Drag Racing Scene Fall 2015

SPORTSMAN SPECIAL: WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO WIN?

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In This Issue Drag Racing Scene Vol. 1, Issue 3

Features

24 READY TO ROCK 32 HEADS UP 38 THE BAYOU MENTALITY 56 DISCIPLINED 62 MOPAR COUPE 66 GROWING UP TO WIN 90 THE DREAM 96 SOCIAL EXPOSURE 100 THE PERFECT BUILD 116 50 YEARS OF LEGEND Alexis DeJoria is all grown up

Bub Miller was born for the track

106

It’s all about fun for Jeff Teuton

KING OF THE MOUNTAIN

Dan Fletcher knows how to win

Old car + new tech = 9 seconds John Labbous Jr. speaks about winning The Spring Fling expands events Martino masters social media

S&W Race Cars builds another winner Martino masters social media

2 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

There’s no doubt Allen Johnson is

112

RACING INTO THE FUTURE E3 brings new tech to spark plugs

Tech

30 PLUMBING SIMPLIFIED 36 NO YOKING AROUND 44 ACTING SHIFTY 52 UNDER PRESSURE 60 PREMIUM PLUMBING 72 BUILDING BLOCKS 86 SAFER TRAILERING 104 PROPERLY LUBED 112 RACING INTO THE FUTURE 120 ALL ABOUT SPEED 122 DRIVESHAFTS 101 The right seal for the job

A word of warning about trans yokes

46

PERSISTENCE

The Arana family learns tenacity

Aerospace’s safe one-handed shifter Exhaust system myths and truths

Brown & Miller make dent in drag racing Aluminum blocks serve a strong purpose Fire can be devastating thing

Choosing the right oil for alcohol

E3 brings new tech to spark plugs Feeling the thrill of horsepower

60 PREMIUM PLUMBING

Brown & Miller make dent in drag racing

Departments

4 GOING DEEP 6 DRAG NEWS

Letter from the editor Things we think you should know about

8

DIGITAL GUIDE

Drag racing apps, sites, and social media

10 SOCIAL SHOUTOUTS

Your online comments on Drag Racing Scene topics

14

VIDEO REWIND Cool videos we found online

Driveshaft terms explained

Vendor Midway

16 PEAK PERFORMER Howard Maseles

18 REMEMBER WHEN Hollywood types

20 TRACK TESTED IT 126 PUT TO THE TEST Game on

Valve Spring Compressor

Universal Welded Lower Frame Kit S&W Performance Group..... 76 Fuel Pump and Regulator Edelbrock........................................ 77 Shifter Solenoid & RPM Switch JEGS...................................... 78 Low Pressure Fuel Regulator Aeromotive................................. 78 Chevrolet Offset Sportsman Solid Roller Lifters COMP Cams..... 79 Pro-Lite Automatic Transmission Fluid LAT Oil......................... 80 Bump Stager FAST................................................................... 80 Race-Ready Distributor MSD................................................... 80 Turbo 400 Output Shafts ATI Performance............................... 81 Custom Tool Steel Camshafts Crane Cams.............................. 82 Break-In Engine Oil Lunati....................................................... 82 Double-Adjustable Struts Strange Engineering......................... 82 LS Solid Aluminum Race Block RHS........................................ 83

128 LIFE AT 1320

On to the next race

DragRacingScene.com 3

e: johnd@xcelerationmedia.com

The most important story in motorsports

A

lright, so by the time you’re reading this we’re just about to the three-quarter mark of the racing season, but I believe there is one big story that surpasses all the rest for the most important one of the year.

Surely the Force versus Schumacher story should rank right up there. The two tussled with a war of words earlier this year which was probably more misconstrued than anything else. It’s really sort of apparent the respect each has for one another, so I’m not sure there really is anything there.

However, a look at the race finals as of this writing and we’ve had 16 races so far.

If you look at the results with two finalists in each of the fuel categories, you’ll see there are 64 spots open, not discounting the “four finalists” at the Four-Wide Charlotte event, albeit there is a winner and runner-up. Out of those 64, a DSR car has occupied 33 of those spots, winning 20 out of the possible 32 races (Top Fuel and Funny Car). What else would you expect from the empire that Don Schumacher has built? Still though, not the most important story in motorsports.

Was it the disappearance of NHRA’s Tom Compton and/or his replacement Peter Clifford? How about the changes to the Pro Stock car class? Okay, so what about the dwindling car counts at some NHRA races while bracket racing events like the K&N Spring Fling and the BTE World Footbrake Challenge still maintain a considerable amount of cars? None of the above. No, there was an underlying story that some might have missed.

On March 14th of this year, Larry Dixon went on a ride that I doubt he’ll forget.

No sense reliving the details as I’m sure you’ve all seen the photos, but Dixon described it in a competitionplus.com video as “being on a roller coaster and you fly off the track.”

As for our circle track cousins, July 5th might not have been the sort of day Austin Dillon was looking for when he came into the finish line with a pack of cars at the Coke Zero 400 in Daytona. His car spun, flipped and was catapulted into the catch fence at probably over 180 mph. After landing upside down on the track, the collective breaths of all were held until Dillon exited the car and… walked away.

Do you want my opinion as to the most important story in motorsports for the year? Both men literally walked away unharmed.

Think about this for a second. In 2000, in the final round of the Memphis national event, Dixon was apparently on his way to the win over Gary Scelzi when just before the finish line his car split in half and sent him for a ride. While he came out of that incident with minor injuries; a broken bone or two; he didn’t exactly walk away.

On the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt Sr. lost his life when he crashed into the wall at what appeared initially to be a very survivable accident.

Now there have certainly been some accidents this past year which have caused injuries to the drivers, and in some cases fatalities. Our thoughts and prayers go out to each of the drivers and families involved, but the tag which used to be inside a Simpson racing jacket said it all: Warning: Auto Racing Is Dangerous.

The safety equipment we have and use today is far better than anything else used in the past that you almost wonder how it can get better. But it will. History has proven that. And drivers have become more cognizant of the dangers and the need for wearing the proper protection.

Of course it’s certainly not my opinion that if a driver got hurt it was his own fault, but what bothers me is to stand on the starting line and see drivers with loose seat belts, no neck collars or head and neck devices, gloves with holes in them, etc. I’m certainly not pointing any fingers but instead just would like everyone to take a look in the mirror and answer the question, “Am I doing everything I can to ensure my safety?”

So the most important story so far in motorsports in 2013? Two high profile accidents and two drivers who literally walked away. DRS

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Shawn Brereton

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Drag Racing Scene is published quarterly to promote the growth of drag racing as well as recognize the parts and services from participating manufacturers. The magazine consists of dedicated information from partner companies with the mission of disseminating unfiltered editorial on companies, products and services directly to drag racing participants and fans.

Editorial content and advertisements for each issue can originate from partner companies participating in the magazine.

Drag Racing Scene is a hybrid of content that was originally published at DragRacingScene.com and original content that was created for this quarterly print magazine. Magazine distribution occurs through direct distribution from parent company Xceleration Media and partner companies.

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Cover ON THE

Alexis DeJoria is more than just a pretty face, she’s got serious on-track credentials.

SPORTSMAN SPECIAL: WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO WIN?

WEB

PRINT

VIDEO

SOCIAL

ALEXIS DEJORIA

READY TO

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TO YOU

Drag News PRESENTED BY

NHRA Pro Stock news

The big news from the NHRA; aside from the retirement of Tom Compton and the naming of Peter Clifford as the new president; is the announcement of new rules for the Pro Stock class.

Long rumored to be floundering with decreased participation and fan appeal, the new rules effective immediately call for the teams to be more open to the fans in the pit area and no longer assist the cars to stay straight in the burnout area. But the really big news is the requirement of EFI and no hood scoops for 2016 along with shorter wheelie bars.

The biggest concern we see is the no hood scoop rule. We’re not sure what the teams will do about intake manifold design to keep them under the flat hood. This could end up costing the smaller teams quite a bit of money and maybe even eventually drive them from the sport.

Of course as this is being written, the announcement isn’t more than a few weeks old and there could be some significant developments. Stay tuned to our website and Facebook page for late breaking announcements.

DOT concerns We’ve talked about this both in print in our last issue (Clear As Mud) and on our website (DragRacingScene. com), but finally, maybe, possibly we’re finding a friend in a state’s Department of Transportation who “get’s it.”

Earlier this year, the California DOT came up with a motorsports exemption for over-length vehicles.

Unfortunately as originally written it only included commercially registered vehicles which eliminated most sportsman type rigs. This meant that any personally registered motorhomes/toterhomes/trailers would carry a 65-foot length limit and there was no way around the ruling.

Members of the California DOT did their best to persuade their superiors to ease the burden of the law to include sportsman racers.

Shortly before the Sonoma Nationals at the beginning of August, common sense prevailed and personally registered motorhomes and toterhomes were eligible to apply for the overlength permit. The same sort of scenario exists in the state of Florida where an over-length permit can be purchased both for a per-trip or yearly basis.

While this doesn’t change some of the other issues regarding licensing and legalities, we’re thankful for people who truly understand that the rules really are “Clear As Mud.”

Keep up to date with drag racing news at DragRacingScene.com.

6 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

Book review: 240 Shorty Tripp Shumake loved anything with an engine. From fixing up hot rods in high school in Glendale, Arizona, to becoming an NHRA champion Funny Car driver, Shumake was born to drive.

He was well respected in the racing community for his abilities not only as a driver but also for being the humble, funny, family man he was.

Off the track, Shumake was a Christian and deeply involved in his church community. Tragically, on November 13, 1999, Tripp was killed in a hitand-run accident on his motorcycle.

Taken too soon, his friends, family, and fellow racers share their memories and celebrate the life of Tripp in 240 Shorty.

Visit 240shorty.com for purchasing info.

“Tripp was a hell of a racer and a really good guy and I don’t know if you could ask for more than that.”

Don Prudhomme “He may have been called “240 Shorty” but in my book he was 10 feet tall because you were going to get your feelings hurt when you met him on the starting line.”

John Force “I will always remember Tripp as a gentle, smiling, hard-charging racer who I was proud to call my friend.”

Kenny Bernstein

Drag News NEWS / HEADLINES / HOT TOPICS

Yoo-Hoo-Too

When Natale Olivieri discovered a process to produce a chocolate soft drink in 1926, it’s doubtful he ever thought he would be a part of one of the first major sponsors of a sportsman drag racing team. But thanks to Wayne Jesel’s partner at the time, Tony Massari, the pair were able to secure what was big bucks at the time to campaign their famous Yoo-Hoo-Too sedan delivery in the Jr. Stock classes.

With several wins along the way and as this was his first real race car, Jesel recreated the model and have been showing it up and down the east coast at nostalgia events and loving every minute of it. Since debuting the car last year at the York US30 Reunion in Pennsylvania, it has also spent time at the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame in Mooresville.

At last year’s East Coast Drag Times event in North Carolina, both Wayne and his brother Danny were inducted

into the group’s Hall of Fame for not only their drag racing career but also the fact of their JESEL Valvetrain Components company.

Digital Guide WEBSITES / FORUMS / APPS

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Cool stories, profiles, history, & car showcases!

Coverage of races across the U.S.

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PUT US IN YOUR POCKET Stay connected to Drag Racing Scene between issues by following us on social media.

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Social Shoutouts FACEBOOK / TWITTER / SOCIAL MEDIA

We recently posed the question below to the 79,000+ fans of the Drag Racing Scene Facebook page. Emotions run deep within the drag racing community on this issue and the responses were wide ranging as drag racers don’t hold back. Below is a hand-picked sampling of the best responses. Got an opinion on this matter? We want to hear it at www.facebook.com/DragRacingScene or via any of our other social media channels listed below.

QUESTION The “new” NHRA Pro Stock rules for 2016 will require the use of EFI, along with no hood scoops, and shorter wheelie bars.

What are your thoughts?

Flashback Friday

POPULAR

STEVE BARRINGTON

Electronics have taken the fun out of watching drag racing. I don’t really get the hood scoop thing, even if you get rid of them, those cars are still very removed from whatever car they are supposed to represent. If the word “stock” is going to be used, the body should be the factory configuration.

Here are some additional articles that didn’t make the print issue, but are worth checking out.

Search for these titles at DragRacingScene.com.

FEATURE

GREG HANCOCK

Let’s go back to what Pro Stock once was ... production bodied cars, mountain motors, and keep carbs on top.

Really nostalgic photos PEAK’s Duane Shields — a quick learner

TECH Weight brake

LLOYD JONES

As soon as a few more teams drop out, Pro Stock will go the way of the trucks. Get used to Top Dragster and Top Sportsman.

COLUMN Common sense Maybe I’m a traditionalist

MIKE ST. CLAIR

Still no manufacturer parity. It will still be a bunch of Camaros and a few Dodges thrown in.

FRANCISCO SALAZAR

NHRA’s new leadership does listen. Great News.

KEN SNYDER

I think the Summit guys have been testing fuel injection for a while. It will take a nibble out of costs to run a car but how much we will see. With a 10,500 rpm limit they’re going to find other ways to stay at the top and that’s cost $$$.

JU LAMAR

Forget the rev limiters, just let them eat. They will get tired of buying parts after a while.

And add trash talk between the teams. Why do you think there is such large turn-outs at grudge races?

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12 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

DragRacingScene.com 13

Video Rewind

RACING / PRODUCT / ENTERTAINMENT

Video Rewind is where we point out interesting videos found on the Internet — whether historical, funny, dramatic or technical. We like them and thought you might, too.

SIGN UP TO KEEP UP

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with our original and curated video content that is updated daily by the Drag Racing Scene editorial staff. youtube.com/DragRacingScene

K&N Spring Fling

With a little music added in, this is a quick timelapse video of cars leaving the starting line. youtu.be/tuUxrTP7UcA

Urban Hillbilly wheelies

From the folks at Urban Hillbilly Videos comes this wheelstand competition from Byron Dragway in Illinois. youtu.be/FPMkgBvBERk

Epic burndown

This is one for the ages as Pro Stock racers Larry Morgan and Allen Johnson put on a show in the final round of the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in July. Neither one staged for well over a minute before Johnson blinked and went in first but left the line second to eventual winner Morgan. youtu.be/-RoCLe0FAs4

Cacklefest video

From the Holley National Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green, Kentucky comes this video. youtu.be/pE46cjkVX_w

14  Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

Tire building

Just a quick little video showing just how a fuel car tire is constructed. youtu.be/ZhMjJaZB_6M

Howard Maseles

PRESENTED BY

The PEAK Performer Award is given to the individual who has proven him or herself as a High Performer in the sport of drag racing.

16 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

While most racers are familiar with Howard Maseles as the trackside presence for Moroso Performance, his career in motorsports goes way beyond that.

Starting with his employment with Packer Pontiac in his home state of Michigan early in his adult life, Maseles was hooked on drag racing, and Pontiacs in particular. His attendance and racing efforts at several NHRA national events in the early 1960s was a prelude to his eventual employment for the past 30+ years with Moroso. Before that, he was employed with Hurst, after the dealership job led to him eventually being the on site Hurst Shifty Doctor at the races.

The late ’60s was a time of factory involvement in drag racing.

The Big 3, which included American Motors, all subscribed to that age-old theory of “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday.” It didn’t take long for Chrysler to be the first to build and offer a race-ready car in the form of the ’68 Barracudas and Darts. The truth of the matter was that it was the Hurst Corporation that built the actual cars at its facility in Michigan and it was Maseles who was part of the team that assembled those cars.

Due in part to his meticulous persona, Maseles says, “I was charged with the final assembly and the side window glass was a very thin Corning-built glass that if you weren’t careful would break.

I can’t tell you how many I broke while I put those cars together.”

Regardless, it was Maseles’ attention to detail and his never-ending, even to this day, philosophy of “perfect is just about right,” that has helped more racers over the years to stay on track towards win lights.

At a time when stick shift race cars still outnumbered the automatics, Maseles’ job at the races was to offer support, not only Hurst-equipped cars but anyone with an issue. His Ford box truck was equipped with welding, grinding, and any other tools necessary.

In the early ’80s, Maseles found employment with Moroso Performance more to his liking and (working directly with founder Dick Moroso) found him manning the trackside support trailer. More than just setting up displays and selling products though, Maseles was still the go-to person whenever a racer was in need of any support.

“Howard always puts the racer first,” says long-time friend and former employee Jim Cozzie. “It sometimes wasn’t conducive for business, but he did it anyway because that was just his nature.”

Bob DeVour worked with Maseles back in the Hurst days and says, “He is the original Mr. Clean. Meticulous in every way, and willing and able to help anyone.”

“Howard is a valuable asset to our company,” says Moroso president Rick Moroso. “He knows everything about our product line and everyone in our industry as well. People ask for him because of his knowledge.”

Dick Moroso built that successful empire based on his ability to find the best people to represent him, and there is no better than Howard Maseles, an attribute that signifies him as a PEAK Performer.

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Hollywood types

F

or all the years I have spent following NHRA Championship Drag Racing, I was always taken with the “Hollywood types” that would show up from time to time. Maybe it was the Smother’s Brothers who started the love affair with drag racing for Hollywood’s elite, but make no mistake, at times there have been some very interesting people who have showed up to express their love of cars and speed.

The list is unique and varies to say the least. It hasn’t just been the Hollywood movie types that have graced us with their presence in the pits. There have been numerous sports figures who have added sponsorship monies to drag racing.

Drag racing at one time or another has attracted the affluent, and the list is large enough that I couldn’t possibly include everyone.

NHRA used to have a Hollywood Celebrity race at Pomona, where celebs from the entertainment industry would show up to drag race each other for the charity of their choice. There have been sports figures as well, some from football, baseball, basketball, and even wrestling and boxing. How could we forget the likes of basketball players Larry Nance and Tom Hammonds, who first sponsored a car, then drove cars in Pro Stock. Football gave us Dan Pastorini in a Top Fuel car.

Then there are the musician’s and band members, people like Carlos Santana, the Oak Ridge Boys, Joan Jett, Willie Nelson, The Marshall Tucker Band, Styx, ZZ Top, several members of KISS, and plenty more I’ve forgotten about.

We have to also mention Travis Tritt who went through the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School and performed several concerts after qualifying was over at a few events. More recently we have famous TV chef, Guy Fieri, associating his name with Shawn Langdon’s Top Fuel effort.

I was privileged to meet and shoot some interesting people who in most cases were famous in one way or another and just loved cars. Jay Leno comes to mind on that count, as I was there when he got to ride in a Pro Stock car down the full quarter mile. That was huge for me as I spoke to him several times and got to shoot some photos of him enjoying our sport.

But the one I remember most was when Chevrolet showed up in Pomona with some one-off prototype cars.

18 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

The real kicker that day, unbeknownst to me at the time, and why all these cars were there was to present a one that had been created for the popular TV personality, Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor (real name, Tim Allen).

I was so envious, not of Tim, but of the car he was going to get. I was astounded, to say the least, when they pulled out a 1996 Impala SS. Allen, had been a fan of high-horsepower and power-performance in cars for some time, even before his TV show Home Improvement (1991–1999). You might recall he was building a street roadster in the family’s garage on the set.

Tim already owned and drove a ’95 SS Impala but his dream was a new 1996 Impala with a DOHC-32-valve Corvette ZR1 V8, something Chevrolet didn’t make or even offer. Allen had approached Jon Moss, manager of Chevrolet Specialty Vehicles, with his idea of that engine being put into one of the new Impala’s. Moss thought that it might just work, so the project was started.

It wasn’t without problems. The motor in question wasn’t really designed for an automatic transmission car. Adapting the LT-5 motor with a 9-quart oil pan into a space designed for a smaller motor created changes that had to be dealt with. The end result was interesting, as was seeing Allen behind the wheel.

This was one big deal to watch unfold and being there to shoot it brings us back to why I like to Remember When. DRS

Game on

A

fter six months on the sidelines, it’s great to be back in the Pro Stock ranks working side-by-side with Jeg Coughlin Jr. I personally couldn’t be more excited to see Jeg return to the seat of a Pro Stock car, even though it’s just a short three-race stint.

I really enjoy working with Jeg Jr., and I think he feels the same way about me. We are both very competitive people who have a strong attention to detail. We are usually on the same page of every project, even before we start talking about things.

Seeing Jeg drive for Richard Freeman at Sonoma, Seattle and Indy is awesome. Richard and his group are a lot of fun to be around. Those guys and gals definitely remember to enjoy the journey and it’s been fun watching their rise to the top of the sport. We’ve spent a lot of time chatting in the staging lanes through the years and it’s pretty obvious that he’s assembled a really strong team, both on and off the track.

Joining up with Elite Motorsports feels like a bit of a homecoming as Jeg and I have worked with most of the members of the team at one time or another. We have a long history with Nick Ferri and also have worked with Jake Hairston and Mark Ingersoll at various times.

Personally, I’m super excited to work alongside Rick and Rickie Jones. Although we’ve never worked with this dynamic duo, Jeg and I are both very familiar with their father-son relationship at the race track.

I’ve had many conversations with Rick about his son and the great job they have done together. I’m old enough to remember when Rickie was a little boy and like many of the younger kids out there, I’ve had the good fortune of watching him grow into a man.

The same goes for “Big Al” Lindsey, a longtime crew member for Mike Edwards who now works for Richard. He’s another guy I’ve never worked with before but is someone I’ve admired, always upbeat.

I have often said that racing is nothing more than competitive problem solving. Think about it; you have a bunch of hyper-competitive people working in a very cutthroat environment trying to make perfection and precision come together. It is very rewarding when your team is the one holding the trophy at the end of the day, no matter what class you’re racing. It’s a rush you can’t really explain.

My wife Jennifer says some of the biggest smiles she has seen on my face come at those special moments when we win races, especially the big matchups and key moments when we’ve clinched championships.

Since we’ve made the announcement that Jeg will be driving again a lot of people have asked how it all came together. This particular opportunity started when one of Richard’s associate sponsors, former sportsman star Mark Stockseth, found out Drew Skillman was skipping the races in Sonoma and Seattle. Mark told Richard, “We should have Jeg drive a second car.”

Everything seemed to click into place very easily and then the next thing I know we are headed to Richard’s shop in Oklahoma to have an ISP seat poured for Jeg in the car Erica Enders drove to the 2014 championship.

Mark Stockseth flew in for our visit and we met the entire team for lunch before heading to the race shop to do the seat and make some minor adjustments for Jeg. I’d hadn’t spent a lot of time with Mark but after a couple minutes of talking I got the feeling this was going to be fun. We have so many of the same core feelings and motivations.

When we were done, Drew took Jeg and I back to the airport. Getting to know Drew has been a lot of fun. He’s a really nice guy, low key and calm, and unfailingly polite. I’m impressed.

