jump master. Pat has over 15,000 jumps in the past 20 years, has set numerous skydiving records and competed in national and international competitions for many, many years. His credentials aside, he is an incredibly patient man, a loving husband and father, and passionate beyond belief for the sport that he loves.

After a long day of classroom instruction, Pat asked Kim the question that every student is waiting for....."Are you ready to go skydiving?" After a few final words of instruction, Pat and Kim made their way to the plane and up to 12,500 feet. The wind was almost exceeding the 14 mph limit for jumping, but it stayed below the maximum just long enough for them to get into the air. After exiting the plane, Kim ran through all of her required moves and simulations with time to spare. Pat and Steve, her other instructor, had time to take her through a few extra maneuvers before it was time to deploy her chute at 5,000 feet. It was a little tricky landing with the gusty winds, but with Pat talking to her on the radio, she made it down safely with an ear to ear grin on her face. "Let's do that again!" were the first words out her mouth. So in about a week, it will be back out to Perris Valley for two more jumps in route to her certification. When Kim is asked the question why she's decided to do such a costly sport at this time in her life, she gives the same answer that her grandmother, Margaret Davis, has given to so many over the years. "If not now, when?" Kimberly, those words will serve you well.



Here's where it all begins.....

Pat McGowan, with over 15,000 jumps under

his belt, beginning the day of teaching. Over 6

hours of classroom instruction before it was

time to fly.

Practice, practice, practice.

Pat going over all the safety features built into

today's equipment. Dad's happy.

Suited up and ready for the wind tunnel.

The wind tunnel allows divers to work on body

position and maneuvers without the expense of

making actual jumps. It has greatly accelerated the

learning curve of new skydivers. Lookin' good, Kim!

Next to opening your chute, knowing where you're

going to land ranks right up there on "the important things

to know" list.

On the way to the plane.....

One final run through on exiting the aircraft.

Student and instructor share a little quite time...

....old "Sharky"

It's up and away to 12,500 feet! Check out the

other divers landing next to the runway. It almost

looked like they planned this picture.

Checking altitude with her "pink" altimeter.

....and pink goggles! Pat hooked her up!!

The instructors stay close to monitor a series

of practice maneuvers that Kim had to perform.

She finished them all with altitude to spare!

5,000 feet and Kim deploys her main chute.

"It's all REALLY good" now!

The instructors begin to break away.

Check out Pat on the left. Is he a "Rocket Man"

or what?

Lookin' good.

Coming in for her landing...flying the Italian colors!

The "Eaglet" has landed!

The proud instructor and a very happy student!

Thank you Pat for sending her home in one piece.

You're the Man!!!

Surprise! Surprise! The "Al" in Dalcorp turns 60! Mom and the Kids put one over on Dad!

First off, let me say that you will never see me in so many pictures ever again! But since it is my birthday that's featured, I had to be in some of the photos. With the help of many friends and family, Debbie and the kids turned the tables on ol' dad. And one of the major players in this plot was Chris Stewart, a close friend of the family. The story was that her dad was turning 90 and she wanted to have a surprise party for him at Dalcorp/AREA 51. The date just happened to be May 9th, my birthday, and she was hoping that the date was open. It was. I had promised the kids that I wouldn't book a party on my birthday, but when Chris came to me with her dad turning 90 and all...well, I just couldn't say no. And so from that time on I basically helped plan my own party but didn't know it! How creative was that? Brilliant.

The kids put together quite an evening including a casino night, my own personalized wine, "The Fat Italian", vintage 1949, my favorite food, a tuxedo shirt (more on that later), and a beautifully decorated cake that they baked themselves. But what made the evening really special? Having so many of my friends and family there to share it with me. It was a night that I will always remember, and to all that were there, Thank You! To Debbie, Kristy, Erica, Kimmy, and AJ....It was one of the best nights of my life. And I WILL return the favor some day!!


All the gang gathering up the street for the big
surprise. I understand Kim was "very direct" in
keeping everyone organized.


When I opened the door I thought they were
delivering the centerpieces for the tables. Wow,
was I ever wrong!

Here's the sneaky group that pulled it off...You
got me!

Kim and Deedie Street sharing a moment...

The surprise was still sinking in......

My first gift of the evening; a tuxedo

shirt. You see, a tux shirt says "I want

to be formal, but I like to party." A must have...

Good eats, good friends.

John Blindbury on the left, Tom Agee on the

right. We've traveled some miles together. John

and I go back to 2nd grade; Tom almost that far

back and he was also the best man in our wedding.

Deb's partner in crime, Candyce Rieling, made

a surprise appearance driving out for the night

from Durango, CO. Thank you, Candy!

