Written by Mary Lendzion
Photos by NMCA and courtesy of Bob Cook
For Bob Cook, consistency is crucial when it comes to racing.
He knows that it takes time to chip away at a combination and make it competitive, but he is willing to put in the work and wait, and as a result, he is an accomplished and admired competitor.
The Illinois-based racer went into the 2024 season with his tried-and-true 9.5 deck small-block Ford which he built around a Dart block with machine work by Rich Groh. He had been relying on the engine since 2019, and he knew its personality. He, along with his tuner, Dale George, had it working harmoniously with his ProCharger F-1A-91 and Northern Performance-built Turbo 400, and his popular Mustang was continuously posting quicker and faster times.
But Cook, who is currently in eighth-place in NMCA Edelbrock Xtreme Street and second-place in NMRA VP Racing Madditives Renegade points, ran into trouble at the TorqStorm Superchargers NMRA/NMCA Power Festival presented by Nitto Tire & Saturday Thrill Festival in July at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Michigan.
“We ran personal bests of 4.58 and 4.57 in test passes, and then we qualified with a 4.60, which was our best qualifying effort,” said Cook. “The track prep was great, but in the first round of eliminations, my car slowed. My tuner, Dale George, and I looked at our data logs and did a compression check and the engine was turning over really slowly, and then we saw some bronze-colored material. We stayed the night, but as soon as we got home the next day, I wanted to know what was going on with my engine, and discovered the block cracked and it damaged main bearings, among other things.”
Cook was feeling defeated and disappointed, and because he would not have all of the parts he needed to rebuild his engine, and have it machined, in time for the Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels NMCA All-American Nationals & Xtreme Sports Festival, Aug. 23-25 at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, he thought he was sidelined. That is when fellow racer Kelly Shotwell stepped in.
“I thought my season might be gone, but Kelly Shotwell reached out and offered to let me lease his BES-built 9.5 deck small-block Ford on an aluminum block,” said Cook, who, in addition to Dale George, has support at the races from his son, Kris Cook, and Elmer Johnson. “It is an assembled long block with Kelly’s internal engine parts and Trick Flow High Port heads, and I put my oil pan, Holey Hi Ram intake, ProCharger F1A-91, gear drive, timing cover, balancer and other parts on it. I truly appreciate Kelly’s offer, and we just recently got the engine in my car and got it fired up. It is a good engine, but there are a lot of other variables. I went over everything with a fine-tooth comb and we just need to make some runs and get dialed in.”
Photos by NMCA and courtesy of Bob Cook
For Bob Cook, consistency is crucial when it comes to racing.
He knows that it takes time to chip away at a combination and make it competitive, but he is willing to put in the work and wait, and as a result, he is an accomplished and admired competitor.
The Illinois-based racer went into the 2024 season with his tried-and-true 9.5 deck small-block Ford which he built around a Dart block with machine work by Rich Groh. He had been relying on the engine since 2019, and he knew its personality. He, along with his tuner, Dale George, had it working harmoniously with his ProCharger F-1A-91 and Northern Performance-built Turbo 400, and his popular Mustang was continuously posting quicker and faster times.
But Cook, who is currently in eighth-place in NMCA Edelbrock Xtreme Street and second-place in NMRA VP Racing Madditives Renegade points, ran into trouble at the TorqStorm Superchargers NMRA/NMCA Power Festival presented by Nitto Tire & Saturday Thrill Festival in July at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Michigan.
“We ran personal bests of 4.58 and 4.57 in test passes, and then we qualified with a 4.60, which was our best qualifying effort,” said Cook. “The track prep was great, but in the first round of eliminations, my car slowed. My tuner, Dale George, and I looked at our data logs and did a compression check and the engine was turning over really slowly, and then we saw some bronze-colored material. We stayed the night, but as soon as we got home the next day, I wanted to know what was going on with my engine, and discovered the block cracked and it damaged main bearings, among other things.”
Cook was feeling defeated and disappointed, and because he would not have all of the parts he needed to rebuild his engine, and have it machined, in time for the Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels NMCA All-American Nationals & Xtreme Sports Festival, Aug. 23-25 at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, he thought he was sidelined. That is when fellow racer Kelly Shotwell stepped in.
“I thought my season might be gone, but Kelly Shotwell reached out and offered to let me lease his BES-built 9.5 deck small-block Ford on an aluminum block,” said Cook, who, in addition to Dale George, has support at the races from his son, Kris Cook, and Elmer Johnson. “It is an assembled long block with Kelly’s internal engine parts and Trick Flow High Port heads, and I put my oil pan, Holey Hi Ram intake, ProCharger F1A-91, gear drive, timing cover, balancer and other parts on it. I truly appreciate Kelly’s offer, and we just recently got the engine in my car and got it fired up. It is a good engine, but there are a lot of other variables. I went over everything with a fine-tooth comb and we just need to make some runs and get dialed in.”