Wife Insurance

	While she is a Bad Girl, Carole Parker is no push over, as many Mod Motor Maddness drivers will tell you.

When you first spy Carole Parker at a drag racing event, you will notice her brilliant smile, her lithe, curvaceous form and her gracious demeanor. As a result, you might be tempted to lump her in with most of the other lovelies at the event - women who want to stand by their man, but who can't really stand the heat, the dirt and the noise that are all found in abundance at the strip. That label may have stuck four or five years ago when she first followed her husband 'Hollywood' out to their local drag strip, but it sure won't stick today.

Hollywood had drag raced in high school and into his twenties, but the demands of family life had put the hobby on hold for a while. As their 2 daughters grew, the couple left California in quest of a better place to raise them, settling in Villa Rica, Georgia. There, the couple embarked on a couple of related-yet separate automotive business ventures; he with Dent Crew - a paintless dent removal service, she with Pro-Touch - specializing in paint touch-up services for car dealerships. Their success in business paved the way in 2000 for Gary's return to the sport in a modular powered Mustang. Back then Carole would travel to the track, occasionally toting a paperback, content to be a spectator, until one fateful day three years ago.

With darkness falling toward the end of another session at their local 1/8th mile track, Hollywood asked Carole if she would like to get behind the wheel. Having always been a bit of a daredevil, she quickly said yes. With Gary as her co-pilot, she went through the staging lanes as he coached her on all of the finer points in the art of drag racing. Well, most of them, anyway. And so it was that she successfully completed her first burn out. She properly staged the 'stang. She even cut a decent light on her very first pass.

Too bad her coach had forgotten to mention 'The Groove'.

Swept away by the adrenaline rush of a hard launch in a fast car, Carole simply stabbed the skinny pedal and hung on, focused on the rapidly growing lights at the end of the eighth mile track. But the spectators had a different view, one of a car veering dangerously close to the wall with the driver never lifting, simply correcting her course in the nick of time. Within earshot of Hollywood, an old-timer was heard to say “Damn, that woman can drive that car!” Imagine the look on his face when Gary turned to tell him that it was her very first pass!

But that one pass was enough to hook Carole on the sport. When she came back around to the pits and Hollywood asker her about her proximity to the wall, she coolly replied “What wall?” It was at that moment that the seed for the Bad Girl Racing team took root.

Unlike many racers who start out racing karts and work their way up the ranks, Carole got to start her racing career in a ten second 'stang - a '96 Cobra previously campaigned by Tim Matherly! She's quick to credit Hollywood with doing most of the heavy lifting for the Bad Girl Racing Team - he (with help from M.V Performance and racing buddy, Chuck Lawrence) handles all the maintenance and repair duties for both of their cars. Carole also benefits from access to Hollywood's extended racing family, who help with everything from driving tips to tuning help. And as any racer can tell you, when it all comes together on race day it can make for a truly magical moment.

One such moment came for Carole in Bowling Green, KY at the final race of the 2004 NMRA season, where she ran her best race to date. Having run a .400 light in Fun Ford Weekend competition all season, she was used to staging deep. Now, faced with a .500 tree, the Bad Girl was staging shallow - and had tripped the red in test and tune six times in a row. For the first round a member of that extended family, 2004 FFW Street Outlaw Champion Billy Glidden, upon hearing of her red light woes, surprised her by coming down and lining her up after her burn out - and she won her round. Next up was NMRA points leader Rick Dorn, a racer poised for the NMRA Modular Muscle Championship. A little 'head racing' ensued, but Dorn got to put his car back on the trailer early. Round after round, Carole continued to win, until she found herself in the semi's up against Robert Hindman - who sent the Bad Girl home with a third place finish in the event. Hind man went on to defeat Hollywood in the Final, sending the peachy Georgia pair home with the trophies for second and third, while he cinched the Championship in addition to winning the event.

In addition to savoring the memories of going up against a double champion in the semi-finals (Hindman was also top dog in the FFW Steeda / Sean Hyland Mod Motor Maddness class last year), Carole also treasures her first Fun Ford Weekend first - she is the first female racer ever to be a Fastest Qualifier at an FFW event, a feat accomplished last season at her favorite track, Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, GA where she ran a 9.97 at 137 mph. The track is fast, and that suits this bad girl just fine.