Once we got home from our trip I called Toby Hallett at Bell Helmets and asked him to send a shell to Nick Pastura, a very talented painter from Cleveland we have used for years.

I also called our good friend Hyme Hagan at Simpson and started working on suit layout with all of the needed logos. I’m a very visual guy so working on car layouts and logo positioning on driver suits is always fun for me.

Now the only thing left to do is go out and try to win some races and have a lot of fun while we’re out there. DRS Scott “Woody” Woodruff is the Director of Motorsports and Media for the huge JEGS empire. His work to color the world yellow and black has been successful, judging from the looks of the sport.

20 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

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VISIT DART AT THE 2015 PRI SHOW – BOOTH 2211

ALEXIS DEJORIA IS ALL GROWN UP AND

READY TO Words/Photos Jon Asher and Carol Johnson Additional photography by Richard Brady

W

hen Alexis DeJoria first appeared on the NHRA Mello Yellow Series trail there were many who considered her venture into drag racing little more than a passing fancy. Sure, it was cool to have another young, good-looking woman behind the wheel of a 10,000 horsepower race car. It was good for drag racing, good for the competition and good for the media — but it wasn’t going to last.

With oodles of family money behind her it was assumed that Ms. DeJoria would make a splash and then go swimming in some other pool, taking the Tequila Patron sponsorship with her. But, a funny thing happened along the path that many assumed was leading towards Ms. DeJoria’s exit. By her words and deeds she proved that she’s not only here for the long haul, she loves drag racing with the kind of passion that’s impossible to fake.

DragRacingScene.com 25

A relaxed, confident driver is one who appears that way after a run — and that’s Alexis DeJoria.

For even more content search “Alexis DeJoria” at DragRacingScene.com.

Maturity can’t be measured, it must be sensed by observers — and we can be easily fooled. How many professional athletes and entertainers have we seen who appeared to be mature enough to handle the rigors of their chosen activity, only to flame out spectacularly in today’s 24-hour cycles of scandal and hastily withdrawn Twitter rants? The list is spectacularly and depressingly long. Many we believe to be above reproach turn out to have feet of clay, while others we watched warily, awaiting the inevitable explosion of insanity turn out to be mature beyond their years, capable of achieving great things while at the same time engendering intense loyalty from an ever-growing cadre of fans both young and old, male and female. Such is the case with Alexis DeJoria. Simply put, she has exceeded the expectations many had for her by miles. Maybe this statement works a little better: She’s one of us.

Oh, if winning were only as easy as we’d like it to be! Winning that first race takes the kind of luck and good fortune that’s usually reserved for lottery winners. But in this area Ms. DeJoria has been luckier than most. She made her first final round appearance in only her second year of full time competition, but it took her another full year before she made another. When we said “luckier than most,” consider 16-time champion John Force, who made an astounding nine final round appearances before scoring his first victory.

26 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

that first one took a huge “Winning load off my shoulders. It seemed so

elusive. I’d be thinking, ‘God, I’ve just gotta’ get that first one.’ It finally happened, and things became easier after that.

”

Ms. DeJoria receives a fantastic amount of support from not only her fans but also her father, John Paul DeJoria (left) and her husband, noted motorcycle builder Jesse James (right).

“Winning that first one took a huge load off my shoulders,” DeJoria says.

“It seemed so elusive. I’d be thinking, ‘God, I’ve just gotta’ get that first one.’

It finally happened, and things became easier after that.”

When asked if she believes winning made her a better driver, DeJoria’s response is a surprise. “I think it did make me better,” she says. “But, it also made me go backwards. Last year the wins seemed to come so much easier (DeJoria won three times in 2014 — Ed.), and this year I’ve almost self-sabotaged our efforts because I’ve tried so much harder. That really messed me up because as a lot of people know, the harder you try in this business, the worse you do. I’ll have some stupid day when I can’t get the car down the track, and then there’ll be days when the car just isn’t running right.

So then it’s back to square one!”

DeJoria acknowledges that her marriage to motorcycle builder Jesse James “has made me more settled. Jesse’s so supportive of what I do. He’s out here all the time, and he helps out on the car.

Before, I never really had anyone in my life that got it, and respected what I do.

He gets it, and that means a lot.” DeJoria is also buoyed by the presence of her

Once a bit unsure of herself with the fans, DeJoria now relishes meeting and speaking with them.

daughter, Isabella, who often accompanies her to the track.

Ask any driver which race he or she wants to win more than any other and the answer’s going to be Indy or, as they say in formal parlance, the NHRA U.S. Nationals. As DeJoria says about her 2014 win, “That weekend couldn’t have been any more ideal as far as my mental state and my physical state (was con-

cerned). Everything was so on point. I went in early to do press stuff, but I was training every day in the gym at the hotel. Everything was just going the way it’s supposed to go and the results were amazing. It was a huge day, and I just felt a confidence in myself that left me feeling as if I had nothing to lose.”

As terrific as televised drag racing can be, there are some situations that

Tommy DeLago is orchestrating DeJoria’s successes There’s no set formula that will take an individual from being a tire wiper to a high-paying job as a crew chief. Each individual’s path to the top is different, but there do seem to be some constants.

Experience is a must, and that experience has to include a variety of jobs around the race car. A willingness to learn is critical. Hard headedness in a tuner is an express train to unemployment. A good ego is helpful, but too much of one is a negative. A tuner with a super ego is one who will consistently ignore an idea that comes from his least experienced mechanic, and yet it might be that very idea, one that’s seemingly completely off the wall, that could turn an entire season around.

We could go on for another few hundred words, but the bottom line is that just as drivers are different, so, too, are tuners. Luckily for Alexis DeJoria and Kalitta Motorsports, Tommy DeLago incorporates all the best qualities one would like to have in a crew chief.

He’s intelligent, yet not overbearing. He’s highly experienced, yet still willing to ask questions. He’s his team’s leader, but rarely acts the part. He’s media-friendly but shuns the spotlight. He’s quick to spread any credit that comes his way to the rest of his gang, and is content to let the Toyota do the talking.

This is his third season with Kalitta and DeJoria, and he’s seen major changes since his arrival. “I think things have gotten a lot better here,” he says. “We had to make a lot of changes to kind of get things up to speed and to sort of keep up with the Joneses.

The competition has gotten a lot tougher as we’ve tried to get up to speed. We’re still playing a little catch up right now.”

DeLago feels that DeJoria has become a far better driver than she once was, but “she’s still not a fully experienced veteran yet.

She just needs to get more comfortable with different situations in the car. She has to not worry about who she’s racing.”

When asked if he believes she’s too conscious of who’s in the other lane, his response is succinct: “Who isn’t?” he rhetorically asks. “I think you see the true driver in her whenever we make it 28 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

to the semifinals or finals. That’s when you see her raw talent, and she’s got a lot of that.”

DeLago believes that every driver improves at his or her own rate. “A lot of it depends on how many good runs you’ve made,” he says. “The more rounds we can win, the more valuable is the experience we’re giving her.

“So, we’re gonna’ have fun, and this is going to be valuable experience for my crew, for Alexis, ‘cause as hard as it’s going to be to get into the Top 10, that’s what it’s going to feel like when we’re racing for a championship.”

are missed due to anything from an ad that has to be run to a director aiming the cameras back at the starting line for the next run, and that was somewhat the case after DeJoria won. The home audience didn’t get to experience her overwhelming emotional response to winning the sport’s biggest race. Her repeated statements — to herself — of “Oh my God, oh, my God” were priceless in so many ways. Here was a driver almost overcome by the moment. It was fantastic theater. It was exciting and, best of all, it was real.

After the emotion of the moment had died down, and the winner’s circle photos were almost completed the team posed for a “special” photo that soon had the “Purity Police” of the Internet up in arms. It wasn’t that big a deal, but it did upset those who expect their heroes to be as pure as the driven snow.

“We were wrapped up in the moment,” DeJoria now acknowledges. “We kind of fly the rebel flag here at Kalitta Motorsports, so to speak. I just feel it was unfortunate people took it the wrong way, but that’s kind of the society we live in right now. Everybody’s so offended by everything, and those (who were offended) aren’t really my fans to begin with.”

believe that (drag racing) isn’t the “Iend-all, be-all of my life. I believe there’s something else out there for me. I don’t really have an end game for drag racing.

As long as I’m enjoying myself I’m going to keep going.

”

This is the kind of person DeJoria is.

Recognizing that some sponsors might have been offended by what happened, she reached out to them only to find that none of them had a problem with what had taken place. Still, the mere fact that she made the effort speaks volumes.

As this is being written DeJoria is locked in a “death struggle” for a spot in this year’s Countdown. The pundits see this as a battle between DeJoria and Courtney Force — an ideal matchup from the media and fan perspectives.

“I don’t care if it’s me and whoever,” she said mid-summer. “I wish (Courtney) the best, but it’s every man and woman for herself at this point. It’s gonna’ be a fight. We’re 10th right now, but it’s not a safe place to be. A couple of semifinal rounds or final rounds could change everything. The race (in Den-

ver) is the start of a new season for me.

We’re going to forget everything that’s happened up to this point this year, and go from here. Today I am starting fresh.

“I believe that (drag racing) isn’t the end-all, be-all of my life. I believe there’s something else out there for me. I don’t really have an end game for drag racing.

As long as I’m enjoying myself I’m going to keep going.”

Here’s an indication of just how cool Alexis DeJoria really is. She has her post-drag racing career already partially planned, and it’ll surprise you. “I want to make knives,” she says with a grin. “Custom made, quality blades that really work.

I want to learn how to make them myself.”

As she’s learning, we’re convinced she’s going to be sticking it to any number of rivals, but not with a blade. With her right foot. DRS

PLUMBING SIMPLIFIED The right seal for the job

T

he need for speed, not only on the track but also in the pits, is an ongoing affair. Innovators have found ways to excel in both areas.

Jiffy-tite’s quick-disconnect line of hose fittings have become very popular in all forms of motorsports. For a company whose main job is supplying fittings to the Big 3 automakers, designing something for motorsports was a no-brainer.

The uniqueness of the fittings comes from the design itself. There have been other quick-disconnect fittings on the market, but the majority of them utilize an O-ring to seal 30 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

around the inserted male end. In Jiffy-tite’s case, the sealing of the male to female section is done by a face seal that seals against the face of the fitting internally.

There is an O-ring seal internally but that only seals off the internal valve when the fitting is disconnected. Once disconnected, both ends of the fittings are almost 100-percent leak proof to prevent fluid leakage. That’s what has made them so popular in areas where the use of a wrench to disconnect the fitting involves time, which could be better spent doing something else.

This internal view of a Jiffy-tite fitting shows the uniqueness of the unit with internal valves to eliminate spills when disconnected.

While most over-the-counter quick disconnects will use an O-ring to seal off the male end of the fitting inside the female portion, Jiffy-tite’s quick disconnects use a seal internally that sits against the face of the male portion. As long as the fitting is properly connected, it will not leak.

Different seals for different applications.

It’s all about ensuring that the fluid used doesn’t deteriorate the seal.

The internal valve is what seals off the fitting when it’s disconnected.

Jiffy-tite’s Pro Compact series of fittings have a reduced overall size comparable to threaded AN fittings but do not use internal valves.

Jiffy-tite’s line of quick-disconnect fittings have become very popular for several reasons but two specifically. One, their ability to be easily disconnected eliminating stripped threads and wrench faces, not to mention speed of disassembly. Two, with their internal valving, once disconnected both ends are sealed off eliminating spills and leakage.

Recently, Jiffy-tite engineered its new Pro-Compact line for use in areas where internal valved technology is not required.

But the sealing of the two fittings when together is the same.

By utilizing a quick disconnect, you eliminate cross-threading, stripping, and other problems associated with threaded AN-fittings.

“We have really experienced very little issues with our fittings,” says Jiffy-tite’s Duane LaFleur. “They are literally foolproof but if there has been one issue, it’s the correct matching of the seal composition to the type of fluid used. When ordering our fittings, it’s imperative that you specify the type of fluid you’ll be using with it. That’s important because each type of fluid can have an adverse effect on the seal.”

The most commonly used seal is a fluorocarbon (FKM) that is suitable for most applications be it water, oil, or a standard gasoline or race fuel, including E85 and diesel. However, that seal will deteriorate when used with alcohol, methanol, or nitromethane. A buna-nitrile (NBR) seal is necessary when using alcohol, while an ethylene propylene (EPDM) will accommodate methanol, brake fluid, and nitromethane.

While Jiffy-tite’s fitting are rated for a maximum of 200 psi, they should not be used for brake fluid applications where pressures can easily top 1,000 psi. However, the fittings and their appropriate seals would be compatible with brake fluid such as in some hydraulic clutch systems. DRS Source: Jiffy-tite, motorsports.jiffy-tite.com

DragRacingScene.com 31

BUB MILLER Born and raised in Kansas City, Kansas, Bub Miller is living the dream. Now driving the Aeromotive Super Comp dragster, Miller is a two-time NHRA national event finalist with one win at the 2000 national event held in his backyard of Topeka in — of all things — an AMC Spirit stocker, the only one in NHRA history to do so.

Being a racer at heart fits his day job — as the Director of Motorsports at Aeromotive Fuel Systems — to a T. With a racing career spawned on the Stock/Super Stock/Comp classes, where taking a simple component and making it better was what it was all about, it was only natural that he and Aeromotive owner Steve Matusek hooked up. A self-proclaimed drag racing prostitute, Miller says, “I don’t care whether it’s a Super Comp dragster, Pro Mod car, or even an AMC Spirit, I wanna’ drive it.”

With three small children at home, Miller’s life is full, but he wouldn’t want it any other way. Between his background in the sport and views toward the future as well as the present, his talk of Street Outlaws, contingency programs, and the IHRA, it all made for a great interview.

So how did you get involved in the automotive industry?

From day one I have been groomed for this. From a really young age, my dad took me to every drag strip he could. Didn’t matter if it was a Saturday night bracket race or the Summernationals, he loves drag racing and infected me with the disease as well.

You know there are families out there that have boats and jet-skis, and everything, but for me that was what we did — we went to the drag strip. My mom made dinner and we cooked-out at the track, that’s good stuff. It’s what we did as a family and it kept us close. When racing gets in your blood — it is literally a disease — because you work all day, you go home, and you work on the car all night. Thursday morning you would pile in the truck and drive for hours down the road and race all weekend, then get back in time to make it to work on Monday morning. I mean, who does that?

Speaking of the job, how did you get involved with Aeromotive?

Steve [Matusek, Aeromotive owner] and I had known each other through racing for a while. I was in O’Reilly’s buying a battery and Steve asked me if I could run the car for him because he had hurt his knee or something.

I was like “Well, yeah!” Things just developed over time and he asked me if I wanted a job, and again it was a 32 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

no-brainer … “Um, I get to do the job that I love, yeah!”

So what do you do for Aeromotive and what do you like about the job?

I am the Director of Motorsports, which is really a jack-of-all-trades. I get to go to work and I have NO idea what I am going to do. One day I might go over marketing ads, next day engineering on a new pump, next day R&D on the new pump, then once the new pump is done, I get to market it.

It becomes simply a problem-solving position, which is what our whole company is built on — problem solving.

When you wake up in the morning and truly want to come to work, it’s just an amazing experience. I couldn’t ask for anything better. The best part is they pay me to do this!

Photos by Richard Brady

Tell us a little about the car you’re driving now.

I’m driving the Aeromotive/Race Tech dragster — a perk of the job. We actually use it as a test tool. We learn more at the track than we do in the office. That’s where we learn, take it out, break it, we make it better, then we take it out again, and keep doing it until we have a viable product.

We pride ourselves on being problem solvers, we are not a “me too” company. The dragster is in Super Comp, but in typical Aeromotive style, we built it with a 358-inch Ford Cup motor sourced from Roush Yates. It

More than just an employer, Aeromotive founder Steve Matusek (right) is a friend who Miller looks up to and enjoys working with on interesting projects for the company.

makes peak power at 9200. It screams, but it sounds like a big block, not a small block. We talked to Jamie at Yates and asked how you dyno them.

He said “We rev them up to 10k and go to lunch. If they are still running when we get back, they’re good.”

From a manufacturer’s point of view, where do you see the sport of drag racing going?

There has always been a split in our sport between the heads-up, 10.5 tire and the like groups, and the sportsman/bracket racers. However, I see that split growing wider all the time.

There is really no spill-over between the two factions. From a manufacturing standpoint that’s good, because it allows us to not only display our products to a wider range, but it’s also called for almost two different product lines. The heads-up group

you wake up in the morning and “When truly want to come to work, it’s just an amazing experience. ” is leaning more towards EFI, different fuels and different styles of fuel pumps, while the sportsman side is primarily electric fuel pumps and carburetors. That allows us to display our diversity as a company as to what we can and can’t do.

And your thoughts from a racer’s standpoint?

There are certain areas where the sport is growing such as the Top Dragster and Top Sportsman classes.

And that’s partially because any Joe Bagadonuts can build a big-block Chevy, stick a blower on it and go 200 mph. From a spectator side, I like to see that because, let’s be honest, the super categories just aren’t interesting to the everyday spectator. They don’t understand them, like them and some even think they’re stupid.

But a kid sitting in the stands with his parents, it’s cool to see 200 mph bracket racing.

Then why don’t we see more spectators for those classes?

That’s an education problem, which I don’t think the sanctioning bodies spend enough time working on. I always wonder just how many of the spectators who show up at a national event really understand that they can be out there racing on the same track as any of the John Forces, Doug Kalittas, etc. They can even take their mini-van and next week be out on the same facility competing. As you and I know, drag racing doesn’t take any special kind of car.

Can it fix itself or does it need to be fixed?

Oh, it needs to be fixed. I’d like to see it go back to the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s where you had people lining up four, five, and six deep on the fences to watch drag racing. I don’t know, but I believe we need to better educate the youth of today on drag racing. I hate

For even more content search “Bub Miller” at DragRacingScene.com.

to see this sport, the disease that we’re infected with, decline.

If we subscribe to your ideas about two different factions of drag racers (heads-up versus sportsman/bracket racers), are they in a growth or lull pattern?

No, I think the heads-up categories are in a growth pattern. One of the most frustrating things I’ve seen this year was the NHRA letter sent to the Street Outlaws group suggesting that they could have their NHRA licenses suspended. I understand why they needed to do that, but instead why not offer them a track to race at and film a show there? NHRA and Wally Park’s whole goal was to get racing off the streets and it was the one thing they didn’t give the Street Outlaws the chance to do. Why not invite them to an event even if it’s an exhibition?

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the NHRA contingency program. This is the second year Aeromotive has been out of it. What is the reasoning?

It was probably one of the toughest decisions ever, but in reality we didn’t 34 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

seem to be getting a return on our investment. It also allowed us to diversify and market our products to different areas, to sort of grow the tree a little more.

What about the IHRA? Where do you think they fit into the drag racing puzzle?

Steve [Matusek] went to the opening IHRA race earlier this year.

Steve is a great guy — and you didn’t hear this from me [he laughs] — but you could put him in a room with ten of the most beautiful girls in the world and coming out of there, he’d find at least one thing to criticize.

That’s just Steve. He comes back from the Bradenton IHRA race and we had a conference with a few of us here for a debriefing on what he found. There wasn’t one negative thing he had to say. We all looked at each other and said “what was that about?” They seem to be doing a great job over there and I believe the door is open for them to do great things. Steve’s comment was “it’s like it used to be.” And it really is. No politics. No BS. Just families out there enjoying the time together be they racers or spectators. I don’t care whatever organization it

is, I and everyone else just wants our sport to survive.

Bub, thanks for your time and good luck racing. DRS

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YOKING O

N

AROUND

A word of warning about transmission yokes

O

n the back of every transmission, where the driveshaft yoke slides in, sits a seal to keep oil from leaking out. In back of that seal (actually in front of the seal when matched to the position of the car) is a replaceable bushing to keep the driveshaft yoke centered within the seal.

That bushing is no different than an engine bearing in that there are no moving parts to the bushing itself. Although an obvious difference would be that an engine bearing is pressure fed 36 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

oil to lubricate it while the driveshaft bushing is simply splash oiled. This difference though can be huge in terms of drag on the driveshaft yoke.

Decades ago some enterprising racer/manufacturer decided to replace the driveshaft bushing with a roller bearing to reduce any drag from that area. The tail shaft housing for use with a roller bearing had to then be a specially machined component.

However, the roller bearings used are rather hard while the yoke itself was

only through-hardened. This meant that the harder bearing rollers would wear out the surface where they rode on the yoke. The cure was to case-harden the bearing surface.

“We needed a harder surface when the yoke was used with a roller bearing housing,” says Strange Engineering’s Dimitry Zhukovsky. “This left us with two different yokes, but about eight years ago we had a couple of customers twisting the standard non-case hardened yoke. It was then that we decided

The standard for a transmission yoke where the driveshaft is installed is typically just a bronze bushing inside the case in order to keep the yoke centered in the seal.

In an effort to minimize drag, enterprising racers/manufacturers have gone to using a roller bearing to replace the bushing.

The solution is to be sure and use a transmission yoke designed specifically for use with roller bearing.

The problem bears its ugly head when you use a standard yoke with a roller bearing.

The hard rollers wear against the softer yoke and eventually cause issues with the yoke becoming loose inside the seal.

to bring the two of them to the same specs for strength reasons.

“The only difference now with our transmission yokes is that the yoke used with a bushing is 0.002-inches larger to better fit the tail shaft bushing.”

Beware: Anytime you use a roller bearing tail shaft housing for your transmission, forego the use of a standard yoke and be sure to use one specially designed for a roller bearing. DRS

One of the problems associated with driveshaft yoke is their susceptibility to leaking oil out of the back plug. All of the Strange Engineering units utilize an aluminum plug and O-ring held in with a snap ring.

Sources: ATI Performance, atiracing.com; Strange Engineering, strangeengineering.net

DragRacingScene.com 37

ayou B MENTALITY The

Fun is what it’s all about and Jeff Teuton knows how to play that game

38 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

M

aking his appearance at a drag strip for the first time in 1958, Houma, Louisiana’s Jeff Teuton couldn’t have imagined that now some 50+ years later, he’s still going up and down the track and enjoying it now more than ever.

“We were always just racers,” Teuton says. “My brother Joe Jr. raced and it wasn’t uncommon for me to take my then girlfriend, now wife Carolyn; who we’re celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary this year; to the movies and then we’d go out to the straight-a-ways and see who was out there. We’re just all race car people.”

