In 1990, after following the career of Bob Glidden, I decided to build and race a Ford Pinto. I built a stretched Pinto based on Glidden's Pinto and painted in the red, white and blue stars and stripes theme. The car originally had a stock wheelbase and a mild 302 cubic motor that pushed the car to 12 second times in the quarter mile. Over time, it transformed into a car that ran 9.30s at over 140 miles per hour in the quarter mile.

Today, I race it in the Pro Tree Racers Association (PTRA) in the 6.00 second index in the 1/8 mile. I have enjoyed some success going to the finals at Rockingham Dragway in 2007, the finals at Mooresville in 2008, and a couple of semi-final appearances. In addition, I have been the number one qualifier at various tracks within this series. The PTRA is a tough series with double 00 reaction times and 6.00 times being very common. I enjoy the stiff competition!

Although 2008 has been a fairly good year, it has not been without its troubles. For example, at an early race that wasn't even part of the regular PTRA series, a friend experienced a transmission failure and suddenly came into my lane near the finish line at high speed. As much as we tried to avoid each other, we tangled, ending my day and keeping me out of the regular season's first couple of races. Then, when I returned to competition at Piedmont Dragway, I broke a pinion gear, after qualifying number one and couldn't return to compete. After a rough start, the year is looking up and I hope to finish on a high note.

For 2009 I will be debuting my Pinto with a new fiberglass front-end with a removable cowl hood. It will have an 8 inch stretch like the present Pinto, but with smoother lines and a molded-in bumper. The front-end will be modeled after a later model Pinto, using the 1977-80 model year. I am most excited about the paint. I am painting the car an ancient Irish theme to commemorate my family's Irish heritage. I can tell you that the base paint will be oxford white, however, I am still developing the details. Many of the details will be derived from the Celtic designs that I have had tattooed on my body. The theme will be Thor's Hammer which is the God of lightning and thunder who is the son of Odin. Odin is probably one of the most revered Norse gods and carries a lot of weight and power in mythology. I hope to use this power in my drag racing campaigns.

I would like to thank my girlfriend, Rita, for her support of me with my sport and helping me through difficult personal times. I also want to thank David and Julia for their help at the track and their friendship away from the track. I want to thank, too, 'Fast Eddie' Thornburg for his assistance in tuning my chassis to make it work so well at the strip.

I am a self-employed dry cleaning machinery repair technician. As a businessman, I know that advertising is a very important component of any business. I also am aware that advertising can be quite expensive and not very productive. I am always seeking sponsors to help defray the cost of racing fuel, diesel fuel, and entry fees. I can offer any prospective sponsor a good value for their advertising dollar and look forward to speaking to anyone interested in such an arrangement.

I look forward to drag racing far into the future and if you should find yourself at one of the PTRA events, please come up and say hello.
Mac McGarrigle CELT RACING