“My favorite part of racing is the feel of speed on the track. The sound of a deep, throaty Mustang gives me goose bumps. It really just excites me; hearing that at the line, the thrill of putting the [line lock] button down and stomping the gas, and you hear that 'Whaaaa ta ta ta' at the line - it's just so exhilarating!” Carole's glow intensified as she continued talking us down the track, “"You launch, and then, about half track, when you're looking at the rear bumper of the car in the lane next to you, you're just, like, 'Go Go Go'! That second half of the track is just so exciting - I love the adrenaline rush.”

This lady definitely digs what she's doing! And while the debate over whether this need for speed is transferred genetically or is simply a learned behavior continues, the facts are clear; both of the Parker's daughters are Bad Girls, too. Allison, their youngest, has an '02 GT, and the day she got her license she left the DMV with mom at 2, and by 4 she was making her first pass on the local 1/8 mile track. Expecting to be able to shepherd her youngest though the lanes and the burnout, Carole got ejected by one of the 'Lane Nazis' for a wardrobe malfunction (settle down, Beavis - she simply got busted for not wearing long sleeves). The acorn fell not far from the tree, as the young lass came back around, solo and asked if she could do it again! Sister Danielle also takes an active role behind the scenes of the operation of Bad Girl Racing apparel. She, along with Vivianne Haveman of StangGear, designed the Bad Girl Racing logo embroidered on their line of women's apparel available on their web site: http://www.badgirlracing.com. The girls were the motivation for leaving LA nine years ago, and it looks like all in the family have benefited from the move.

Family is important to the Parkers, and part of why the FFW drag racing series is their favorite. It means a lot to have event officials & staff refer to you by name, not just by number. And in her third season of competition, Gary's fifth, they regularly "The Steeda Hardcore suspension not only dramatically improved my 60 ft. times, it also enabled me to achieve the consistency I am looking for to be successful in Fun Ford Weekend Mod Motor Maddness class competition" (Continued from page 21) Looking for more consistent launches, this Bad Girl is running Steeda Hardcore suspension parts this season. Modular Power Magazine 29 get to see their racer friends at events, which further fosters the family feel. While the competition is first rate, you are never too far from a reminder that this racing series has their priorities in the right order - the first word in FFW is Fun, for good reason.

Racing also breaks down gender barriers - you don't see many dads coaching their daughters through stick and ball sports, but there are plenty of examples of Father/Daughter teams at the track. The sport also encourages women to think beyond traditional boundaries, where they are not limited by their gender. The Bad Girl's advice; “Don't be afraid to try something new - just do it.” The events of 9/11/01 provided motivation for overcoming her own, personal inertia - “your realize how short life is. This gave me a sense of urgency to step outside traditional lines and do some of the things I'd been thinking about. You don't always need to be sensible. Yeah, we probably would have been better off if we took the money and put it in a 401K so that we could afford little 'Power Rascals' when were older, but you know what, we may not be here when were older”. It seems to us that the Parker's have their priorities in the right order as well.

The number one technical priority for the BGR team this season is to increase consistency. As Carole puts it, “In Mod Motor, it is absolutely essential that you run your number, that you cut a good light and run the same dial-in every single race. That first 60 feet from the time you leave the light is critical. If your 60' time is off, you're gonna be way off at the other end of the track.” This season the team is swapping out some parts, trading in raw power for greater consistency. A reliable power glide has already gone in, and they will be swapping out the current Vortech for an inter-cooled Pro Charger setup. BGR also installed Steeda Hardcore suspension components this spring. “The Steeda Upper Control Arms, Lower Control Arms and Competition Anti-Roll Bar are going to make the car stable and consistent, and will give me a 60 foot time that's dead on every time, and that's how you win races.” Both Steeda and Procharger get bonus points from the racer for not only having parts that work, but also for making parts that look good, too. “They're polished, clean, upscale - and look like parts professional racers would have - the best of the best. If you're gonna run parts, you might as well run the best parts.” Bad Girls like pretty parts, it seems, and they like parts that work as advertised, too - Carole ran her best 60' time to date at the 2005 FFW Orlando event.

As it turns out, Carole has proved a quick study for Coach Hollywood. She's learned what the groove is. She's made it to the semis in national competition. She's improved - and is continuing to do so; mechanically, as they improve her ride, and personally, as she improves her performance. As the FFW series visits various corners of our great nation, get out to the track and root for the Bad Girl. And any of you guys out there reading this who are tired of doing battle at the kitchen table might want to tear page one out of Coach Hollywood's play book; move it on over, and let her take the wheel.