September 30 - October 02, 2005: Once again the entire NHRA Motorsports Museum staff gave us yet another unforgettable weekend. CHRR 14 was three days of hot weather filled with non stop action and events punctuated with a 49 car Cacklefest on Saturday night. Emotions ran high as old friends were reunited, fallen comrades remembered, legends honored and some incredibly close racing contested. Everyone is way done saying, "It can't get any better than this." Because every year it does. Dave and Charile West and a crew consisting of Valarie Twitchell, Chuck Ridgley (original crew member of Tim), Kevin Brown, Ronnie Mankins from Oregon, and Keith Brednick. Keith flys out from Pittsburg, PA for the events. They were in the middle of it putting on a great show and having a fun weekend.

Camp Beebe & Mulligan was set up in a prime spot one row one just off the staging lanes. This allowed larger crowd exposure and a better chance for fans to get a close look at this beautiful car.

Dave and Charlie hosted a lot of friends including Roger "Riceman" Lee, wife Julie and her sister. Roger ended up lending Tom a hand getting moving the car to set up (below).

This year Dave wanted to get more "seat time" in his car so he arranged to do a push start and burnout on Saturday and Sunday. Here, to the delight of the fans, is his Saturday start.

After making the turn West got the tires wet and smoked 'em well past the tree.

Saturday night was all about "Cacklefest". The word alone sparks excitement in the heart of any drag racing fan. Since it was first coined five years ago by Steve Gibbs, this strange word has spread all over the world and spawned dozens of "spin off" events at race tracks big and small. Although you won't find it in any dictionary, Cacklefest has become one of the most alluring words in drag racing vocabulary. Since its inception at the 2000 CHRR, Cacklefest has grown from 9 cars to 50 entries in 2005. Any and all superlatives have long been used to describe this phenomenon so I won't try to make anymore up for this one. Without further ado, here is Dave West and his Beebe & Mulligan fueler in the fifth and by far largest edition of the "Original Cacklefest".

Before the parade all the cacklecars assembled in the staging lanes.

In order the cars and drivers were introduced and pushed down to the top end in front of a captive SRO quarter mile audience.

Once at the end of the track the drivers got suited up and push started before the same crowd.

After firing up and turning onto the drag strip the cars lined up and ran as long as they could.

When the last car stopped running the crowd was invited to come onto the track and come they did.

Dave and the other drivers were available to field questions from the fans... and they fielded a lot.

Sunday morning engine builder Tim "Chops" Beebe checked things out and adjusted the valves after Cacklefest.

Then it was time to do it again. West has this push start routine down pat.

After making the turn Dave again got the tires wet and smoked 'em about 300 feet. What a show!

And so ended another stellar weekend for the Dave West and the Beebe & Mulligan team. Their sights now set on the 2006 season so watch for their attendance at a nostalgia meet near you.