As for their business, Joe Teuton Sr., Jeff and Joe’s father, was involved in the

oil field industry supplying parts and equipment to keep all the drilling rigs in the Louisiana area running. Shortly after Jeff finished school, there happened to be a Dodge dealership in Houma which closed its doors in 1967.

“They closed their doors for Labor Day weekend and never opened back up on the following Tuesday,” Teuton said.

“Daddy was looking for another business and Joe Jr. had an auto repair shop in town. I had my degree from college and we just applied to get the dealership.

“Not wanting to lose a dealership in our area, we only found out later on that Chrysler gave us the franchise until they could find someone else.”

Words/Photos John DiBartolomeo

Chrysler never did find anyone and today Southland Dodge-Chrysler has been going strong since 1969. Along the way, they’ve expanded into heavy-duty trucks with brother Joe owning several Kenworth truck dealerships. A leasing company which owns 1,500 trucks alone also is part of the Teuton Empire.

“Being racers, we stayed in business the first two years selling Super Bees, 340 R/Ts and cars like that until we learned about station wagons, four-door sedans, pick-up trucks and all of that,” Teuton says. But the racer still stayed in him.

With four kids; Frank, Margaret, Carol and Joey; and 14 grandchildren, life is good for Jeff Teuton. Brother Joe

Oh, that smiling face. Jeff Teuton is; and has been; a happy man. With a successful business career along with his racing successes, he has built an empire around the Mopar brand.

DragRacingScene.com 39

opened up a performance machine shop several years ago, but with his other interests, Jeff took it over and hired Kevin Helms to run the race car portion of the business which now boasts six actual cars that are raced in addition to several collectible cars; all Mopars of course. You might just say that the Teuton family has had Chrysler blood flowing through their veins for as long as they can remember.

Mopar Motorsports Marketing Manager Dale Aldo says, “Jeff has been a valuable part of the success of Chrysler’s Drag Pak program. He’s done so well with them both as a car owner and driver, winning with just about every Drag Pak combination we have.

“He has represented Chrysler very well both in business and in racing and he’s played a key role in our on track success with valuable input to the development of the program,” Aldo added.

“Since the beginning of the Drag Pak program, he’s bought and sold more Drag Pak cars than anyone in the world.

He’s really done everything possible to

were always just racers. My brother Joe “We Jr. raced and it wasn’t uncommon for me to take my then girlfriend, now wife Carolyn to the movies and then we’d go out to the straight-a-ways and see who was out there.

We’re just all race car people. make this program a success and he’s one of our most valuable assets.”

“We’ve been involved in racing since day one,” says Teuton, “and I guess we ain’t gonna’ quit. It might be too late now. The kids run our business.” In typical Jeff Teuton-style, he lightheartedly says in his own Southern-drawl, “I show up in the morning to see what the girls are wearing, have a cup of coffee and then I walk across the street to the race car building.”

A race car building that does more than just house their “toys.” Teuton says, “Brother Joe had started a performance shop several years ago and it never real-

”

ly took off and so I bought it from him and moved the equipment to my race car building so now we have a complete machine shop and dyno facility plus the cars, motorhomes and trailers all under one roof.”

John Morris is just another key part of Teuton’s success as a long-time Teuton employee. And of course, Helms, a three-time NHRA world champion, is already eyeing up a fourth with several wins so far this season.

When the Dodge Challenger Drag Pak cars were originally built in 2009, Chrysler was in the midst of their financial woes.

Photo by Auto Imagery

In addition to driving himself, Teuton has former NHRA world champ Kevin Helms (center) wheeling a couple of his race cars in addition to maintaining the fleet.

40 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

“John Donato was a friend of mine and was one of the original Chrysler engineers on that project,” said Teuton. “John would call me from time to time and we’d discuss various topics but then the bankruptcy came into being and before I knew it, John was gone and I didn’t know anybody up there in Detroit anymore.”

A trip to the NADA new car show in New Orleans found Teuton locating the person in charge of Mopar at the time and “I told him I wanted one of those cars,” Teuton said. “They shuffled things around and I got No. 16 but I told them I’d take as many as they wanted to sell me. I wound up taking 12 of the original 100 built that year. There were some dealers who were looking to make a lot of money on them, but we sold them for the price Chrysler told us to.”

For the 2010 model year, Chrysler built 50 units and Teuton had six of those. For 2011, Chrysler added the V10 engine as an option and Teuton bought the first 10 cars as a way to help the program along.

“I think the V10 was a little too exotic for those cars but someday I think they’ll be worth a lot of money,” he says.

“I still have car No. 1 in my showroom and I’m actually racing car No. 10.”

In 2011, Teuton drove a 360-pow-

A staunch proponent of the Stock and Super Stock classes, Teuton knows that to keep the racing equal you need rules and those rules require continual teardowns at the races for inspection.

Teuton’s son Joey (center) also drives one of the team’s cars.

ered Drag Pak to its greatest mark in history, winning the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Stock Eliminator. Helms has also driven Teuton-owned cars to several other victories as well.

Currently, the Jeff Teuton race team involves five Drag Pak cars and one Duster which was the team’s Top Stock car when that class was in its popularity. Helms drives two, while

®

More than just your average racer, Teuton’s race building houses enough equipment to build their own engines in addition to dyno facilities.

Teuton handles one and sons Frank and Joey handle wheel duties from time to time. In addition, brother Joe owns several race cars himself that his son Lil’ Joe drives.

Teuton recently debuted a new Challenger race car as a tribute to his wife, a 40-year breast cancer survivor.

In 2009, Chrysler built 280 Challengers painted in Furious Fuchsia, a sort of pink-colored car. Naturally, Carolyn Teuton gets to drive around daily in one of those 280 cars but Jeff decided to build one of his race cars in that same color as a way to honor his wife and give back to the community though a local cancer survivor group.

How potent are these Chrysler Drag Pak combinations? With just minor race-type additions, the tribute car debuted at a recent Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at almost one-second under the Stock Eliminator index.

“We’re having a good time,” Teuton says. “We really are liking this heads-up Factory Shootout class.

The factories are building these cars, we’re buying them but NHRA doesn’t seem to be promoting them as well as they should. These are eight-second cars and they put on a great show but they’re having us run in front of empty stands. It’s pretty sad and I don’t know where it’s going.”

While Teuton is not sure “where it’s going,” he is confident on what he’s doing; and that’s having fun. It’s that typical “bayou mentality” where having fun is the main priority in life. That and making sure; as Teuton laughingly asks, “Is there’s enough beer or do we have to go out and buy some more.” DRS For even more content search “Jeff Teuton” at DragRacingScene.com.

42 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

The Teutons are definitely a racing family. Jeff’s brother Joe Jr.’s son Lil’ Joe is every bit as involved in the sport as anyone, wheeling this Hemi ‘Cuda to wins all over the country.

been involved in racing since “We’ve day one and I guess we ain’t gonna’ quit. It might be too late now. ”

A recent highlight for both Teuton and Mopar was his win at the 2010 NHRA U.S. Nationals.

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ACTING

SHIFTY Aerospace’s one-handed shifter puts safety first

I The Aerospace Components Pro Eliminator Shifter for Powerglide transmissions is designed for true one-handed operation.

n “olden days,” the act of shifting an automatic transmission required little more than a stick connected to the transmission lever. Moving the stick back and forth with one hand got you anywhere from the park position to any of the two or three forward gears. That was then… this is now.

Typically, high gear on the shifter was/is located just before the neutral detent, followed closely by the reverse detent. Racers wishing to pop the car into neutral after going through the finish line would invariably skip right past

The shifter internals are manufactured from billet aluminum and contains a hardened-steel gate plate and neutral safety switch.

All shifters are manufactured and assembled at the company’s facility in Florida.

An aluminum billet transmission bracket is adjustable to properly line up the shifter detents with the detents in the transmission.

neutral and engage reverse. Engaging reverse gear, sometimes well over 100 mph, had a devastating effect on car handling, which sometimes found said car engaging the guardrail. Not a good situation.

In the early ’80s, sanctioning body officials mandated a reverse lock-out that required a spring-loaded positive reverse lock-out device to prevent the shifter from accidentally being put into reverse gear. From there it was off to the races for shifter manufacturers.

Born out of the desire to build a better mousetrap, Aerospace Components manufactures a number of computer-designed and machined products at its facility in St. Petersburg, Florida. One such product is their two-speed Powerglide Pro Eliminator Shifter.

Manufactured from 6061-T6 billet aluminum, the shifter features stainless hardware and a hardened-steel internal gate plate. It also has an internal neutral safety switch that when wired in series with your starter button, will only allow the engine to start in park or neutral. A separate lever attached to the main shifter handle allows you to negotiate through the gears.

One of the beauties of the unit is its true one-handed operation. Starting with the main lever in the park position, squeezing the two levers together allows the shifter to be moved from park and into the reverse position.

The shifter handle can then be pulled straight back into the neutral position. Squeezing the two once again moves the shifter to the second, or high gear, position followed by releasing the lever and simply pulling the main lever back to low gear. The opposite operation allows you to go from first gear back up to park.

“Remember, the unique safety feature in going from neutral to reverse is you have to push the lever forward, then push the main handle forward to get into reverse, then push forward for park,” says Aerospace’s Kim Kussy.

Scan QR Code for a video about the Aerospace Components Pro Eliminator Shifter.

The cable bracket on the shifter can be moved to allow for either a front or rear exiting cable.

In addition to various length cables available, the shifter itself is convertible in that the cable exit can be either from the back or front. A bell crank option allows the user to change the push/pull direction directly at the transmission. The shifter housing is also machined to accept a screw-in air or electric cylinder for automatic shifting.

While it’s not as simple as the olden days of a straight stick hooked to the side of the transmission, it’s a whole lot safer, and that is what it should be all about. DRS Source: Aerospace Components, aerospacecomponents.com

DragRacingScene.com 45

The Arana family knows the lessons of tenacity

R

acing is known for its famous families like the Forces in NHRA, the Pettys in NASCAR, and the Andrettis in IndyCar. Of course there are plenty more, but one family that should not be forgotten is the Aranas of Milltown, Indiana, via Miami, Florida, and Puerto Rico.

Patriarch Hector Arana Sr. has been racing since 1990, when he made his debut at the NHRA U.S. Nationals. His oldest son, Hector Arana Jr., was barely a year old at that race, and another son, Adam, came along two years later.

46 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

As soon as they were old enough to hold a wrench, Hector Jr. and Adam became their father’s crew members, learning the mechanics of Pro Stock Motorcycles (PSM) as well as the ethics of hard work.

“The racing has always kept us close together,” Hector Jr. says. “It was something I did with my dad. I remember when we still lived in Miami, he’d be in the garage. Every weekend, he’d have the garage door open and Adam and I would be out front playing, and Dad would be in the garage

watching us while he was tinkering with the bike.

“We’d always be there helping him and trying to learn new things. It was always a big family thing for us.”

Arana Sr. was born in Miami and lived in Puerto Rico for a time before moving back to Miami to start a career as an auto mechanic and a family with his wife Grace. When the boys were teenagers, the Aranas moved to Milltown, as Hector Sr. began his association with Forrest and Charlotte Lucas and Lucas Oil.

Family is what the Aranas are all about. While Adam is serving his country in the Coast Guard, Hector Sr. (second from left) is still a happy man knowing that his immediate family (left to right) daughter Abby, wife Grace, and Hector Jr. along with the family pet, Stella, are all together.

Words Lee Montgomery Photos John DiBartolomeo DragRacingScene.com 47

This is how it all began and remains the same today. Hector Jr. working alongside his father learning the intricacies of Pro Stock Motorcycles and life in general.

By then, Hector Jr. and Adam helped dad work on the bikes, and the entire family — including daughter Abby — often traveled to races together.

But there were some lean times, performance-wise, for Hector Sr. He went seven years without reaching a final round, often struggling to simply qualify for races. That ate at him, not simply because he wanted to win, but because he wanted his sons to know the value of perseverance.

“Many years had gone by, and as kids they were always saying, ‘Dad, did you win?’ ‘No, I didn’t win.’ The next race, ‘Dad, did you win?’ ‘No,’” Hector Sr. says. “It got to a point that they never asked me. That was my fear. I didn’t want them to grow up and think, ‘Why work so hard? He works holidays, vacation time; he was always working, even when he was sick. For what?’ I didn’t want them to remember that.”

That all changed in Norwalk, Ohio, in 2008, when he finally went to the winner’s circle.

48 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

“

If you’re persistent and keep going at it, it’s possible. Anything you want to do, you can do it.

You’ve just got to keep on going.

”

“The best thing for me was my kids worked with me, so they were there when I had my first win,” Hector Sr. says. “They were part of it, they witnessed it, and they were my crew. It couldn’t have happened at any better time, to have them there and to see it.

“It took a long time, but I did it. To me, that was the biggest thing. I want them to work hard and never give up. I had that win, and it was a big weight off

my shoulders. If you’re persistent and keep going at it, it’s possible. Anything you want to do, you can do it. You’ve just got to keep on going.”

Passing along the values of persistence and hard work has been important to Hector and Grace, but they’ve also taught their children the significance of family. Hector Sr.’s mother Irma, brother Edwin, Grace’s twin sister, Elaine Gardner, and her husband Glenn are frequent visitors to the racetrack.

Hector Jr.’s girlfriend Nicole Nobile, sister to Pro Stock racer Vincent Nobile, has been welcomed into the family, as was Adam’s girlfriend Jessica Outten — before Adam decided to venture on his own and join the United States Coast Guard this year.

But the Arana family extends beyond blood relatives. Dan Gonzalez, Hector Jr.’s crew chief, and mechanic Louie Lubliner have become part of the family, too.

“They all get involved and they get to watch us on TV,” Arana Jr. says of his family. “They all want to come to the races, and they try to get to at least one race, whichever is close to them. We have family members all over the country.”

And there have been others welcomed into the Arana family. Ade Casanola and her brother Juan Mata would attend races as fans in Englishtown, New Jersey, many years ago. Casanola befriended Hector Sr. at a race in Gainesville, Florida, when she noticed Arana Sr. and Gonzalez were searching for food after a long, hot day at the track.

“It was just him and Dan that day, and they had a rough day racing,” Casanola says. “They were hungry and were struggling to make something. We told them, ‘We’ll go in the motorhome, see what you have and make you a homemade meal.’”

They loved it, and Casanola told them she would cook for them at the next race, which turned out to be the very next race… and the next race, and so on. These days, Casanola’s cooking is loved by many in the PSM pit area, as she’s become a fixture in the Arana pit.

Plus, Juan helps work on the bikes when he comes to the races, too.

The family extends beyond immediate, as people like Ade Casanola and her brother Juan Mata, who were fans, have now joined the fray while everyone enjoys Ade’s cooking.

“A lot of people think I’m [Hector Sr.’s] sister,” Casanola says. “It’s because he’s taken me and my brother under his wing. I live a dream (going to races) because of him. Hector is one humble person, one who is loyal to his people, to his fans, without a doubt.”

Hector Jr. started racing in 2011, and Adam joined him in 2013. But Hec-

tor Sr. never pushed his kids into racing. If anything, he tried to steer them away from it because he knew how difficult it was. But both boys followed in their dad’s footsteps, giving the family even more time together.

“My father probably didn’t even want us to race because he knew how dangerous it was,” Hector Jr. says. “He

Longtime friend Larry Morgan, who drives the FireAde Camaro in Pro Stock, has helped the Aranas in the past with some of his engine-building skills.

never pushed us, it was something I wanted to do. I came to him, and I told him I wanted to race. That’s when he felt like he couldn’t say no, knowing all the work I had put forth helping him and being around it all my life.”

Hector Jr. has become a force in his budding career, winning 11 races and getting to 17 finals in 68 races. Plus, he’s qualified first 17 times already and has a 111-58 round win/loss record.

Hector Jr. can become one of the top Pro Stock Motorcycle racers ever, and he gives credit to his dad for teaching him the mechanics of motorcycles and riding techniques.

“I became his crew chief,” Hec-

tor Jr. says. “I was helping him tune his bike. I was his right-hand man. I learned a lot, and because of that, it helped me become the rider I am today. It’s because of him. Working my way from the bottom all the way up to the top, I know how everything works.

Now when I ride the bike, I know what to listen for, what to feel.

“That all happened because of him and the way he taught me.”

Hector Sr. said his mother should get credit for his emphasis on family and belonging, because as a kid he went everywhere with his family — together.

“Anywhere that my mom went to, she took us,” Hector Sr. said. “She never left

became his crew “Ichief.

I was help-

ing him tune his bike. I was his right-hand man.

I learned a lot, and because of that, it helped me become the rider I am today.

”

50 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

us behind. If she couldn’t take us, we wouldn’t go. I remember growing up, us always being together. Everywhere we went, we were together as a whole family. All the way up to when we grew up, made our own lives, and went different directions, my brothers and I were always together. If you find one, you find the other two.

“The way I was brought up, that’s how I continued.”

Hector Sr. and his family were always together too, at home and at the racetrack. But that changed late last year, when Adam decided to join the Coast Guard, and Hector Jr. got a job in New York to be closer to Nicole. Even Abby is exploring her career options as she graduates college and searches out her next move.

It’s been tough on dad, though he wishes his children well.

“I miss my kids,” Hector Sr. says.

“Adam was so close to home, and it hasn’t yet hit me hard. Now and then, he has come home and spent a weekend with us. That’s great — except when he leaves. Then you have that emptiness again. But they’ve got to grow up. Everyone has to make their own lives and make it happen wherever they end up.

“I want to be around them. We were blessed that Forrest wanted to sponsor Hector and make it happen, and that kept us together for so many years. Now, they’re grown up, and the only time I get to see them is at the race track.

“I realize how much I miss them,” Hector Sr. adds. “I realize how much they did and how much they loved it.

They were there every day after work, to help. Now that they’re gone, I miss them, so I always look forward to going to the races. We’re together again.” DRS

For even more content search “Aranas family” at DragRacingScene.com.

didn’t want “Ithem to grow up and think, ‘Why work so hard?

He works holidays, vacation time; he was always working, even when he was sick. For what?’ I didn’t want them to remember that.

”

UNDER Exhaust system myths and truths

I

n the case of a typical normally-aspirated intake port, flow is determined by a vacuum, a vacuum created when the piston makes its way down the cylinder to suck in the air/fuel mixture through an open valve. If there is any resistance to flow, the air/fuel mixture will not properly fill the cylinder.

The exhaust, on the other hand, is filled by the pressure of the piston moving upward in the bore. It is generally thought of as being easier to flow air which is under pressure than it is to flow air by way of a vacuum. That’s the theory anyway.

52 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

Richard Maskin of Dart Machinery is not one to rely on the status quo, choosing rather to think of things in a very logical manner. In the ‘70s, Maskin was campaigning an AMC in Pro Stock utilizing an engine in which they did a considerable amount of work on the intake ports.

“We were just sheep following the herd,” says Maskin. “I don’t think we really knew what we were doing back then. We were just shooting in the dark.

It was like throwing darts at a dart board with a blindfold on. There was so much to do that anything you did even halfway right, it would run better.”

By the end of Maskin’s first attempts in Pro Stock in the late ‘70s, he had learned enough about cylinder heads to know what worked and why. In the early ‘80s, he was approached to take a look at the cylinder heads being used on the Funny Cars of the day.

“What I saw was the inadequacies of the Chrysler heads being run,” he said.

“When I looked at the Chryslers, I knew they were wrong. Anything we did to make it look like we thought it should look, it just went faster. Remember that these were the stock cast iron heads used at that time. The exhaust port had no short turn

The exhaust port of a cylinder head’s function is to evacuate a cylinder after the power stroke.

You can put in all the air/fuel mixture you want through an intake port but if you can’t evacuate it properly, you’re wasting power.

radius because the port was so low in the head. That was so they could get an exhaust manifold on them in the stock car.”

As soon as Maskin raised the roof of the port, it made all the difference and the cars started running faster.

“We had a small flow bench around that time, and we didn’t just pick up five or ten cfm, we picked up 40,” Maskin says. “It really just looked wrong and it was wrong. It was just part of the evolution of our learning curve.”

A learning curve that still exists today within Dart Machinery.

One of the latest tricks Maskin has employed has been cutting the exhaust valve down in order to open up flow into the port.

As he explains, “Let’s say you have a 1.88” exhaust valve and like we have all been taught to do, we cut the valve seat to the edge of the valve which makes the seat as big as it can be. Leave that as it is, but take the valve and cut the diameter down to 1.85”. The valve will still seat on that 1.88 seat but you’ve opened up the restriction in the port, which is the valve.

“In addition to that, it enables you to put a bigger intake valve, which previously would have meant moving the guides and the related valvetrain modifications.

For a wedge engine, we’ll have only about .035” between the two valves, Canted valve engines are a little different as the clearance between the two valves relies more on camshaft overlap and such.

But if you made the exhaust .030 smaller, you could make the intake .030 bigger.

This is not all about just making the exhaust better. It’s about going back and forth, make the exhaust better, then go back to the intake and vice-versa. That’s what engine development is all about.”

With little doubt, all engines are intake dependent. From that point, it’s necessary to work the exhaust to evacuate the cylinder and unload the crankshaft. Technically, some might argue there is a correlation between intake versus exhaust flow, but in Maskin’s eyes, he likes to see the exhaust port flowing as much as possible and then adjust it with camshaft.

“You can fill the cylinder with all of the air/fuel mixture you can,” says Maskin, “but if you can’t properly evacuate all of it, it’s useless. After the power stroke, you have to be able to properly unload what you put into the cylinder on the intake stroke.”

Following the power stroke, the piston is making its way back down the bore followed by going back up on the exhaust stroke with the exhaust valve open. Around halfway up the bore, the intake begins to open and if you haven’t completely emptied the cylinder, you can’t properly refill the cylinder with a fresh air/fuel mixture.

“If the exhaust is flowing too much, put a smaller exhaust lobe on the cam and the engine will accelerate quicker because it has less overlap,” he says. “At that point, the header tube matters. As power goes up, the pipes matter more.

They either have to get shorter or get larger at the same length. And I think a change in headers would probably be DragRacingScene.com 53

Exhaust port styles and shapes have changed throughout the years but it really all starts at the valve and seat.

seen at horsepower levels as little as 300.

That’s what step headers were all about; keeping the torque curve flat; and it will all show up on the scoreboard.”

The next step in the process involves the throat in the port below the valve. It has always been common to cut a bottom angle and/or radius below the seat to lead the flow into the port. Maskin’s improvements almost eliminates that angle and opens the throat up to roughly 95-percent of the valve size. Of course as he points out, “This is high-end race stuff with big lift. The rules here change when you’re talking low-lift numbers.