Underneath all that yummy icing was

THE best carrot cake!

The girls giving Chris Stewart flowers for her

part in the devilish deed. You're on my list, Chris!

Mike, Dane and The Hulk...that's The Hulk

in the back.

Mernie and Meats...a little "Glam" at the party!

Now were talkin'....gimme some!!!!

Cousin Courtney, holding our grand niece lil' Kass,

also came out from Colorado with her best boyfriend,

Jason. Thank you both!

Two "Wild and Crazy Guys!"

Tom Agee took over as dealer (that's the real

dealer, second from the left) and guess what?

Everyone started winning!!!

Jim Mnoian enjoying some "Fat Italian."

240 plus years of nothin' but fun, right guys?

Geez, we're old!

Erica announcing the big winner of the casino

night. Do you think Chris Shevlin knows he's

won?

Chris receiving his prizes from Kimmy. $36,975.00

took first prize. Way to go, Chris!

Thanks, kids. I love you all!! What a night.

DALCORP/RADKE Take Top Honors at Bug-In 34! Top fuel driver wins Top Eliminator title in GNP/BG Oil Manx.

In drag racing there's nothing better than seeing your win light come on. And on Sunday, we saw it come on 8 times! On a day that saw more oil dumped on the track than was carried by the Exxon Valdez, Wyatt Radke drove the GNP/BG Oil VW Manx to the T-1 class win and then on to the Top Eliminator title. At the biggest Bug-In event in their history, Radke was near perfect all day as he sliced his way through the field with consistency and heads up driving. Crew chief Pat Selders had the EMPI carb'd Manx running perfectly and it, like the driver, never missed a beat all day. It can be very hard to keep focused on the job at hand when you have the number of oil downs that we had on Sunday. But nothing could keep Radke from taking the stripe. We knew we were in the hunt early in the day when Rad told the team, "Once I get 'er into 4th gear, no one's going by." And he was right. With the stands packed and three deep along the fence, Radke won race after race, some by seconds, one by .005 of a second! With conditions changing throughout the day, the team had to make several dial in changes. By the time it was all over, the dial had dropped from 12.15 to a 12.02. Great job guys!

On any given Sunday, you're either going to win or lose. There are times throughout the day when you need a little luck to win. The best definition of luck that I've ever heard came from Johnny Rutherford. "Luck is where opportunity and preparation meet." We were prepared, with a great car and crew, loyal sponsors and an awesome driver. We had the opportunity thanks to the hard working staff at Auto Club Dragway and the Bug-In gang. And in the end we achieved what we set out to do. It always feels great to win, but what makes the win even better is sharing it with those who make it possible for you to do what you love to do. Thank you Good Neighbor Pharmacy, BG Oil/PetroSpecs, Chicago Title Insurance and Chris Shevlin, AVCOMM Racing, EMPI Inc., and WR Trans. We also want to send out a special welcome to a new member of our team, CROW Safety Equipment. We've had their belts in our cars for years and now it's great to have them as one of our supporters. Thank you!

Lastly, we put a few pictures up of some of the cars that Wyatt Radke has driven over the years...and believe me, these are just a few of them. Last week when I was talking to a friend about the upcoming race and told him that we were letting Wyatt drive our car, he seemed surprised. "You're letting someone else drive your car?" I told him not to worry.....I'm pretty sure he can handle it.


At the start of the 2007 Baja 1000. In a
car that had been run by Dalcorp Racing, Wyatt,
his brother, Scott Graham and friends leave the start
line and finish the race in their first attempt!


Radke's no stranger to VW's....ya' think!

After Bobby Baldwin's untimely death in 2001,

Wyatt stepped in and filled his seat the following year

in the Western Rock Top Fuel Dragster.

With "seat cover" Teresa, Wyatt's fiance coming

back from tech...

....standing room only.

First round, first victim.

Picture perfect.

"Daddy Pat" lookin' after the water box.

In the water and ready to go under Pato's watchful

eyes.

I think he's done this before.....

Radke and Pato discussing the dial in for next round.

Here's the time slip everyone loves...the one from

the final round and it says "win."

First round towards the Top Eliminator title.

Check out the head start he had to give the other

car. Sadly, she, that's right, she turned on the red

light. She told us later that she didn't know who Radke

was until her crew and husband told her right before the

final round. "It made me a little nervous!" What were

you guys thinking?

Calling brother "Scoots" to give him the news.

.....no explanation needed.....

The class win trophy. Next year, all the trophy's

will have our car featured on them in recognition

of winning Top Eliminator in 2009.

And then, the presentation of the Top Eliminator

winner's jacket.

Oh, yeah....and the check!!!

....one of 34.

...and a good time was had by all!!!!