Horse Sense: If you never met Andrew "Krimpet" Bauer, you probably know someone just like him. Picture the life of the party in your circle of friends. The party is a bore until that person arrives. He has the craziest antics and keeps you in stitches all night long. You wonder where he gets his imagination and zest for life. Now picture that person gone forever.
Bill Tumas was tired of sinking money into his constantly broken, supercharged '91 GT. So, in April 1999 the North Wales, Pennsylvania, resident purchased a black '96 Cobra with just 2,500 miles on the clock. "I had been reading about the Four-Valve cars," Bill says. "After bringing [the '96 Cobra] home, I immediately installed pulleys, a Flowmaster after-cat, and a Pro-5.0 shifter. Soon after, I took the Cobra to the track with my good friend Andrew 'Krimpet' Bauer to see what the car would do against his bolt-on, AOD-equipped '98 GT." Bill was rewarded with 13.6s at 102 mph to Krimpet's 14.0s at 98 mph. "I was impressed with how well the Cobra ran with such minimal mods. So was Krimp-two weeks later he rolled up to my house in his own '96 Cobra."
Andrew earned the nickname...
Andrew earned the nickname Krimpet because his dad works at Tasty Baking Company, where one of the most popular items is called a Krimpet. It's a special butter sponge cake topped with scotched butter icing. It was a blessing in disguise when the Bauers purchased their son's Laser Red '96 Cobra. "We both really enjoy the car," Joseph says, "not only because our son owned it, but also because owning and modifying the car has rekindled our interest in drag racing."
Because Krimpet's Cobra was the same Laser Red color as his former GT, he hoped his parents wouldn't notice it was a different car. Well, they did notice, but they were actually cool with their son's new purchase. And so the mods began.
Meanwhile, Bill was upgrading his Cobra with 4.10 gears, a Dr. Gas X-pipe, a Steeda timing adjuster, and a mail-order performance chip. With Krimpet following suit, their race for the 12s was off to a furious start.
Bill won that race by running a 12.98 at 106 mph and making a final-round appearance a few weeks later at a domestic-versus-import shootout. Shortly thereafter, Krimpet borrowed Bill's new drag radials and busted out a 12.84 at 105 mph to lower the bar even more. Even their mutual friend Brian Kirk got in on the action by getting a '97 Cobra and outfitting it accordingly.
All three attended a Fun Ford race, and even though none of them made it past the first couple rounds of eliminations, Bill bested Krimpet and Brian with a 12.88 at 105 mph. At the '00 Modular Shootout, the trio once again lined 'em up to see who could run the quickest. Bill and Brian ran in the Four-Valve N/A class while Krimpet was lured to the bracket class and the prospect of winning a Paxton supercharger. Bill finished runner-up to Barry Shepard, and Brian took third in the Four-Valve N/A class. Krimpet lasted two rounds in the bracket class and went home blowerless.
With each of them surpassing the 12-second zone, the 11s became their next goal. Bill's black Cobra was the first to go under the knife at the hands of Jimmy Chahalis at LaRocca's Performance, where 4.56 gears, a 31-spline Traction-Lok, Moser 31-spline axles, BBK long-tube headers, and a McLeod clutch were added, along with a fresh tune-up. "We took it to the track that night," Bill says. "It ran 12.30s at 110 right out of the box on new Mickey Thompson ET Streets, with consistent 1.70 60-foot times."
Krimpet's Cobra was the next to visit LaRocca's, where it received the same additions save for the long-tubes, as Krimpet was low on cash. "We picked up [Krimpet's car]," Bill says, "and even though the weather was awful, he ran a 12.51 at 109 mph to my 12.42 at 109 mph."
Unfortunately, due to it being totaled, Brian's Cobra never made it to LaRocca's.