“Our rule in the ‘70s was to have an exhaust port throat roughly .200” smaller than the valve,” says Maskin. “Using a 1.710” diameter valve, it equated to roughly 87-percent of the valve size. We’ve also gone from a 45-degree seat angle to a 55-degree and that has made a big difference. In some of the big 900-cubic inch cylinder heads we do, we’ve taken that one step further to a 60-degree angle.”

Tony McAfee, Dart’s resident flow bench expert said, “A lot of the throat size is keyed to the seat angle. The 45-degree seats work fairly well when the throat size is roughly 88-percent, but the steeper the angle requires the larger throat size.

“Forty-five degree seats work well at low lift numbers and are probably preferred for low horsepower engines,” McAfee says, “and in some cases will work well in higher horsepower applications. However for the most part, the steeper angles do work a lot better, but it’s not just the seat angle. The lead-in angles above the valve job have to feed into the port correctly.”

It’s here where it’s important to note that the flow bench, while being a great tool, isn’t always the end-all when it comes to determining what works and what doesn’t.

“In working on the dyno, we opened up the throats in a set of heads which I didn’t want to do because the flow 54 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

In the early-‘80s, Richard Maskin was asked to look at the cast iron Hemi cylinder heads used on the fuel cars of the day. “When I looked at the Chryslers,” he said, “I knew they were wrong. And anything we did to make it look like we thought it should look, it just went faster.”

With the addition of a wet flow bench to Dart’s arsenal of tools, it’s enabled them to “see” not only air but fuel flow as well.

bench told us it wouldn’t work,” McAfee said. “But the engine loved it. In reality, the exhaust valve is starting to open at a point before the piston is at the bottom. At that point, the cylinder pressure is still extremely high and it’s just looking for a place to escape and as such, all that matters is square area.”

The exit point of the exhaust port is another area which bears consideration. McAfee mentioned the exit point of the cylinder head should be no more than 125-percent of the throat area and in some cases, smaller. This of course, has a lot to do with normally-aspirated versus the type of power-adders used.

“The same concepts we’ve learned with the port follow over to the shape of the valve,” Maskin says. “The flatter the backside of the valve, the worse the airflow seems on the flow bench. However, the better it works on the dyno and on the track.

As can be easily understood, in addition to getting air and fuel into an engine, one must never forget the plain fact that you must also concern your-

Dart’s exhaust work begins at the valve seat and it’s here where they have learned plenty over the years, an education that continues every day.

self with getting that burnt mixture out. And naturally, all that matters is the time slip. DRS Source: Dart Machinery, dartheads.com

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Dan Fletcher on his life and how to win

F

or a person who has won 94 NHRA national events to date along with numerous championships and drives the single most winningest car in drag racing, his most favorite thing is sitting in his Jacuzzi with a Michelob Ultra beer watching ESPN TV shows Around The Horn and Pardon The Interruption.

“How sad and pathetic am I in that in all I’ve done in drag racing, I look forward to sitting in a bubble bath and listen to PTI’s Tony Kornheiser and Mi56 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

chael Wilbon argue back and forth,” laughingly asks Dan Fletcher. “That’s my highlight.”

The professional sportsman racer has been at this game for a long time after inheriting the sometimes-called disease from his father.

“I don’t know how my father Tom ever got into racing and I’m not sure who I can ultimately blame for this,” he says. “His father; my grandfather who died before I was born; was a farmer.

My father was a high school athlete and

then joined the Navy but somehow got involved in cars. A Mopar guy, he actually had one of the ’68 factory Hemi car on order but he wanted a stick and all he could get was an automatic.

“He had a friend who worked at a local Chevy dealership; Taylor Chevrolet and hence my daughter’s name Taylor, true story; so he ordered a ’69 Camaro. When it came in, he drove it ten miles home and it’s been a race car ever since,” Fletch adds.

John Force has certainly had some

Photo by Richard Brady

Donna and Dan Fletcher live the life of a professional sportsman racer with its accompanying ups and downs. They wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

Words/Photos John DiBartolomeo

winning race cars over the years as has Don Garlits and several others. But neither has a car which has won more national events than the infamous Fletch Super Stocker. As a race car since Day 1, first campaigned by Tom in the Modified Production classes in the early ‘70s, the elder Fletcher parked the car for several years to raise a family and a job.

“Dad coached my Pop Warner football teams and as an only child, he pretty much lived his life through me,” says Fletch. “We were still interested in rac-

ing and by the time I was 16, it was all I wanted to do, which some days I think ‘stupid me,’ but we brought that Camaro back out bracket racing until we thought we had to get a dragster like everyone else. Then we saw this Super Stock thing which was bottom bulb racing, and so here we are.”

Suffering; if one might call it that; through two runner-up finishes in 1991 and ’93, Fletcher managed to break through for his first national event win in Columbus in ’94. Unfortunately Tom

Fletcher didn’t live to see it as he passed away in early ’93. No doubt though he’s smiling and proud up in Heaven as his son has gone on to make quite a name for himself in the sport.

However, while racing had yet to become a priority, making a living and raising a family came first. Tom Fletcher was an engineer for the Xerox Company and it was only natural for Dan to do the same.

“See, I think I can blame everything on my Dad,” Fletcher laughingly says.

“He didn’t have a degree in engineering but back then you didn’t need one.

He started out as a lab technician and worked his way up the ladder to engineering. He was real good with his hands and in fact, almost everything I own from the cherry picker we use in the garage to the engine stand to the open trailer we have are things he built himself. He made everything, including back-halving the Camaro in our garage with a picnic table and jack stands serving as the fixture to hold up the back of the car.”

As a high school student who admittingly spent very little time yet came home with good grades, a college education looked to be a reasonable task for Dan. After the first semester, “Kid Wonderful;” as Fletch puts it; came home with a stunning (said with eyes wide open) 2.2 GPA, far from even being considered acceptable. But he endured and landed a job at Xerox learning the nuances of paper handling.

Racing throughout all that time, it seemed like Fletcher was spending DragRacingScene.com 57

Showing his versatility as a driver, Fletcher hopped behind the wheel of Rick Braun’s Comp car and won the NHRA Comp championship in 2008.

A serious competitor, Fletcher leaves very little to chance. “I think the strength of my program is my preparation. I’m always going to do everything and anything it takes to be prepared as well as I can be.”

most of his day trying to stay one step ahead of the “man.” Leaving early with your coat on the desk with the drawers open to make it appear as if he was still there was his forte. Trying to make due with two or three weeks’ vacation, sick days and the like was what his life had turned into.

“I figured I could make it work just racing and planned to quit around the middle of ’97,” he says. “But I won the Phoenix and Gainesville national events early to start the season off and just decided to say Sayonara to Xerox right then.”

A very serious competitor, Fletcher will be the first to complain about all the inadequacies he suffers in his chosen profession. Inadequacies that are much the same for any other small businessman in America. The only difference is that one small thousandthof-a-second mistake is what separates Fletcher from prosperity and poverty.

“I know everybody goes through it, but there are times when I feel so broke I couldn’t even pay attention,” he says.

“The one thing which has been beating me up lately is the work load I carry. It sometimes just overwhelms me.”

Now with his two primary race cars being the Super Stocker and equally winning ’69 Camaro Stocker, he’s added a COPO Camaro, a station wagon which son Thomas drives, a Nova for second son Timothy, and they recently purchased an S10 tuck for bracket racing.

Trucks, trailers and the like all require 58 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

constant upkeep and while both sons are quick to help, the actual workload itself falls squarely on Dan’s shoulders.

“Don’t get me wrong,” he says, “I’m not complaining; even though it sounds like I am; but I wouldn’t change anything. It’s been a wonderful ride and a wonderful life. My wife Donna and I have been married for 26 years and we actually still like each other. I couldn’t have found a better life partner. If I think about the blessings in my life, that one is at the top.”

A day after this interview, he prepared to hop on a plane to pick up his rig he had left in Kansas City after the Chicago national event. The reason? No sense dragging it all the way back home to New York only to drag it back west for the western swing (Denver-Sonoma-Seattle), a trio of races he swept in

1994. A quick plane trip to Kansas City followed by a short eight or nine hour haul to the Mile-High city became delayed when his flight was cancelled. Oh, the trials and tribulations of a road warrior. As his good friend Sal Biondo always says, “Dan really should have his own reality show.”

It all might look luxurious. Traveling the country driving some of the best race cars to ever hit the track. Winning races. Getting help from great sponsors like PEAK, Mickey Thompson Tires, K&N Filters and others.

What could be more exciting? But it takes work. Work the average person really doesn’t see that goes on in the brain of Dan Fletcher. And in some truth, maybe you don’t want to see inside this man’s head. But it’s a job he chose. One that he still enjoys.

Both of Fletcher’s sons have grown up to be excellent racers themselves and no doubt learned their lessons well. Tim Fletcher (left) has his own Nova but will wheel any of the six Team PEAK/ Fletcher cars when the need arises.

Regardless though, winning races is what pays the bills and it’s obvious that Fletcher is very good at his job. With help from those aforementioned sponsors, he affords the lifestyle of a professional sportsman racer, something with today’s winnings you have a hard time doing anymore.

“It used to be that a national event win was worth anywhere from $1520,000 and up,” he says. “Today you’re lucky to walk away with two-thirds of that, regardless of the fact that the cost of everything else has gone up. So now I have the pressure of having to win more races just to survive. Something that is getting harder to do every day with the quality of the competition.”

How then does one accomplish that?

“There is something to be said for knowing just how to win,” Fletcher says. “That’s some king of intangible that I can’t put my finger on. But it’s one of those things that once you kick the door in and get by the first one then it seems like you’re good. But what does it take?

“What it takes to win right now is an almost impossible question to answer. Everyone drives so well right now and their equipment is so good that it’s amazing.

For even more content search “Dan Fletcher” at DragRacingScene.com.

Yes, it is the winningest car in drag racing having been a race car since 1969 with only ten street miles on it. Dan Fletcher has driven this car to 50 national event winner’s circles and still counting.

“Overall, I believe there are four keys. Preparation, planning, execution and discipline. They all have to fit together. The guy who prepares the best, executes his plan and has the discipline to put it all together is the guy who will usually turn on win lights.

“But then you got the luck card. I don’t know how you beat that one,” he says.

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Fortunately for Dan Fletcher he has had the ability to put all four keys together and to some extent, he’s been able to add in a little luck along the way.

A very serious competitor, he really does leave little to chance, which means not having to rely on luck all that much. He plans his work and works his plan. Isn’t that what champions do? DRS

PREMIUM

PLUMBING Brown & Miller is making a serious dent in drag racing

E

ven if you’ve been involved in racing for years, you may not have heard of Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, which manufactures lightweight, high quality hoses and fittings for race cars.

That’s because the very specialized company has for years done business almost exclusively with Formula 1 and NASCAR Cup teams. Oh, and don’t forget the high end sports car teams running Le Mans and other road courses.

Lately Brown & Miller has been pushing to make its products more readily available to race teams at all levels, and the company’s commitment to quality is quickly helping it become quite popular in drag racing.

With facilities in both North Carolina and California, we made a visit 60 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

to Brown & Miller’s shop in Concord, North Carolina, where they assemble hose and fitting kits for teams throughout the United States.

You may think that all hoses and AN fittings are basically the same, making them essentially commodity items, but that certainly isn’t true with the pieces we were shown.

Brown & Miller machines, bends, and heat treats its own AN fittings to a proprietary design, and sources all its hoses from a single manufacturer that sells most of its products in the aviation industry.

Every hose assembled in the location we visited was made-to-order, and the attention to detail was quite amazing.

Brown & Miller’s John Harper told us the company has no intention to

try and be the cheapest product on the market.

“People in China wanted to sell us fittings for less than we can purchase the raw materials,” he says. “There’s no way we want any part of that. Our quality is the most important thing. We won’t sell one grade of hoses to our NASCAR customers and another grade to our drag racing customers.

“When anybody buys anything from us — no matter what class they race — they can be confident that we are providing them the same quality the NASCAR teams depend on.”

One of the more interesting things we learned is that Brown & Miller makes all of its own AN hose end fittings in England, and they make an absolutely huge variety of fittings.

All of Brown & Miller’s AN fittings such as their new ProBlackDR line are manufactured in their own facility in England. This enables them to very closely control quality.

From tiny -2 size lines all the way up to huge -32 size, Brown & Miller has the all the hose you’ll ever need.

The new ProBlackDR line of fittings and hose is all about flow. These two similar fittings show an example of how the ProBlackDR fitting (left) has a much smoother radius.

Unlike many brands, a Brown & Miller fitting is machined from one piece of aluminum — instead of the typical three — and heat treated afterward.

Constructing an AN fitting from multiple pieces requires them to be brazed together, which can affect the quality of the heat treatment.

Harper says this is why Brown & Miller fittings won’t suffer from seized nuts because the seat flange won’t spread if the fitting is over-tightened.

The hoses, meanwhile, will last virtually forever if they aren’t damaged.

Harper says the PTFE used to construct the hoses will never be affected by the fluid that’s inside it.

Brown & Miller uses the latest in hose crimping equipment to ensure leak-free service for years to come. All hose and fittings are custom-designed and manufactured per customer requests.

“We normally tell people that a visual inspection (for damage) is best,” Harper says. “Broken braid wires can cause damage to the hose. Also, in vacuum applications (such as in drysump applications from the oil pan

to the pump), if the hose is ever kinked it will then be susceptible to collapsing.”

Otherwise, unless it is punctured, you should be good to go. DRS Source: Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, bmrs.net

DragRacingScene.com 61

COUPE Old car + new tech 9 seconds

B

uilding a fast car is a delicate balance of desire and reality. Nine second cars aren’t very streetable, nine second “street cars” aren’t very reliable, and nine second street cars aren’t very nostalgic looking. Or are they?

Brian Kohlmann from Wisconsin says they can be by pairing old school cool with the latest in technology. His 1931 Chrysler runs a blown Hemi, a five speed, and it runs nines while still getting 12-15mpg. It’s a frequent daily driver, a fierce Drag Week Competitor, and cleaned up nice enough to win an Overall Best of Class – Street Cars award at the Detroit Autorama. What more could you ask for?

62 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

Brian is a Mopar guy, and found this coupe body on eBay. He then boxed the rails of the factory chassis and added tubular crossmembers. Striving for an early ‘60s competition look, he retained the factory parallel leaf springs up front while adding a dropped axle, lever shocks, and disc brakes. Out back he hung a Dana rear axle on an adjustable ladder bar system with coilovers.

The body was chopped two inches and retains the original roll down rear window, a feature only found on rumble-seat coupes. He filled the roof with the ribbed panel of an old ‘63 Dodge station wagon, and used the rest to fabricate a matching belly pan. In keeping

with the old school hot rod theme, the clutch pedal connects to a clutch-assisted GF5R transmission from G-force.

Yes, this is a stick-shift car.

For power there was no other option than an early Hemi, and a supercharged one at that. A 354 block was fitted with a 392 crank and matching heads from Bob Walker at Hot Hemi Heads. Brian is quick to thank Roger Lechtenburg of R & J Performance, who spent a lot of time working his magic on the heads.

Previous cars for Brian included a blown nitro car and another that ran on alcohol, so he knew his way around a fast engine. He decided to add a Littlefield 6-71 supercharger to the Hemi

and topped it with eight Stromberg 97s, to keep things vintage-looking. The Weiand blower intake for the Strombergs was one of only twenty made. Tuning the eight carbs was tricky, but Brian is a carb guy, and expertly got them to push the 3,200lb car into the 10s. Eventually the carbs became the bottleneck to going

faster. “I wanted to get into the 9s,” he says. “But as crazy as it sounds, eight carbs were restricting us. Collectively they were only 1200 cfm. We were topped out.”

Brian’s son Kieron is an engineer for Chrysler who was earning his Automotive Engineering Degree and learning about EFI in college. He encouraged

his father to switch the carbs, but Brian knew little about EFI. “I was a carb guy,” he says. “I could make carbs designed in 1934 run in the 10s, and I knew how finicky mechanical fuel injection was from racing, but EFI was a complete mystery. I knew what I wanted it to do, but didn’t know how to make it happen while keeping the vintage look.”

The solution became a father and son project and a collaboration of many sources. It began with a Hilborn fourport injector. Hilborn modified the original upright design to accept modern EFI injectors. Though the Injection Dynamics nozzles are twice the price of others on the market, they’re reputation makes them a popular choice for the heavy hitters on Drag Week. Andy at Hilborn added them to the injector stack and had Holley craft a custom fuel rail with a -10 feed line. The gas tank was modified with a -12 outlet, a -8 return, and a higher capacity vent. The guys at Kinsler Fuel Injection set Brian up with a Weldon fuel pump and the proper pre- and post-filters and a regulator. Lastly, a FAST XFI 2.0 box was added to tell everything what to do.

While the box learned the parameters and made the car run, Brian wanted to finely tune it. He sought help with Larry at ASSC Racing, a local FAST tuner.

Larry came highly recommended and continues to assist with the tuning.

With a few remaining questions just outside of Larry’s expertise, Brian attended a FAST EFI 101 class at the PRI show with some very specific questions.

While they were able to answer most, he was pointed to FAST technician David Page for advanced advice on how to unlock the XFI’s full potential and adDragRacingScene.com 63

dress some RF (radio frequency) issues that were giving mixed signals.

“While it works great now,” says Brian, “I have a shop full of melted pistons and other parts I’d driven over when running the eight carbs. With the switch to EFI, we were finally able to use the data logging to create timing maps that complimented the fuel maps that pulled timing out, much like a nitrous or boosted car does, to stop detonation and save pistons. It’s made all the difference in the world on drivability.”

Another added feature that was activated is the traction control. The FAST system is tunable to adjust ignition spark if the RPMs spike unexpectedly. This has been a valuable asset for Brian in preparing for Drag Week. His coupe only fits in either the Unlimited Class, or the Daily Driver Street Machine Class which relies heavily on bracket-racing and consistency. With a 10.00 index, Brian has been working hard to get the car as consistent as possible, and recently cut a 10.0004.

The days of keeping notes in a notebook and tuning with hand tools are a thing of the past. Now data is automatically logged and analyzed with incredible accuracy, and tuning is done on a laptop. What’s more, the money saved in parts and fuel has allowed the switch to EFI to more than pay for itself.

“With 4.56 gears and 32-inch tires, I’m running around 3,000rpm on the high64 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

way in fifth gear,” says Brian. “I’m getting 12-15 miles to the gallon, and I run it on pump gas. Mileage has more than tripled and I don’t have any more fouled plugs or polluted oil. Then I’m able to go to the track, pull three-foot tall wheelies, and run in the nines. It’s amazing that an 80-year-old body, and a 60-year-old en-

gine block can use the latest technology to virtually do the impossible. I’m also thankful for the right group of people who have helped me along the way; that’s the other key element.”

In a fitting end to the story, Brian’s son Kieron, who started him on this “father and son adventure in switching

carbs for EFI,” has been so impressed with the results that he and ol’ dad are now switching HIS Dodge Super Bee over from a carb to FAST EFI. “It’s neat to see him excited and to help him with his car,” says Brian. “We’ve come full circle, and that’s pretty cool.” DRS Source: FAST, fuelairspark.com

WIN GROWING UP TO

John Labbous Jr. speaks about winning 66  Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

T

here are quite a few racers who can say they were born into the sport but how many can actually state their “babysitter” buckled them into the passenger’s seat of a race car and took off?

John Labbous Jr. can.

“The person who was supposed to be watching me didn’t show and Daddy had to go racing so off we went,” says Labbous Jr. However long or short that ride was, it set a course for a man who has won just about everything there is in the bracket racing world and has only recently set his sights on the NHRA sportsman side of the fence in the quest for a championship.

Words/Photos John DiBartolomeo DragRacingScene.com 67

For even more content search “John Labbous Jr.” at DragRacingScene.com.

While he’s made a name for himself driving his own dragsters in bracket race trim, Labbous Jr. has recently been tearing up the NHRA sportsman ranks driving a Super Comp dragster and Super Gas Corvette roadster owned by another famous racer, Anthony Bertozzi.

Naturally though, “Daddy” was the indomitable John Labbous Sr. who taught his son well while he won many of the same races that his son today conquers. Senior, a former Million Dollar Race winner and five-time NHRA national event finalist in addition to the very first NHRA Division 2 Bracket Finals champion in 1976, is a hustler. A man who built his own cars, his own engines, drove them to the track and won more times than none, doing anything that had to be done in the quest for win lights.

Labbous Jr. says, “He is still as sharp today at 68-years young as he was when I was young. His mind is always going. He could sell ice to the Eskimos. He’s always looking for an angle to make money and he has to. That’s what he has done his whole life. I’ve seen him do things at the races that I would almost question. But it’s what he does. He enjoys it and it’s what keeps him sharp.”

And while Senior managed throughout it all to care for his family, he was also able to impart some life lessons as well.

“While I learned a lot by just watching him, it was his teachings that guided me to who I am today,” says Junior, “But he also let me do my own thing and make my own decisions. Never once was drag racing pushed on me. I grew up at the track with my Hot Wheels on the ramps of the truck. And it was all I ever wanted to do. I knew nothing else and still don’t.”

Working beside his father at the family shop after high school, Labbous Jr. learned the lessons of hard work. After marriage to his wife Jennifer which has resulted in two daughters, Morgan and Maci, he found employment at a car dealer68 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

All John Labbous Jr. ever wanted to do was race and with the support of his wife Jennifer and two daughters, Morgan and Maci along with just a little bit of coaching from his famous father John Labbous Sr. and his mom, Pat, he’s able to do just that and win.

ship with the stipulation that he could continue to race every weekend. When that became tough, he chose drag racing as a way to earn a living. A living he has done quite well with due to his God-given talent to turn on win lights.

“I’ve been fortunate to be able to win as much as I do,” he said. “However, it’s a double-edged sword but I love my job. I am absolutely happy but it is a job, and I have to look at it like that every day. I sometimes get a bad rap because I don’t tend to talk to too many people. When I put that helmet on, I don’t want to be bothered. I’m at work in my office.

“I will absolutely help anyone that asks. I have nothing to hide and I’ll tell you anything you want to know. But when I’m working I’m just very intense and concentrating on what I’m doing.”

After scoring well on the high dollar bracket racing circuit, Labbous chose to make somewhat of a switch and move into the sportsman world of NHRA drag racing in 2013.

“Opportunity knocked,” he says. “I had always talked to Anthony [Bertozzi] about driving his Corvette Super Gas car and one day he just asked if I’d be interested. ‘I bring two cars to the track, you just come in and drive them,’ is what he said.

So I jumped at it.

