Making the switch to racing on radial tires can be one of the most challenging and fun things a driver can do. Tom Bailey decided to bolt a pair of radials up to his 1969 Camaro at the 2016 edition of the Outlaw Street Car Reunion to see how he would fair against the best in the world on radials. Bailey had so much fun that he wanted to come back to the event, but this time he’ll be driving Keith Engling’s blown 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Pro Mod. You’ll be able to catch Bailey wheeling this nasty Pro Mod right here on SpeedVideo this March at the Outlaw Street Car Reunion.
For Baily, his debut on radials went so well he decided to make the trip back to Memphis in 2017. The problem is his car decided not to cooperate, so to get his radial-fix Baily had to come up with another plan. He brought the idea up to Skinny Kid Race Cars owner Keith Engling to use his Oldsmobile and the rest is history. “Driving the Oldsmobile all started with some conversations I had with Keith about racing. I was at his shop and told him he should let me put some radials on his car and take it down there. He wasn’t really about it at first, so I told him to think about it. A couple days later he called and wanted to hear my plans on it so things kind of took off from there.”
So the plan for the team is to get the radial tires fitted under the Oldsmobile, and make their first runs at Lights Out 8 with Bailey behind the wheel. “Going to Duck’s race first will be a good way to get a handle on the car and get good data before Memphis. We will get there early to get some testing in before the event and see what the car is going to do,” Baily says.
The choice to do some more radial tire racing and head back to Memphis was easy for Bailey based on his first experience. “I did the Memphis event last year with my car and had a lot of fun. The race has such a great group of guys who come out, and it’s awesome to race in front of that many people. Tyler put on such an amazing show I had to come back and do it again,” Bailey explains.
If you can’t make the trip to Memphis to see Bailey try and take the Outlaw Street Car Reunion title in-person don’t worry, SpeedVideo has you covered. The event will be broadcast live right here on SpeedVideo March 22-26th at Memphis International Raceway thanks to presenting sponsor Comp Cams, along with TCI, Edelbrock, FuelTech, Jerry Bickel Race Cars, Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels, SCAT Crankshafts, Driven Racing Oil, QA1, PRW, Neal Chance Racing Converters, and Summit Motorsports Park.