On the front line, he and Larry got in each other’s face much too often and the end of them as a team came at the ’79 Nationals. Most thought that the impetus for the change was Larry’s loss to Bob Glidden in the final round. “That wasn’t so,” said Bill. “We’d just had one argument too many.” Much against his will and 50-year-old sensibilities, Bill got behind the wheel for the 1980 season and found it a very different place to be. While the cars he’d gotten exponentially faster, he’d gotten slower. While he could accommodate the tremendous speed and the blurred vision from the tire shake, he was utterly dismayed by his failing reaction time.
DRO File Photo
Running on a parallel plane, Jenkins strove to put money in the bank. The ‘79 fuel crunch had made the V8 a less than promising path to the future, at least in the eyes of GM. They were hot for a V-engine of a different kind. Jenkins, Tryson, et al, spent ’80-’81 developing the 90-degree V6 for the Kelly Girl road racing Camaros. In ’82-‘83, they generated data on things they did to street-oriented 60-degree V6 engines, using an S10 truck as a sometimes test bed. He and Tryson, who’d been doing this since 1965, embraced the 90-degree V6, producing power as well as longevity. Their results were vested in Kelly Girl, Grand National stockers, and in drag race cars. Local longstanding racer Bob Kaiser ran one in his D/EA Camaro and held both ends of the NHRA record at 9.18/145.63 (with two tenths in reserve).
Meanwhile, former World Champion Ray Allen had done the driver’s seat honors for the ’81 season. A year later, he was relieved by Joe Lepone, a local racer who’d never gone quicker than a 9.90.
“The first time I met Jenkins,” said Joe, pointing to a workbench across the room, “he tried to bluff me out, you know pretending I wasn’t there so maybe I’d go away. I stood next to him and after a while he acknowledged me, grunted ‘Uh-huh’ and turned back to the bench. I tapped his shoulder and he gave me a very annoyed look. I smiled and said ‘Uh-huh’ to you, too. His grumpy mask dissolved. Then his eyes lit up and he cackled and we’ve had a straight line of communication between us ever since.” This little drama transpired in ’81.
Lepone had gummed on a Vega Gasser and lost his baby teeth on a Super Mod Camaro, but his heart’s desire was to drive something really fast, like a fuel Funny Car. He’d been preparing his mental machinery for that day, so when Jenkins offered him the seat of his Pro Stock Camaro, he had no trepidation, other than pleasing the Old Man. On his second pass, he drove the car as fast as it had gone all season. This iteration was powered by a 363-inch big-block. It ran 8.56 and 8.59. Jenkins was overjoyed. Lepone’s first time out with the car (now equipped with a bigger big-block) in January, 1982, he recorded a 7.78/178. Joe’s confidence surprised and pleased Jenkins, but the young man wanted to try the world out on his own.