“Financially I was better just bracket racing,” he adds, “but here I also don’t have the expenses all my own. It means spending a little more time away from home, but I’m lucky to have a wife and kids who support me in everything I do.

Jennifer has a good job but she takes on a big load when I’m away. Fortunately, my parents are there to help and they’re like gold to me.”

Wherever John Labbous Sr. is racing still to this day, so is his wife Pat, John Jr.’s mother. “I am a Momma’s boy,” says Junior. “I am very close to her and she knows me sometimes

n Antron Brow

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Erica Enders-S tevens

215.55 mph

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A very serious racer, Labbous can still laugh it up with the best of them.

more than I know myself. Daddy runner-upped in Gainesville in 1983 and in Englishtown in 1985. Those two races became my goals. When I won the Gatornationals this past March, the very first person I called was Mom. I wanted that race for her.

“I can tell her anything and likewise she can tell me. The same goes for my wife Jennifer and my kids. Even if I’m going the wrong way, they’re right there with me. There are certain things I do when I get in that car that when I’m struggling, I

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sometimes can’t even see what I’m doing wrong. But they can. They might not know exactly, but they know my style and they can tell me if they see something.

“This is really a team effort,” he adds. “Does everyone sacrifice so we can make it work? Absolutely! Who knows what I would be doing had it not been for their support.”

But the big question is: What does it take to win so much?

“Certainly not to take anything away from anyone,” Labbous says, “and no disrespect meant, but I think you almost have to be born with it.”

Like the Rocky character from the movies, it’s the eye of the tiger that could make the difference.

“You can be coached,” says Labbous, “but I think that only takes you so far.

My Daddy coached me. In fact, he did more than just that. He made me the person I am today. Both him and my Mom. When I was 15-years old, he stuck me out there to race with the wolves; all the heavy hitters of the day. It was sink or swim. I was lucky enough to swim.

“You can be guided. You can buy the best equipment. But taking it to the next level requires just something more. Exactly I don’t know what, but it’s the reason you have some people who just seem to have the ability to turn on win lights.

“Between my two dragsters and my door car, which I don’t race that often, and including running two of Anthony’s cars in NHRA trim, I make about 1,200 runs a year. I live this job each and every day. After a day’s or weekend’s worth of racing, most everybody has to go back to their daily job and concern themselves with their everyday lives. Racing is my ev-

Not against having fun, once he gets behind the wheel, Labbous is all business in a sport that has become his “job.”

eryday life. I wake up at night and think of ways to turn on win lights.

“Seat time is golden. Laws of average. If you swing at a ball ten times, you’re probably going to hit it seven or eight times. I’m going to swing at it 100 times. Sure I probably win more than most, but part of that is I race more. I go up and down that track 1,200 times in a year. Laws of average.

“My cars are phenomenal. I set them up the way I want them to feel. I took a brand new 2010 dragster that I took delivery of in February and all I did was test with it until I made that car feel like my 2000 car. It took myself and my friend Matt Tinnin until April to get it to feel right. I don’t have a data logger.

With a number of “big” checks to his credit, Labbous went home from the 2010 K&N Spring Fling with three more in four tries to win over $50,000 in prize money.

70 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

I drive by the seat of my pants. I need to be able to ‘feel’ the car.”

The work was obvious. Labbous took that car to a Sunday race in Bowling Green, Kentucky, won, loaded it up and attended the K&N Spring Fling the following week where he walked away with three wins in four days and over $50,000 in earnings. Driving two cars at that event, which he does everywhere he races, he still admits that luck can play a part.

“At that race, I won only $300 with the old car,” he says. “I just happened to be on the wrong side of the runs. But make no mistake about it, it was that 2000 car which bought and paid for everything I had to that point.”

So while even being “born” with “it,” having the right equipment and being coached, you can still get on the “wrong side of the runs.” In that case, the question becomes: How do you get on the “right” side of the runs?

“I think it goes back to the ‘eye.’ I am the worlds worst at beating myself down,” he says. “I will get down on myself in a minute, but I learned I need to get over it and get to swinging the bat again. It’s like when you get down to three [cars] and get beat. Then you get down to five, then four again. Watch what happens next. Keep swinging at it. You’re eventually gonna’ win. And when you’re on top of the wave, you need to keep riding it.

“The one thing I try my absolute best is to not let what the run looks like going down the race track influence my decision at the finish line. Because you never know if a guy is holding any elapsed time under his dial, or is he on the nitrous spray program or whatever.”

In John Labbous Sr.’s day, bracket racing didn’t get the notoriety it deserved. That’s changed somewhat today.

But there is little doubt that bracket racing is what has made John Labbous Jr. the driver that he is.

“I give bracket racing all the credit in the world for making me the driver I am,” Junior says. “Obviously the laps helped but the tight package racing necessary to win bracket races is what has helped me to win any number of the NHRA races I’ve won now. But there are different variables here.

“I would look at National DRAGSTER and see the reaction times and such and think I should be able to dominate there. You make those types of runs in bracket racing and you’ll never win a round unless the other guy crashes or goes red. But as I said, there are many more variables in NHRA sportsman racing which make it hard to win there too.

“Once I came over to that side and got my feet wet, I realized real quick that’s it’s just harder than I thought. It just comes down to trying to control the variables. Throttle stops are not as consistent as wide open throttle, you’ve got a lot of time between rounds and the weather can change drastically; it’s just different and I think controlling the

A self-admitted Momma’s boy, Labbous gets a hug after a win from Momma, Pat.

variables are tougher in sportsman racing than brackets.”

A winner is a winner no matter what they do. John Labbous Jr. has proven that.

He’s won at the biggest bracket races in the country and has continued his winning ways on the NHRA sportsman side

of the fence. Should the day come when he hoists the NHRA Lucas Oil world championship trophy, it’ll just reiterate the fact of a winner is always a winner.

And if he never gets to hold that gold trophy, he is still, and will always be a winner. DRS

BLOCKS Aluminum blocks serve a strong purpose

“T

here are really only two ways to go faster. More power or less weight,” says Scott Shafiroff of Scott Shafiroff Race Engines.

When it comes to making more power, there isn’t a much easier way than more cubic inches. However in some cases, money sometimes gets in the way there.

The easier method for going faster than becomes less 72 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

weight. In the case of engine blocks, the use of aluminum versus cast iron can easily remove well over 100-pounds from a critical area of your race car.

“Aluminum blocks today have gotten a lot better than they used to be,” says Shafiroff. “In the olden days, the aluminum blocks available were fairly poor in quality to the point that if you really wanted to make power, you needed

to start with an iron block. In all the years I ran Pro Stock back in the mid-‘70s, I never had an aluminum block. Aluminum blocks were notorious for decreased piston ring and main bearing life.”

However, as Shafiroff points out, today’s aluminum blocks are nothing like those offered years ago. Using their own casting facilities, Brodix has the engineering capabilities to per-

Aluminum blocks have come a long way over the years and while cost might be a deterrent to some, their repairability far exceeds everything else.

DragRacingScene.com 73

More care must be taken to prepare an aluminum block than a cast iron one but with today’s computerized machining centers, it has made the job a lot easier and more accurate.

An aluminum block still utilizes billet steel main caps but generally the weight savings over cast iron is well over one hundred pounds.

form the job correctly starting with A-356 virgin aluminum.

“It really is all about starting with the correct foundation,” Shafiroff adds. “Everything from the material used to how the casting is poured makes a big difference in the overall quality of the block.”

The most notable concern with any block is ring seal. In order to ensure that, the cylinders must remain straight and round. Previous versions of aluminum blocks, such as the Chevrolet ZL-1 blocks, had serious problems in that area.

Even though a steel sleeve is pressed into the aluminum block, that sleeve still needs a solid background to seat against.

“The sleeve needs to be seated correctly in the block,” Shafiroff says. “That is very important. One of the main problems with aluminum blocks in the past was in the ring seal and main bearing areas. When the block moved around, it created failures in those area. In the past, the blocks were not as strong.

But like anything else, manufacturers such as Brodix learned what needed to be done and they’ve cured that problem.

“In addition to that, the quality of the machining equipment used today is much improved. More than anything else, an aluminum block must be prepared properly if they’re expected to live. Even with all the computerized machinery we have in our shop today, it takes us three times longer to prepare an aluminum block versus cast iron,” Shafiroff adds. “Cylinder sleeve seating is key and we have a special fixture to make sure the sleeve is seating all the way down into the block and that it stays that way.”

Between all of these little improvements, today’s aluminum blocks are a solid foundation for any engine. But there still are limitations.

One of those limitations might be cost. Naturally an aluminum block is more expensive but in the long run, it really isn’t.

“Repairability is key with an aluminum block,” says Brodix’s David Terwilliger. “In the case of a cast iron block, there will 74 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

There are two ways to go fast, more power or less weight. Aluminum blocks save the weight in addition to allowing for larger cylinder bores which leads to more cubic inches.

come a time when the cylinders will be worn out in addition to any other problems. With an aluminum block, unless the engine experiences a catastrophic failure, that block can be repaired indefinitely. That in itself makes an aluminum block cost-effective. Cylinders worn out? Just change the sleeves.”

Brodix recently took it one step further and have gone to a process known as “hipping” to strengthen the block further.

In their normal configuration, once the block is cast, it is heat treated before the machining process begins. Now prior to machining, the block is subjected to a Hot Isostatic Pressure (HIP) which is a forming and densification process that uses temperature and pressure to further harden a component.

Very high pressures compress an object from all sides to eliminate porosity without changing its shape.

“When switching from a cast block to aluminum, you have to bear in mind the weight difference,” says Shafiroff. “Any time you take over 100-pounds off a car you change the handling which can be a good or bad thing.”

In the case of a full-bodied car with the engine up front and in the relatively stock location, removing 100-pounds is a huge difference. Whereas the general rule of thumb is 100-pounds equals a tenth in elapsed time, the addition of an aluminum block might equal more because of the increase in better handling. The same might not hold true for a rear-engine dragster but you still end up with the weight saving.

Another benefit to an aluminum block is cooling. Aluminum dissipates heat faster than cast iron and therefore you end up with an engine that not only runs cooler but also cools down faster. A definite bonus when racing during hot lap conditions, when very little time is afforded before you’re needed on the starting line for the next round.

“It’s not the universal fix it used to be,” Shafiroff says. “You have to weigh in all the pros and cons and in the long run, make an educated decision.” DRS Source: Brodix, brodix.com

Drag Racing Scene has compiled a list of some of the hottest new products to hit the drag racing market. On the following pages of our Vendor Midway, be sure to check out the variety of racing products offered. Product and company contact information is provided should you see something you wish to purchase — and we know you will.

Strong foundation

S&W Performance Group, Universal Welded Lower Frame Kit S&W’s Race Parts division has introduced Step #1 of their new step-by-step car building system. The Universal Welded Lower Frame Kit is a fixture-welded foundation that’s ready for bolt-on components. This USA manufactured product not only offers 21 Front Frame/Back Half combinations, but also your choice of any wheel base length.

“Our customers will build at home with added confidence,” stated Michael Weney. “Now, any apprehension they may have, about

taking the first step, will disappear. We understand how critical and sometimes intimidating this step can be. That’s why this kit will arrive complete, strong, square and ready for them to begin Step #2, which is bolting on their S&W suspension components.” swracecars.com 800.523.3353

For even more new products head to

DragRacingScene.com 76 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

No more guessing Edelbrock, Fuel Pump and Regulator

Edelbrock is excited to expand their fuel delivery product line to include popular fuel pump and regulator combinations, all in one kit.

Edelbrock Fuel Pump and Regulator kits take the guesswork out of selecting the right fuel pump and regulator combination for your application. These kits are made up of our top selling combinations for both carbureted and EFI applications. Fuel Pump and Regulator Kit (#17923) includes a Quiet-Flo fuel pump (#1792) and regulator

(#1727). This combination flows up to 160 gph, allowing it to support up to 1,000 hp for carbureted applications. For EFI applications we have two options; Fuel Pump and Regulator Kit (#17943) which includes fuel pump (#1794) and regulator (#1729), as well as Fuel Pump and Regulator Kit (#35943) which includes our in-line street/ strip fuel pump (#3594) and regulator (#1728), for a combination that flows 57gph and can support up to 600hp. edelbrock.com 310.781.2222

Vendor Midway PARTS / TOOLS / ACCESSORIES

Precision shifting JEGS, Shifter Solenoid & RPM Switch

Get your shift right at every light! This kit features JEGS’ quick, consistent Shifter Solenoid and JEGS’ compact RPM-Activated Switch.

The solenoid fits Powerglide transmissions with a Hurst Quarter Stick, Hurst Quarter Stick II (rear exit cable), or B&M Pro Stick. It shifts automatically from first to second gear so you can keep both hands on the steering wheel. Anodized aluminum mounting plate, hardware, fuse, fuse holder, and wire crimps included. The USAmade switch has a 4-digit LED display; two programming buttons; 2,000 to 9,000 RPM range; high-RPM recall & more! It measures 2.5” L x 2.5” W x .90” H. jegs.com 800.345.4545

Low pressure, no problem

Aeromotive, Low Pressure Fuel Regulator Aeromotive Inc. is proud to announce the release of their latest new product, an extra-low pressure, carbureted regulator. Those who love and run the classic Weber, Mikuni, Dellorto, Solex and other sidedraft style carburetors have been asking Aeromotive for a high quality, high flow regulator suitable for these low pressure applications for years.

Following late night discussions at SEMA 2014, Aeromotive knew it was time to dedicate a serious engineering effort in this direction, which has now culminated in the new P/N 13222 Low Pressure Regulator. With an adjustable range between 1.5-5 PSI, and a softseat style valve designed to eliminate pressure creep, racers and enthusiasts can now take advantage of high flow fuel pumps with 15-20 PSI of line pressure, without fear of flooding. aeromotiveinc.com 913.647.7300

For even more new products head to

DragRacingScene.com 78 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

Lifters for racers

COMP Cams, Chevrolet Offset Sportsman Solid Roller Lifters COMP Cams Offset Sportsman Solid Roller Lifters for Chevrolet applications are premium-quality, high-value components designed for sportsman and professional racing along with high-end street machines. These lifters come in needle bearing or bushing configurations. They are available in .842” and .904” diameters with left and right offsets for race heads that have had pushrods relocated to maximize airflow. Each re-buildable design features two pressurized

EDM oil feeds as well as an edge-orifice feed to the wheel. Sportsman Lifters are also designed with a shallower oil band than competitors’ versions for increased strength and rigidity, while internal machining helps to reduce weight.

COMP Cams Chevrolet Offset Sportsman Solid Roller Lifters are designed for big- and small-block Chevy applications. They are available in pairs or full sets of 16. compcams.com 800.999.0853

Vendor Midway PARTS / TOOLS / ACCESSORIES

High-level protection LAT Oil, Pro-Lite Automatic Transmission Fluid

LAT’s Pro Lite Automatic Transmission Fluid was developed specifically for today’s high performance race machines. LAT PRO-ATF provides an extremely high level of protection in addressing high temperature issues. Working closely with professional race teams, LAT has been able produce a one-of-a-kind fluid blend made up of multiple synthetic base oils and an aggressive additive package which have proven to reduce heat and provide more consistent pressure readings while enhancing converter lock up. latracingoils.com 888.528.6457

Ready to run

MSD, Race-Ready Distributor

Get the creep FAST, Bump Stager

The FAST Bump Stager provides improved staging accuracy by allowing users to access the patented “transcreep” function found in FAST XFI electronic fuel injection systems without the added expense of converting the vehicle to a full XFI setup. The Bump Stager lets drag racers carefully pulse the transbrake.

This enables the vehicle to move forward slowly during staging, creating a higher degree of repeatability than racers are able to achieve manually. The complete kit comes with everything needed for use, and a built-in 20-amp driver removes the hassle of wiring an external relay for most applications. The Bump Stager can be used on vehicles with carburetors or with any aftermarket EFI system. fuelairspark.com 877.334.8355

80 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

MSD now provides the spark for the new retro all aluminum W-block. This distributor is Ready-to-Run which means you just need to connect three wires to fire up the engine. No external ignition controls are required.

It has a powerful module built into the housing. This module produces a stout inductive spark that will improve the overall drivability and performance of your classic Chevy. Specially designed for the All Aluminum 409/509 Block, this distributor features a maintenance-free magnetic pick-up that never requires adjusting and a built-in Rev Limiter. msdperformance.com 915.855.7123

Built for horsepower ATI Performance, Turbo 400 Output Shafts

ATI is proud to introduce several new Output Shafts to improve the durability of your T400 Transmission. ATI’s new heavy duty 300M Output Shafts feature an extended bearing surface and are gundrilled to save weight with no governor or speedometer support. This new part is a “Must Have” for your T400 when high horsepower meets heavy weight, or rear gear is numerically low. ATI offers a strong affordable option that is easily installed. Available outright or as an upgrade option in your next ATI T400 transmission. Available in three lengths: Standard 9” T400 length (#406026) for 4” tailhousings, 8.5” for special Powerglide length tailhousings (#406026P) and 6” for 4×4 use with no tailhousing (#406026S). atiracing.com 877.298.5039

Diamond Racing Pistons is the Official Piston of the PDRA Association Current custom pistonlead time — 15 business days.

With Pro Line Racing Engines and Diamond pistons, Q80 Racing team resets quartermile doorslammer record at 5.46 seconds and 272mph “Diamond’s contributions have been invaluable.”

—Doug Patton, Pro Line Racing Engines

Visit us at our website at

www.diamondracing.net net

for all the latest product information, on, piston building tools, and how to videos.

586-792-6620 x 115

Vendor Midway PARTS / TOOLS / ACCESSORIES

Made your way

Crane Cams, Custom Tool Steel Camshafts Crane Cams announces new tool steel camshafts custom made to match any engine configuration. These cams can be built “one-off” to any linear spacing, journal size, or firing order that you need. This service meets the demand for the incredible variety of design combinations created by the cylinder head and block manufactures of today. These are the ultimate camshafts for high performance and all-out racing applications. These new camshafts are made from

Break it in Lunati, Break-In Engine Oil

Lunati Break-In Engine Oil is a conventional SAE 10W-30 blend that contains all the critical additives to prevent harmful wear and promote proper internal surface mating during engine break-in. The high-Zinc (ZDDP) formula has been engineered with the correct additives to provide maximum protection. Featuring an advanced petroleum base, this lubricant is compatible with all common fuel types. The SAE 10W-30 conventional blend protects all internal components including flat and roller camshafts, lifters, valve guides, pistons and bearings, crank journals, and rod bearings. It is designed for use in new or rebuilt engines that call for a 10W-30 conventional during break-in or initial dyno testing. lunatipower.com 662.892.1500

82 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

a dedicated variety of tool steel using a through-hardening, heat-treating process to create an extremely stable part that is resistant to surface wear, twist, and deflection with the ability to withstand high surface loading and shock. cranecams.com 866.388.5120

Winning strut

Strange Engineering, Double-Adjustable Struts Strange double externally adjustable coil-over steel struts for Camaros and Mustangs are designed and valved to satisfy the needs of the most competitive racer. Drag racing can be won or lost by narrow margins making suspension tuning and consistency critical. Strange double externally adjustable coil over struts easily permit independent control of both extension and compression which allows you to optimize your cars performance. The wide range of adjustment can be used to adapt to changing track conditions, control weight transfer and improve down track stability ultimately resulting in reduced E.T.’s & more consistent performance. strangeengineering.net 847.663.1701

Boosted block

RHS, LS Solid Aluminum Race Block This new block is built specifically for the drag race market and is an ideal fit within rules that do not allow billet blocks by specifying they must be cast. A solid water jacked design featuring A357-T6 aluminum material provides the superior crankcase strength and improved rigidity perfect for crank-mounted superchargers and blowers. The block utilizes the LSX 6-head-bolt design as in the

original LS Race Block, but the head-stud fasteners’ diameter has been increased to ½” for the inboard head studs and 3/8” for the 5th and 6th head bolts. The larger fasteners provide additional clamping force for increased head-gasket retention. This is required for the higher cylinder pressures common in boosted applications. racingheadservice.com 877.776.4323

You Can’t Afford To Use Cheap Oil SPEND A LITTLE ON OIL. SAVE A LOT ON PARTS.

When parts like these pushrods aren’t protected by proper lubrication they fail. When parts fail they can damage other parts and costs can escalate. Driven Racing Oil™ is formulated with friction-reducing additives and a high HTHS quality (High Temperature High Shear) that’s less sensitive to heat and won’t break down under extreme friction.

1.866.611.1820 | DRIVENRACINGOIL.COM

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We are quite proud of the fact that Driven Racing Oil™ is not considered “cheap oil” and it never will be. To make less expensive oil you have to cut corners on the critical base stocks and high-tech additives. We’ll never be the cheapest option but we’ll always deliver maximum long-run value. It only takes one “lost” race or engine failure to make purchasing the “cheap stuff” a costly mistake.

#DRIVENTOWIN

Better Products From A Company Built On Drag Racing Better Service SIGNATURE SERIES ROTATING ASSEMBLIES These rotating assemblies represent the strongest package of rotating components you will find for your engine.

Each kit includes a pulsed-plasma, nitride heat-treated Signature Series Crankshaft that is formed on a specialized, non-twist 4340 steel forging. Additionally, each kit comes with either premium I-beam or H-beam rods, your choice of Diamond or Mahle brand forged pistons and premium King or Clevite engine bearings.

SCAN FOR VIDEO

SPECIAL GRIND CAMSHAFTS

LUNATIPOWER.COM • 662.892.1500

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Lunati® has the perfect camshaft for your race application.

New state-of-the-art computer lobe profiles provide higher lift under the curve, resulting in increased power and throttle response. Tailored power bands also create more usable horsepower and torque for when it matters.

More Power. More Control.

MORE RACER SUPPORT. XFI™ Engine Management Systems Give Hardcore Drag Racers The Power To Customize & Control Their Engine Setups For An Unmatched Edge.

FAST™ engineers have listened to the needs of racers. The result is two systems designed to control and maximize setup. Pair each one with an ever-growing tuner community and expert tech support and you have the capability to fine tune like never before.

NEW

XFI SPORTSMAN™

XFI 2.0™

The brand new XFI Sportsman™ Engine Management System is a bankto-bank, fully software-tunable EFI system perfect for those who want more control than EZ-EFI 2.0®, but a simpler option than XFI 2.0™ Fuel Injection. It requires a laptop and includes FAST™ C-Com® software and necessary cables.

The revolutionary XFI 2.0™ features advanced forced induction, power adder and race controls including two separate, fully programmable sequential rev limiters for staging or boost building with six options for activation, four priority assignments and a user-selectable sequential or random mode of rev limiting.

• Utilizes intuitive FAST™ C-COM® software for racer-friendly tuning

• Proven Adaptive Learning technology allows automatic fuel mapping

• Supports boosted engines, offers timing control & nitrous retard

• Time-based, closed-loop boost control for accurate management

• CAN network support provides plug-and-play operation

• Coil dwell control optimizes performance on COP applications

• Proven Adaptive Learning technology allows automatic fuel mapping

INDUSTRY’S BEST TECH SUPPORT

Whether you’re at the shop, the track, or somewhere in between, FAST™ is there to help you with experienced, knowledgeble technicians.

Stores Up To 4 Tunes

• Speed Density & Alpha-N fuel strategies for absolute consistency

THE FAST™ ADVANTAGE

LARGE TUNER COMMUNITY

From Internet forums to the racetrack, XFI™ users are everywhere to help you get your vehicle dialed in just right.

TOTAL CONTROL FOR UNMATCHED PERFORMANCE AND CONSISTENCY

XFI™ systems feature full tables to monitor fueling, acceleration fuel, timing and air/fuel targets. A user-configurable auxiliary input channel and full-function data logging are also included.

• Progressive, 4-Stage NO2 control eliminates need for ext. controllers

• Patented transbrake creep function for precise turbo staging

BUMP STAGER

The #1 Choice In Electronic Fuel Injection

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Provides improved staging accuracy by allowing users to access the patented “transcreep” function found in FAST™ XFI™ without the added expense of converting the vehicle to a full XFI™ system. This enables the vehicle to move forward slowly during staging, creating a higher degree of repeatability than racers are able to achieve manually.

#EZDOESIT

SAFER

TRAILERING Fire can be a devastating thing

86  Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

A

s a racer, everyone is aware that there are plenty of days at the track with your car when sometimes you’d just like to burn it to the ground.

Fortunately that’s only talk coming from the wrong opening end of your body, because when it really does happen, no one is happy. Fire can be a devastating thing - not only a financial aspect in property loss - but an emotional one as well.

It was a Sunday morning, Craig Serra and his family were on their way to a race, when a passing motorist alerted Serra to smoke coming from his trailer.

Thinking a burned wheel bearing or tire, he looked for a safe place to pull over. With smoke rising from the crevices by the side and back door, his immediate action (unbeknownst to him at the time) was to open the back door of the trailer.

There are three things necessary to sustain a fire: fuel, oxygen, and heat. In Serra’s case, opening the back door allowed more oxygen to enter the trailer further advancing the fire, which seems to have started in the area of the golf cart loaded at the back of the trailer.

Anyone who has driven with an enclosed trailer will attest to the fact that anything loaded behind the axles of the trailer gets bounced around which can have devastating effects on equipment. And who knows what is happening to any of the internal components of a race car or golf cart (wiring, frame, suspension, etc.). I can clearly remember driving back from a Ca-

Dry chemical extinguishers are more than capable of containing a fire but their clean-up afterwards can become a disaster.

nadian race one night. Upon arriving at our shop, when I opened the back door of the trailer, one of the coil-over shocks on the car came rolling out.

Anything can happen.

“We had the golf cart strapped down pretty tight back there,” Serra says. “But before we could unhook it and pull it out, the flames had caught the inside wall of the trailer and we couldn’t do anything but watch. We had a small dry chemical fire extinguisher, but that did little to help the situation.”

While most race cars have a two-pole battery shutoff, those with an alternator should use a fourpole shutoff which is the same physical size, but each terminal is rated to handle the amperage output of an alternator.

In the end, the Serras lost not only the golf cart, but the trailer, a four-link dragster, a Jr. Dragster, as well as quite a bit of equipment and personal property.

Fortunately, every one of his family with him that day was safe and no one was injured. Much like when an on-track accident occurs, it’s never really clear as to the cause when the damage is so severe, although in Serra’s case it does appear to have started with the golf cart.

More and more racers are choosing to carry a golf cart in their trailer for a variety of reasons. In most cases, golf carts spend their early lives running around green pastures being used (and abused… come on, who hasn’t?) every day. By the time racers get their hands on them, they’ve already seen many hours of use. This is not to insinuate there is anything wrong with them, just that there could be. Serra’s golf cart was indeed a newer model and certainly not your average run of the mill unit.

“It seems like the cause started with maybe a wire shorting out,” Serra says.

“The battery is still in place and properly tied to the frame, what’s left of it anyway.”

“We see things like this all the time,” says Mitch Clary of OK Motorsports, seller of a number of golf carts to racers. “Often times, a golf cart will need a new battery and a racer just grabs an old one from the race car, which doesn’t fit the battery hold-down properly, after which it can come loose and short out on the frame.”

And then you’ve got dozens of wires running through various chassis parts which is the same scenario as your race car. It’s always a good habit to disconnect the battery on anything you load inside your trailer. In this way, no power is running through the wires, which could

Most race cars have a battery shutoff and those which don’t should have the battery disconnected inside the trailer. By the same token, installing a battery shutoff on your golf cart (should you have one) is not a bad idea.

DragRacingScene.com 87

The minimum you should carry for an extinguisher in your motorhome/trailer/truck/etc. is this small aerosol unit from FireAde.

get chafed and short out. In the case of your race car (if your car is so equipped) that’s an easy task by just switching the sanctioning body-required battery shutoff. But Brian Folk of Folk Race Cars has a warning about that.

“Despite shutting off the battery shutoff, most race cars today utilize an alternator which is wired directly to the battery,” Folk says. “In that case, shutting the battery shutoff [off] still will have voltage traveling along a section of wire which could still short out and cause an issue.”

Readily available battery shutoffs only utilize two terminals, while there are some that have two smaller terminals that can be used for an alternator.

“Those smaller terminals are only rated to 20-amps,” warns Chuck Anderika of East Coast Auto Electrics. “Your race car alternator can output much more than that. In that case, there is another battery shutoff which is manufactured with four big terminals that will handle the alternator output.”

Of course this story is not about golf cart safety. When we all towed around with our race cars on open trailers, it was easy to see when something went wrong; car got loose, etc. Enclosed trailers have eliminated that option.

As anyone can attest, it’s always a surprise when you stop and open the trailer door as to what you’re going to find rolling around the floor.

John Labbous Jr. made the tow from Virginia to New Jersey, only to find upon arrival that his car came loose and wedged itself into the wheelie bars of the second car in the front of the trail88 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

er. Fortunately, all he lost was a radiator, but it goes to prove a point.

It’s always a good idea to stop during a trip every now and then to check your load. Between cars, engines, fuel, and a myriad of other parts, anything can happen (and usually does) when you least expect it. While disconnecting the batteries of anything in your trailer – including the trailer battery itself – isn’t a cure-all, it can eliminate one source of ignition for a fire.

Getting back to the scariest situations though, fire ranks right up there.

Most everyone seems to have a fire extinguisher in their trailer (or they at least should), but they are usually the small dry chemical units that probably won’t do a whole lot. In addition, dry chemical makes a heck of a mess when used. Will they put out a small fire? Definitely, but the clean up afterwards isn’t pretty.

FireAde’s brand of fire-extinguishing products are more in the foam family than anything else. Mixed with plain water, it has the capabilities to nullify the heat source by actually cooling the fire. Remember that fire needs all three sources to sustain. Removing one of them eliminates the fire. But it’s much more than just plain water.

Water has a certain amount of surface tension, meaning it tends to stick to a surface without flowing. Proof of this is how rain tends to bead up on a freshly waxed car. Because of this fact, water by itself will not flow easily enough to flood a fire and remove the heat. The FireAde product is added to water in a very small percentage, but it breaks down that surface tension and allows the water to flow easily and extinguish the fire.

However, none of this is possible without some sort of delivery system.

The beauty of the FireAde product is that once the fire is extinguished, you can literally stand on the surface with no chance of the fire reigniting

FireAde is available in small 10-, 16-, and 22-ounce aerosol cans from a growing number of home improvement stores across the country. Unfortunately that’s not enough to put out a large fire, but it could stop it before it gets too big.

For larger fires, FireAde’s Enforcer brand of delivery systems start with a three-gallon unit which is filled with a mix of water and the FireAde chemical charged with simple compressed air.

Larger units are available, but besides the small aerosol cans (the minimum unit that should be part of everyone’s trailer), the three-gallon extinguisher is a great addition.

As we all are aware, you have no idea what is happening inside your trailer when you’re towing down the road.

FireAde has recently been designing a self-contained system – with plumbing and thermal-sensitive nozzles – that would automatically open and spray the FireAde product in a trailer.

“Our mission and commitment is to saving lives and protecting our environment by manufacturing the most environmentally friendly firefighting products,” FireAde’s Ron Thames says.

“I know the terms biodegradable and non-toxic are overused today, but even after a fire is extinguished using our product, you can very easily clean it up and go right back to using the area.”

Carrying a properly sized fire extinguisher might seem akin to the age-old axiom of closing the barn door after the horse gets out, as the solution should be to stop the problem before it happens.

However, that’s not always possible. But a fire extinguisher is cheap insurance which could lessen the damaging effects of a fire. DRS Source: FireAde, fireade.com

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DREAM The K&N Spring Fling brand of events expands 90  Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

A tradition was started the first year in Bristol for the K&N Spring Fling; a family photo of sorts of just some of the attendees and their families. It’s become a popular part of the party in both Vegas and Bristol; just one of those things that makes this race special.

Words/Photo John DiBartolomeo

P

eter Biondo and Kyle Seipel were soulmates who became friends in the early ‘90s. Realizing they were more alike than anything else, they had a dream of going into business together.

Seipel is the son of Ted and Georgia Seipel who were very instrumental in the operation of Sonoma Raceway in California. As such, Kyle spent quite a bit of time witnessing the trials and tribulations of putting on a race.

Biondo on the other hand, grew up witnessing his father Sam terrorizing several east coast race tracks in addition to having an active role in the family business, Biondo Racing Products.

“My father always taught me,” Biondo said back in 2010, “that the best rule in business was to take care of your customer. And that’s what we try to do.”

The Spring Fling events have always been about the fun but the money sure is a big part. Todd Zampese set a somewhat record on Sunday in Vegas when he won both the Super Pro and Pro classes using the same car, switching between delay box racing and bottom bulb.

What they “try to do” and have been very successful at doing is to not only being good racers themselves but together have built a brand of races now on both coasts. The K&N Spring Fling events; six years strong now in Bristol, Tennessee, and for the third year in Las Vegas; have been very well attended races by the bracket racing contingent.

Both the Vegas and Bristol races held this past April and May respectively, were well-attended affairs. The Vegas event caters to racers in both the Super Pro and Pro classes while Bristol remains a Super Pro only race. Each day’s winners, as well as just about everyone in attendance remarks about how much “fun” they have.

Still having a “dream,” the pair decided to try something completely different at the Las Vegas race this past year, which reinforced their idea for something really big.

The ‘Fling Vegas event opened Wednesday with a $50,000 to win Shootout, limited to the first 32 entrants to pony up a $2,000 entry fee. Little did many know at the time, it would prove to be a turning event in the course of Spring Fling lore.

“We ran that race with very little promotion and probably could have easily sold 70-80 entries,” says Seipel. “That told us there was a demand for a bigger event in Las Vegas.”

92 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

Taking some time off from his professional career in drag racing, Jeg Coughlin Jr. spent little time acclimating himself back into the bracket racing swing of things. A runner-up finish in Vegas and a win at the Bristol event just added to his resume.

If the pair of Biondo and Seipel had any qualms about staging a really big race, that Wednesday put those fears to bed. So much so that by Saturday morning of the Vegas event, they were set to announce what is to become a truly BIG event in bracket racing history.

The K&N Spring Fling Million will take place in 2016 at the gambling cap-

ital of the maybe the world, Las Vegas and the excitement spread through the drag racing community like a wildfire that the water-starved west coast can’t afford.

“Peter [Biondo] has had the dream of running this type of race for some time now,” Seipel said. “We both think the time is right and because a lot of

what we do in racing is gambling of sorts, what better place than Las Vegas for a race of this type.”

While the Vegas and Bristol ‘Fling races generally bring out a different clientele, by the time the Bristol race took place some four weeks after the Vegas announcement, the talk amongst racers attending Bristol was how excited they were and what it was going to take to attend.

The general idea behind the race is a guaranteed purse that pays $100,000 to the winner, $50k to the runner-up along with round money of $1000 starting with the third round. However, as the car count goes up, so does the winner’s share of the prize. While the Million will be a stand-alone event held on the Saturday of the race, there will be three side races each paying big money.

A Saturday morning time trial for those entered in the Million will also include a special “$100,000 Run For The Money”, whereby a racer will place a dial-in on his or her car. The first driver scoring a perfect run (dead on the dial with a zero and a perfect reaction time) will receive $100,000. If the no driver hits the perfect run then the best package during that session will be awarded a prize worth at least $3 to $5k, yet to be determined.

Obviously this type of race has been run before, albeit on the east coast, and

Besides Coughlin, another former Pro Stock racer decided to join in on the fun and there’s not much more fun than a race win. Just ask Brad Jeter, Sunday’s $20,000 winner in Bristol.

with the car count there, the winner’s share has always averaged well over $200,000, which is the most amount of money ever paid to a drag race winner regardless of class.

“With the K&N Million, we’re counting on the fact of part of the draw be-

ing our Spring Fling brand and the other being Las Vegas,” says Biondo. “And we’re going to do everything in our power to make it a pleasurable experience for every attendee. Our goal is to build the event where it eventually pays $1,000,000 to the winner.” DRS

DragRacingScene.com 93

The race which tested the waters for the eventual K&N Million was Wednesday’s $50,000 to win Shootout in Vegas. Vinny DiMino came in from New York and turned away all comers for the big payday.

RESULTS K&N SPRING FLING VEGAS Las Vegas, NV

$50K Shootout W-Vinny DiMino, Maspeth, NY R/U-Cecil Hankins, Roswell, NM

The fun doesn’t stop with the adults as Seipel and Biondo as well as K&N’s Greg Boutte handed out prizes to the kids too.

Baldwin Racing Thursday Super Pro W- Peeps Pennington, Three Rivers, TX R/U-Butch Warner, Surprise, AZ Pro W-Jody Lang, Puyallup, WA R/U-Brad Burton, Snohornish, WA Silver State Refrigeration Friday Super Pro W- Peeps Pennington, Three Rivers, TX R/U-Jeg Coughlin Jr., Delaware, OH

NHRA sportsman standout racers also scored well as Jody Lang won one race and former Stock Eliminator world champion Brad Burton became a two-time winner this past year at the Vegas ‘Fling after having won in 2013 as well in addition to a runner-up performance the night before.

Pro W-Brad Burton, Snohornish, WA R/U-Rob Harrison, Calgary, Canada Silver State Refrigeration Saturday Super Pro W- Richard McFarland, Yucca Valley, CA R/U- Scott Hearn, Sherwood Park, Canada Pro W-Tommy Dutcher, Ramona, CA R/U-Jody Lang, Puyallup, WA

When he wasn’t goofing off, the indomitable Curt Smith kept the staging lanes running like a clock.

94 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

Baldwin Racing Sunday Super Pro W-Todd Zampese, San Antonio, TX R/U- Kevin Houmard, San Dimas, CA

Pro W-Todd Zampese, San Antonio, TX R/U- Stan Deming, Nampa, ID

K&N SPRING FLING 5-DAY Bristol, TN

American Race Cars/Race Tech Dragster Shootout W-Gary Williams Bradenton, FL R/U-Rob DiMino Jr,, Hawley, PA Yukon Gear & Axle Wednesday W-Gary Williams, Bradenton, FL R/U-Tom Cable, Hughsville, MD FTI Thursday W-Tom Cable, Hughesville, MD R/U- Kevin Brannon, Boiling Springs, SC Nitroplate Friday W-Jeg Coughlin Jr., Delaware, OH R/U-Tracy Guffey, Shelbyville, TN JEGS Saturday W-Brad Jeter, Easley, SC R/U- Steve Witherow, Summerduck, VA Head over to DragRacingScene.com for even more drag racing results.

You just can’t beat Mother Nature. Only a slight amount of rain at both the Vegas and Bristol ‘Flings put a halt to the proceedings but each event was completed as scheduled.

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SOCIAL Martino Motorsports are masters of social media

I

t’s easy for a lot of sportsman drag racing teams to fly under the radar. Many of them show up at the track, go a few rounds during the weekend, and then aren’t heard from again until the next event. That’s definitely not the case for Martino Motorsports.

A duo from Youngstown, Ohio, the Top Dragster team of father Tom and son Ryan alternate driving duties, with the other serving as a race engineer or crew chief on days he isn’t behind the wheel. Ryan has been racing for just over a decade, while Tom has been in the drag racing game for 40 years.

The team has also leveraged social media to its advantage over the past several seasons, and as a result has gained a following and notoriety usually reserved for Pro classes with large marketing budgets.

“We were introduced to social media source marketing through friends in the music industry in 2011,” Ryan Martino says. “We took a look at what social media was doing for their music careers and record sales and tried to mirror that with our race team.”

96 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

media is a golden opportunity to “Social reach out to our fans, promote our associates on a daily basis, and promote our associates’ products and services, to demographics they aren’t usually exposed to.

”

EXPOSURE Among the many creative ideas Martino Motorsports has featured on its social media channels, one of the most notable is a decaled plush shark dubbed “Sharktino.” He appears at the strip and in various candid photos during Discovery Channel’s wildly popular Shark Week programming each July.

This year the team even created a #SharkTino shirt line which sold out instantly.

In the spring of 2015, the team also released a real, honest-to-goodness hype video entitled “We Can’t Bracket Race.”

The team is currently working on a cross-promotional project with 80’s rock band Tesla, performing a variety of community service projects around the Youngstown area, and has gained inspiration from folks as diverse as John Force and Chuck D (of seminal hip-hop group Public Enemy). Every day new posts appear on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and the team’s YouTube channel features a variety of cool on-board camera angles.

Ryan Martino is a Youngstown State graduate and former college football player who competed under the tutelage of coaches Jim Tressel and Jon Heacock — Tressel went on to win

the national championship with Ohio State University. Ryan graduated magna cum laude in the fall of 2004 with a degree in marketing and merchandising, which he clearly uses to his advantage in the racing world.

“Our main objective through marketing with social media sources is to increase our worldwide fan base and exposure, attract new associates to our race team, and help promote the associates involved with our race team on a regular basis,” Ryan says.

It sounds like Marketing 101, but many teams simply do not make the grade in that category.

“To us, social media is a golden opportunity to reach out to our fans, promote our associates on a daily basis, and promote our associates’ products and services, to demographics they aren’t usually exposed to,” he explains.

Completing passes in the 6-second-range at 200+ mph in the quarter-mile, the team’s dragster features a 665c.i. bigblock Chevy making over 1300 horsepower. The team has plenty of event and class wins, and currently sits in the top 10 in points in the wildly competitive NHRA Division III class.

DragRacingScene.com 97

The Martinos supplement their NHRA Divisional schedule with a few national events each year, and also run in the Top Dragster class in PDRA during off weekends. Chasing both NHRA and PDRA national points may be a possibility for the team down the road.

Racing has been part of the Martino family story since 1970, when Tom began secretly racing just after turning 16.

Ultimately he gained national exposure with a Dodge Dart that competed in Stock Eliminator, Super Stock, and Super Gas classes, and set world records in NHRA, AHRA, and IHRA competition.

It was during this time that Tom also earned the nickname “World Famous,” thanks to his exposure in a wide variety of automotive and racing publications and television shows, and for having attracted national sponsors such as Phar-Mor and the Coors Brewing Company.

“We’d go to races all over the country and people would bring us magazines [with a picture of the car],” Ryan Martino remembers. “At that time, the only way to get media exposure was if you mailed something in by U.S. Mail or UPS to these magazine publishers or call them on the phone. There weren’t emails or cell phone pictures floating around.”

That ability to generate positive press was clearly something that the Martino team remembered years later when social media exploded.

In the early 90s, Tom sold his Dart and bought the first of three rear-engine dragsters he would own over the past two decades. Meanwhile, Ryan had grown up around the racetrack and earned his Super Comp license in the early 2000s. He also competed in Sport Compact competition and upgraded his license to Advance E.T. status in the summer of 2011, allowing him and his dad to share driving duties in their Top Dragster.

Both men have full-time jobs. Tom is a truck driver for a local grocery chain, while Ryan serves as a bailiff at the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. They spend lots of time thrashing on the race car when they are not at work — but often not together — as a result of alternating schedules.

You’d think that would make it tough for the team to maintain such a constant social media presence, yet Ryan says that he plans 20–30 minutes per day for posts and interaction with fans, fellow racers, and associates.

“I think it’s important to engage people on a daily basis,” Ryan says. “From the sponsorship aspect I think it’s unfair to not try to give your sponsors a plug every day. So I think it’s 98 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

important to try to get your sponsors out there on a daily basis as much as you can to as many demographics as you can.

“Drag racing’s unique because people at the racetrack come from all walks of life. You’ve got people who are poor, rich, male, female, they come from a diverse background. It’s just one big happy family in drag racing.”

The extended Martino family often hits the road together during the season, and social media has allowed the team to connect with other families and friends from around the drag racing world, and even the globe.

Ryan says people specifically mention the team’s social posts at many events, and fellow racers and fans from years past (or folks from far-flung places) use the Martino social media accounts as a way to stay in touch.

The Martino team tries to ensure that these fans are not only updated on what goes on behind the scenes, but also provide real-time updates from the track as well.

Of course, the manufacturers that work with the Martino family have a vested interest in the outcomes of these races.

The drivetrain brand TCI is one such partner that has enjoyed a long relationship with the Martino crew, who has run TCI components in all of its drag racing applications since the 1980s. Today the team runs a TCI flexplate and PRO-X converter in its Top Dragster.

“These guys are awesome to work with,” says TCI technical specialist Ondra Terry. “In addition to being great racers, they are super nice guys, willing to receive and give advice to help make their race program better.”

He adds, “The Martinos are very loyal to their sponsors, they fly the TCI decals proudly, they are informative with updates with each race they attend, and they are also eager to open their doors to you, family members, and other co-workers.”

Ryan Martino says that while social media can be a struggle at times — his biggest issues are poor cell service, knowing what days and times to post, and how to create more engagement — it has been extremely beneficial for his team and their partners in the long run. A win-win if you will.

“The technology for social media posting is already right there in the palm of your hand on a constant basis throughout the day, and it takes a couple seconds to shoot a photo to share or to post anything in general,” he says. “If you were investing in someone’s race program, wouldn’t you want that same ‘free’ exposure for your company?”

It’s an easy answer. DRS Source: TCI, tciauto.com

“

The technology for social media is already right there in the palm of your hand. If you were investing in someone’s race program, wouldn’t you want ‘free’ exposure for your company?

”

PERFECT BUILD THE

S&W Race Cars builds another winner

W

hen Paul Burruss first discussed his needs with Michael Weney of S&W Race Cars, it was more to have updates done to his present dragster.

“He had spoken with my brother Scott before Scott passed away last year,” Weney says. “And he just decided to have us build a complete new car rather than update his older car.

“We sat down with him several times to get his ideas on how he intended to use the car: classes he wanted to compete in, tracks he intended to race on, and so on,” Weney adds. “We do this 100 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

with every customer so that we’re all on the same page. There is no sense in selling a person more or less than what they need or want.”

Burruss says, “I originally just wanted S&W to do some updates on my older dragster, but I decided why spend all that money on a 15-year old car. And I was very impressed with Michael in how he and the rest of the company handled themselves after Scott passed, in addition to their attitude toward business in general.”

After several meetings to discuss each other’s concerns, Burrus gave S&W the

green light to proceed. Following a briefing with the project build team, tubing was cut, bent, and welded to form the basis of Burruss’ 240-inch wheelbase dragster. A brand new Scott Shafiroff Racing 582c.i. engine was ordered in addition to an ATI Performance (long) Powerglide transmission and converter.

“We began with our standard 225inch front half from the cage forward and we stretched the back of the car from there,” Weney says. “Utilizing a long ‘Glide rather than a shorty, there’s still plenty of room between the engine and front-mounted radiator to allow for

What began as simple talks between Paul Burruss and S&W Race Cars eventually transpired into a new dragster from cut and bent tubing.

A lot of little special things went into the build such as this parachute and wing mount incorporated together into the anti-rotation bracket on the Strange Engineering rear end assembly.

future expansion of his needs such as a dry sump system, use of a supercharger, or anything else.”

A notable change to this car is the lack of a four-link suspension system which has become pretty standard fare today.

“I wanted the car to be pretty simple with little things to go wrong,” Burruss says. “When you look at cars that have a lot of horsepower — think Top Fuel — they’re all of the hard-tail variety. Plus I was concerned about the weight too.

“As for the use of a long ‘Glide rather than the typical dragster shorty . . . I have

another race car, a Chevy II, that S&W also did some updates to for me, and it uses a long ‘Glide. So I wanted both cars to be interchangeable. In that regard, I only need to carry one spare to fit both.”

Burruss races quite a bit by himself and he wanted the addition of an air compressor on the new car in the case where he might need some extra air in the tires should he be in the staging lanes. The main function of the air unit though is to eliminate the need for an air bottle. Both the throttle stop and shifter are operated by air supplied from the compressor tank.

Without a four link suspension, S&W took the approach of adding several chassis adjustments behind the driver to help plant the tires onto the track. A sliding diagonal bar can be locked in place and pinned, or the pins can be removed to allow for more chassis flex. A wing sits high above the Strange Engineering rear end assembly to add downforce to the Weld Racing wheels wrapped with Hoosier tires. Twin parachute mounts, incorporated off of the upper frame rails at the back of the car, hold DJ Safety ‘chutes.

DragRacingScene.com 101

One of the biggest hassles with any dragster is the constant cleaning of the chassis from things thrown up by the tires. S&W built this enclosure to eliminate some of that problem for Burruss.

Burruss chose an ATI Performance “long” Powerglide in order to have it match his door car in terms of carrying only one spare trans for both.

Once the chassis was completed, the entire car was assembled to check fit everything, then disassembled and the chassis sent out for powdercoating.

During the powdercoating stage, the Strange Engineering rear end assembly paint was customized by S&W to match the other exquisite components of the car.

With a front-mounted radiator and due to the car’s wheelbase, there is still plenty of room in front of the engine for expansion such as a dry sump oiling system or supercharger, both items becoming a big part of Top Dragster racing today.

Meziere Enterprises was called upon to supply one of their billet flexplates and True Start starters, as well as the water pump and other cooling system accessories.

The driver’s compartment is a 23-inch wide model, which has become fairly standard to seat just about any size driver, and is the perfect fit for Burruss. Adjustable foot pedals move fore and aft, again to suit a driver’s build. Butler Built safety pads in the cage protect the driver’s head. A Computech dash and data logging system pro102 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

vide ample feedback to Burruss during and after a run. The car also incorporates a dual brake system with dual Strange Engineering brake calipers on the rear and a separate master cylinder with a hand lever in the driver’s compartment.

In front of the driver’s area sits an MSD 7AL-3 ignition box, MagnaFuel

electric fuel pump and fuel cell, and the 12-volt Air Armed air compressor that provides more than enough air pressure for a quick couple of pounds in the tires when necessary.

“We usually have a flip-up tow hook in the front of the car, but for this model we decided to simply place the hook hid-

Nothing but win lights ahead as a look from behind the wheel shows the Computech dash and Digital Delay delay box.

den under the nose,” says Weney. “This cleans up the top of the car in the nose area. In addition to that, rather than dzus buttons to hold the nose on, our new noses slide on and clip with a set of S&W’s Quik-Latch push-button releases.

“Once the chassis was done, we pre-assembled everything in the car and had Paul down to sit in it and go over the final touches,” Weney says. “From there, we disassembled everything and sent everything out to be anodized, coated, and chromed.”

The entire S&W Performance Group proudly posed for a photo before Paul Burruss took delivery.

With all the components back at the S&W shop, the car was reassembled, wired, plumbed, and the chassis NHRA certified in-house, while the actual “paint” on the car was handled as a wrap

by Paxton’s Graffiti in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Upon completion, Burruss was once again placed behind the wheel to review the mechanical controls, checked final driver fit, and then Weney signaled Burruss to fire the engine for the first time. The Computech Dash, electrical,

air, and plumbing systems were double checked, and then it was loaded “raceready” into Burruss’ trailer.

On his second outing with the car, Burruss scored the win at his local track in the Super Pro class and says, “I couldn’t be happier with the way the car turned out.”

Second time out with the win? We’d have to agree. Paul Burruss is a happy man. DRS Source: S&W Race Cars, swracecars.com

PROPERLY

LUBED

Choosing the right oil for your alcohol-based race car

M

ethanol, ethanol, E85, E100, and any number of other alcohol-based fuels are commonly found at every level of drag racing. No matter the type of fuel an engine is running, the power plant and all of its internal parts, still need to be lubricated.

We talked to Certified Lubrication Specialist Lake Speed, Jr. of Driven Racing Oil to learn about the unique relationship between oil and alcohol.

Speed tells us that there are two major potential problems to be aware of when selecting an oil for an alcohol-based drag racing application.

The first to note is that when alcohol mixes with the oil, all the seemingly beneficial detergents and dispersants in the oil may cause an emulsion — a mixture of two liquids that are not supposed to blend.

A telltale sign of this is seeing oil turn “milky.” This is proof that the fuel has not been able to evaporate out of the engine correctly.

104 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

“If you emulsify the fuel in the oil it drops the viscosity of the oil,” Speed says.

“And that obviously is not a good thing.”

On the other hand, if emulsion doesn’t occur, the other extreme is that the fuel and oil will separate. The fuel is probably going to be lighter than the oil and therefore will be on top. The problem lies in the fact that methanol has a lower specific gravity than the oil, so it does tend to pool up.

This is a problem because it means that you might suck up these small pools of fuel through the pickup and have slugs of fuel where oil should be.

And fuel is a really bad lubricant for your bearings.

“Those are your extremes,” Speed says. “[An oil] that can completely emulsify the fuel drops the viscosity.

Something that does not emulsify the fuel can cause slugs of fuel.

“The lesser of the two evils — if you can achieve it — is just having a slight emulsion, where you’re not getting

pools of fuel, but you don’t have so much fuel emulsified in the oil that the fuel can’t evaporate out. “ This slight (or loose) emulsion lets fuel evaporate when it reaches its boiling or vaporization point, so that you don’t run the risk of oil foaming due to alcohol fuel becoming mixed within it.

This is the goal that Driven Racing Oil tries to achieve with its line of XP oils. Speed notes that it’s important to choose a higher viscosity grade when you are running alcohol as opposed to gasoline in the same engine.

“When you run methanol you’re going to run a higher air/fuel ratio, and you’re going to get more fuel in the oil, which is going to reduce the viscosity of the oil,” Speed explains.“So typically between the gas engine and an alcohol engine, you go up a little bit in viscosity.

It’s usually no more than one viscosity grade, but you do go up a little bit to offset the fact that you’re running more fuel through the engine.”

Speed also notes that your chosen lubricant needs to be able to stand up to the chemical attack of alcohol, since it is not very easy on the components in the oil.

He says that oils like XP are good for running in alcohol engines because they are all low-detergent, low-dispersant lubricants. This is in contrast to passenger car or diesel oils that are high in both, meaning they could form a tight emulsion and result in foaming or viscosity loss. At the same time, they are not non-detergent and non-dispersant, which could mean that no emulsification occurs whatsoever, resulting in puddles of fuel that are completely separated from the oil.

Speed adds that the most common issue with alcohol-based fuel in drag racing is that typically the oil temperature doesn’t get hot enough for a long enough period of time to evaporate the fuel. He recommends figuring out a way to increase the engine temperature so that fuel will evaporate out of the oil and will not linger. Flipping on a thermostat on the way back to the pits, warming up the oil before or after you make a run, or even taking the oil out of the engine

and heating it in a crock pot then putting the clean oil back in the engine, are all ways to be sure the fuel evaporates.

“When you’re running methanol, your oil temperature is your friend in terms of extending the life of the engine,” Speed says. “Because ethanol and methanol are very corrosive they are hard on parts. While [alcohol] is a great fuel, you want to get it out once the race is over.”

Since alcohol-based fuels can be corrosive to the fuel system, it’s also a good idea to run a system cleaner such as Driven’s Carb Defender Race Concentrate.

There is nothing in Race Concentrate that changes combustion properties of the fuel, so it won’t change the density or make the fuel illegal in any way. It simply uses the fuel as a carrier to bring corrosion inhibitors into the fuel system, essentially protecting the engine from the fuel in an alcohol-based application.

Some racers opt for top-lubes (upper cylinder lubricants) to combat the corrosive effects of alcohol based fuels, but these upper cylinder lubes can have a negative effect on oil life and can actu-

ally create sludge in the oil.

“Top lubes are unnecessary if you are using top quality racing oil,” said Speed.

“Real racing oils provide the lubrication for the cylinder, and a product like the Carb Defender provides the corrosion protection and lubricant for the fuel system. Plus this combination does not reduce oil life or cause sludge.”

Since it is unlikely you will ever get oil hot enough in a drag racing application to hurt the oil (the fact you need to actually heat it up to evaporate fuel is proof), the oil/fuel ratio is the determining factor in the life of your oil. In a nutshell, this is how much fuel runs through the engine for a given amount of oil. While methanol is more dense than gasoline, you run a richer air/fuel ratio with methanol because methanol contains oxygen, which ultimately shortens the oil’s life.

The end result is simply the need to change oil in alcohol applications more often than you would in a gasoline-powered race car. DRS Source: Driven Racing Oil, drivenracingoil.com

DESIGNED TO WIN PROVEN AT 330 MPH weldwheels.com

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KING OF THE

Words/Photos Jon Asher

106 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

W

in streaks are all the rage these days. After the Lakers won backto-back-to-back NBA championships (1999-2002) the de rigueur phrase became “three-peat,” a term which former Lakers coach and now Miami Heat GM Pat Riley quickly trademarked. One wonders if he made any money from doing so, but hey, that’s a story for a different publication. Win streaks have been well-documented and celebrated in drag racing, from those put together by legendary competitors like Don “The Snake” Prudhomme and Bob Glidden to any number of others.

Some racers have been extremely fortunate in putting together repetitive outings in a particular event, and we’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the out-

A familiar sight at Bandimere Speedway; Allen Johnson holding the Pro Stock trophy (2013).

For even more content search “Allen Johnson” at DragRacingScene.com.

Heating the Goodyears on the way to the 2012 Mile-High Nationals winners circle.

standing successes of Top Fuel driver Tony Schumacher at the NHRA U.S. Nationals. In the relatively short span of 18 years Mr. Schumacher has appeared in 11 Indy final rounds, winning an astounding nine times. Think of it, a single driver winning drag racing’s most prestigious event in 50-percent of his attempts (measured after his first Indy final round). That’s simply unheard of in any form of motorsports.

But, as you’ve noted from the photos accompanying this story, we’re not here to talk about Schumacher or the U.S. Nationals. We’re here to address Allen Johnson’s total domination of the Mopar Mile-High Nationals in Denver where, over a 14-year span the Tennessean has appeared in 10 final rounds, winning a remarkable six times. Before you even ask, yes, we’re considering Johnson’s stunning almost-50-percent win record on the same basis as Schumacher’s — beginning with his first final round appearance in Denver in 2002.

Small wonder Johnson says “Denver’s a favorite spot of mine.” No kidding.

Is it fair to compare the results of a 108 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

Top Fuel driver against those of a Pro Stock competitor? It’s more than fair, for a number of reasons. We know that hard-core fuel fans will never agree that any other class could possibly be as tough as their chosen category, just as Pro Stock followers are unlikely to believe there’s a tougher class than theirs, where more horsepower can’t be provided by adding more timing, more blower and more nitro. That’s an argument we probably can’t settle, so let’s look at this from a slightly different standpoint.

If there’s a single race on the NHRA Mello Yello tour that many competitors look forward to with, well, considerable dread, it’s the MileHighs. Oh, make no mistake about it, the racers love Bandimere Speedway and very much appreciate the vocal support of the fans, who turn out in huge numbers for all three days of the event. No, that feeling of dread comes from the realization that before the first barometric pressure reading is taken, before the first wrench is turned, before the first fan walks

through the turnstiles, this race is taking place on a track that’s a measured 5,800 feet above sea level. There’s no air. Flatlanders find themselves gasping as they totter up the concrete steps from the parking lots to the pits. Some drivers will hide inside their transporters sucking down oxygen from small tanks, mistakenly believing this last-second effort will produce results.

It won’t, but that’s something better left to the doctors and physical trainers than us. Just trust us on this one immutable fact: It is damn hard to produce a winning combination under these circumstances, circumstances made almost immeasurably more difficult if the temperature climbs into the 90s as it sometimes does at Bandimere.

And yet, there’s Allen Johnson, a finalist in 75-percent of the Denver events he’s competed in since 2002. No other Pro Stock racer has come even remotely close to his record at this event, or at any other in the modern era that we can recall. Heck, no fuel racer has come close to matching Johnson’s record at this particular event. What’s the

usually exhausted “I’m by the time it’s over.

My adrenalin is just used up by then.

All I want to do when it’s over is lie down!

The weekend really takes a lot out of you, but man, it’s also a lot of fun.

”

explanation? Is it self-induced because this is, after all, an event hosted by Johnson’s primary backers from Chrysler Corporation? Is it something as esoteric as just luck? Is it because Johnson — and his team, including his engine-building father, Roy — put so much into it that they’re just bound to have something good come out of all the effort?

It’s all of that and a great deal more.

Johnson first competed in Denver in 1996 when, he says, “we were one of just two Mopars up on the hill that weekend. It was right after the shake-up with the Wayne County guys, and it was their first time back trying to qualify, and we

The face of a man emotionally and physically exhausted by the competition, this is Allen Johnson after winning several times in Denver. Imagine how he looked in losing!

Johnson on the new rules package

There’s little reason for us to outline the new Pro Stock rules as introduced during this year’s Mopar Mile-High Nationals, because they’ve been well publicized. But as one of the top competitors with championships to his credit, Allen Johnson’s perspective is worth listening to.

“I don’t think (NHRA) went far enough,” he said hours after the announcement. “Mopar had a plan that I think almost everyone in the pits at least sort of liked. It’s not really a ‘crate motor,’ but is just another way of getting to about 1,500 horsepower. It’s a motor that will last 200 runs. It’s got a little blower on it, and it would save a lot of damn money. Over a three-year period you’d maybe develop the motors we already have while at the same time developing this new one right beside it. You could run either one. NHRA would have to get involved to factor things like they do in Pro Stock Motorcycle and Pro Mod. “Over that same three-year period you could develop a more real-world body that could be fitted over our existing chassis. So, what you’d have is a different motor that would last 200 runs that would cost about $75,000 instead of motors lasting 20 runs and costing as much as a half million dollars. I know Mopar has been talking about this with various racers and NHRA for over a year, and for (NHRA) not to do what corporate America wants for this class I think is a huge mistake.

“Most of the changes are really good. Yes, we’re too secretive and the fans can’t see anything the way things have been. The fans ask us all the time about why things are covered up, so (changing the direction in which the cars pull into the pits and more) needed to be done.

“In all honesty, I don’t think these changes (including the introduction of EFI next season) are going to do much more than cost each of us about $100,000. If (NHRA) is really going to do something that matters, they should do something that matters to corporate America so corporate America gets back involved with NHRA and then they’ll really have something to promote, like showroom cars competing in Pro Stock.

I’m really disappointed they didn’t implement the full plan.”

110 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

Competing on The Mountain in 2011, where Johnson was the runner-up to Mike Edwards.

were trying to establish ourselves as the Mopar team. We qualified, and they didn’t, and that raised a lot of eyebrows.

From then on we concentrated on trying to be the fastest Mopar on the hill.”

To that end the team did considerable pre-race testing in Denver, although they haven’t done so in the last couple of years. “We felt like we had a real solid combination,” Johnson says, “and we just didn’t think we needed to test that often, to be honest. Of course (in 2013) Jason (Line) got close to us and actually ran quicker, so we may have to re-think the testing thing if we’re going to stay on top.” He ultimately opted out of pre-race testing in 2015.

Johnson, somewhat surprisingly, feels no pressure because it’s Mopar’s race. “I probably put more pressure on myself, ‘cause I never feel any extra push from them. Sure, we want to make a good impression on them, but since we’ve done so well up there I don’t feel any pressure at all any more. We just try to go in there with the confidence that we can get things done.”

There have been years when Johnson has gone into the Denver market as much as two weeks prior to the race to make the rounds of the media. On race week he arrives on Wednesday for a trackside outing with regional Mopar people during which they thrash a bunch of Challengers up and down the track. That’s followed by a golf outing to benefit the Race to Read program sponsored by the Bandimeres on Thursday morning, which is followed by the formal pre-race press conference. Thursday evening Johnson participates in the ever-expanding Mopar Block Party

Winning again in 2010.

in downtown Golden, Colo., which includes race car displays, rock bands and much more.

“On Friday morning we usually do a radio show remote from the track, but after that,” he says with obvious pleasure, “it’s time to try and qualify. Once we start running the Mopar people kind of stand back a little and let us do what we have to do.”

Despite Johnson’s long string of victories, few leave him as emotionally drained as does winning in Denver.

“For me that’s the pinnacle of emotions,” he acknowledges. “I’m usually exhausted by the time it’s over. My adrenalin is just used up by then. All I want to do when it’s over is lie down!

The weekend really takes a lot out of

you, but man, it’s also a lot of fun.”

When you’re winning as often as Johnson is, at his sponsor’s race, of course the weekend’s a lot of fun. “On Sunday night Mopar takes us all out to dinner, and as tired as I might be, if we’ve won that day, well, I kinda wake up a little, ya know?”

Unlike some previous years, when Johnson’s team rolled into Denver in 2015 they’d not had their best season, although winning in Chicago helped set the tone for what they hoped to accomplish at Bandimere. If nothing else, Johnson is always candid about his situation.

“I think the days of total domination up here are over,” he said early in the weekend. “Everybody’s sort of caught up to us. We’ve lost some team members who took our secrets with them and shared them with their new employers. I think we can still be the fastest. We haven’t showed everything we’ve got, even here where we’re Number 1 right now. I think we’ll be one of the top two or three cars in every session from here on out this year.”

Johnson did indeed end up being the Number 1 qualifier this year and, as he has for the last eight years, he made it to the final round, but things didn’t

Johnson downed Jeg Coughlin, Jr. in the ’10 finale.

go his way. Facing Larry Morgan’s FireAde Camaro, which had qualified just a tick behind him, Johnson made a critical, self-induced error that cost him the race — he refused to stage.

Both drivers sat there with the top lights on, engines idling as the crowd went nuts. They refused to stage until almost two full minutes had passed, then Johnson rolled in first. Adding insult to injury, Morgan then had a very competitive

0.014 Reaction Time while Johnson had an uncharacteristic 0.035. That negated his quicker elapsed time of 6.930 seconds, giving Morgan the win in 6.944 seconds.

Regardless, who else can came claim nine straight final rounds at the same event? Who else can claim the kind of single-event domination that Allen Johnson has enjoyed — no, earned — at the Mopar Mile-High Nationals? He is indeed King of the Mountain! DRS

RACING INTO THE E3 spark plugs brings new technology to the field

E

3 Spark Plugs may seem like the new kid on the sparkplug block, but the company actually has decades of experience in spark plug engineering. In fact, it was six years of development before a single sales call was made and a plug was ever sold. There’s no rushing to market going on at E3. The key to building a better spark plug was not just in the use of special metals, as others have done, but instead to start with a clean-sheet design.

At first glance, it might seem a little odd to gearhead race types that E3 initially targeted the lawn and garden market, but if one thinks about it, it was brilliant. Set aside that it is a huge market, and just think about the duty-cycle of any one of these devices. All of these pieces of equipment—chain saws, lawn tractors, weed whackers—pretty much run at wide-open throttle their entire lives. They vibrate like a Vega with only 112 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

two pistons. Many of them are two-strokes where a spark plug must ignite a charge mixed with lubricating oil without fouling. Plus, these engines are mostly neglected and abused, and somehow manage to survive. It’s a tough deal. If an E3 spark plug can handle all this while improving performance, it has an impressive design.

Jump to today: E3 now owns the premium lawn and garden spark plug market and is making a major impact in the automotive and powersports markets as well. Additionally, the company is no stranger to racing, with sponsorship of the NHRA and Team Lucas. Lucas Oil has multiple racing series’, including late-model dirt racing, modified series, offroad truck racing, drag boat racing and pro tractor pulling events. However, E3’s racing intentions run deeper than support and exposure—they are developing a new line of racing

spark plugs from which competitors can benefit. Once again, the company jumped directly into one of the toughest environments for a spark plug to thrive — Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars. They will then expand into Pro Stock and the sportsman classes.

The racing plug line is still under development, though it is said to be getting close to rollout, with an expected release date around the PRI and SEMA shows. In the meantime, the final tweaks are being completed, based upon the results of numerous lab and dyno tests, as well as data collected from real-world Top Fuel racing. Since the line of racing spark plugs is still undergoing finishing touches, E3 is not ready to show its cards.

What we do is know is that the current street line of spark plugs employing the company’s patented DiamondFire tech-

The E3 spark plug marks a radical new design in spark plug technology.

Beginning with a clean sheet of paper, E3 engineers spent six years of R&D before a single sales call was made.

DragRacingScene.com 113

An increase in the flame pattern; or kernel; by the E3 plug is rather impressive.

nology is already bringing gains in performance, as well as improved fuel economy and reduced emissions to street-going vehicles.

What is DiamondFire technology? After many years of research, assisted by top professors in the field of combustion and engine dynamics, the DiamondFire ground electrode was developed as a better way to ignite the fuel-air mixture.

Since this design increases the combustion pressure inside the engine before the exhaust valve opens, a more efficient way to start and control the burn was achieved. Measurement of this pressure is known as Indicated Mean Effective Pressure (IMEP). Power generated by the engine is improved whenever there is a reduction of unused fuel sent out the exhaust; power is increased by thorough burning of the fuel. IMEP within the cylinder can be measured while the engine is running, permitting analyses of combustion efficiency. This measurement is ideal for comparing one spark plug to another — or for evaluating any modification, really.

The DiamondFire ground electrode gets the flame (combustion) started earlier in the combustion chamber before gases are vented. During the power stroke, combusted gases expand rapidly and push hard on the piston. When the ex-

The most brutal environment in drag racing for a spark plug is a nitromethane-fueled vehicle. If a spark plug can live and improve performance here, then any other application is a walk in the park.

114 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

haust valve opens, all work stops as the energy spills into the exhaust system. Given the short time for combustion to occur, engine builders know that the quicker you can get the flame to the piston from a spark plug, the better.

The E3 DiamondFire design is open at the end, so the spark travels toward the fuel mixture, yielding a faster flame kernel, more complete combustion and greater power output. If a spark plug creates higher average pressure within the combustion chamber, the engine makes more power. The most accurate and sophisticated way to measure small gains is to look at the cylinder pressure over many cycles.

E3 engineers began the design process by looking at the flame kernel that is started when a spark is initially created. Once this event occurs, the remaining compressed mixture beyond the reach of initial spark must be ignited from contact with the flame front, an increase in cylinder pressure and/or an increase in temperature. For perfect combustion to occur, all of the compressed fuel mixture would burn at the point where the piston created a constant volume inside the cylinder. However, there is always a delay among the initiating spark, flame kernel growth and movement of the flame front through the combustion area.

When the ignition system sends voltage to the spark plug there is a lag of a few milliseconds from the time the current is sent and when the spark actually starts combustion. This is called the ignition delay. Once combustion starts, the pressure rises rapidly and peaks shortly after TDC as the piston descends. It is generally accepted that a larger initial flame kernel is exponentially better than a smaller one, because a larger ball of the flame has more surface area, so the conductive heat transfer to the unburned gases is greater. A larger flame impacts the convective heat transfer by tumbling the remaining mixture exposed to radiant heat.

This means that just a slight increase in flame kernel strength can cause a cascading improvement in the entire combustion process — and this is the forte of the DiamondFire design. By getting the flame process started faster, the total fuel burned is increased. It is paramount to get as much of the fuel burned as possible before it is vented off during the exhaust cycle. Thus the multi-edge DiamondFire electrode was created.

The racing line of spark plugs will place an even greater premium on these attributes, and it must also perform and survive under greater IMEP, substantially more heat and vibration and — in the case of Top Fuel — be able to handle nitro.

From what we have learned, we are confident that it will be an exciting and thoroughly sorted spark plug. DRS Source: E3 Spark Plugs, e3sparkplugs.com

WINTER DATES AT ORLANDO!

Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School is in session Nov. 2015 - Mar. 2016 at Orlando Speed World Dragway. Call today for dates!

CALL 336.498.7964 info@royhillsdragracingschool.com VISIT THE ALL-NEW royhillsdragracingschool.com EMAIL

TRUST AN ORIGINAL. Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School is one of the original and most trusted drag racing schools. It’s still the best place to experience the sport for the first time, earn your license, or tune-up your car and your driving skills.

Super Stock

Dial-In Your Own Car

Super Comp, Super Gas & Bracket Car

Pro Modified & Pro Stock

Learn from one of the best as Hill shares his valuable knowledge on tuning the engine and chassis of your factory race car, or strap in behind the wheel of one of the top Super Stock cars in the country as you pilot Roy Hill’s Ford Mustang Cobra Jet.

Choose to drive a Jerry Haas-built Super Gas car or an Undercover Motorsports Super Comp dragster.

This school is excellent for a first-time driver.

Bring your own Pro Modified or Pro Stock car or Hill and his staff will meet you at your local track to help tune your car’s engine and chassis, as well as prepare you to drive the fastest door cars on the planet.

Top Sportsman

Jr. Dragster

Our new Top Sportsman class puts you in a former Pro Stock car powered by a 600+ cubic-inch engine, paired with an automatic transmission.

Experience quarter-mile runs in the seven-second range at over 180 MPH.

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School is unique in allowing a driver to bring his own car to be dialed-in. This service can save both money and many weeks of trial and error.

A two-day school which helps train future racers and their parents on how to maintain mental and physical sharpness while racing the dragster.

50 end g e L f o s r a e y

I

t’s amazing how our hobby can bring people together.

Memphis has a long history of being at the forefront of racing technology, and a significant portion of that stems from three friends who had enough passion for drag racing to start a company called Racing Head Service. A company that endures today.

The local drag racing culture of Memphis was a hotbed of activity since the earliest of days, with the action at Lakeland Dragstrip putting the city on the map as the “Traction Capital of the South.”

While the big names of Top Fuel, A/FX, and wide-open match racing stole the limelight, the epic battles being waged in the lower classes were the stuff of folklore and spawned many businesses and notable careers.

Within the tight confines of NHRA’s Stock and Jr. Stock class rules, where weight and cubic inch ratios were the equalizer, building engines and driving techniques quickly evolved into an all out free-for-all of experimentation and talent.

Heavier cars with smaller motors, many driven to and from the tracks, packed the lanes and speed shop bays.

Three racers who preferred early-’50s Oldsmobiles quickly found common ground and friendship at the track. John McWhirter, Ivars Smiltnieks, and Bob Woodward were frequent winners in their classes, and talented engine builders who discovered hidden ways to make their “stock” engines even faster.

116 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

John McWhirter, one of the founders of Racing Head Service (RHS), stands at a mill working on a Chevy cylinder head in late 1970. The company has gone through some changes over the past 50 years, but one thing has remained a constant, creating high-quality products.

DragRacingScene.com 117

John had a great job as a mechanical engineer in the foundry portion of the local International Harvester plant.

Ivars worked rebuilding engines for Precision Motorworks in Memphis. Bob also worked for International Harvester, but was part of a large group of local guys who were frequently laid off and re-hired as contracts and work flow fluctuated.

With a mutual interest in racing, they quickly discovered the art of head porting and that trick valve jobs could unlock a lot of power hidden within their Oldsmobiles.

They found the Oldsmobiles responded well to even minor changes, and the speed tricks they learned could be applied to other engines like Chevy small blocks, Pontiacs, and Fords. Racers increasingly sought them out to work their magic as demand for their services swelled.

In 1967 they bought a head resurfacing machine, a dip tank, and other vital equipment, and started Racing Head Service in the basement of Ivar’s house. They had the caustic tank vented up through the roof — one can only imagine what his wife thought of that.

Bob was in the middle of a layoff from International Harvester, and Ivars quit his job so they both could work full time. John, on the other hand, had a nice job and a small family, so he worked long hours in the evenings for a while before making the leap to full time. Business went well and soon they were able to rent a real shop in town.

The trick headwork expanded into machining and building engines, and a new opportunity arose.

Customers who came in for machine work also had a need for other parts like headers and intakes, and Woodward pushed to expand RHS into a speed shop.

A new location near Elvis Presley Boulevard in 1969 was a good fit for the growth, featuring the machine shop in back and a new speed shop up front. The guys also campaigned three or four drag cars at a time, winning frequently.

Business boomed and they opened additional speed shops in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Jackson, Mississippi, to fill the demand. They quickly outgrew the tiny Memphis facility as the speed shop inventory began stacking up everywhere, including their own houses.

118 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

A move into a bigger building near the Memphis airport brought on the next phase of RHS’s history, as they evolved into one of the first mail-order parts warehouse businesses. RHS became an integrated racing company offering parts, machine shop services, and even complete turn-key engines to racers.

RHS were among the first to offer “crate engines,” known as High Energy engines, and did very well until GM introduced its Target Master crate engines in the mid-90s.

The Target Master engines were built on GM’s large production lines, were relatively inexpensive, and came with a warranty. In the public’s eye that was hard to beat, even if they were inferior in quality.

Realizing a need to supplement its heads and head work with proper camshafts, RHS created Cam Dynamics in 1972. This was made possible by recruiting Memphis native, Mark Heffington, and Tom Woitesek away from Crane Cams in Florida.

Mark was a talented cam designer, and Tom had been Crane’s shop foreman who knew how to staff and run the equipment. Around this time Ivar’s brother, Russ, also joined the group, running the speed shop in Little Rock, and local racer Scooter Brothers became a minor owner in the RHS company.

Fellow Olds racer Gordon Holloway also joined the staff in 1972, after yet another layoff at Borg Warner. He had previously sold RHS his old ’51 Oldsmobile race car. The company meticulously blueprinted the engine to NHRA’s specs and began winning races.

The engine was eventually put into another Olds, one of several they successfully raced into the early 1970s, doing battle in a sea of much newer Camaros and Mustangs. The company thrived, breaking new ground into circle track racing and then other forms of motorsports.

The racers and business partners restructured in 1975 after a series of disagreements, as many businesses

RHS successfully raced early Oldsmobiles into the 1970s. Their blueprinted engines and power secrets worked well inside the tight confines of the NHRA Stocker classes. Car 943 was the “Clod Buster,” a dig at another local racer named Claude who ran a Jenkins-prepped ’55 Chevy. Another RHS car was called the Fat Nickel.

With many previous RHS staff members still working at Competition Cams, which had then expanded into the Comp Performance Group under Scooter Brothers, Ron Coleman, and Tom Woitesek (who retired in 1995), the decision was made to revive the company in 2002.

They began investing machinery and technology back into RHS, even casting its own heads, and today lead the way once again, with ground-breaking cylinder heads, which includes the most advanced engine block ever built for GM LS engines.

From an enthusiastic business started by a couple of Oldsmobile-racing friends, to an innovator of mail-order parts and crate engines, to an industry-domination of drag and circle track racing, to a decline, and then a rebirth with a spectacular comeback, RHS has woven fifty years of legend and has a heck of a tale to tell — one that is far from being finished — as they continue blazing new trails into the future. DRS Source: Racing Head Service, racingheadservice.com

with multiple owners often have. In 1976 RHS ceased their partnership with Cam Dynamics, (which would eventually go to Crane Cams) and launched Competition Cams. RHS and Competition Cams combined forces in one building before expanding into two separate facilities across the street from each other.

The one-two punch of RHS and Competition Cams dominated NHRA and short track competition throughout the ’80s with their racing heads, valve train components, and engines. However, the parts business began to whither in the early ’80s and RHS slowly phased out its warehouses.

In 1988 Ivars wanted to return to RHS (from COMP Cams), and Scooter Brothers wanted to go from RHS to COMP. A deal was worked out and Smiltnieks’s portion of Comp Cams was exchanged for ownership of RHS. Scooter traded his stock in RHS to Ivars for a small part of COMP. While COMP continued to thrive, RHS experienced a downturn in the late ’90s, and along with the health deterioration of Smiltnieks and his untimely passing, RHS fell into dormancy.

ALL ABOUT

SPEED T

Two icons in the world of motorsports, Roy Hill and Rick Hendrick.

Hendrick chose five Lowes home improvement store managers to experience Hill’s tutelage.

120 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

Feeling the thrill of horsepower

here are numerous companies across the country; and the world for that matter; which offer their employees certain perks as a way of rewarding their service. Golf games, a day at the beach, dinners and the like are all ways to show employees how much they’re appreciated.

Veteran drag racer Roy Hill has a better idea.

“The purpose of treating your employees to a day away from their jobs is to inject some fun and excitement,” Hill says. “How much fun and excitement would it be to have each one of them traveling at over 150 mph in a race car?”

There’s obviously nothing wrong with the aforementioned golf game or day at the beach, but after all; as credited in the movie Talladega Nights; “America is all about speed. Hot, nasty, bad ass speed.” Now I’m not sure that it was really Eleanor Roosevelt who the movie credited with that quote from 1936, but it does ring somewhat true.

Earlier this year, NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick hired Hill to dazzle store managers from Lowe’s home improvement stores from around the country. It was tied to the sponsorship of Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 48 Chevrolet SS

The Roy Hill Driving Experience offers plenty of excitement to put a smile on anyone’s face that you couldn’t remove with a body grinder.

The Roy Hill class can be tailored to any group that starts with a ride in one of Hill’s three-seater dragster.

driven by Jimmie Johnson, but that’s just the point. As a way of rewarding his sponsors, Hendrick set up a day with Hill to have them enjoy themselves.

Representing Lowe’s stores from Florida, North Carolina, New York, Oklahoma and Texas, each of the store managers were first given a ride in Hill’s three-seater dragster followed by a quick schooling on how to drive one of Hill’s standard Super Pro/Comp dragsters. With obviously no experience behind the wheel of a dragster, it was an on-the-gas, off-the-gas adventure for most but it was all about having a good time and feeling the thrill of horsepower beneath their feet.

Following that, each was handed the keys to one of Hill’s new Mustang street cars. Each “student” made two qualifying passes on the quarter-mile to the tune of the 14-second range. Their times were placed on a qualifying sheet and a ladder was generated for them to

race each other in flat-out competition.

Following such-like events that same day at a go-karting facility as well as on the road course at Charlotte Motor Speedway, points were kept and the overall winner received a trophy. But it’s not the trophy which carries importance.

“The winning and losing isn’t important,” says Hill. “It’s all about building moral amongst employees.”

A true legend in our sport, Roy Hill has been tutoring students since 1989 when he opened his school. A number of past and present champions have taken Hill’s advice since then and in 1999 Hill embarked on a new venture, that being his Roy Hill Driving Experience.

Hill and his team provide a made-to-order experience that leaves participants with not only an exciting day behind the wheel, but also helps to build a renewed sense of teamwork. It’s an excellent way of thanking hardworking employees or attracting prospective clients.

“We’ve said this before,” says Hill, “but there is nothing better than to get suited up, strapped in and put the pedal to the metal. It’s an experience and thrill of a lifetime that can’t be described. You have to experience it to know what it feels like, and there is nothing else to compare it to.” DRS Source: Roy Hill Drag Racing School, royhillsdragracingschool.com

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In the school Hill designed for Rick Hendrick, it included students racing each other in street Mustangs.

DragRacingScene.com 121 POWERHOUSEPRODUCTS.COM

101

DRIVESHAFTS Driveshaft terms explained

Words/Photos Bill Holland

W

riting about driveshafts provides bountiful opportunities to get cute (i.e. “don’t get shafted”). But here we’ll endeavor to provide you with some basic information that will enable you to make an informed choice with your next purchase.

Obviously, the function of a driveshaft is to transfer torque from the engine to the rear end. Technically, it can be referred to as a “Hotchkiss drive” as it employs universal joints at both ends of the shaft. The alternative is the “torque tube,” found on many early vehicles.

Let’s start with the universal joints, as they’re typically the weak link —literally and figuratively. OEM-sized U-joints simply don’t cut it when any serious power is applied. So the standard in drag racing is the Spicer 1350-series U-joint, which can handle power levels up to and including Pro Stock. When more torque is at hand, say a Pro Mod car, 1480-series universal joints are employed.

Another key criteria for determining which is the best driveshaft to use in a given application is Critical Speed. This 122 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

Less weight is always better as this aluminum driveshaft on a scale can attest.

Mark Williams’ highly sophisticated computer-controlled balancer can replicate actual running conditions.

is a situation where the natural frequency is the same as the rotating speed of the driveshaft, and the two coinciding frequencies are multiplied to the point of causing a severe shake.

Generally speaking, a lighter, larger diameter tube will allow it to spin to higher RPMs in harmony.

Now let’s talk about the shaft — where material type, thickness, and diameter are all important criteria. There’s probably no better source for information here than Mark Williams Enterprises of Louisville, Colorado. M-W has designed and built a highly sophisticated computer-controlled torsional testing device capable of exerting some 15,000 ft. lbs. torque in sustained or cyclical applications.

Over the years, Williams has tested just about everything, and the information has helped SFI to develop safety specifi-

cations for this crucial component. Driveshaft failure can have dire consequences. Accordingly, SFI Specs 43.1 were created to set the bar. Although not all classes require 43.1 spec driveshafts, it’s a good indicator of safety.

Currently, you can get shafts made of mild steel, chromoly, aluminum, and carbon fiber (titanium was tried years ago, but discarded as carbon fiber is lighter and cheaper). So it all boils down to how much strength is required and what’s your budget. For the most part, chromoly, higher grade aluminum, and carbon fiber driveshafts are compliant with SFI 43.1 specs.

M-W offers driveshafts in all of the aforementioned materials, but has come to focus much of its efforts on aluminum as there are definitely performance advantages to having a reduced rotating mass.

DragRacingScene.com 123

While most cars will use a 1350-series universal joint (left), a larger 1480-series is available that can handle increased amounts of torque such as in Pro Mod applications.

The company’s Torsional Testing Device can exert 15,000 ft. lbs. of torque to test driveshaft durability.

A lighter shaft will “spin up” quicker, and obviously reduce vehicle weight. The grade of aluminum employed by most other manufacturers is a 6061 alloy, but M-W has recently taken things up a notch through the use of higher strength 7075 (about 30-percent stronger than 6061), which also allows use of a thinner wall — making for a lighter driveshaft. The exclusive 7075 Series shafts (available in 3-1/2-inch and 4-inch diameters) feature yokes that are attached to the shaft using the Accu-Bond process patented by Williams. It’s torsionally tested to be far superior to welding, as it does not weaken the material (as welding does). As part of its manufacturing process M-W torsionally tests each 7075 series shaft to ensure quality.

Of course, transmission and pinion yokes are an integral part of the equation. Mark Williams manufactures these from chromo-

ly forgings that are precision CNC machined. On the transmission side, M-W offers a patented Reduced Mass yoke that improves performance. Specially designed yokes with extra heat-treating are available for use with roller tailshaft transmissions.

An important final step is balancing. M-W has a highly sophisticated computer-controlled balancer that can replicate actual running conditions. Accordingly, M-W dynamically balances each shaft to G30 specifications, preferring to include both trans and pinion yokes in the process.

Extensive technical information, including a critical speed chart, is available on M-W’s website, as is a video covering construction techniques. Visit markwilliams.com for details.

Getting the optimum driveshaft for your application the first time around can pay dividends in performance and reliability — both of which win races. DRS Source: Mark Williams Enterprises, markwilliams.com

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VALVE SPRING COMPRESSOR

Designed to work specifically with high spring pressures of today’s engines. It bolts in place of the of the rocker shaft, and once the cylinder is pressurized with air, the removable handle is inserted onto the tool base and pulled straight down to compress the spring Once the valve locks are removed the tool is flipped out of the way and the spring can be removed. It’s also very useful in changing valve seals and light break-in springs.

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Thick steel construction withstands high spring pressures. 12-inch removable handle. Shaft options include big- and small-block Chevy with shaft rockers, big- and small-block Mopars, big- and smallblock Chevy with stud rockers, and Dart Big Chief heads. Additional configurations can also be “custom designed” for special applications like Chrysler Hemis or special length rocker arms.

IN THE FIELD

Sturdy tabs push spring down while allowing ample clearance to remove the locks.

The tool easily bolts in place of the rocker arms.

This tool works and works well.

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The removable handle fits easily and has enough leverage to compress springs.

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Comp Cams Powerhouse Jesse Racemart American Speed & Custom Summit 126 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

PRICE: FUNCTION: COOLNESS:

BRANDON SAYS:

SUGGESTIONS: None. It did what it was supposed to do. It’s a bit more expensive than others, but it’s money well spent, especially when working with heavy-duty springs.

Brandon Flannery is a globe-trottin’ automotive photojournalist, content developer, and certified shop rat now living in Hernando, Mississippi, with a herd of projects and a daily-driven ’73 Satellite Sebring known as The Blue Goose.

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LIFE AT Palm trees and drag racing…

What could be any better?

128 Drag Racing Scene / Vol. 1, Issue 3

The Absolute BEST! M-W’s Exclusive 7075 Series Driveshafts Combine Low Weight With High Strength To Provide You With Optimum Performance And Reliability SHOT PEENED TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL DURABILITY

• Special mill run 7075 alloy shafts 30% stronger than 6061 aluminum • Patented Accu-Bond process superior to welding • Proprietary fabrication process ensures minimal run-out • High speed balanced to extra tight G30 specifications • Manufactured in-house to assure quick delivery

AVAILABLE IN 3 CONFIGURATIONS p/n 39555

Features a 3-1/2" diameter tube, 7075-T6 weld yokes, and 1350-series U-joints

p/n 39550

Equipped with a 4" diameter tube and 1350-series U-joints to handle high critical speed RPMs

p/n 39890

Designed for Pro Mod and similar HP levels, it has a 4" tube 7075T6 weld yokes, and 1480-series U-joints

• M-W transmission yokes feature patented Reduced MassTM design • Yokes are made from through-hardened alloy steel, shot-peened for extra strength and feature an O-ring sealed plug to eliminate leaks

More M-W Products For Builders…

ANTI-ROLL ASSEMBLIES

Designed to provide rear end stabilization in door cars, M-W’s anti-roll assemblies are available in varying widths.

Ring Gear Toe Clearance Gauge

BRACKETS & TABS

The quick and easy way to assure that you've got the correct clearance with 9", 9-1/2", 10", and 10-1/2" gear sets for M-W 9" aluminum and iron cases.

866-508-3387

LIGHTWEIGHT SPINDLES

Made of 7075 aluminum, these jewel-like spindles are dimensionally the same as the popular Anglia / P&S design - but 2.25 pounds lighter per pair. Available with optional tow hook and spindle caps.

M-W offers a wide variety of handy chassis brackets and tabs.They're made from 4130 chromoly steel. See them all online.

www.markwilliams.com

765 S. Pierce Ave. Louisville, CO 80027

Engineered, Manufactured and Tested In-House in the USA

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